a) Read: Freeland: “The Disintegration of the World” @ <http://theatln.tc/1Dhza7G>
b) Listen: “Island Fever for China” @<http://bit.ly/1HSmshS>
c) Watch: Obama interview (6/4/15) @ <http://bit.ly/1Fwj6A4>
Task —> Exercise 1-1: Probing for Understanding
A few guidelines and requirements for this exercise:
√ 100-300 words (±)
√ posted to our site (pls log in and use comments function at the bottom of this page)
AND
√ submit via Web Form Here (to ensure course credit!)
Due: 8/27/2015
For our first day of English 105, we were assigned to read, listen, and watch three different types of articles; a magazine article, a radio broadcast, and a interview. These all had the same concept in mind about globalization and how it impacts our lives and others around the world. For example, the magazine article talked about how other businesses interacted with each other and how their cooperation with other countries affected the world. With other countries becoming more westernized, multinational companies branch out to these nations to gain resources and to form relationships that will be beneficial to them in the long run. These relationships can end up backfiring in a way because of these nations having different ways to govern themselves that can conflict with the way that the business they are working with want things to be done. In the radio broadcast, they discussed how China was building islands in the seas to boost their claim in the area. They start off by talking about how the United States started to claim islands before called, the guano islands, for economic purposes. This connects back to China building islands because they want to better their economy and have them gain a certain national prestige, even if they can not build on the islands it brings about a accolade. It creates a tension between China, Vietnam, and the Philippines because some of these islands are already claimed by either Vietnam or the Philippines and it is interfering with their economic communities. Lastly, we had to watch an interview with President Barack Obama in which he talked about international trade. The President says that we should open up trade in China because of it being one of the fastest growing economies, the most populous and most dynamic. If we are to do this it would not only make China’s economy better but it would also improve our relationship with them.
The Author on these articles shows how the world is changing under globalization. the process of globalization started after the second world war and the end of the cold war. China is seeking to expand its influence in the Southern sea. China is using globalization to expand its influence in the world economy. China uses islands in the south sea to Control the Pacific. Obama’s opinion on globalization is that it advances technology and plays a role in production and in how many jobs there are available for the people in the US. He also believes that overseas trade is very important in small businesses by bringing in more resources for companies to sell and make a profit in America. Obama’s solution to improve the local economy is to continue to adapt and play a role in the global economy and share business interests with other countries across the globe.
After completing the reading, writing, and listening activity that involved the discussion of China I have learned that this situation affects more issues as well as the movement of more and more countries to become a part of this topic. To me, China seems to be very dominate and tends to isolate the U.S when it comes to Globalization. In the interview with President Obama, topics from previous years were brought up as he continued the discussion of wages and jobs being lost just as they were last time. Therefore high standards are set so that a growing global economy can be created in order to avoid mishap. Throughout time China has been having “Island Fever” as they have been working to reclaim land and building these islands to boost their claim. This artificial island building has been claimed by almost everyone located in the region in such places like Taiwan. I did not realize how big of an issue this situation is and how much more it could become to our nation. Therefore I appreciated reading these three aspects, it was definitely a wakeup call!! The global trade market is something that should not be overlooked.
In the three articles we had to analyze in class and review at home, globalization was discussed. In the article “The Disintegration of the World,” the author talked about businesses moving or expanding to other countries for better opportunities in the market and in costs. The article mainly points out that countries that continue to grow using globalization such as China, Russia, and other countries in the Middle East are affecting businesses worldwide. Listening to the podcast “Island Fever for China,” many people joined the interview to share their thoughts on China making artificial islands for militarization. There are multiple countries that have and still are competing for islands for different resources including the United States. These countries are using globalization for either power or different resources. For example, the United States is using an island outside of Haiti, which we took from them, for guano to help plants. China is using their man made islands for drilling for oil and to help build military airfields and aircrafts. As China grows, Obama wants to force them into following the same rules and safety regulations that the United States follows to ensure safety and a better living for those in China. Obama also discusses globalization and technology and how it plays a role in workers and production. All of these articles discuss how China is growing as a country in their economy and globalization and how it changes our economy and other countries as well.
