Marketing and Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Marketing and Entrepreneurship - Essay Example The concept and significance of entrepreneurship indicated above earns further potential when linked to marketing activities. It is found that entrepreneurs mainly tied to small and medium sized business concerns with the help of potential marketing activities earned the potential to gain an enhanced space in the existing business environment. The entrepreneurial firms thus through the help of potential marketing strategies gained a competitive advantage to successfully compete with other firms in the same sector. Hence with the development of the business scenario the entrepreneurial activities are required to be increasingly linked with large scale marketing and promotional pursuits to help the entrepreneur earn success. The paper hereby discusses on the concepts of entrepreneurship through the uses of different models and draws its linkage to marketing activities. Further emphasizing on the above concepts the paper focuses on the actions and entrepreneurial processes of a specific retailer which would be analyzed through the entrepreneurial models like that of Sarasvathy’s and Burns Entrepreneurial Model and also based on the GET tests. Concept of Entrepreneurship The concept of entrepreneurship can be observed to have its emergence in relation to English and French literature when the dimensions of trade were slowly evolving. More specifically the evolution of the concept of entrepreneurship can be found to have gained in regards to French literature where the entrepreneurs were considered to be persons creating large business organizations and thereby are found to undertake large amount of business risks. Thus entrepreneurs are found to be people related to large business organizations and those with potency to manage to high amount of business risks. In the modern business context the concept of entrepreneurship earns a much larger dimension in regards to the innovative mindsets of the entrepreneur in rendering innovation to the existing organization processes and thereby enhancing the competitive advantage of the business policies. Similarly the entrepreneur working on the process of innovation can use potential technological and other resources to produce newer products and services and thus gain control of newer markets. The above discussion can be diagrammatically presented as follows. Figure 1: Entrepreneurship in Relation to Firm and

Culture and Ethnicity Essay Example for Free

Culture and Ethnicity Essay Belarus has a diverse culture and ethnicity. Statistics from the 1989 population census revealed that the Belarusian in soviet union were majority making up over 77% of the total population, the Russians cover 13. 2%, the poles 4. 1% Ukrainians 2. 9% and others who include Tatars, Lithuanians and Latvians cover 2. 9%. I am a Belarusian, a community that makes up the large majority of the people (Mongabay 2009). The Belarusian language is east Slavic tongue which is intimately related to Ukrainian and Russian. The language is the soul of the nation and an important aspect of culture a part from being a means of communication. The Belarusian, have diverse religious affiliations. I am a Russian orthodox Christian though other religions also exist in the region; the Protestants, roman Catholics, Jewish and Muslims (Mongabay 2009). Family and community history describe the current multi-culture as a product of millennium development with several external influence like physical surroundings; merger of Slavic and Baltic natives, paganism, orthodox religion interaction with literary customs, lack of natural borders and a diversity of religions. Education in Belarus region is compulsory for all the age groups seven to seventeen years especially in the primary school and secondary school. During the communist reign, teaching was chiefly done in Russian with no Belarusian but this was changed in 1992 when Belarusian was made the national language and to be used in schools. The healthcare services have failed to meet the requirements of the large population, the staffs is poorly trained and substandard technology cannot conform to new changes (Mongabay 2009). The human service organizations have created some centers like the republic centre on AIDS to help manage the national problem. Reference Mongabay. com (2009) Belarus Society: Country Studies. Federal Research Division retrieved on 20th January 2009 from http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/belarus/SOCIETY. html

How To Hit A Golf Ball :: essays research papers

Although golfers end the day on the 18th green, their day begins on a tee box. A drive, the first hit off a tee toward the objective hole, may seem very routine and insignificant, but, in fact, it is the most important shot taken on each hole. If golfers hit a long drive into the nicely cut fairway, they have only to hit the ball off the nicely cut grass on usually a clear path to the hole. But if they hit a drive into the woods, then they have to make sure the ball does not hit any trees, branches, or other obstacles when exiting the woods. That’s why hitting a good drive is a must. With practice, even you can hit a fundamental drive. First, before you can drive a ball, you need the right equipment. You will need a number one wood, or driver, a golf tee, and, preferably golf shoes for extra traction to prevent your feet from sliding. Now that you have the proper equipment, you can begin the drive. First, take the golf tee and insert it into the ground with the needle-like bottom down. Then, place the golf ball on the platform of the tee. The tee should be set at a height of comfort for the golfer. The size of the driver head, or part that comes into contact with the ball during a swing, should be taken into consideration because the middle of the ball should be struck with the sweet spot, or middle of the clubface. Next, approach the ball and establish a stance. The stance of your legs should be shoulder width apart and square with the shoulders. More advance golfers may use open or closed stances, but a square stance is best for beginners. After establishing a stance that is comfortable then take the golf club, holding the shaft on the tape with the left hand placing the thumb on top of the shaft pointing to the ground while the other four fingers are wrapped around the handle holding it. After doing this extend the left elbow to a locking position and place the right hand on the shaft in the same fashion, but put the palm of the right hand on top of the left hand thumb. The grip should seem very comfortable. This is called the baseball grip, a widely used grip by beginning golfers.

