ES1102: 2013

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Critical Reflections

I think throughout the course, my grammar has improved tremendously. After 2 years (due to National Service) of not practicing proper academic English, I felt that the quality of my English Language usage has dropped significantly. Going through the course has a somewhat nostalgic feeling to it. It felt like I was going through the English lessons I had back then in the past again. The feeling of going through all that again was originally despairing, but what I’ve felt at the end of the course was in fact relief and thankful. Thankful that I have gone through this course. The lessons given by Mr Gareth Morgan was both engaging and interesting. He never failed to ensure we have gotten our takeaways for the lesson in the most interesting manner. The practices in class was sufficiently adequate to allow us to practise our grammar. Despite the course reaching its end, it does not mean my journey in learning and better myself in grammar has ended. I need to practise proper English even when I am not guided like I was in class. Online tutorials and reading more printed materials will help make me ensure that proper usage of the English Language is not behind me. It should never be.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Essay (Final Draft 2)

The Dark Side of Globalisation

Being one of the most successful species on this Earth, mankind has taken its social capabilities to a whole new level. Since the very beginning, mankind has always been seeking one another in distant places in search of better life (Chanda, 2008). This interaction has enabled the transfer of beneficial knowledge and thus mankind as a species has progressed. Shortly after, technologies soon developed allowing easy communication with faraway places. Globalisation has resulted in the world being an intricate interconnected network. Yet this triumph does have its shortcomings as well. Amidst all this positivity that globalisation brings, it has its fair share of problems. Wars and conflicts have always existed since the ancient times and despite the progress globalisation brings, it has not reduced nor prevented further conflicts. Ironically, there are examples of globalization-induced wars (Bauman, 2001) where the fruits of progress are fuelling conflicts in other parts of the world such as Africa. One such case is the issue of conflict minerals in Congo. Fortunately, the world has realised this and has various measures put in place. For example, ‘Enough Project’ brings awareness to the consumers while companies themselves have joined the Public Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade to reduce the consumption of conflict minerals.

The issue of conflict-minerals is very well known with several countries in Africa known to export these ‘blood minerals’ notably, Democratic Republic of Congo (Sutter, 2012). A conflict mineral is defined as “columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite, or their derivatives; or any other mineral or its derivatives determined by the U.S. Secretary of State to be financing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) or an adjoining country.” (Reform, 2011) Congo has been torn over the possession of precious minerals tantalum, tin, gold and tungsten which are used frequently in many of our IT devices including mobile devices (Raise Hope for Congo, 2013). These highly sought minerals have fuelled the need to possess them and brought conflicts to the nation. Armed groups aiming to earn high profit from the sale and export of such precious minerals has left the country ravaged. They hold workers at gunpoint forcing them to work cheaply or with no pay at all (Sutter, 2012).

In the highly globalized world of today, many powerful global brands highly influence the choices and way of life of many consumers in the world. Many corporations influence the general populace by creating brands and therefore attaining consumer support. Yet most consumers are concerned if the products they buy have issues surrounding ethical corporate behaviour. Consumers will make changes to their purchasing habits against errant corporations (Creyer, 1997). The number one brand in the Forbes list, Apple Inc. (Forbes, 2012) used to make use of such conflict minerals in its devices. It has resulted in many consumers unknowingly supporting the bloodshed in the conflict-torn Congo. The unintended global support for more conflict minerals, has generated billions in revenue from the sale of Apple devices while plunging Congo further down the depths of conflict.

Fortunately, the entire world has not been ignorant of this issue. Efforts have been made to counter the export and consumption of blood minerals. ‘Enough Project’ aims to bring awareness to the masses and aims to discourage big corporations from utilising ‘conflict-minerals’ ( Lezhnev, 2013). Consumers are made aware and will be trusted to make the responsible choice of not supporting companies and brands that are adamant in still using the ‘blood-minerals’ in their products and devices (Creyer, 1997).

Companies have also pledged to contribute in a global concerted effort. Apple Inc. has joined the Public Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade and is one of the many corporations alongside governments and civil societies ( Lezhnev, 2013). This will ensure the minerals attained are ‘clean’ and therefore reduce the globalised need for the ‘conflict-minerals’. Thus hopefully, these will end the conflicts that have arisen in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the result of such minerals. Although many corporations have pledged against the consumption of the ‘conflict-minerals’, there will only be real significance when all industry players are involved. Nintendo, for example, has lagged behind in all procedures to reduce the consumption of such minerals and is ranked the lowest (Raise Hope for Congo, 2013). Unlike major corporations, like Apple Inc., HP and Intel, Nintendo lack clear verification procedures for non-compliance and is still not part of the conflict-free smelter program (“Nintendo slammed over ‘blood chemicals’,” 2013).