Globalization is quickly becoming more and more relevant in today’s society and the way our world’s economy works has changed significantly because of it. Each of the three things we were required to view/ listen to were all pertaining mostly to the economical side of globalization. The radio had more to do with modern day Chinese imperialism and also an example of America’s involvement in imperialism. It compared the Guano Act in the late 1800s to China’s outward expansion to small islands in the Pacific Ocean. The problem with the information and why I would consider the comparison to be quite obsolete is due to the amount of time between each of these events. When America was in its imperialist phase there were less regulations on outward expansions. In today’s time China is going against several regulations and rules set by NATO. The other thing we were told to watch was an interview with Obama that happened earlier in the summer. The interview was him informing us about his plans to make America the main economical powerhouse for the world and what our role should be in globalization. He basically said he wants us to be the country will be going out of there way to get help from. Now while I agree with America being the center stage for the worldwide economy, at the same time it may not be completely beneficial. This is due to countries like Singapore with failing economies could prove harmful to other countries such as America, and with the big stock market crashes between the US and Asia and it has only been a few weeks since the opening of it. The future of the deals could prove to be detrimental if it’s this bad in such little time. The last was the article we needed to read which was talking about globalization and how it connects countries. I mostly agree with the integration of a variety of cultures but for me it goes off the same thing, I am all for closely integrating with countries but there needs to be some sort of benefit per each side which is one of the problem America has been in for some time. For example we got involved in several wars because we felt obligated to help that didn’t do anything for us, which is a big concern going into this sort of thing.
In the article The Disintegration of the World, we understand that “business and politics are in fact inseparable,” that not everything can still be about their company’s growth and expansion rather than showing what good they will pose to society once they are established. The interview with Obama, tells us that we have to move towards innovation and leveling the playing field for trading and keeping track of the leverage that some countries have over the others, we just have to adapt and be fair so that other countries will follow our example. In the radio interview about the island fever that China went through, they started making and taking over islands that were part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea to expand their jurisdiction although they technically can’t allowed to do that, there’s really no one to tell them that they cannot. This interview was the most informative to me because i did not know of this issue before i got a chance to listen to the audio.
The Obama interview, “Island fever for China”, and “The disintegration of the World” were three assignments that discussed the instability of geopolitics and trade. All three forms of media provided different perspectives on the trends that came as a result of globalization and the weakening geopolitical system. While reading “The disintegration of the World”, I discovered that besides the recent advances being made in technology, globalization has played a major role in the outsourcing of small and burgeoning businesses. As I listened to “Island fever for China”, I was informed of China’s issue with globalization and competition with other countries. However, in the Obama interview, the president discussed the future of international trade and possible trade partnerships with economic powerhouse, China. I think that in order to solve economic and global problems such as faltering trade or climate change, it is necessary to have multiple trade partnerships with countries outside of the United States and be open to some aspects of globalization.
The Author on the disintegrating world points how the world is changing under globalization. The author points out that the process of globalization started after the second world war and the end of the cold war in the 1990s. He also mentions on how businesses are moving over to other countries and how it is affecting the common people in the . China is seeking to expand its influence in the South China sea. The government in China is using globalization as a means to expand its influence in the world economy and to increase its military power in the Pacific Ocean.China uses island building so that it can gain territory from the South China Sea to play a role in the politics of Southeast Asia. Examples of Chinese imperialism are that the Chinese are trying to drill into places near their “man made islands” to get oil just as described by the radio on China’s island grab and also how they are using these islands to build military installations like airfields to use military aircraft on. Obama’s opinion on globalization are that it advances technology and plays a role in outsourcing production across the planet and plays a role in how many jobs there are available for the people in the US. He also believes that overseas trade is very important in small businesses by bringing in more resources for companies to sell and make a profit in America. The president believes why the demand for labor in the US is because of improvements in technology and overseas trade. Obama’s solution to improve the local economy is to continue to adapt and play a role in the global economy and share business interests with other countries across the globe.
