Tuesday, April 23, 2013

POST 13: OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING: Two Cartoons




In this picture we can see on the left a father and her daughter speaking to their grandfather, (on the right) Mitt Romney. These two are sitting at the front of a ship, with the inscription "Belivin' in America". On the right we can see Mitt Romney digging a hole on the sand with a chess plenty of money. The island where they are is the Cayman Islands, and on the backdoor we can see the Bermuda and Switzerland with a cross where we suppose he put more money. 
Here we see a satiric cartoon of the situation of companies or politicians in the US and other countries also. Matson, denounces here outsourcing as a way of exploitation of workers from other countries, and offshoring as a way to evade taxes, even those who are suppose to be so patriotic, that they would do everything for their country, except pay taxes as all people do... A comic part is that the girl said "you should be president" and he lost the elections on 2008. Also the inscription on the boat makes a paradox with the situation.









In this picture we see two persons speaking. On the left a guy with a blue t-shirt and a red tie and on the right a guy with a grey t-shirt.
The drawer, geek and poke, here make also a satiric and ironic cartoon, where he denounces offshoring. So here the guy on the left said that they relocated a company in another country and give jobs to a lot of people, but those people ask more than that, to be paid. We know that when a company is offshore, the people from that country would be pay less than the country where the company was, but here they don’t pay anything to them, and the guy on the right said "unbelievable", as if it was totally abnormal to ask that. So the drawer here denounces the exploitation of people of foreign countries that don’t get any money for their jobs, as it can be seen in China or India nowadays, people who work in terrible conditions and don’t earn too much money. A sad true.


So in conclusion, these two pictures, within the notion of Spaces and Exchanges, show the globalisation, the exchanges between different countries in the world of business, here with the actions of offshoring or outsourcing. We can see the trades between north countries and south countries, as exchanges in fiscal paradises, or relocation of companies. Finally these two pictures criticize the exploitation of big companies in south countries, where they don’t pay they workers practically anything.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

POST 12: EXCHANGES IN REAL/PHYSICAL SPACES




Spaces &



 Exchanges

in Real Spaces




1.International Migration

DEFINITION

  International migration occurs when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum length of time. Migration occurs for many reasons. Many people leave their home countries in order to look for economic opportunities in another country. Others migrate to be with family members who have migrated or because of political conditions in their countries. Education is another reason for international migration, as students pursue their studies abroad. While there are several different potential systems for categorizing international migrants, one system organizes them into nine groups: temporary labour migrants; irregular, illegal, or undocumented migrants; highly skilled and business migrants; refugees; asylum seekers; forced migration; family members; return migrants; and long-term, low-skilled migrants.  These migrants can also be divided into two large groups, permanent and temporary. Permanent migrants intend to establish their permanent residence in a new country and possibly obtain that country’s citizenship. Temporary migrants intend only to stay for a limited periods of time; perhaps until the end of a particular program of study or for the duration of a their work contract or a certain work season.Both types of migrants have a significant effect on the economies and societies of the chosen destination country and the country of origin.





2.MIXED/HYBRID LANGUAGES 
DEFINITION
  A mixed language is a language that arises through the fusion of two source languages, normally in situations of thorough bilingualism, so that it is not possible to classify the resulting language as belonging to either of the language families that were its sources.
mixed language differs from a pidgin in that the speakers developing the language are fluent, even native, speakers of both languages, whereas a pidgin develops when groups of people with little knowledge of each other's languages come into contact and have need of a basic communication system, as for trade, but do not have enough contact to learn each other's language.


3. HUMAN INTERACTION/INTERDEPENDENCE
DEFINITION
Interdependence is a relationship in which each member is mutually dependent on the others. This concept differs from a dependence relationship, where some members are dependent and some are not.
In an interdependent relationship, participants may be emotionally, economically, ecologically and/or morally reliant on and responsible to each other. An interdependent relationship can arise between two or more cooperative autonomous participants (e.g. - co-op). Some people advocate freedom or independence as the ultimate good; others do the same with devotion to one's family, community, or society. Interdependence can be a common ground between these aspirations.