In conclusion, although the problem has been reduced with the various measures and legislations in place, it cannot be denied that globalization was what initiated and fuelled the conflicts in the first place. The global need for the minerals by multinational corporations, has resulted in the purchase of such minerals from conflict-laden sources as mentioned. Tempted by the large profits obtained from the sale and export of the minerals has fuelled further conflicts over the ownership of the mines. The measures and legislation were put in place to protect the Congo from further conflict and ensure corporations obtained their resources from conflict-free sources. Yet it remains to be seen if the problem can be completely eradicated when there exists such companies as Nintendo that have yet to show their fullest support for the conflict-free cause.

References:

Bauman, Z. (2001). Wars of the Globalization Era. European Journal of Social Theory, 4(1), 11–28. doi:10.1177/13684310122224966

Chanda, N. (2008). Runaway globalization without governance. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism …, 14, 119–125. Retrieved from http://journals.rienner.com/doi/pdf/10.5555/ggov.2008.14.2.119

Creyer, E. H. (1997). The influence of firm behavior on purchase intention: do consumers really care about business ethics? Journal of Consumer Marketing, 14(6), 421–432. doi:10.1108/07363769710185999

Forbes. 2012. The World's Most Powerful Brands List. [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/ [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Lezhnev, S. 2013. Apple Makes New Pledges on Conflict Minerals, Should Begin Clean Congo Sourcing Program | Enough Project. [online] Available at: http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/apple-new-pledges-conflict-minerals-clean-congo [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Nintendo slammed over “blood chemicals.” (2013, June 26). Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/06/26/nintendo-slammed-over-blood-chemicals/

Raise Hope for Congo. 2013. Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo. [online] Available at: http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/initiatives/conflict-minerals [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Raise Hope for Congo. 2013. Conflict Minerals Company Rankings | Raise Hope for Congo. [online] Available at: http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/conflict-minerals-company-rankings [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Reform, W. S. (2011). Conflict minerals. Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, 18(1), 49–50. doi:10.1016/j.jchas.2010.10.004

Sutter, J. 2012. Tech companies make progress on 'blood phones' and 'conflict minerals'. CNN, [online] 16th August. Available at: http://www.cnn.com.sg/2012/08/16/tech/gaming-gadgets/congo-blood-phones-report/index.html [Accessed: 3 Oct 2013].

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Essay (Final Draft)

The Dark Side of Globalisation

Being one of the most successful species on this Earth, mankind has taken its social capabilities to a whole new level. Since the very beginning, mankind has always been seeking one another in distant places in search of better life (Chanda, 2008). This interaction has enabled the transfer of beneficial knowledge and thus mankind as a species has progressed. Shortly after, technologies soon developed allowing communication with faraway places easily. Globalisation has resulted in the world to be an intricate interconnected network. Yet this triumph does have its shortcomings as well. Amidst all this positivity that globalisation brings, it has its fair share of problems. Wars and conflicts have always existed since the ancient times and despite the progress globalisation brings, it has not reduced nor prevented further conflicts. Ironically, there are examples of globalization-induced wars (Bauman, 2001) where the fruits of progress are fuelling conflicts in other parts of the world such as Africa. One such case is the issue of conflict minerals in Congo. Fortunately, the world has realised this and has various measures put in place. For example, ‘Enough Project’ brings awareness to the consumers while companies themselves have joined the Public Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade to reduce the consumption of conflict minerals.

In the highly globalized world of today, many powerful global brands highly influence the choices and way of life of many consumers in the world. Many corporations influence the general populace by creating brands and therefore attaining consumer support. Yet most consumers are concerned if the products they buy have issues surrounding ethical corporate behaviour. Consumers will make changes to their purchasing habits against errant corporations (Creyer, 1997). The number one brand in the Forbes list, Apple Inc. (Forbes, 2012) has been found to make use of such conflict minerals in its devices. It has resulted in many consumers unknowingly supporting the bloodshed in the conflict-torn Congo. The unintended global support for more conflict minerals, has generated billions in revenue from the sale of Apple devices while plunging Congo further down the depths of conflict.

Fortunately, not the entire world has been ignorant of this issue. Efforts have been made to counter the export and consumption of blood minerals. ‘Enough Project’ aims to bring awareness to the masses and aims to discourage big corporations from utilising ‘conflict-minerals’ ( Lezhnev, 2013). Consumers are made aware and will be trusted to make the responsible choice of not supporting companies and brands that are adamant in still using the ‘blood-minerals’ in their products and devices (Creyer, 1997).

In conclusion, although the problem has been reduced with the various measures and legislations in place, it cannot be denied that globalization was what initiated and fuelled the conflicts in the first place. The global need for the minerals by multinational corporations, resulted in the purchase of such minerals from conflict-laden sources as mentioned. Tempted by the large profits obtained from the sale and export of the minerals has fuelled the conflicts further over the ownership of the mines. The measures and legislation were put in place to protect Congo from further conflict and ensure corporations obtained their resources from conflict-free sources. Yet it remains to be seen if the problem can be completely eradicated when there exists such companies as Nintendo that have yet to show their fullest support for the conflict-free cause.

