In The News

Let's Face the New “Core Facts”

Roger Cohen November 15, 2007
The United States attempts to exercise global leadership in a world that has changed dramatically in recent years. With the spread of new technologies to developing nations has come an explosion of information from sources other than Voice of America. With such a wide range of options and rapidly growing anti-Americanism, disaffected people in the Middle East and elsewhere see little reason to...

Plain English Gets Harder in Global Era

Phred Dvorak November 12, 2007
The globalizing economy – particularly the rise of outsourcing and offshoring, along with the growing acceptance of English as the universal language within multinational corporations – raises the demand for sophisticated language training. English speakers confront a broader range of accents and cultures than ever before, and education programs step up their offerings. Some concepts – sarcasm,...

The Mouse That Roared

September 6, 2007
Computer networks could become new battlegrounds for countries that don’t trust one another. Governments, businesses, universities, public utilities rely on computer systems for organization, information, research and trade. Advanced economies rely on the internet, and security specialists constantly look out for thefts, spy operations or disruptions. The UK, the US, Estonia, China, Germany have...

Chinese Media Star Gives Starbucks a Jolt

Mitchell Landsberg July 19, 2007
When Starbucks coffee shop opened in the Forbidden City seven years ago, China was striving to join the international economic community. Now, the country’s citizens are divided about adopting international trends versus preserving cultural and historical heritage. Rui Chenggang, a television anchor, wrote a blog entry protesting a Starbucks in the Forbidden City, claiming that it “trampled over...

Text Messages Giving Voice to Chinese

Edward Cody July 10, 2007
Zhao Yufen, a scientist at Xiamen University, organized a petition protesting the construction of a chemical factory and expressing concern about potential accidents, health risks and environmental damage. Local officials supported the factory, which could potentially double the city's gross domestic product, so national officials ignored the petition. Then a blog published Zhao's...

The Double Edge of Globalization

Nayan Chanda June 28, 2007
Activists have long accused global corporations of being bad environmental citizens. But the problems of climate change and deforestation are part of a larger phenomenon, in which globalization is but one factor among many. As Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal, discusses in his new book “Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalization,” international...

Survey: Increasing Internet Censorship

June 18, 2007
Government censorship is growing in sophistication, according to a survey of internet filtering practices in 41 nations. Such censorship is “becoming more pervasive and more subtle over time, often disguised as network errors,” warns Jonathan Zittrain, professor of internet governance and regulation at Oxford University, according to a release from the MacArthur Foundation. The foundation funded...