Utilizing Qr Code Technology for Emr.

Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List Fatima Alsaleh and Samir Elmasri PhD College of Computer and Information Systems, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia Abstract: In situations like emergency, where the immediately gained, summarized and accurate information may radically make the difference between life and death, the need for a solution that fulfills this requirement arises. Number of solutions was previously proposed including emergency card and smart cards, but each has number of cons and pros.With the rapid adoption of smartphones, QR codes (Quick Response) is the ideal substitute for the current circumstances. It can be easily read by the paramedics, whether they are medical professionals or bystanders and provide immediate, accurate, reliable information that radically impact an individual's life, in case of emergency. This paper discusses the advantageous utilization of the QR code an d smartphone revolutionary technology in the medical field. It also discusses other uses of QR code, in some related fields where it can be beneficial the most.Page | 1 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 Introduction Accidents happen all the time all around the world. A continuous work by the governments and non-profit associations has been accomplished to propose and impose policies and procedures that best decrease the number of accidents and control their tragic consequences. On the other hand, an increasing number of researches and tested methodologies have been conducted in the past few years, specifically in the field of emergency, to best control the damages.The main focus was to summaries the most important and critical medical information about an individual in an in a portable means and ensure a quick retrieval of these data in a secure manner. The earliest attempt to compliance with the quick, secure and summarized access to an individual's critical medical information was by using emergency cards. Some Health providers companies provide their patients with an emergency card that has some information extracted from the patient summary List. This card has saved lives as it's the guide that could help the first aiders or emergency staff to act accurately in a timely manner.The means, however, evolved over years to cope with the technology revolution and benefit the most of it. Encoding the patients EMR in smart card is a methodology that has been rapidly followed by many EMR companies and healthcare providers. A part of the medical record of any patient is a summary known as a Patient Summary List or Problem Summary List. This paper proposes a method that could benefit from the two aforementioned important concepts. The method introduces the use of the Quick Response (QR) technology in the patient’s Emergency card.Related Work Some health providers provide their patients with an Emergency Card that usually has th e vital medical information that could make the difference between life and death, usually known as Patient summary list (part of the Electronic Medical Record). The list should include the patient’s ID, medical history of Arthritis, Hypertension, Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, etc. any operative and invasive procedure, any adverse and allergic drug reaction, present medications [1][2]. The natural medium to record the patient's medical information is the papers.Even though papers have advantages of being low in cost, available and portable, problems raised due to the decentralized nature of the paper-based medical records, difficulties Page | 2 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 in data storage and retrieval, threat of being damaged or lost, etc. Consequently, the concept of Electronic Medical Record has been introduced to overcome these issues. Examples of early electronic systems include Computer-stored Ambulatory Record (COSTAR), Health E valuation through Logical Processing (HELP), and Multiphase Health Testing System (MHTS) [3].Smart Card is the perfect media that can be used as a health card due to its small size, secure, capability of digitizing a huge amount of personal and medical data [4]. Some attempts have been done by researchers to develop a personal portable healthcare record smart cards and a corresponding framework to simplify maintenance and transfer of patient records [9]. Researchers in the U. K. have created MyCare, a smart card with a fold-out USB plug that can hold a patient’s medical history. MyCare was developed with open source that enables it to run on different computers and operating systems.Data is protected through PINs and encryption, with a higher level of encryption planned for further stages in the development process [5][6]. These smart card projects work better in countries with nationalized health care. In the US For example, competition among hospitals is a barrier to a smar t card system [5]. Smart card technology was not widely spread due to lack of standards (Dash, 2001); the communications between a smart card and smart card reader. The cards also need to be updated constantly which would be hard to enforce [10].For smart cards, user mobility is only possible if every machine that the user access has a smart card reader attached. The machine must support the same standard smart card reader interfaces or use the same proprietary smart card reader [11]. Research Statement Due to the barriers of smart cards usage including, the high cost value, the unnecessary imposed security and the need for a special card reader, the smart emergency card solution may not be the best solution. The proposed method is the use of Quick Response (QR) codes to hold the patient's critical medical information.The solution overcomes the expense, unavailability and communication issues of the smart card, by the fact that QR is inexpensive technology that doesn't need a specia l reader, it needs software that could be installed freely on any smart phone. This ensures the quick yet accurate and responsive aid provided to unresponsive individual in case of emergency. The solution should also be used as a reporting tool. It can be embedded into a smart phone application developed to be used for reporting accidents. This may overcome the issues of Page | 3Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 reporting accidents by using the QR technology as an accurate, unique and prompt reporting tool. Background Quick Response (QR) codes are type of two dimensional barcodes. It's a technique that was first invented by Denso-Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota Group that was firstly designed to track the vehicles' parts manufacturing process, and since then it has grown rapidly. In Recent years it has been utilized to work as a marketing tool to advertise for products, sites, brands, etc.Fig1: QR codes structure [16] QR Code can store up to 7089 numeri c characters, 4296 alphanumeric characters or 2953 bytes (8-bit binary). They are capable of storing different types of data: text, vCards, pictures, URLs, Videos, etc. The stored data is extracted in a readable form through QR readers that are usually smartphone software, or dedicate QR reading devices. Number of QR code scanner applications is available for Apple, BlackBerry and Android smartphones, mostly for free. Once installed, it uses the phone's embedded camera to scan the code and decode it instantly. Page | 4Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 Proposed Solution The idea behind this paper is very easy to grasp. The aim is to have a mechanism that provide the first aiders to know what needed to be known, at the right time, with the easiest possible means. For unresponsive person, or in case if an individual was unable to speak and give vital information, it is important to have some sort of easy to get yet authenticated and accurate medical sum mary that can be available at anytime, anywhere. In some cases, it makes the difference between life and death.Patient Summary List The more we know the better we act and response. In medicine, to know the patient's historical and current medical condition is as much important as the action to be taken on the case. Delaying a treatment or prescribing a wrong medication or one that conflicts with the patient's medical condition could be dangerous and might end up deadly. From this point, the importance of the Patient Summary List arises. The Patient Summary List is a summarized accessible list of the patient's significant medical information.The summary should contain as much information as possible to assist medics and other first responders in case of emergency. The information may include the following categories, though, some entries might be optional. Each entry has to be timestamped: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Patient's information: age, sex, marital status, weight, height and blood type. Hospital-related information: name, ID, address, phone number, medical record, hospital's name. Emergency contacts. Allergies/Adverse Allergic Drug Reactions.Significant medical diagnoses and conditions: Cancer, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Angina, Pacemaker, Stroke, Circulation Problem, Arthritis, infectious disease (TB/Hepatitis/MRSA), Osteoporosis / osteopenia, Lung problems, Seizures, Polio / post-polio, Urinary incontinence, Depression, HIV positive, Pregnancy condition, Wearing Contact Lenses, Smoker or not. 6. Significant surgical/invasive procedures. Page | 5 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 7. 