Research Issues in Parapsychology Essay -- survival-after-bodily-death

"I shall not commit the fashionable stupidity of regarding everything I cannot explain as a fraud." -C.G. Jung (Society for Psychical Research) "Parapsychology is a belief in search of data rather than data in search of an explanation." -C.E.M. Hansel (Alcock ix) For years, ghosts and poltergeists have been a part of our popular lexicon. From stories told around the campfire, to motion pictures like The Haunting, to books like the Scary Story series, everyone has heard a good ghost story or two. Many people claim to have actually been party to a few supernatural experiences themselves. But for as long as we have told these frightful stories, science has been attempting to explain them beyond the typical bump in the dark. This investigation into the paranormal eventually evolved into the field of parapsychology. Current research in parapsychology has three focuses: psychokinesis (PK), extrasensory perception (ESP), and survival-after-bodily-death experiences. Psychokenisis is direct mental interaction with objects animate or inanimate. Extrasensory perception is a general term for obtaining information about events beyond the reach of the normal senses ("Parapsychology FAQ"). Survival-after-bodily-death is the investigation into events and phenomena dealing with life after death. In this paper, I intend to look at parapsychology and the study of survival-after-bodily-death. This area of parapsychology is perhaps the most recognizable, yet also the least investigated. I intend to look at the rise of this field of inquiry as a science, the arguments for it and against it, and why survival-after-bodily-death is not as prominent a field as it once was. History Parapsychology's roots can be traced back to the... ...botree.com/ [Accessed 20 April 1999]. Parapsychological Association (1999, Dec.). Parapsychology FAQ. [Online]. Available: http://www.parapsych.org [Accessed 20 April 1999]. Price, Harry. Confessions of a Ghost-Hunter. Putnam & Company: London, 1936. "Online Research in Parapsychology." Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. [Online] Available: http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=70964&sctn=1 [Accessed 26 April 1999]. Rhine, Louisa E. The Invisible Picture. McFarland & Company: Jefferson, 1981. Society for Psychical Research. [Online]. Available: http://129.215.50.44/spr.html [Accessed 20 April 1999]. Tyrrell, G. N. M. Apparitions. Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd.: London, 1953 Weiner, Debra H. and Radin, Dean I., eds. Research in Parapsychology 1985. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.: Metuchen, 1986. Wilson, Colin. Mysteries. New York: G.E. Putnam's Sons, 1978.

Operation Individual :: Short Stories Technology Papers

Operation Individual A thousand cars, well Computer Assisted Rovers, rode up and down the sky highways of the Upper East Side. Enormous skyscrapers reached to the top of the massive dark sooty heavens that surrounded Chicago, kind of like a bubble that kept them away from the world. The year was 3015, and the world was a completely different place. It was like a metropolitan on speed. Society no longer needed sidewalks, telephones, thanks to video recorded messages, and basically crime, since the Big Brother Project made sure that THEY were watching at every possible moment. Everything was going great except for Operation Artificial Individuals, which was a project designed for the creation of a robot, that looked exactly like a human, thought like one, talked like one, and looked like one. You are all aware of the term artificial intelligence, which is understanding and even placing thought and intelligence into machines. Well since the end of the 22nd century a new term has come out, artificial in dividual or once again A.I., which was coined by Dr. Allan Newell. Dr. Newell who began Operation A.I., created artificial individuals, and mass-produced them for distribution all over the world. Now anyone could have a playmate, a brother they always wanted, and even for the desperate there was the spouse, and at prices that anyone could afford. When they were tested they were immediately approved and found to be very safe and reliable, and just as fast as they were approved they were put onto the shelves for sale. Ten years later they had filled almost half of the city of Chicago, and in many more places around the globe the same thing was happening. What people didn’t know was that the robots had the ability to take over the world if asked to. I know this because I was the one who helped create them; I was working directly under Dr. Newell when we created them. My name is Dr. Mark Altman, and I was the one who programmed them with the ability to do anything that the person with the "key" wanted them to do. See the key was exactly what it sounds like, if you have the key, all you have to do is insert it into the mainframes in his lavatories, type commands, and the artificial individuals would be at your every whim.