4.TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS
DEFINITION
Technology Transfer also called Transfer of Technology (TOT) and Technology Commercialisation, is the process of transferring skills, knowledge, technologies, methods of manufacturing, samples of manufacturing and facilities among governments or universities and other institutions to ensure that scientific and technological developments are accessible to a wider range of users who can then further develop and exploit the technology into new products, processes, applications, materials or services. It is closely related to (and may arguably be considered a subset of) knowledge transfer.
Some also consider technology transfer as a process of moving promising research topics into a level of maturity ready for bulk manufacturing or production[citation needed]

5. OUTSOURCING/OFFSHORING
DEFINITIONS
 Offshore outsourcing is the practice of hiring an external organization to perform some business functions in a country other than the one where the products or services are actually developed or manufactured. It can be contrasted with offshoring, in which the functions are performed in a foreign country by a foreign subsidiary. Opponents point out that the practice of sending work overseas by countries with higher wages reduces their own domestic employment and domestic investment. Many customer service jobs as well as jobs in the information technology sectors (data processing, computer programming, and technical support) in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom - have been or are potentially affected.
 Offshoring describes the relocation by a company of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Even state governments employ offshoring. More recently, offshoring has been associated primarily with the sourcing of technical and administrative services supporting domestic and global operations from outside the home country, by means of internal (captive) or external (outsourcing) delivery models.
6. BRAIN DRAIN
DEFINITION
 Brain drain (or human capital flight), is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals. In terms of countries, the reasons may be social environment (in source countries: lack of opportunities, political instability or oppression, economic depression, health risks, etc.; in host countries: rich opportunities, political stability and freedom, developed economy, better living conditions, etc.). In terms of individual reasons, there are family influence (overseas relatives), and personal preference: preference for exploring, ambition for an improved career, etc. Although the term originally referred to technology workers leaving a nation, the meaning has broadened into: "the departure of educated or professional people from one country, economic sector, or field for another, usually for better pay or living conditions". Brain drain is usually regarded as an economic cost, since emigrants usually take with them the fraction of value of their training sponsored by the government or other organizations. It is a parallel of capital flight, which refers to the same movement of financial capital. Brain drain is often associated with de-skilling of emigrants in their country of destination, while their country of emigration experiences the draining of skilled individuals.

7. INTERNATIONAL/GLOBALIZED TRADE
DEFINITION

International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories.In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). While international trade has been present throughout much of history (see Silk Road, Amber Road), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries.
 Industrialization, advanced transportation, globalization, multinational corporations, and outsourcing are all having a major impact on the international trade system. Increasing international trade is crucial to the continuance of globalization. Without international trade, nations would be limited to the goods and services produced within their own borders.



Globalization (or globalisation—see spelling differences) is the process of international integration arising from the interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects of culture. Globalization describes the interplay across cultures of social forces such as religion, politics, and economics. Globalization can erode and universalize the characteristics of a local group. Advances in transportation and telecommunications infrastructure, including the rise of the Internet, are major factors in globalization, generating further interdependence of economic and cultural activities

8. MASS/SUSTAINABLE/ECO TOURISM
DEFINITIONS
 Mass tourism could only have developed with the improvements in technology, allowing the transport of large numbers of people in a short space of time to places of leisure interest, so that greater numbers of people could begin to enjoy the benefits of leisure time.

Sustainable tourism is tourism attempting to make as low an impact on the environment and local culture as possible, while helping to generate future employment for local people. The aim of sustainable tourism is to ensure that development brings a positive experience for local people, tourism companies and the tourists themselves. "Sustainable tourism is an adopted practice in successful ecotourism. Environmental sustainability is one of the essential six principles that must be achieved at a 100% level."

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial (mass) tourism. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since the 1980s ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavour by environmentalists, so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention. Several university programs use this description as the working definition of ecotourism

9. HUMAN SMUGGLING/TRAFFICKING
DEFINITIONS
People smuggling (also called human smuggling) is "the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation or illegal entry of a person or persons across an international border, in violation of one or more countries laws, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents". The term is understood as and often used interchangeably with migrant smuggling, which is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime as "...the procurement, in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a state party of which the person is not a national". The practice of people smuggling has seen a rise over the past few decades and today now accounts for a significant portion of illegal immigration in countries around the world. People smuggling generally takes place with the consent of the person or persons being smuggled, and common reasons for individuals seeking to be smuggled include employment and economic opportunity, personal and/or familial betterment, and escape from persecution or conflict.
Unlike human trafficking, people smuggling is characterized by the consent between customer and smuggler - a contractual agreement that typically terminates upon arrival in the destination location.

Human trafficking is the trade in human beings, most commonly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor or for the extraction of organs or tissues, including surrogacy and ova removal. Trafficking is a lucrative industry. It is second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable illegal industry in the world.