8. Medication/Vitamins/Supplements names, doses, frequency and rout for each.Education: Language spoken, Barriers to learning (blind/deaf/etc) [12]. Medical Records are created by the medical institutes for every individual assessed or treated. Consequently, the Patient's Summary List should be derived from the patient's Medical Recor d. The Summary List must be prepared by the Hospital of which the patient is having his treatment to ensure the legibility, completeness and authentication [13]. It's also important to have the list updated whenever there is a change in medication, diagnose or allergies and also whenever a procedure is performed.Why QR Codes? Some medical institutes tend to provide their patients with a Summary List printed on a paper (or card) or coded in a smart card. Both ways have number of cons and pros. The usage of printed Summary List in a paper is condition of damage. Especially ICE (In Case of Emergency), it can easily burn, get wet or shredded into pieces and loss it's value. The use of cards might be a safer choice, but it's impossible to have it small enough to fit in someone's wallet and yet have it containing all needed information about the person's medical condition.The use of smart cards on the other hand, might be the best solution comparing with the other available means since th ey are safer, have a larger capacity, easily to carry along and can be kept up t date without the need to issue new ones. However, they need special readers to read them that are usually unavailable for the first aiders ICE. Besides, smart cards are costly to issue and maintain. QR code's quickness, availability, widely spread and low cost might lead it to be a very good choice to encode the Patient's Summary List.It overcomes the issues encountered in other means, and they can be utilized to serve other purposes that will be discussed later in this paper. With the advantages of the QR codes usage has been examined and assessed, we are ready to discuss the proposed procedure and a suggested standard: ? The list should be captured and stored in a standard encoding system to support data sharing, analysis and provide a more practical and accurate way Page | 6 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 o retrieve the required information. The standard of the Sum mary List has to be proposed and admitted by the Ministry of Health. ? Administration and maintenance of the Summary List is important. Healthcare providers are responsible of issuing a Summary List of each patient's EMR. They are also responsible for encoding it in a QR code. ? ? The issued QR codes should be printed on wallet-sized cards and submitted to patients. The QR card should be on the medical card (printed right on the back of the card on printed on a sticker on the same card).The medical card (with QR code at back of it) has to be kept right next to the driving license in someone’s wallet. This is critical to have the first responders make use of this method. ? The Summary List has to be updated by the issuer upon any significant change in the patient's medications or health condition. Further, if the patient was examined by a hospital other that the one issuing the code, it's the responsibility of the patient to update the QR code with the new medical information according to the hospital's report. People have to be educated by spreading the QR concept and the role it's playing in rescuing individuals ICE. The paramedics (emergency staff) on the other hand have to have the dedicated QR code readers or having the scanning software installed on their smartphones. Having these standards stated out, the QR code usage can be efficiently utilized and beneficial. If individuals were educated and aware about saving someone’s life using the proposed method, the number of errors that might be encountered will decrease rapidly.In contrary with the other possible means, QR codes do not require a special reader or password authentication or a computer to be read, which make them accessible whenever needed. In addition, bar codes are proven technology that can be used in health care, where little room for error exists. Page | 7 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 Possible Scenario The following scenario is summarized in Fig 4 below, a possible QR utilization scenario: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. An accident happens to an individual carrying a QR code card.The first responder (emergency professional or bystander) check the infected person's wallet and find the QR code. The code is scanned by the rescuer's Smartphone's QR reader. The summary list with all significant medical information is displayed. The rescuer provides the first aids according to the infected person's medical status, whether he/she has a Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, etc, and call the emergency. 