Domestic Violence Against Women and Children Essay -- Violence Against

One of the most complicated issues facing health care professionals and governmental agencies today is that of domestic violence. Domestic violence encompasses any violence that is inflicted upon one family member by another family member. Thus, domestic violence can be described as spouse abuse, child abuse, sibling abuse, or elder abuse. Most authorities suggest that domestic violence is typically expressed in violence against women and children. Such acts of violence can involve health care professionals in the treatment of physical injuries, the psychological impact upon the victim, or the aggressive behavior of the abuser. Often governmental agencies are called upon to investigate such matters to ensure the safety of the victims or to determine appropriate punishment for the offender. However, given the importance of the bonds and rights of the family that our culture maintains, it is difficult to determine when the situation at home â€Å"is no one’s business† and when it merits intervention from outside parties in order to protect the welfare of those involved. Despite these difficulties and complexities, domestic violence is considered to be a worldwide health problem necessitating urgent intervention (â€Å"A Priority Health,† 1998). The purpose of this paper is to explore the incidence and treatment regarding domestic violence. Incidence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The occurrence of domestic violence appears to be a worldwide problem occurring in every nation on earth. The small island of Fiji reports incidents of husbands killing wives over marital disputes (Adinkrah, 1999). Japanese officials refer to domestic violence as a â€Å"hidden crime† (Mieko, 1999). One survey conducted by the local government of Tokyo indicated that: one-third of the women interviewed had suffered physical violence from their husbands, violence was repeatedly inflicted on almost seven percent of the women, and over three percent indicated that they had been beaten severely. The government of India suspects that at least five thousand women were burned to death in 1991 by their husbands over marital conflicts (Singh & Unnithan, 1999).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Sweden is generally considered a country sensitive to social and family issues, it is also plagued with incidents of domestic violence. Consequently, the Swedish government introduced a new offense in 1998 ... ... from maritally violent homes. Families in Society, 75(7), 403-415. A priority health issue. (1998). World Health, 51(5), 15. Reid, S. T. (1991). Crime and criminology, 4th ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston. Russell, D. E. H. (1984) Sexual exploitation: Rape, child sexual abuse, and workplace harassment. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Singh, R. N., & Unnithan, N. P. (1999). Wife burning: Cultural cues for lethal violence against women among Asian Indians in the United States. Violence Against Women, 5(6), 641﷓653.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Straus, M. A. (1977). Wife-beating: How common and why?† Victimology, 2(3-4), 443-458.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tutty, L. M., Bidgood, B. A., & Rothery, M. A. (1996). Evaluating the effect of group process and client variables in support groups for battered women. Research on Social Work Practice, 6(3), 308-324. Ways for Child Protective Service social workers and caseworkers to integrate domestic violence issues into case practice. (1997). Public Welfare, 55(3), 10. Ways for Child Protective Service supervisors to integrate domestic violence issues into case practice. (1997). Public Welfare, 55(3), 8.