As the world around us develops, and becomes more and more interconnected, the obvious differences in governments and economic philosophies become obvious, as well as a growing issue. Globalization, at its core, is not an inherently terrible idea. There’s a lot that can be accomplished when the economic giants begin to work together, but at this point in time, it seems largely impossible. Basic greed and clashing philosophies make any successful collaboration impossible. Unsurprisingly, many of the conflicts come from which country has the “right” idea about how economics and businesses should function. Of course, each country, along with many of its people, will believe they are the ones with the right idea of how it should be done. Unwilling to sacrifice even slivers of their own ideals in order to work together, globalization, and its core benefits, become impossible to achieve.
In the sources, I found many expansive ideas, critiques, and examples of Globalization and economic change. In source A, the author heavily emphasizes the relationship between Globalization and geopolitics. He brings forth that these two subjects go hand in hand and that geopolitics are being fixed in the way large companies run. In source B, the speakers bring up the problem of China taking aggressive measures to stake claims on islands that do not belong to them nor are they in their waters to claim. They bring up a comparison as a critique American culture. The U.S. does not like Chinas actions, but at one point we were in the position with the guano islands. In the final source, we watch as President Obama explains his reasoning for making the Asian-Pacific trade agreement, as it pertains to labor and environmental protection.
Once I read and listened to the assignments my disapproval of globalization. I noticed in all of the articles there are similarities of the ideas. For one, globalization mainly leads to greed and how only one party is really benefiting while the rest receive “the short end of the stick”. China is basically dominating the US both with the economy and the mentality of America. Obama’s interview reminded me of why we are partners with China. They are one of the most powerful players of the world and it helps with our foreign policy among other relationships. Another important thing is the constant greed in globalization. China has been “claiming” islands inhabited by Vietnamese fisherman mainly to increase their claim to the sea. Why? Because this helps their case versus the other countries who hold equal claim of the sea. I honestly just think that globalization can be tweaked here and there but mainly just leads to power hungry countries and ill misfortune for many.
In the “Read, Listen, and Watch” articles, globalization is talked about in terms of economics, businesses, and regional conflict. Due to the cheapness of Chinese labor, many businesses are moving out of America, since globalization allows market connection nearly anywhere, so factories no longer have to be near the markets. In the interview with Obama, he discusses this advantage the Chinese hold, and says that since they don’t follow the same rules and regulations as us regarding worker and environmental safety, they have a far cheaper manufacturing process then us, and discusses how if we forced them into an agreement that would make them follow similar standards, it would become so much more expensive there that all the jobs that were outsourced would probably move back to America, since we have a far higher quality of production. During the “Island Fever” article, they also talk about China and its bad practices, rather than poor worker and environmental regulations, about its building of artificial islands throughout the region, in order to gain a higher claim to real islands with actual resources. The Chinese have taken several islands, displacing other countries people and their jobs, and have started to create facilities on them, for example they created a military capable runway on one of the islands they took. This island stealing and creation of military resources closer to other countries has created regional tension, which may in time grow into a full scale conflict. In the “Disintegration of the world” article, it talks about how businesses take advantage of China and its cheap labor, contributing to the shrinking of the middle class, and Chinas growth. These articles all discuss how China benefits from globalization, and how it mostly harms our economy.
The world globalization becomes more interconnected as time progresses. Isolationism is not an option for a world economy. For example, the United States was brought into both World War I and World War II due to its economic ties. This begs the question: Is a globalized economy is good or bad? I don’t necessarily believe that there is an answer for this.
As James Madison wrote in the federalist papers, “If all men were angels, then no government would be necessary. Mankind at its core needs a ruling body. However, it gets more confusing when there is a world economy that involves everyone, including friends and foes. A war can destroy businesses ties and have devastating effects on the world market. A dysfunctional government can also harm the world market. Chrystia Freehand shows this when stating that Greece’s government has made the rest of the European economies pick up the slack for its poor system. This wouldn’t have been the case before we had a completely globalized economy. It used to be the norm to have a few trading partners to worry about but now it is everyone. A free market can also have benefits as the United States can get materials and products much cheaper from countries like China and Japan. Therefore, a free market economy can allow the world to thrive from business or suffer due to a lack of cooperation.
Perhaps Isolationism used to be a good method. However globalization has created a need for interdependence. We are all in this together and the governments of the world have the responsibility to ensure the wellbeing of its economic practices.