6. The emergency professionals should take the proper, most accurate action based on the extracted medical status. This can make the difference between life and death.Other actions can also be taken by the rescuer like for example sending the QR code through a Smartphone's software (detailed in Other Medical-Related QR Uses section below). Fig2: QR code workflow in case of emergency Page | 8 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Pa tient Summary List 2012 QR Coded Patient Summary List Update As stated above, the providers should update the patient's summary list whenever there is a change in diagnosis, medications, or allergies to medications and whenever a procedure is performed. The Patient Summary List is derived from the patient’s Electronic Medical/Health Record [17].The summary list contains specific attributes extracted from the medical record. Having these attributes labeled in the electronic medical record will ease the process of extracting and updating the Patient Summary List attribute’s values. So, the system should trigger an update on the patient’s list whenever a change in the labeled attributes. Fig3: QR code workflow in case of emergency [17] How to Update QR Codes? There are two main types of QR codes; static and dynamic. Static QR codes contents are static, cannot be edited or updated, whereas the dynamic QR code’s content can be easily updated.Also, unlike the s tatic QR codes, it does not require generating new QR code. The exact printed QR can be used that leads to the updated contents. When the QR codes are used to encode the Patient Summary List, a frequent content update will be needed. Accordingly three main QR forms are proposed: Page | 9 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 1. Using a static QR codes with a static summary list that needs to be re-printer upon each record change. In this case, the provider may print the codes on stickers and remove the old ones once the new ones are issued.This might be more cost effective than re-printing the patient card with the new QR code on the back. 2. Instead of having QR codes printed out, a soft copy of the QR code can be generated and loaded into an individual's mobile. This is also effective in cost-wise, but it might be not so practical in case of an emergency. The rescuer may not be able to locate the QR code image in the mobile of an unconscious person, or the mobile is locked with a pin or it’s out of battery, etc. Though it is easy to maintain and saves the cost of reprinting the code upon a record change. . Using the dynamic QR codes that have a dynamic content with an editable, editable content using the same printed code. Further, some QR code generator companies (like SQUARE) provide a track service and statics of how many devices scanned the code, where, scanner device type, etc. Having this concept applied on the medical health field considered very practical. In view thereof, dynamic QR codes are the best utilization due its cost saving, efficiency and easy to maintain. However, since this kind of codes requires a wireless connection, it might be limited.Though, it’s not a huge barrier in today’s networked world. Fig4: QR Update trigger scenario. Page | 10 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 Updating QR code procedure Each step in the above scenario figure (Fig 4) is descri bed as follows: A patient visits the hospital (1), and a change in one of the stated record attributes (2) (change in diagnosis, medications, or allergies to medications and whenever a procedure is performed. ) has been encountered. So the updated patient record should trigger a generation of an updated summary list (3).Accordingly, new updated QR code/QR content has to be issued (4), and a notification sent to the patient with this update. ? ? If the static QR code form is adapted by the hospital, then the notification should instruct the patient to pick up the updated QR code card/sticker (4. 1). If the soft copied QR code form is adapted, then the notification should instruct the patient to download the latest QR code (either from the hospital’s site after the patient login or sent for the patient email) (4. 2). ? If the dynamic QR code form is adapted, then the codes destination contents updated upon the new summary list update (4. ). Other Medical-Related QR Uses Aside o f utilizing the QR codes as an emergency guide for paramedics that provide a reliable, easy to use, quick access to an individual's Medical Summary List, QR codes can be used in other fields as well, as detailed in this section. The QR codes can be used as a reporting tool. By having an Emergency reporting channel other that the unified number, a software application installed on the smartphones, QR can be used as follows: ? ? Using the smartphone's camera, the QR code of the affected person is scanned through the Emergency software application.The software should display the encoded information, and a reporting option should also be available (say, a button). Page | 11 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 ? ? ? Upon pressing the button, the software should send the patient information to the emergency department along with the reporting location coordinates. The reporter information may also send (the reporter phone number can be easily gained from the user's phone). To capitalize the benefits, the reporting tool can play a complementary role of a clouded EMR system that is made available for the centralized Emergency unit.If this the case then a link to the QR holder's EMR could be also implicitly embedded and can be easily gain access