References:

Bauman, Z. (2001). Wars of the Globalization Era. European Journal of Social Theory, 4(1), 11–28. doi:10.1177/13684310122224966

Forbes. 2012. The World's Most Powerful Brands List. [online] Available at: http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/ [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Nintendo slammed over “blood chemicals.” (2013, June 26). Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/06/26/nintendo-slammed-over-blood-chemicals/

Raise Hope for Congo. 2013. Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo. [online] Available at: http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/initiatives/conflict-minerals [Accessed: 3 Nov 2013].

Reform, W. S. (2011). Conflict minerals. Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, 18(1), 49–50. doi:10.1016/j.jchas.2010.10.004

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Essay (draft 2)

The Dark Side of Globalisation

Being one of the most successful species on this Earth, mankind has taken its social capabilities to a whole new level. Since the very beginning, mankind have always been seeking one other in distant places in search of better life (Chanda, 2008). This interaction has enabled the transfer of beneficial knowledge and thus mankind as a species has progressed. Technologies soon developed allowing communication with faraway places very easy. Globalisation has resulted in the world to be an intricate interconnected network. Yet this triumph do have its shortcomings as well. Amidst all this positivity that globalisation brings, it has its fair share of problems. Wars and conflicts have always existed since the ancient times and despite the progress globalisation brings, has not reduced nor prevent further conflicts. Ironically, there are examples of globalization-induced wars (Bauman, 2001) where the fruits of some of our progress are fuelling conflicts in other parts of the world like Africa. One such case is the issue of conflict minerals in Congo. The world has realised this and has various measures put in place. ‘Enough Project’ brings awareness to the consumers while companies themselves have joined Public Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade to reduce the consumption of conflict minerals.

The issue of conflict-minerals is very well known with several countries in Africa known to export these ‘blood minerals’ notably, Democratic Republic of Congo (“Tech companies make progress on ‘blood phones’ and ‘conflict minerals’ - CNN.com,” n.d.). A conflict mineral is defined as “columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite, or their derivatives; or any other mineral or its derivatives determined by the U.S. Secretary of State to be financing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) or an adjoining country.” (Reform, 2011) Congo has been conflict torn over the possession of precious minerals tantalum, tin, gold and tungsten which are used frequently in many of our IT devices including mobile devices (“Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo,” n.d.). These highly sought minerals has fuelled the need to possess them and razed conflicts in the torn nation. Armed groups aiming to earn high profit from the sale and export of such precious minerals has left the country in ravages. They hold workers at gunpoint forcing them to work for cheap or no pay at all. (“Tech companies make progress on ‘blood phones’ and ‘conflict minerals’ - CNN.com,” n.d.)

In a highly globalized world of today, many global powerful brands highly influences the choices and way of life of many consumers in the world. Many corporations influences the general populace by creating brands and therefore attaining consumer support. Yet most consumers are concerned if the products they buy have issues surrounding ethical corporate behaviour. Consumer will make changes to their purchasing habits against errant corporations (Creyer, 1997). Number one brand in the Forbes list, Apple Inc. (“The World’s Most Powerful Brands List - Forbes,” n.d.) has been found to make use of such conflict minerals in its devices. It has resulted in many consumers unknowingly supported the bloodshed in the conflict-torn Congo. The unintended global support for more conflict minerals, has generated billions in revenue from the sale of Apple devices while plunging Congo further down the depths of conflict.

Companies have also pledged to contribute in a global concerted effort. Apple Inc. has joined the Public Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade and is one of the many corporations alongside governments and civil societies (“Apple Makes New Pledges on Conflict Minerals, Should Begin Clean Congo Sourcing Program | Enough Project,” n.d.). This will ensure the minerals attained are ‘clean’ and therefore reduce the globalised need for the ‘conflict-minerals’. Thus hopefully ending the conflicts that arise in Congo as the result of such minerals. Although many corporations have pledged against the consumption of the ‘conflict-minerals’, there will only be real significance when all industry players are involved. Nintendo, for example, lagged behind in all procedures to reduce the consumption of such minerals and is ranked the lowest (“Conflict Minerals Company Rankings | RAISE Hope for Congo,” n.d.). Unlike major corporations, like Apple Inc., HP and Intel, Nintendo lacked clear verification procedures for non-compliance and are still not part of the conflict-free smelter program (“Nintendo slammed over ‘blood chemicals’,” 2013).

