[Sigiii-l] Re: Plaza

[Nadia Caidi]

Professor Caidi,
Following is my position statement.

> _________________________
>
> As I prepare to begin a career as an information professional, I am 
> realizing that globalization has had and will continue to have 
> significant implications for my career. I see the potential for 
> globalization to personally benefit me by opening up career 
> opportunities around the world. It is possible that as the 
> technologies I use in my jobs and studies in North America become more 
> widely used, my skills may become more transferable. Additionally, as 
> North American culture gains more exposure, my experiences may become 
> more comprehensible and valuable to organizations around the world. 
> This is not to say that cultural and language barriers will disappear 
> with increased globalization, however, I believe that globalization 
> can weaken those barriers and ultimately result in an increased number 
> of jobs abroad for which I might be qualified.
>
> My excitement about the possibility of worldwide job opportunities is 
> tempered by my negative feelings about globalization and its effects. 
> While globalization has made the world a much “smaller” place (which 
> is arguably good and bad), it has only done so for those of us who are 
> educated, wealthy, or otherwise privileged. Globalization as a general 
> concept is not the solution to the world’s poverty or inequality. 
> However, ignoring globalization and refusing to take part in it is 
> also not the solution as doing so continues to widen the gap between 
> the haves and the have nots. Globalization must be somehow guided in a 
> positive direction or perhaps countered with actions that would even 
> out the disparities it perpetuates.
>
> I do not know how (or if) influential organizations such as the World 
> Bank can solve the problems of globalization. Nor do I know how we 
> information professionals can do so. However, since the relatively 
> free flow of information has accelerated the process of globalization, 
> information professionals have an obligation to do whatever we can to 
> work toward greater equality in access to the “information society.”