The first assignment we had to do was read “The Disintegration of the World”, to me all of the assignments were similar in topic: the global economy. In the reading they said the Berlin wall caused globalization and movement of countries. The power houses were considered BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) they were the ones who embraced the global economy. The next assignment was to listen to “Island Fever for China” which was about China building all the islands in the south Chinese seas. People who worked on those islands were slaves due to the fact that there was guano poop everywhere. The citizens of China thought it was China’s right to build these islands because it was on their own property. The final assignment was to watch an Obama interview, his interview was all about globalization partaking in the global trade market. He wanted to set high standards and create new rules to go along with the global trade. He said that China was a big part in it and the might participate in his plan. Reading, listening, and watching each of the assignments was interesting because they all pretty much were about the same thing. After doing them I learned new things like the global trade market and the guano islands, even though I don’t like politics it was still interesting.
“The Disintegration of the world”, “The Island Fever for China”, and the Obama Interview were read, listen and watch assignments that generally focused on the topic of global instability. In today’s time most countries are all for what is best for themselves, instead of focusing on what is best for the world as a whole. They must always be the “winner” in every situation. In all three text, the speakers/writers encourage the act of globalization, which is the integration between people, companies, and governments from different nations. Many countries are accepting of this idea, but the country proved to be most hesitant about it all is China.
In the “The Disintegration of the World” article it is mentioned that china is the country, that most clearly symbolizes globalization business promise, but also is one that is ambivalent about western power and increasingly aggressive toward it neighbors in the pacific.
In a way I believe that china contributes to globalization, but in some ways they don’t. For example a great amount of supplies we use every day is made by Chinese manufacturing. But on the other hand to prove that china must always be the “winner”, they created islands of more than 2,000 acres of land. They created these islands, so that they could have the most claimed land over other countries. President Obama mentions that china will agree to the international trade agreement. This will strengthen labor rules, increase growth in jobs, and increase trade. President Obama says “when the rules are fair we win every time.”
Overall all three forms of text opened my eyes up to issues the world faces every day. I enjoyed the “Island Fever for China” the most because I had no idea islands could be made out of bird feces’, which was intriguing.
While I read, listened and watched the interview with Obama assigned as homework, it seems that the most popular concern of the world is global instability and it’s really higher than other periods. The big picture of the whole situation is that postwar geopolitical system is apparently breaking down. Globalization is continuously growing more and more each and every day. As I did the assignment, it turns out that China had the most global income growth between 1988 and 2008 and it kept rising. I think that because of this increase in growth within the U.S and China led to China wanting to have a trade partnership with the United States.
The “Read, Listen, and Watch” assignments were all very informative, interesting, and similar. They were all similar in the way that they each contained information on the global economy and/or international affairs. “The Disintegration of the World”, written by Chrystia Freeland, mainly consisted of discussion involving geopolitics. Geopolitics is politics involving International relations that are influenced by geographical factors. The post-war business was thriving and successful, but it currently seems to be fading away. There were some points that I agreed with the writer, such as her opinion that the “consequences of the evolution of the global economy toward openness and dense interconnection is that states can now deploy more- powerful economic weapons against one another- resulting in sizable private sector casualties.” This article was closely related to the interview of President Obama by Kai Ryssdal. Ryssdal’s questions were focused on the economy of not only our nation’s but the world’s as whole as well. The world is currently moving towards new innovation, technology, and a growth in manufacturing. In fact, with this new development of manufacture and technology, Obama shared that Nike is in the position to create 10,000 new jobs. The audio file, “Island Fever for China”, also tied in international economy and affairs. This audio opened my eyes up to global issues that I was completely unaware of. I have never heard of an island made of bird poop, nor did I know that there were international conflicts over these islands dealing with possession. Not only did I not know these existed, I did not know that it was legal to make artificial islands. This audio file was the most informative and interesting, simply because this was an issue I was unaware of.
After reading, listening, and watching the assignments I realized that all of the pieces were related to China. In “The Disintegration of the World” piece Chrystia Freeland talks about how is in need of globalization. Globalization is basically spreading and sharing ideas with allied counties to help everyone out. This includes farming tips, technology advances and education tactics. Doing this will help neighboring countries and will overall make the whole world a better place to live in.