Although the problem has been reduced with the various measures and legislations in place, it cannot be denied that globalization was what initiated and fuelled the conflicts in the first place. The global need for the minerals by multinational corporations, resulted in the purchase of such minerals from conflict-laden sources such as mentioned. Tempted by the large profits obtained from the sale and export of the minerals has fuelled the conflicts further over the ownership of the mines. The measures and legislations were put in place to protect Congo from further conflict and ensure corporations obtained their resources from conflict-free sources. Yet it remains to be seen if the problem can be completely eradicated when there exists such companies like Nintendo that have yet to show its fullest support for the conflict-free cause.

References:

Apple Makes New Pledges on Conflict Minerals, Should Begin Clean Congo Sourcing Program | Enough Project. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2013, from http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/apple-new-pledges-conflict-minerals-clean-congo

Bauman, Z. (2001). Wars of the Globalization Era. European Journal of Social Theory, 4(1), 11–28. doi:10.1177/13684310122224966

Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2013, from http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/initiatives/conflict-minerals

Conflict Minerals Company Rankings | RAISE Hope for Congo. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/conflict-minerals-company-rankings

Nintendo slammed over “blood chemicals.” (2013, June 26). Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/06/26/nintendo-slammed-over-blood-chemicals/

Reform, W. S. (2011). Conflict minerals. Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, 18(1), 49–50. doi:10.1016/j.jchas.2010.10.004

Tech companies make progress on “blood phones” and “conflict minerals” - CNN.com. (n.d.). Retrieved October 03, 2013, from http://www.cnn.com.sg/2012/08/16/tech/gaming-gadgets/congo-blood-phones-report/index.html

The World’s Most Powerful Brands List - Forbes. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Essay (draft)

One of the many definitions of globalisation is the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity such as economic activity. Since the start of human history, humans have always been interacting with other humans in distant places in search of better life (Chanda, 2008). Humans are able to transfer beneficial knowledge and progress. Technologies that developed allowed communication with faraway places. Thus globalisation has resulted in the world to be an interconnected space. Yet globalisation do have its shortcomings as well. Amidst all this positivity that globalisation brings, globalisation has its fair share of problems. Wars and conflicts have always existed since the ancient times and despite the progress globalisation brings, has not reduced nor prevent further conflicts. Ironically, there are examples of globalization-induced wars (Bauman, 2001) where the fruits of some of our progress are fuelling conflicts in other parts of the world like Africa. One such case is the issue of conflict minerals in Congo being fuelled by globalisation.

The issue of conflict-minerals is very well known with several countries in Africa known to export ‘blood minerals’ or conflict-minerals notably, Democratic Republic of Congo (“Tech companies make progress on ‘blood phones’ and ‘conflict minerals’ - CNN.com,” n.d.). A conflict mineral is defined as “columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite, gold, wolframite, or their derivatives; or any other mineral or its derivatives determined by the U.S. Secretary of State to be financing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) or an adjoining country.” (Reform, 2011) Congo has been conflict torn over the possession of precious minerals tantalum, tin, gold and tungsten which are used frequently in many of our IT devices including mobile devices (“Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo,” n.d.). These highly sought minerals has fuelled the need to possess them and razed conflicts in the torn nation. Armed groups aiming to earn high profit from the sale and export of such precious minerals has left the country in ravages. They hold workers at gunpoint forcing them to work for cheap or no pay. (“Tech companies make progress on ‘blood phones’ and ‘conflict minerals’ - CNN.com,” n.d.)

Fortunately, not the entire world have been ignorant of this issue. Efforts have been made to counter the export and consumption of blood minerals. ‘Enough Project’ aims to bring awareness to the masses and aims to discourages big corporations from utilising ‘conflict-minerals’ (“Apple Makes New Pledges on Conflict Minerals, Should Begin Clean Congo Sourcing Program | Enough Project,” n.d.). Consumers are made aware and will make the responsible choice of not supporting companies and brands that are adamant in still using the ‘blood-minerals’ in their products and devices (Creyer, 1997). Companies have also pledge to do so in a global concerted effort. Apple Inc. has joined the Public Private Alliance on Responsible Minerals Trade and is one of the many corporations alongside governments and civil societies (“Apple Makes New Pledges on Conflict Minerals, Should Begin Clean Congo Sourcing Program | Enough Project,” n.d.). This will ensure the minerals attained are ‘clean’ and therefore reduce the globalised need for the ‘conflict-minerals’. Thus hopefully ending the conflicts that arise in Congo as the result of such minerals.

References:

Bauman, Z. (2001). Wars of the Globalization Era. European Journal of Social Theory, 4(1), 11–28. doi:10.1177/13684310122224966

Conflict Minerals | RAISE Hope for Congo. (n.d.). Retrieved October 06, 2013, from http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/initiatives/conflict-minerals

Reform, W. S. (2011). Conflict minerals. Journal of Chemical Health and Safety, 18(1), 49–50. doi:10.1016/j.jchas.2010.10.004

The World’s Most Powerful Brands List - Forbes. (n.d.). Retrieved October 05, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/