to be the authorized Emergency staff. Having such system will not only provide a fast, accurate and reliable accident reporting tool, but it'll also help in reducing the redundancy encountered when reporting accidents and emergencies. Another usage of the QR code can be as portable, summarized EHR. Keeping a personal health record encoded in a QR with you when visiting a doctor that is not necessarily a staff member of the hospital where your Medical Record is kept is very helpful.It'll provide the doctor a sufficient answer when the he asks â€Å"what medications are you taking? † It'll save time, effort and the cost of running lab tests and radio-imaging for checking the accurate medical condition since they are encoded in the QR code, summarized, reliable and up to date. Another use could be on some other direction, by the police department. When someone is kept under custody, it would be helpful to avoid unexpected situations can be experienced with the kept person such as infectious diseases, heart diseases, high blood pressure, etc.Knowing such medical information is as much needful as keeping the person in prison, since it help in saving the lives inside the prison (life of the prisoners) and out (keeping the offender in custody). Conclusion We may not be able to stop the accidents from happening, but we are able and responsible to cut the losses and control their tragic consequences as much as we can. The practical knowledge of the medical workers coupled with the knowledge and expertise of the technology experts and developers can result technology-utilized solutions to everyday.In this Page | 12 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2 012 respect, solutions were proposed, researches were conducted and regulations were imposed, every day to best achieve this goal. This paper proposes a practical, non-cost affective, timely solution that can best utilize the widely spread technology â€Å"QR† to help saving lives. This solution can be utilized even more to be a complementary tool for the currently function, or proposed, emergency systems. References [1] http://westhoustonmedctr. ehc. com/CPM/Patient%20Summary%20List. df [accessed: 9 March 2012] [2] http://www. urology-partners. com/Forms/MEDICAL_HISTORY. pdf [accessed: 9 March 2012] [3] Lowe, H. J, â€Å"The Electronic Medical Record†, (2003), Stanford University School of Medicine [4] http://www. smartcardsource. com/health. html [accessed: 11 March 2012] [5]http://www. secureidnews. com/2011/06/15/smart-cards-show-potential-for-medicalrecords [accessed: 12 March 2012] [6]http://www. smartplanet. com/blog/rethinking-healthcare/mycare-your-entire-medi calhistory-on-a-smart-card/5207 [accessed: 12 March 2012] [7] http://www. martcardalliance. org/pages/publications-smart-card-technology-in-healthcare [accessed: 15 March 2012] [8] Smart cards—the key to trustworthy health information systems BMJ 1997; 314 doi: 10. 1136/bmj. 314. 7080. 573(Published 22 February 1997) [9] Changrui Xiao and Arthur Yu: Medical Smart Card System for Patient Record Management. Bears Breaking Boundaries 2009 Science, Technology, and Energy Policy White Paper Competition [10] Dennis Emmett and Reagan Bundy, Marshall University: PROVIDING BETTER PATIENT SERVICES UTILIZING SMART CARD TECHNOLOGY.Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Association of Collegiate Marketing Educators (2005) [11] David Chadwick: Smart CardsAren’t Always the Smart Choice. University of Salford. Decemper 1999 [12]http://www. barnabashealth. org/hospitals/ambulatory_care_center/acrobat/rehab_adult_s ummarylist. pdf [accessed: 12 April 2012] [13] http://www. dental-desi gn. co. uk/2011/11/29/a-guide-to-qr-codes/ [accessed: 2 April 2012] Page | 13 Utilizing QR Code Technology In Encoding Patient Summary List 2012 [14]http://www. medical. siemens. com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/PSGenericDisplay~q_catal ogId~e_-1~a_langId~e_-1~a_pageId~e_83438~a_storeId~e_10001. tm 2012] [15]http://jpgraph. net/download/manuals/chunkhtml/ch27. html#id2608334 May 2012] [16] http://www. thisbloglife. com/2012/01/qr-codes-enter-the-matrix/ [accessed: 20 April 2012] [17]http://www. philblock. info/hitkb/s/system_and_DB_architectures_used_in_commercial_EH Rs. html [accessed: 10 May 2012] [18]http://www. csinov. com/wordpress/index. php/solutions/ehr-solutions/electronicmedical-records/ [accessed: 4 May 2012] [19]http://tracertong. co. uk/ttf/2010/10/qr-code-test-for-wallpaper-download-to[accessed: 5 [accessed: 10 May iphone/ [accessed: 4 May 2012] Page | 14

Effects of Globalization Towards Our Culture Essay