10. ARMS TRADE/TRAFFICKING
DEFINITIONS
The arms industry is a global business which manufactures weapons and military technology and equipment. It consists of commercial industry involved in research, development, production, and service of military material, equipment and facilities. Arms producing companies, also referred to as defense contractors or military industry, produce arms mainly for the armed forces of states. Departments of government also operate in the arms industry, buying and selling weapons, munitions and other military items. Products include guns, ammunition, missiles, military aircraft, military vehicles, ships, electronic systems, and more. The arms industry also conducts significant research and development.

Arms trafficking, also known as gunrunning, is the illegal trafficking or smuggling of contraband weapons or ammunition. What constitutes legal trade in firearms varies widely, depending on local and national laws.

 11. ILLEGAL DRUG TRADE
DEFINITION
 The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of drugs, which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws

12. RURAL-URBAN/URBAN-RURAL MIGRATION
DEFINITIONS
Basically is the movement of people from villages(rural) to the big city’s caused by the demographic transition and the developpement of citys(My definition). 
Rural-Urban is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of rural migration and even suburban concentration into cities, particularly the very large ones. It is closely linked to modernisation, industrialisation, and the sociological process of rationalisation.
 
 Urban-rural health differences are observed in many countries, even when socioeconomic and demographic characteristics are controlled for. People living in urban areas are often found to be less healthy. When socioeconomic and demographic variables are controlled for, movers appear to be less healthy, with the exception of the younger age groups.

13.  UPWARD SOCIAL/GEOGRAPHIC MOBILITY
DEFINITIONS
 Upward social mobility is a change in a person's social status resulting in that person rising to a higher position in their status system. However, downward mobility implies a person's social status falls to a lower position in their status system. A prime example of an opportunity for upward mobility nowadays is in athletics. There is an increasing number of minorities holding top executive positions in the NBA.
As Delorenzi (2006) points out:
“geographical mobility (both international and internal) has always been an important means for people to achieve social mobility”
Living in areas with a high concentration of social deprivation or poor access to transport reinforces the socio-economic disadvantage.
Being able to move out of these areas may increase the chances of upward social mobility.



14. RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS/AID AGENCIES
DEFINITION
  An aid agency is an organisation dedicated to distributing aid. Many professional aid organisations exist, both within government (e.g. AusAID, USAID, DFID, EuropeAid, ECHO), between governments as multilateral donors (e.g. UNDP) and as private voluntary organizations (or non-governmental organisations, (e.g. ActionAid, Oxfam, World Vision). The International Committee of the Red Cross is unique in being mandated by international treaty to uphold the Geneva Conventions.
Aid can be subdivided into two categories: humanitarian aid (emergency relief efforts, e.g. in response to natural disasters), and development aid (or foreign aid), aimed at helping countries to achieve long-term sustainable economic growth, with the aim of achieving poverty reduction. Some aid agencies carry out both kinds of aid (e.g. EcoCARE Pacific Trust and ADRA), whilst others specialise (e.g. Red Cross, humanitarian aid; War on Want, development aid).

15. STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMS
DEFINITION
student exchange program is a program where students from a secondary school or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. Student exchange programs may involve international travel, but does not necessarily require the student to study outside of their home country. For example, the National Student Exchange program (NSE) offers placements throughout the United States and Canada.

 
16. GLOBAL CITIES/GLOBAL CULTURAL EVENTS
DEFINITIONS
global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center) is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.
The most complex of these entities is the "global city", whereby the linkages binding a city have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socio-economic means.The use of "global city", as opposed to "megacity", was popularized by sociologist Saskia Sassen in her 1991 work, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo though the term "world city" to describe cities that control a disproportionate amount of global business dates to at least the May 1886 description of Liverpool by The Illustrated London News. Patrick Geddes also used the term "world city" later in 1915.Cities can fall from such categorization, as in the case of cities that have become less cosmopolitan and less internationally renowned in the current era, e.g., Alexandria, Egypt; Coimbra, Portugal; and Thessaloniki, Greece.
17.GLOBAL WARMING
DEFINITION
Global warming is the rise in the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans since the late 19th century and its projected continuation. Since the early 20th century, Earth's mean surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 °C(1.4 °F), with about two-thirds of the increase occurring since 1980.Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are more than 90% certain that it is primarily caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.These findings are recognized by the national science academies of all major industrialized nations