¶ … Globalization) Paragraph 1 (Summary of my Learning from Essential Criminology and two Journal Articles)

Globalization has many aspects of interpretations, depending on the way it pertains to one's position in life. From my readings in the textbook, Essential Criminology, and the journal articles, I have come to realize that globalization has positive and negative effects to everyone in today's world. Positively speaking, globalization is great as far as communicating through the internet technology is concerned, from anywhere in the world and at any time, with little or no expense. Getting 24/7 news coverage is beneficial in keeping up with happenings throughout the world. Transportation is more efficient when it comes to importing and exporting goods and moving people across the world. There are many negative sides to globalization as well. The financial and commodities markets are affected by the economies of other countries more readily now than in the past. Also, the rise in crimes like terrorism, identity theft, fraud and pornography, are all magnified through global communication. College graduates around the world today face unemployment due to the lack of skills for specific needs in the job market. "The world thus is faced with two paradoxical crises: massive youth unemployment and equally massive talent shortage. Both are dangerous if allowed to continue. Massive youth unemployment leads to not only personal poverty and psychological trauma, but also social unrest and inequality. Talent shortage slows down economic growth, and in turn, generates fewer employment opportunities. Talent shortage can also drive up the incomes of highly talented workers, which in turn results in even bigger income gaps between the high-skill and low-skill workers" (Zhao, 2015, p132). "Globalization is a multifaceted phenomenon, which encompasses economic, social, political, technological and cultural dimensions (Riaz, Mahnaz, & Majeed, 2014, p.607). It will continue to have its positives and negatives. "It is on our part to support, facilitate and encourage positive impacts of globalization, while searching ways to minimize or discourage its drawbacks" (Riaz, Mahnaz, & Majeed, 2014).

Further, nations' reliance on international communications has rendered their governments and infrastructures susceptible to web-based terrorism, via computer viruses and hacking. Terror attacks are considered the most feared of events and serious of crimes, as per public opinion surveys. Events like 9/11 and the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai's Taj and Oberoi hotels demonstrate the fact that terrorism's threat on a worldwide scale is now part and parcel of the everyday fear of civilians across the globe, not least due to how such events are instantaneously communicated to every individual in every corner of the world as they unfold. This is facilitated by technological, communication, and transportation advances, which have allowed for smaller and deadlier weapons and explosives to be manufactured (Lanier, Henry & Desire' 2014).

Concurrently, global communications advancement has given rise to an enormous shift in the job arena, from manufacturing to services, information, and communications (i.e., postindustrial society). As such jobs necessitate more sophisticated training and higher education, the growing numbers of individuals worldwide are unemployed or underemployed. Furthermore, due to globalization's effect on societies' economic structures, a polarization is witnessed, of the poor and the rich, with several groups being left out, when it comes to accessing opportunities. This relatively impoverished social standing leaves them at risk of domestic as well as external violence (i.e., neighborhood violence). In the previous century, till the Cold War came to an end, every generation encountered a threat of war or significant war that threatened its survival (e.g., World War I and II, Vietnam War, the Cold War, and the Korean War). In all of the international conflicts, one was able to clearly pinpoint who the enemy was, and stand up to, and defeat the threat by uniting different nations' armies. By contrast, in this century, one can increasingly observe that the enemy, for a number of countries, is diffused, multiple, and intertwined, in the society's very fabric. Globalization isn't merely an economic movement; rather, it denotes a technological shift from dyadic independent event analysis to analysis of interdependent, complex systems (Lanier, Henry & Desire' 2014)

Paragraph 2 (Personal Learning-Items That Have Personally Impacted My Thinking and Personal Life)

One personal learning experience from globalization that has impacted me is when I traveled abroad to Ireland with my family. The economic unifications I saw in Ireland were the same golf equipment and golf balls I use in the states as well...

Heinz ketchup, Coke and Pepsi were also in the restaurants we ate in while we were there. Knowing that Heinz Ketchup is made in Pennsylvania and is sold in my dad's food company, it was interesting to see it in Ireland as well. I have been through the World of Coke Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, which is two hours away; I find it interesting that these coke products are distributed throughout the world. I realized that in a time when individuals, material resources, ideas, and products go beyond national boundaries freely and continuously, any person's or country's prosperity is dependent on collaboration with others, and on treating them as prospective partners and clients rather than as rivals or enemies. Multinational companies have, these days, become the major carriers of globalization of economies. They have been organizing manufacturing and allotting resources globally, in keeping with the profit maximization principle. Further, their expansions across the globe have been reforming macroeconomic systems of world economies' operations. Growth of business transactions between nations (e.g., large- as well as small- scale cross border trading) is one among the significant effects of globalization (Kerkmez, n.d). We rented a Kia van for our transportation, which is also found here in our states. Being six hours "air time" away from the United States did not seem so far after I witnessed the import and export of products we both use. Today, globalization is more complex and profound; it encompasses not just globalization of technology, but of people, as well. On account of global technologies and novel techniques, globalization has contracted space and time, enabling us to carry out real-time transactions everywhere on earth. Another personal impact is how the global financial systems are affected through trade, tariffs, taxes and tourism. The financial sector's globalization is the fastest growing and most dominant facet of globalization of economies. The concept of international finance emerged for serving the requirements of international investments and trade. The golf industry markets its products wherever the game of golf is played around the world. Golf is one of Ireland's biggest tourist attractions. Unfortunately, many golf courses in the United States have had to close down due to the impact of the financial meltdown dating back to 2008-2009. The Ireland golf industry was not as affected as golf in the United States. I believe this had something to do with the golf courses being tied to the real estate industry. Lastly, my roommates as well as my teammates are from London, England. Listening to the way they communicate with each other and the interest of soccer in their country as opposed to football in the United States has led me to understand that football is not the leading sport all over the world as I always thought. The cultures and traditions of my roommates have given me a wider view of the world of sports. I realized that through globalization, individuals can integrate via different systems or networks, resulting in the effective creation of social groups. This brings about a situation by which specific conditions like intellectual and cultural diversity are boosted. By means of global engagement, numerous goals may be achieved; of these, the most central one is cultural value exchange, due to the fact that, people (such as me) hailing from diverse cultural backgrounds can mingle and embrace the lifestyle and philosophies of diverse localities. Global technology continues to impact my personal relationship with my roommates as we are able to communicate daily through the social media. The world we live in today has increased global communication. It is interconnected financially, through technology and through the news media. I noticed that technological advances have shrunk the world, to make it a "global village." The emergence of mass communication technologies meant that one can easily permeate space and time limitations, and easily traverse different kinds of boundaries. In short, one can now travel throughout the world while being physically motionless. In the present day, things have undergone a change, because of infrastructural and technological progress, and social media availability, accompanied by ICT (information & communication technology) developments. The way individuals go about business activities (e.g., commercial transactions) has transformed. A considerable improvement is also seen in how individuals move between regions, because of elimination of various barriers. Although all these can be positive influences, there are many negatives through these that can globally harm us. For example, I received an email saying they were from PayPal, telling me that they lost my personal information. They asked me to complete some questions, asking for my social security number and bank account number. I…