While listening to “Island Fever for China” I found out China is being selfish and doesn’t agree with the idea of globalization. China is trying to be the only powerhouse country and you can tell from how aggressive China is when the United States CNN aircraft is close to Chinas air space. Also I hear how countries are in competition to expand with the guano islands.
In the Obama Interview Kai Ryssdal and President Obama talk about the future of international trade. During this interview President Obama talks about how China is growing fast going by their own rules and hurt our American companies and workers. President Obama wants to protect our country and is trying to start globalization but China is being stubborn and uncooperative.
While reading, listening, and watching the required pieces for this assignment it seems as if they all start out with the same assumption that businesses are mixing with other economies. What they tend to forget is to see how it will affect the neighboring countries that are not doing so well. The article provided a chart on the middle classes within other countries but didn’t really speak or tell so much about it. While reading ‘’The Disintegration of the World” many of the past military leaders went to become major chairman in large firms that have a lot of political business power.
For listening to the ‘’Island Fever for China” building artificial island significantly close to other countries put a slight scare to the neighboring countries. To include that they are one of the only places with the technology many other countries would love to invest in. There are no specific laws against it makes other countries starting to think that they should have done something to prevent a number of islands can be built or at least to share the tech with neighboring countries.
For the “Obama Interview” I see that the discussion comes back to the economy and international trade between businesses coming back to the United States. Hopefully helping to make the middleclass have a better income and status. While the interview was coming to an end I didn’t really agree with the middleclass only makes a substantial difference between the wealthy.
The read, watch, and listen assignments that we were assigned were very intriguing, interesting, and informative. All of the segments were related to China and the need for globalization in order for the United States to thrive economically. The reading, “The Disintegration of the World” , explained how there is a huge concern about the increase in global instability. The United States seems to be falling behind when it comes to the economy. Countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and especially China, have some of the most smartest business leaders in the world. This proves that the world is gradually becoming more economically integrated. However, the U.S. needs to increase their ties with these powerhouse countries in order to have a more thriving economic status. In the listening assignment, Obama is interviewed and asked a plethora of questions regarding the economy and globalization. Obama states several of times that China is one the most populous countries in the world. As a whole, Asia is the fastest growing part of the world and they have a great economy. The U.S. must take advantage of globalization and the use of the resources of other countries.
In my English 105 class, my fellow classmates and I were assigned to read, watch and listen on certain subjects that are occurring throughout the world. As I actively listened to the podcast, read the short article and watched the interview of Obama that was presented to me, I noticed a similar idea that was constantly mentioned, and that was the idea of China and how China has and is affecting the American economy, greatly. Throughout my engagement in these prompts that were assigned to me, I realized that China plays a huge role in co-business with the United States of America. Foreign affairs that relate to the U.S have the potential to affect stock markets and products. Another main idea I noticed was the idea of globalization and how globalization can bring more jobs for people, wrapping back around to the idea of labor costs in China that reflects the U.S.
I really enjoyed this prompt because each one was presented to me in various ways. As for the video interview, I could see the body language of the representatives as well as hearing their opinions being stated. As for the podcast, I could hear their tone of voice being present, and as for the article, I got to experience it through my knowledge and how I interpret what’s being stated in front of me. This assignment was definitely a good exercise in seeing how things can be interpreted.
From the read, listen, watch assignment, I realize that they were all generally similar. The topics of each were correlated with China, the Middle East and other countries that carry concern about the global economy. I felt that the reading activity contained the most information although the listening activity intrigued me the most. In my opinion, these assignments opened my eyes to issues that I did not know fully existed. I understood that globalization was an ongoing problem however I did not know many details as to why or how. I was informed by the reading article that former diplomats and military leaders see that globalization is spreading so rapidly, that such volatility has not been seen since the Second World War. As well, consequences of such evolution towards openness and dense interconnection may eventually lead to states being able to deploy more-powerful economic weapons. The main character in this ongoing list of issues is China. Their shakiness about Western power and increasing aggression towards Pacific neighbors has sparked suspicion by the United States. Their building of 200+ acres of islands has definitely caught the attention of concern many countries other than the United States. Politicians and fellow believers see that China may become a much larger threat to the economy in the years to come than it already has.