ES1102 Critical Reflection (yunfang)

In order to improve one's writing skill in English, a consistent reflection on one’s work is really important. In this essay, I would like to take my work in problem-solution essay on the topic of globalization as an example to evaluate my writing progression in English throughout this course.

At the beginning of this course, I did not have ideas about the appropriate process of academic writing. In other words, I used to write what came to my mind which led my ideas to be repeated and not well connected throughout the essay most of the time. Moreover, I was not aware of grammar errors, which sometimes would lead to the ambiguity of my statements. By comparing my problem-solution essay to my previous work, it shows that my writing skill has improved. This can be proved through several aspects, such as more complex sentences have been used; more substantial content has been developed and more coherent paragraphs have been organized. In order to achieve all these improvements, I have learnt several useful skills before starting to write my essays, such as planning, critical statement writing and the format of citations and references.

However, there are still some areas which need to be improved in my writing after I analyzed my article. One of the crucial problems is there were several points not well elaborated in the essay, such as some of the topic sentences and their respective supportive evidence appeared to be inconsistent. For example, while I wrote “another solution is to repackage cultural heritage in order to become more international” in one of the body paragraphs as the topic sentence, the following supportive evidence is showing the important role the governments should play in order to prevent cultural homogenization which shows the disconnection between them.

In order to overcome this kind of problem, I need to do some improvements in several aspects. Firstly, I will increase my readings in different areas in order to gain more vocabulary, and at the same time, I need to do more grammar exercises; this will help me to write fluently and grammatically in English. Secondly, I will do more research to gain more comprehensive knowledge about my topic before I start to write essays. By doing so, I will be able to know a large quantity of examples which may allow me to choose the most suitable one to support my statement in each paragraph. Thirdly, I will have more communication with my classmates and the lecturer. I can exchange my work with more classmates and discuss the essay topics with them, this will help me to collect different views from others and evaluating them will improve my ability of critical thinking.

In conclusion, the ability to write well in English is very important and helpful not only in my university study, but also in my future career. It is a continuous learning journey to be able to write well; hence, I should keep learning and upgrade my English with a positive attitude.

ES1102: Problem--Solution essay ( final draft ; yunfang)

ES1102: Problem--Solution essay (Final draft edited; yunfang) 

Globalization is an on-going process by which distance over the world has been shrunk; the forms of human communication have been recreated and become instant and widespread. Globalization connects the world, and many regions have become urbanized and modernized. However, globalization also causes several problems; for example, it may lead to the reduction in cultural diversity globally. It is important for governments to reconsider and reform values of their indigenous culture heritages through the uses of mass media and advanced technologies to address this arising problem. Moreover, social institutions and individuals should also be aware of the issue and work with their governments.

Basically, globalization accelerates cross-border interaction and integration of different human activities which the world has developed into a global village where humans are able to share their experiences, cultures and values. As a result, their original differences have been reduced and lead to the reduction of cultural diversity globally. Many developing countries are influenced by western cultures which they adopt western cultures while abandoning their traditional rites simultaneously. Its consequence may be precarious due to globalization has resulted in the similarity of culture around the world. The borders of nations have become blurred which may lead to the instability of personal identity. This is because people from different nations may lose a sense of belonging towards their own nations due to rapid degradation of their indigenous and inherent traditional values, and also, they have been influenced by numerous cultures from foreign countries. (Mercy, Cyril & Brendan, 2011)

There is an increasing concern on the issue and people are looking for solutions to prevent further decline in global cultural diversity. One of the remedies to address the rising issue is to utilize digital media to preserve cultural heritage, in the forms of texts, videos, and so on. This may be an effective solution, as people are able to access the sources through mass media or library research easily. However, the solution may seem to be ineffective in promoting public awareness of cultural heritages. In other words, while people choosing to pursue modernity and commerciality of western cultures, some sources of their cultural heritages which collected by the governments may be futile as they have been ignored by the public. For example, in 2011, the announcement of the Land Transport Authority of Singapore which planned to construct a road across the Bukit Brown Cemetery, it had increased public consciousness of the limited cultural heritage in Singapore. The Singapore Heritage Society appealed to several interested parties to document the heritage of Bukit Brown cemetery into a book. However, the book has not generated great attention due to the unawareness of the public. Thus, in my opinion, to document cultural heritages should be considered as a way to preserve traditional culture; however, to promote public awareness of the significance of their own cultural heritages is the preference. This can be achieved by utilize new media, such as internet, to increase its prevalence in the public.

Another solution to address the issue is to repackage cultural heritages by developing a global tourism market in order to please the majority. For example, the Disney parks which are distributed in different regions of the world; they are being structurally designed to be accustomed to local cultural sphere through the different cultural experience they provide. This may be effective as the cultural characteristic in a certain area are being manifested in a more popular and international platform, thus, the new form of culture may be accepted by the public more easily.

However, it may adversely impact the cultural heritage as the new form of culture may become artificial and lose its originality and authenticity due to the constructed and designed cultural experiences. (Monnier,2010)) For example, Hutong was once the representative landmark of Beijing, China, but since late 1990s, the authorities in Beijing have destroyed a large scale of Hutong by constructing tall buildings and large mansions. There are only a few left in Beijing today. In order to attract more tourists, the traditional culture of Hutong has been reconstructed and become commercialized. This shows how culture is being destroyed in the way of urbanization and modernization. It also shows that the government plays an important role in promoting the conservation of cultural heritage. Hence, in my opinion, as to address the problem, governments need to be aware and clear about the consequences before implementing any construction plan or policy. They should incorporate programs of traditional culture, heritage and folklore in education curriculum at all levels. Moreover, social institutions should work with governments, for example, schools should incorporate the cultural knowledge and practice in their curriculum as to encourage students to appreciate their inherent cultures.

