Globalisation+and+cultural+diversity

//"Globalization is the growing role of external factors (economic, social and cultural) in the reproduction of all member of a country to form of a single world market(s) without barriers." eg. Singles European Market//
 * 'Globalization' Definition:**

"Cultural diversity is the variety of human societies or cultures in a specific region, or in the world as a whole. (The term is also sometimes used to refer to multiculturalism"
 * //'Cultural Diversity' Definition://**

**Why Globalization?** The purpose of Globalization is to establish and unify a diversified cultural society from all over the world where everyone operates as a single body. //"Globalization is a novel situation characterised by an enormous capacity for **communication** and// // **exchange** on a world-wide scale that makes possible the construction of a ‘world system’."//

In regards to globalization as to what effect it will have on the world of IT, the key word we must pick up on is 'communication' and 'exchange'. The internet remains the first and foremost medium, which allows us to achieve not just 'communication' but universal communication where the world's diversified cultural society are able to 'exchange' information in one place. After China, Facebook is the second biggest country in the world with over 700 million users. Some may not agree that Facebook is a country however its definition stands to correct this misconception. //"A country is a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory." -Google Defintions// The effects of Globalization pertains to and can affect the following factors (Social, economic, and cultural): > **//Why should we communicate on a world-wide scale?//** World communication is important as it makes the world one community there can be several advantages and disadvantages to Globalization. the affect it has on everyone. || Monopoly, Oligopoly || the GDP standard of living for people worldwide. || Diseases can be spread a lot easier || leading to war, conflict, fight for resources ||
 * [|4.1 Industrial] [[image:http://www.sywoc.org/sites/default/files/gallery_assist/1/gallery_assist5/img/image.jpg width="240" height="240" align="right"]]
 * [|4.2 Financial]
 * [|4.3 Economic]
 * [|4.4 Political]
 * [|4.5 Informational]
 * [|4.6 Language]
 * [|4.7 Ecological]
 * [|4.8 Cultural]
 * //** [|4.9 Technical] **//
 * [|4.10 Religious]
 * [|4.11 Cultural effects]
 * [|4.12 Democratizing effect of communications]
 * **Advantages to Globalization** || **Disadvantages to Globalization** ||
 * Economies of Scale to reduce the price per unit || Diseconomies of Scale ||
 * Risk is spread out upon a larger community reducing
 * MLC's can open jobs to everyone which can improve
 * Increase free trade in different countries || Larger corporations/independent bodies can take advantage of poorer nations,
 * Greater dependance on other nations for aid ||  ||

**How can we apply it to an IT perspective?** We may not be aware of it, but globalization is already taking place. What globalization is trying to achieve in today's world is efficient communication where information is exchanged globally to every cultural ethnicity across the globe. What better way to communicate than through the internet.


 * Web 1.0** simply was known as 'static', where information could be accessed and would remain the same until the administrator changed, updated, or edited the information. This was known as 'billboard' information and only allowed the information to be exchanged one way. This was useful however there were only a few content authors on the internet that had the capability to add more information, and this process was slow and inefficient.


 * Web 2.0** released in 1999 is the most recent update to the internet. The update's main focus is to establish two way communication. The aim was to allow everyone a platform where content would be 'user generated'. There were great advantages that came with this update to the web which allowed group ownership of the content published, a much more more efficient and faster way to publish information due to large scale collaboration across the world, and knowledge was accumulated, and shared in one space. The most famous example **Wikipedia** is a website where everything is 'user generated' and updated to bring information up to date and is one of the world's biggest repository of information in the world. Other examples include **Flickr**, **Twitter**, **Facebook**, and **Youtube.**

We are now living in the 'IT Reveloution', and the The World Wide Web would be an extremely important factor contributing to globalization due its ability to allow users to communicate regardless of his/her geographic location. Through telecommunication, the internet, communication satellites are a few ways that we can communicate to one another. Soon to come is the next release of the Internet, **Web 3.0** which will revolutionize exchanging information as technology will be integrated into our very bodies. Click on the link to see a slideshow from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0


 * All the above supports the fact that information is already being exchanged and put into a single access point, the internet. But is Globalization already occuring? and is it/has it already creating/created a 'world system'?**

**If we ever achieve a single world market what effect will it have on IT?** If globalization is occurring as we speak, and a recognizable world system is achieved in the near future the advantages may include:


 * Free trade would allow technology to be traded in countries all over the world which can benifit more LEDC countries helping them combat issues such as disease, war
 * Trading information, discoveries, and inventions would rapidly increase of development of technology
 * Manufacture of technology via MLC's could become cheaper and more accessible to everyone (economies of scale)
 * If everyone were to be able to access a piece of IT hardware, it could be possible in the future to have a database of every existent human on our planet. (eg.help fight crime)
 * An international court can be established in order to help fight crime across the globe

these are only a few of the possibilities globalization will have on the world of IT. Globalization and cultural diversity truly is a very radical approach to what the world is like today but the potential is still there for the internet to someday achieve this goal. To get a perspective of how IT is enhancing and slo wly becoming a more integrated part of our life everyday please watch Did you know 4.0 and Did you know 2.0 by clicking the link or seeing the video directly below media type="youtube" key="6ILQrUrEWe8" height="446" width="805" align="center"

**Sources Used:** [] [] [] [] google definitions ' http://www.dictionary.com/ ' http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_Web1.0_and_Web2.0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ILQrUrEWe8&feature=related http://www.slideshare.net/TotalSocialMedia/from-web-10-to-web-20-to-web-30