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Session 9: Does Globalisation Allow for Convergence or Divergence? -…
Session 9: Does Globalisation Allow for Convergence or Divergence?
Convergence Culture: Organisations tend to coalesce around popular and effective ideas and practices internationally
Flow of stories, images, brands and info across multiple media platforms.
Media is shaped by large corps and everyday users.
Audiences are active participants.
Collective intelligence allows groups to pool knowledge and collaborate (Wikipedia)
Stories and media experiences are expanded through transmedia storytelling, where each platform adds something unique.
Power over media creation and distribution is increasingly shared between institutions and the public.
Divergence: institutions can also contravene global norms. There may be competing pressure to conform to a ‘parent’ culture.
Media production becomes decentralised, with many voices instead of a few dominant ones.
Ordinary people gain the ability to retell, remix, and challenge existing media narratives.
Diverse perspectives emerge, increasing representation for marginalised groups.
Citizens use media tools to monitor authority and expose injustice.
Storytelling no longer depends on traditional entertainment industries, personal and grassroots stories can circulate widely.
Globalisation
Benefits
Industrialisation and technology led to improvements in wealth and life expectancy in Western countries.
Former colonies gained independence and began to improve health and income levels.
Growth of trade helped emerging economies in Asia and Latin America catch up with the West.
Global sharing of knowledge, aid and technology improved global health outcomes.
There is a trend of global convergence - historical gap between "the West and the rest" is narrowing.
Possibility for all countries to reach high wealth and health through aid, trade, technology and peace.
Negative Consequences
Early globalisation benefited Western nations first, while colonised areas in Asia and Africa were left poor and unhealthy - creating an imbalance.
Colonisation caused long-term economic and health disadvantages for many countries.
Progress was uneven; many countries remained stuck due to wars, diseases or instability.
Global inequalities exist between poor and rich countries.
This inequality shows within countries as well.
Some regions still face barriers that prevent them from benefitting from globalisation.
Example of critically reflecting on convergence-divergence effects globally (in food markets)...
From the evidence provided in the case study, it is fair to say that the convergence and divergence effects from globalisation of processed foods both benefit and disadvantage. They create a paradox where there is more food availability and choices but starts to impose on inequalities in diet quality and health.
Convergence activities have allowed for food preferences to become standardised worldwide, where large transnational food companies have opted to promote processed foods. This has been driven by many factors:
Foreign direct investments made by food companies meant they have are now able to operate in countries around the world. Which means different countries around the world are all being exposed to the same standardised food offered by large corporations. Worldwide availability of processed foods.
Liberalised trade policies have meant that rules for operating in countries globally have reduced and TFCs are now able to take advantage and promote what they want to. This had lead to aggressive marketing of processed foods through media networks and technology, leading to global standardisation of taste preferences.
Globalisation of communication technology has only encouraged liberal advertising.
To the public this means that people are consuming more energy-dense processed foods, which has negative health risks such as higher risk of obesity and diabetes. Moreover, traditional diets and local food cultures can start to be replaced by modern processed foods.
Divergence has encouraged the segmentation of new food markets, the niche adaptations. For example, the development of low-trans-fat oils. These are targeted at healthier, wealthier consumers as an alternative to the unhealthier trans fats found in the promoted processed foods. This has TFCs adapting their products to suit different consumer preferences and health trends. This shows one of the major disadvantages of divergence. Public health is suffering as those identified socially as low-income are not provided with the healthier option of these new standardised foods. These are being targeted at those considered wealthier. As marketing adapts to the cultural and socioeconomic contexts globally, the public impact becomes clearer. health inequalities increase, contributing to the nutrition dual burden of having obesity and undernutrition in the same population. Linked to income inequalities.