Alien from another Universe-ity

Do you agree that technology and globalization increase the chance of inequality? If yes, state your reasons why. If no, also state your reasons why. Take a minute to think about how technology and globalization have impacted your region. Write some reflections and share them.

          I agree that technology and globalization increase the chance of inequality. First of all, technologies are not given for free. I recall that my first mobile phone cost me around $70 in 2013, and back then it was an expensive purchase: not every kid of my age could afford it. Some people in my neighborhood had only 1 mobile phone used by the whole family. And not even every family had it in my small town.

          During the first week, we learned different theories about how Globalization developed. According to the World-System theory, the most profitable economic activities are concentrated in the core states, while exploiting peripheral and semi-peripheral regions. Therefore, it is not surprising, that in 2013 the situation of mobile phones was quite different in big cities and the capital of my country. And we know that people who have mobile phones and the internet in their hands have much more abilities than those who have not. No wonder technologies in core states had driven the progress and globalization there unequally compared to the other regions.

Why does the M-Pesa work so well in Kenya? Do you think that such a system could work in your country? Please state your reasons. As mobile phones, Internet access, and tech hubs differ greatly throughout the African continent, how can these key pieces of technology be made not only more accessible to patrons, but more affordable? How can Konza Technology City make a positive impact in Kenya? Are there any pitfalls in this tech city, in your opinion? How can regulating technology improve society?

Why does the M-Pesa work so well in Kenya? Do you think that such a system could work in your country? Please state your reasons.

          Kenya is a developing country, which means that there is still huge room for growth. Many citizens of Kenya had no access to banking before M-Pesa appeared, which is one of the main reasons why it works so well there. According to Ndung’u (2017), this mobile banking system made it possible for everyone to access banking, transfer money, and create virtual savings accounts. Therefore, M-Pesa promoted innovation, and with government support, it was secure enough and reached about 75% of the population. To be honest, I feel that this system was so successful in Kenya because it came there at the right time to provide a service that was highly desired. I live in China, and M-Pesa would not work so well here. First of all, there are already several national banks that allow cardholders to use secure mobile payments. Secondly, China is very strict about all services that work with money, and it is nearly impossible to join this market.

Various projects are handled by international financial institutions (IFI) on a yearly basis. It is your task to give one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal to each chosen project. For each medal you give out, you must state the following: Name and detailed description of the project. Name of the IFI that handled the project. Type of medal (gold, silver, or bronze). Positive impacts and how they could have been even more impactful. Negative impacts and how they could have been avoided.

For this week’s written assignment, we were asked to choose international financial institutions (IFI) and award three medals (gold, silver, and bronze) to three projects that belong to them. It was very difficult to make a choice, as soon as there are dozens of such organizations; however, in the end, I decided to write about three financial institutions from very different parts of our world: Asian Development Bank (ADB), African Development Bank (AfDB), and European Investment Bank (EIB).  All these financial institutions have several very important projects, so it was extremely difficult to opt for a medal. This was the main reason, why I chose a similar topic for all the projects from this written assignment.

Review the 8 Millennium Development Goals and suggest some improvements to the goals.  As of this year, how would you list the Millennium Development Goals? Would the list from 1 to 8 stay the same, be switched around, or would some of the goals change completely? Be sure to include your rationale.

          In 2000, the UN signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration that set 8 development goals to achieve by the year 2015. To measure their progress towards these goals, 1990’s indicators were used. The 8 Millennium Goals mainly covered problems of poverty, health, education, and the environment (World Health Organization, 2018).

How did globalization change some people’s lives? How did the changes lead to a conflict? What was the proposed solution(s) to the conflict? How satisfactory was the solution to each party? Can you imagine a way to avoid or resolve similar conflicts in the future, even if rapid globalization continues? Over the years, in what ways has your region become more globalized? How can you see the results of this today? If you cannot see the result of this today, why?

For this assignment, I have chosen the “Liberian Plantation Workers Allege Poor Conditions” case to discuss as soon as it touched me the most. In 2005, 12 adults and 23 children sued the Firestone company for poor conditions, using child labor, and dumping toxic chemicals into a river (Pier et al., 2014).

Firestone Liberia Inc. came to Liberia in 1926, and now is the largest private employer in this country, which also operates 27 schools, and provides scholarships for higher education (Firestone Liberia, 2019). So, how did globalization change some people’s lives in Liberia? At the first sight, the answer seems obvious: a lot of new workplaces appeared, and workers’ kids got the opportunity to study for free. According to Firestone Liberia’s official website, in 2018 this company was awarded the Golden Image Reward for its high-quality education. Sounds like a life-changing chance that no one should miss! Well, I don’t know about now, but in 2005 things from the inside were not so jolly. It was obvious that Firestone took an advantage of the lack of other opportunities and exploited its workers. The daily quotas were so big that it was impossible to reach them, which caused the necessity for the help of children (Pier et al., 2014). All this led to a conflict, where workers felt like they were in the gulag and sued the corporation, which never admitted that it did anything wrong and claimed that it was very generous and helpful.

Various theories on globalization exist. Choose two from the readings and describe each—one you agree with and one you disagree with—briefly describe each theory, and explain your reasons for agreement and disagreement.

          From this week’s reading assignment, we learned that there are three primary theories on globalization explaining how it was provided and developed. They include world-system theory, world polity theory, and world culture theory (Lecher F., 2001). For this assignment, I have chosen to talk about the first two theories. Before we can start discussing which ones I agree or disagree with, let me describe each of them first.

         The world-system theory tells us about the hierarchy of the world and emphasizes that we should analyze the whole system, not some national societies because global power relations have been structuring development and underdevelopment for centuries. Nowadays, this system is based on the division of labor according to geography while still being connected by the world market (Chase-Dunn & Grell-Brisk, 2019).