A car is a vehicle, a mode of transport. The number of cars you see in this picture is but a drop in the ocean. Cars, like buses, trains, planes, ships are modes of transportation. They help people to go to another place faster than the speed their legs can give them. Technology has improved the modes of transport in the past to what you see now, from horse carts to cars, from dinghy to luxurious cruisers. The time needed for a person to get to another place is shortened. Want to visit your relatives in Malaysia? You could take a bus or a plane, getting there within hours where once you needed days and weeks. Want to explore the world? Take a plane, a bus or a car; you do not need 80 days.

Globalization shrinks the world. A person could travel to another place faster. He could talk to another person through the phone or through the Internet. People can get all sorts of information from the Internet, anything under the sun. Globalization eradicates culture and forms its own "culture". Old practices are lost, gone forever. In Singapore, dialects are spoken by fewer and fewer people. Back to the picture, cars transport people to their destination. It is a very common sight in Singapore. Many people cannot live without cars and its functions. It is an essential part of their life. Technology has brought them this convenience. Globalization allows them to use it efficiently.

XIUYU signing off

Globalisation is the process of the development of technology, increasing the connection throughout the globe, rusulting in the crumbling of national boundaries and therefore the world seems like it is shrinking. This picture depicts the western stall in our school canteen, 'Wild Wild West'. It shows that cultures of various countries, in particular the western culture, are spread throughout the globe. In the past, people could only get western food in the westerm countries, but now, we can get it anywhere, and even in schools.

This explains the global connection, where various cultures are spread throughout the globe. As a result, the world seems smaller. In Singapore, you may say, 'I feel like eating western food!' and there, you can just walk down the street to get yourself a scrumptous platter of sirloin steak or fish and chips. Singapore is just a tiny dot on the map, and sometimes it isnt even visible on the world map, yet it has almost all the various kinds of food from different countries. Vietnamese, Japenese, Southern and Northern Indian, Chinese, Indonesian, Peranakan, Malaysian, Western, Iranian, etcetra. What made it possible? Techological advancements.

The imports and exports of food products among countries are made easier, so countries can get products from other countries easily. Recipes of the various kinds of food are spread throughout the globe, mostly through books and the internet. The traditions and cultures of the various countries are also known to others through such media like the book and internet too. Hence, this shows that there is an increase in the global connectivity, and globalization shown in our school through the kinds of food sold in the school, in other words the food stalls are symbols of globalisation.

RIMIKO signing off

A postcard, as defined by Wikipedia is “typically a rectangular piece of thick paper or thin cardboard which intended for writing and mailing”. But I think otherwise.

They are an interesting alternative to the conservative letter-writing. On the back of the postcard are either picturesque sites of world renowned places or eye-catching tag lines which entice one to buy the latest product available on the market. These, I believe, compared to the traditional way of letter writing are far more pleasant to the eye.

Besides that, postcards also contribute to the shrinking of our world. Take for example, the Singapore Tourism Board introduced “Project Postcard” which encourages Singaporeans to write to their friends abroad, inviting them to Singapore. The front of these postcards are pictures of the icons of Singapore.

Lucky draws will be conducted and forty Singaporeans and their friends will stand to win attractive prizes. From this project, the Singapore Tourism Board tries to depict the vibrant culture of Singapore so that the recipients of the postcards will be tempted to visit Singapore. In this way, foreigners can appreciate the lifestyles of Singapore without even having the need to come personally to Singapore.

From the above example, we can tell that indeed the world has shrunk- not physically but somehow. In this case, postcards have aided the rapid process of globalisation. With them, the awe of the seven wonders of the world unfolds, right before your eyes. With them, I can communicate with you, or him, or her, yet so easily. With them, advertisers appeal to us, about whatever's new. With them, I don't have to travel all the way, to wherever you are, to speak to you, face to face;

DEBORAH SIM signing off.

Globalization is generally referred as the increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political, and ecological spheres in Wikipedia. Hence, in simple words, globalization is the process by which our world is becoming smaller and more like a country as each and everyday pass by.

Newspapers are depicted in this picture and it shows that news is able to transmit all around the world, even to our school, Temasek Junior College. Through the use of newspapers, such as Straits Times and Newpaper, we are able to obtain most of the important information of eminent people, the major on-going events of all the different countries in the world and some of the major problems which different countries are facing. We will be able to know how different countries are doing presently and will be able to think of solutions to help them if they are facing difficulties.

In the past, news is being spread at a very slow speed, even in a country (especially those with huge land area). This resulted in the incompetent news that we obtained and lead to the futile help which we tried to offer to other countries. However, as technology advances, inventions such as telephones and computers are created, improving the rate at which information is passed on. As newspapers are published daily in most of the countries presently, and in different languages, everyone is able to read the latest international news every morning without fail. This is shows one of the advantages that globalization brings to Man as it results in news and information being transmitted rapidly around the world.

One of the examples which show us that communication between countries has been improved is the Tsunami incident. Through news and newspapers, we got to know that countries such as Indonesia are suffering from the lost of family members and lack of houses. Many different organizations such as schools and companies then decided to help the people by arranging various programmes to help raise money for them, while others donate different amount of money which they are able to afford to help the people. The different amounts of money which are sent and help provided from various countries have efficiently solved the problem of people being rescued and found, and houses being built in the countries. Hence, this shows that there is an increase in the global connectivity, and globalization shown in our school through newspapers.

RONG QI signing off.

Nowadays, as the world is developing rapidly. The technologies are also developing. The greatest invention must be the computer. The computers are becoming more and more popular among the population. With the computer we can do a lot of things. We don't have to go to the library to spend one whole to find out what is "potential energy". All the information is on the internet. Not only the knowledge, we can know the news from all over the world immediately. With computer, we don't have to come together to discuss the project, we also don't need spend a lot of money on phone. No matter how far we are from each other, we can talk to each other through the MSN. So actually the computers, especially the internet are shrinking the world.

When we talk about the computers, they are always linked with internet which leads the world towards globalization. It is the internet that connects the whole world together. It is like that the real world is inside the internet, if an American student wants to buy a pair of shoes from China. He does not have to go to China; he can just buy it from the internet. So the internet make things become more convenient and make the world become smaller.

If we just focus on the computer, it also leads to the globalization. Because in the modern days, people form all over the world use the same computer no matter which company are the computers from. And we can see that for the programme itself, there are more one hundred languages for us the use. This also links the world together. And the most obvious symbol is that all the computers are mainly use the English language. Although it was translated in some countries, they must contain the “Global language”. Thus I think the computer is a symbol of globalization.

QI LONG signing off.