ICT and globalisation Simon Oakes ICT and globalisation

ICT and globalisation Simon Oakes

ICT and globalisation Presentation outline • • Aspects of globalisation Global adoption of connected devices A starter quiz on the uses of ICT, supply chains and financial flows ICT and the new geography of retailing ICT, migration flows and global culture ICT and global disaster management The interrelationship between globalisation and ICT

ICT and globalisation ICT drives many aspects of globalisation Economic globalisation Social globalisation Cultural globalisation Political globalisation What possible ‘overlaps’ exist between the categories shown?

ICT and globalisation ICT drives many aspects of globalisation Different aspects of globalisation, or types of global interaction

ICT and globalisation Rapid, on-going connectivity growth • There is already an average of more than one connected device (mobile, tablet) person on the planet. • Continued growth in access to connected devices is expected up to and beyond 2020. The forecast growth of global connected devices (global population is 7 billion)

ICT and globalisation A quick starter quiz The world’s biggest call centre workforce is found in which country? Which country has the biggest social network market? How much money was donated online in the UK after the 2014 Philippines cyclone? While Amazon online sales grow, what percentage of shops are vacant in Blackpool? Philippines What is the size in millions of the global Irish diaspora (people of Irish descent)? How many global Facebook users were there in 2014? China £ 1 million in the first two weeks 1 in 4 70 million 1. 4 billion

ICT and globalisation ICT is used in many ways • As a classroom exercise, discuss how technology helps accelerate each different strand of globalisation (economic, social, cultural, political). • In each case, ask: what is the technology used for? • And who are the user groups, or players? These could include: citizens, civil society organisations, transnational corporations, small businesses, national governments, multi-governmental organisations (MGOs). Can you provide examples?

ICT and globalisation Technology builds economic networks The growth of global TNCs owes much to technology: • Supply chain monitoring • Just in time (JIT) ordering from out-sourcing suppliers, from fruit farms to call centres • Management of each TNC’s own spatial division of labour Open and closed global production networks

ICT and globalisation Technology shapes complex networks • The business structures shown here rely on the connectivity ICT provides. • How far was this possible prior to ICT innovation in the 1980 s?

ICT and globalisation Technology and business networks • Marks and Spencer uses the latest technology to help it regularly update the orders it places with its Kenyan suppliers. • Each time the barcode of a food purchase is scanned in a Marks and Spencer store, an automatic adjustment is made to the size of the next order placed with suppliers in distant countries like Kenya. • If store till receipts in the UK show a good days sales for a particular product in the run-up to Christmas Day, then an email is automatically sent to Kenya at midnight to increase production quotas the next day.

ICT and globalisation ICT and micro financial flows • The mobile personal banking system MPesa has spread throughout east Africa and India. • Around 10 million people access their bank accounts and send money payments using their mobile phones. • In rural areas, farmers use mobiles to check market prices before selling produce to ‘middle men’. Fotolia

ICT and globalisation Connectivity case study • Black Star Line is a Ghanaian e-commerce company. • Black Star Line helped the chief of a Ghanaian village to realise a business plan: the village has four huts that have been modernised and are now marketed online to newly-married Europeans in search of an ‘ecohoneymoon’ destination. • Thanks to Black Starline, the village now earns up to £ 1, 000 a week ± an unthinkable amount of money previously. • Find out more at: http: //www. 21 stcenturychallenges. org/focus/hermanchinery-hesse-thesofttribe/

ICT and globalisation The new geography of online retail • UK Christmas spending reached £ 14. 6 billion in 2013. • 20% of this was online spending, up from 17% in 2012. • One in five goods were bought online at Christmas. • Retail sales through shops keep falling in absolute terms, with another 1% fall in 2013– 14. • HMV, Woolworths, Curry’s have all closed recently. • Find out more at: http: //www. retailresearch. org/shoppingforxmas. php

ICT and globalisation The new geography of online retail • Amazon is currently testing unmanned drones to deliver goods to customers in the USA. • The drones, called Octocopters, could deliver packages weighing up to 2. 3 kg to customers within 30 minutes of them placing the order. • However, the US Federal Aviation Administration is yet to approve the use of unmanned drones for civilian purposes. • Find out more at: http: //www. bbc. co. uk/news/technology-25180906

ICT and globalisation Electronic remittances • ICT plays a growing role in supporting global flows of migration. • Somali migrants in the UK send US$100 million home annually. Barclays and other banks transfer the funds electronically. • ICT also helps migrants stay in touch with families, using Skype. Remittances and other resource flows to lowerincome countries, 1990– 2014

ICT and globalisation Global diaspora networks • 40 million people worldwide claim Scottish ancestry. • On-line ancestry websites enable people living all over the world to traces their roots back to Scotland. • Scottish tourist industry counted 2. 8 million overseas visitors in 2007. • Global. Scot is a website run by government-funded Scottish Enterprise that encourages members of the Scottish diaspora to network with one another. • Diaspora communities thrive on Facebook and Twitter.

ICT and globalisation ICT and global culture • ICT plays a growing role in bringing about global cultural exchanges. • Think of recent examples of local cultures ‘going global’ via You. Tube or other social media.

ICT and globalisation ICT and natural hazard management ICT can be used to assist with: hazard mitigation (preevent) • the hazard response, at the community, national and international levels • post-event rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction Can you think of examples? Fotolia •

ICT and globalisation ICT is used to issue hazard warnings Real-time internet / webcams SMS messaging Mobiles and voicemail Digital flood warnings Digital radio alerts

ICT and globalisation ICT is used during hazard events • In October 2013, 150 km h-1 winds felled trees and disrupted commuter trains in England Wales. • Many of the problems caused by severe weather were mitigated by better and earlier communication, through Twitter, websites and email alert. • ‘We tweeted pictures of fallen trees to show the extent of the problem and our customers re-tweeted them to their followers and helped get the message out. They even tweeted pictures back to us, Twitter is now an integral part of our communication channels. ’ Southeastern Railways

ICT and globalisation ICT is used to increase emergency aid • In November 2013, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), an umbrella organisation for 14 UK humanitarian aid agencies, used mobile fundraising for its Philippines Typhoon Appeal. • The appeal’s mobile donation channel raised over £ 1 million in mobile donations in 2 weeks.

ICT and globalisation ICT is used after the hazard event • New technologies help coordinate relief efforts. • Mobile-phone cameras can also be used to help agencies map and document a disaster zone — this can often be a citizen-led response. • Aerial photographs allow superior mapping of an area after a disaster has struck • Google Earth was a major player in the Haiti 2010 relief effort. The company uploaded laptops with up-to-date post-event aerial photographs and flew them to the disaster zone for NGOs to use

ICT and globalisation: analysing the interrelationship • According to one view, ICT ‘causes’ globalisation. • According to another view, ICT is the ‘result’ of innovation by globalisations leading players. • A third view is that everything is linked in a feedback loop. The feedback loop: how technology shapes globalisation and vice versa