This article focuses on the globalization of culture and the role of media in the ensuing identity crisis (both individual and social) resulting from this process. The article tries to display the basic concept of the process of globalization with all of its effects, threats, challengesï ¼Å'and opportunities and will illustrate its interaction with the media in developing countries. The essay will show that the main components of power structure in today’s world can be linked to these two complimentary processes –globalization and the information era. The interaction between these two phenomena has changed the quality of communications which, in turn, is creating new personal and social identities (personification and personifying). According to survey results, it is clear that in societies which are not efficient in reinforcing and strengthening their communication infrastructures and which are unable to compete with the new methods of communication and information exchange, identity formation gains political, economic and culturally adverse and asserts an unrepairable damage. In conclusion, the article tries to present some proposals for developing countries’ media –as the active player of this era – and offers ways to deal with the unavoidable process of globalization and identity crisis. Globalization, the New Phenomenon Globalization, which also has been called global construction, global orientation and global expansion by various schools of thought, is the latest phase process in an old process rooted in the expansion of modern capitalism and encompassing the political, economic and cultural realms worldwide. Modern capitalism that first emerged in the sixteenth century is a far more complex phenomenon embracing a broader economic spectrum and a more detailed definition than the concept of common market. Thus, some experts view it as â€Å"contraction and condensation at the global scale coupled with ever-increasing expansion of awareness† (Robertson, 1992, p. 8). Many have expressed different and even contradictory definitions of globalization in their discussions over the past few years. According to British sociologist Anthony Giddens, some social sectors are utterly pessimistic about globalization and reject it in its entirety. On the other hand, there are those who perceive globalization as an undeniable reality with profound and inevitable consequences. Yet there are others, who are generally referred to as Global Expansionists. They view globalization as an inescapable development developing ever-increasing momentum due to the intensification of global interactions and the waning importance of national boundaries. They believe that national economies, cultures and policies will integrate into a global network and that local and national authority and hence dominance will diminish in favor of a homogenous global economy and culture (Held, 2000). On the other side of the spectrum, there are opposing arguments against the virtues of globalization. Giddens (1999b) refers to them as the pessimists, and they include a gamut of those from the traditionalists to those challenging the dominance of capitalism. They perceive globalization as synonymous to westernization and Americanization. They even include the environmentalists. This school of thought argues that globalization will create a world of winners and losers along with the global conquest and economic domination of specific political groups, especially in the wealthy nations like the U.S. These groups are strong enough to resist any pressures to alter the new world-order and could impose their desires and goals as global agendas and work plans. The promoters of this school of thought point out to the waning of national sovereignty and local identity and the eventual prevalence of inequality and injustice in the world (Rupert, 2000). Meanwhile, some dispute the idea of the â€Å"global village† introduced by Marshall McLuhan and envision more of a â€Å"global pillaging† for the underdeveloped countries (Held, 2000, p. 25). There are other theoreticians who dispute this widely held view. For example, Giddens challenges this prospect and believes that the wealthy should not be blamed for all the negative aspects of this phenomenon, which actually is to some extent very similar to the westernization process. However, globalization is becoming ever-increasingly decentralized and thus it is not dominated by a certain group of countries or multinational companies. Even the western countries are being affected by this new trend. There is increasing evidence of Inverted Colonialism. Inverted Colonialism could be defined as the impact of non-western countries on the development of western culture and economy (Giddens, 1999a). According to Giddens not only is globalization a novel experience, it is a revolut ionary phenomenon. In addition to its economic consequences, its political, technological and cultural impact can not be underestimated. More than anything, globalization is influenced by the advancement of communication systems. In the middle of these two extreme positions, there is a third opinion, which is called â€Å"transformationalism.