In conclusion, the homogenous culture spreads globally in the contemporary society; some people may argue that the form of culture has been transformed throughout the human history. However, globalization as a catalyst not only transforms the forms of cultures, but also leads people to abandon their traditional values. As a result, it may lead to the instability of personal identities and further impact on the insecurity of communities. Hence, governments should not merely aim to develop a prosperous nation, but should also aim to develop a nation with its indigenous culture. In order to achieve this goal, social institutions and all members of society should work with their governments. A form of culture requires a long period to be created, but it may disappear easily within one generation, thus, it really depends on every individual’s willingness to preserve and inherit it.

References

Christine Monnier (2010) Globalizing Cultures: The Question of Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from   https://globalsociology.pbworks.com/w/page/14711190/Globalizing%20Cultures%3A%20The%20Question%20of%20Cultural%20Diversity

Nwegbu M. U., Eze C.C. & Asogwa B. E. (2011) Globalization of Cultural Heritage: Issues, Impacts, and Inevitable Challenges for Nigeria. Retrieved from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/nwegbu-eze-azogwa.html

Michael Lynton. (2007) Globalization and Cultural Diversity. The wall street journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB118885657159716199

ES1102 Reader Response: Double Edge of Globalization

In Nayan Chanda’s work, The Double Edge of Globalization, the author has explained the positive and negative effects of globalization by listing various concrete examples; it caused the global environmental deterioration by developing international trade around the world, on the other hand, it raised the public awareness of global environmental issues by connecting the world. Chanda has also highlighted the importance of collaborations among different governments in order to address the global environmental problems. I agree with Chanda’s that the collaborations among different governments is important to mitigate the global environmental deterioration.

Firstly, government in a nation plays an important role in regulating its people and society.  According to Chanda’s article, the reason for the multinational companies decline the global environment is the poor environmental policy in the countries where they have set up their corporations. Chanda has stated that “foreign-operated plants tended to pollute less than local peers”, this shows the local governments failed to implement appropriate solutions for the environment. If the government is willing to make a change, it can utilize its power to implement strict laws to restrict actions of environmental deterioration, such as deforestation, burning of coal, and so on.

Secondly, the collaboration among nations is able to generate more power and achieve bigger improvements on global environment. Although the pollution on environment may be caused by a nation, it can affect every nation around the world, because we are all sharing the same planet. One state only has limited power to make a change, if every state can take their responsibilities to mitigate the pollution and destruction on environment, it will lead to a big change. Chanda gives an example about the treaty of Kyoto Protoco, the United States has rejected to sign it and other nations have been ignored or betrayed its rules, as a result, there is little progress in reducing the global warming.

In conclusion, globalization has been blamed as a factor of causing environmental deterioration, however, I think it may be a scapegoat for the governments with poor and inefficient environmental policy, hence, the countries with better or advanced environmental policy should help the countries with poor environmental policy in order to work together to reduce the environmental destruction.

ES1102 Summary of “The Double Edge of Globalization” (final)

 

 

Globalization has some positive and negative effects. It has caused climate change and deforestation by developing international trade around the world. This is because many multinational companies establish their enterprises in countries which have poor or a lack of environmental policies, and it can adversely affect the global environment. Some pollution caused by globalization, such as burning of coal, not only affects the original country, but can also spread to other parts of the world. However, globalization helps to connect the world and the sharing of ideas and information around the world has become instantaneous; this helps to raise public awareness of the global environmental issues, such as global warming. Although there were some improvements in global environmental conservation which have been carried out by some nations recently, the reluctance of some governments, such as the United States, has resulted in the inefficiency of the United Nations in addressing the global environmental problems. Therefore, the collaboration and willingness of governments in different nations play an important role in reducing global environmental deterioration.

 

 

 

 

ES1102 Summary of “The Double Edge of Globalization” (Draft 1)

Globalization has been denounced as a cause of climate change and deforestation by developing the international trade worldwide, as many multinational companies establish their manufactories in countries where has poor or lack of environmental policies, and lead to adversely impact on the global environment. Globalization has caused large scale of reduction in forestland worldwide due to the increased logging and most of the governance has declined to implement appropriate solution. Some pollution caused by globalization not only affected the original country, but can also spread to the other parts of the world.

However, globalization helps to connect the world together and the sharing of ideas and information around the world become instantaneous, which helps to raise public awareness  in the global environmental issues, such as the global warming. Although there are some improvements in the global environmental conservation recently, the reluctance and incapability of some states has resulted in the inefficiency of the United Nations. Therefore, the collaboration of political powers plays an important role in reducing the global environmental deterioration.

 

ES1102 Summary Practice (Scary Oil)

The increase in oil price is the risk faced by the economy nowadays. Its main cause is the fear of the war occurred between Israel and Iran. The tension in the Middle East led to the rise in oil price and resulted the recessions in past years. Recently, Iran has attacked Israel embassies which lead to the further tension between the two countries. US have threatened to act militarily against Iran if it still does not stop the developing of nuclear weapons. It is said that the continuous tension in the Middle East will aggravate the rise in oil price.