† This perspective gives limited importance to globalization and emphasizes the significance of national and local institutions (Mirabedini, 2001, p. 147). This third view does not condemn the whole of globalization and praises its positive aspects. These scholars note that although globalization imposes a great deal of pressure on local economies and cultures, it is possible to transform this threat into an opportunity, thereby resisting being conquered by it. Based on this viewpoint, the leaders of the world would support the notion of democratization of global institutions; and nations could play a decisive role in the policymaking process under the framework of the new world order and solidify their territorial rights and legitimacy (Held, 2000). The acceptance of this notion is reflected in the response of former French Premier Leonel Jospin on the issue of France’s national identity in the globalization process. He said, â€Å"We will do our best to make globalization an internal and endemic process in compliance and harmony with our way of life.† He argued that â€Å"The course this globalization process takes will depend on the action we take in relation to it, because although globalization is a fact, it is not an end in itself. We must bring it under control if we are to enjoy its benefits and prevent its negative aspects† (Jospin, 2001). It can thus be concluded that the present range of opinions on globalization, differs from the definition of capital expansion of the 16th century. In this sense it is a new concept based on the ever-increasing time-space compression and the enhancement of public knowledge and awareness due to the profound alteration in communication systems and its immense impact on economic, political and cultural trends. It can be stated fairly that â€Å"Globalization is a complex phenomenon, marked by two opposing forces. On the one hand, it is characterized by massive economic expansion and technological innovation. On the other hand, there is increased inequality, cultural and social tumult, and individual alienation† (Mowlana, 1998, p. 22). Globalization of Culture and Identity in the Information Era On the subject of globalization, the most controversial debate is raised on the issue of cultural globalization and its main topic, the â€Å"identity crisis† and the role of mass media as a facilitating tool for its expansion or limitation. The notion of cultural globalization has prompted various reactions, reflecting contradictory implications. Some perceive this phenomenon as an instrument for establishment of universal unity and democracy based on a global culture signified as the â€Å"global village.† According to the principles of McLuhan (1968, 1964), this is due to the expansion of new communication systems. However, others disagree and contend that globalization has not resulted in a unified political and economic identity (Rajaei, 2001). In contrast, cultural globalization has destroyed national identities. Fukuyama challenges the idea of cultural globalization. He argues that despite external economic pressures, societies tend to preserve their individual identities and cultural values eventually determine the economic direction of the countries. This doesn’t mean that societies will not be impacted by the globalization trend. However, there are more profound elements in national cultures, whic h resist the uniformity derived from economic and political ideologies. Critics argue that cultural globalization will result in cultural dominance and supremacy. The deterioration of endemic cultures will be replaced with a universal culture promoting excessive consumption and dominance of the economic and information technology powers of the world. These scholars believe that the western world is unfit to provide a suitable response to cultural globalization. This is because it is being challenged by numerous social and cultural predicaments, itself. Tomlinson, one of the world-class theorists says: â€Å"The cultural globalization that we are witnessing today is not the net result of human endeavors and experiences and even it has not equitably benefited from cultural diversities. Rather it is the manifestation of dominance of a certain overpowering culture† (Skelton & Allen, 1999, p. 23). These researchers emphasize that the efforts made to conform to the aggressive culture or interpret western culture in various parts of the world have had disastrous results and have revealed insurmountable cultural gaps. Thus, it is impossible to create a global culture with this procedure, and it only widens the existing gap between cultures. Doubtless, globalization has affected certain values rooted in major religions and cultures of the world. Concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, individualism and pluralism, individual interaction with the society and the very meaning of life are all warped and corrupted by global capitalism, international markets, mass media and the promotion of excessive consumption. Even some local languages and valuable traditions are on the verge of disappearance as the result of globalization. Global consumerism is now forming a homogeneous global culture where indigenous cultures of the South are being replaced by Western cultures (Muzaffar, 2002).