Education Theatre Essay

â€Å"CAN you still remember your Grade I teacher? † This was once the by-line of an advertisement of one financial institution. This is also the base concept of the play â€Å"Ang Guro† staged by Stairs Production and Imagination Beyond Events Philippines at West Negros University Gym last Saturday, January 21. The musical play was written by occupational therapist Paul Ballano. This is his form of loving tribute to his Grade I school teacher, Mrs. Cecilia Resontoc, who was instrumental in making him pursue, work and reach his goals, despite all odds. As Paul fondly recalled after the curtain call, Mrs. Resontoc made him believe in what he can do, what he can achieve, and what he can become. The soft–spoken yet talented singer Karel Marquez performed the lead role perfectly. Comely, gentle yet versatile, Karel took in the part of Ms. Amelia Resontoc, a young high school teacher who has the knack of understanding and motivating her students. With her strong convictions, she encouraged her students to keep on going by singing â€Å"The Climb†, as she accepted each of their individual differences in â€Å"True Colors. † Izzy Trazona, one of the Sex Bomb Dancers, showed off her acting and dancing prowess as one of the talented yet late bloomer students of Ms. Resontoc. Sheila Asuncion, who plays the mother of Karel, not only played her role well but also belted out one powerful, heart–rending rendition of â€Å"The Prayer† together with the lead singer. Together with Charina Ramirez, Kath Jarabelo, Zac Celadania, Yab Aragones, Jake Duquiatan, Vida Masakayan, Jess Ibasco, Juddie Fe Suarez, Ahmee Galguerra, Owen Siy, Sweet Reyes, Jen Galope, Kiana Rodriguez, Armand Go, and playwright Paul, they composed the powerhouse of a cast which made the play a natural success. Moreover, the play’s universal theme on the crucial role that teachers play in the molding of the country’s young minds and the nobility of the teaching profession are great ideas which need to be brought to light. No wonder why the Department of Education and the West Negros University supported the staging of the musicale. The stage set and backdrop were to the minimum. Same with the costumes. But the plot thickens with almost real-life dialogues and scenes which every teacher and student or school administrator in the audience could easily identify with. The different personalities of teacher and students, and the varied circumstances which caught each web of each other lives provided the audience with hearty laughs, and flowing tears. The end of the play may have been tragic, but all good works do not go in vain. Especially that of the noble teacher Ms. Amelia Resontoc. Directed by Sweet Grace Ballano, â€Å"Ang Guro† may still have to undergo some minor refinements in stage blocking, but it has carved a better niche for itself in the world of stage plays. The cameo roles which some WNU dancers and students did in the play are also worth mentioning. But because the play is conceptualized and brought to different schools all over the country with no thought of a bigger profit, except to fulfill the writer’s dream and to bring forth the messages of acceptance, honor, love and understanding. It’s just quite sad to note that not everybody in the teaching profession or those who are enrolled in education courses have watched the play. But still, like a good book, or a worthy movie, the musicale â€Å"Ang Guro† has touched hearts and minds. And if all the student-members in the audience took leave of their seats to go thank their teachers in the audience and give each a warm hug, such is indicative that the musicale has brought its message across its audience’s hearts. Thus, warm kudos to the members of production and the cast of â€Å"Ang Guro† and to the wonderful people and sponsors in Bacolod who brought the musicale here. Well, what or who then is the â€Å"guro†? Probably they could be as specific as Socrates, Anne Sullivan, Marva Collins, Mary McCloud Bethune, Bel Kaufman or, from the namesake of the lead player in the musicale, Mrs. Cecilia Resontoc – all of them having one thing in common: they were all teachers in their own time. Or in generics, a â€Å"guro† can just be a â€Å"he† or a â€Å"she† – nameless or faceless yet gentle and wonderful beings who have long been forgotten but whose valuable lessons and strength in character will always be remembered by their students. So, at this point, can you now recall your Grade 1 teacher? Or even your other teachers? I hope you can. I would like to end with a part of a speech of John Schlatter of Cypress, California which I adapted. â€Å"Throughout the course of the day I have been called upon to be an actor, friend, nurse and doctor, coach, finder of the lost article, money lender, psychologist, substitute parent, and a keeper of faith†¦ I am allowed to see that life is reborn each day with new questions, burst of ideas and young friendships†¦ I know that if I build with love and trust, what I build will last forever†¦ I am a warrior, daily doing battle against peer pressure, negativity, fear, conformity, prejudice, ignorance, and apathy. But I have great allies: curiosity, intelligence, creativity, faith, love and laughter which all rush to my banner with indomitable support†¦ I AM A TEACHER. † Dear teachers, our hats off you. GOD BLESS.

Thomas Jefferson on Slavery and Race

B. Jefferson on Slavery and Race The terms of the emancipation proposal considered by Virginia legislators were all slaves born after the act would go on with their parents to tillage, arts or sciences, until girls (18) and boys (21) would colonize to places that â€Å"render the most proper† out with arms and domestic animals to declare them free and independent and extend the alliance and protection.Jefferson believes blacks are inferior to whites, he differentiates the two races by stating the obvious first, color, figure, hair, odor, he also states how they are harder working and don't require as much sleep. He also includes how adventuresome they are, they desire love more and are more sentiment and their â€Å"griefs are transient. † â€Å"This quality is the germ of all education in him. † Slavery influenced masters and other whites in ways of creating â€Å"boisterous passions† that created degrading comments to one another.This is spread through t he children and other whites seeing or being raised only one way of seeing a â€Å"master† degrade his slaves. Slavery influenced slaves that they prefer ways that avoid areas that can or have made work for them. Jefferson said â€Å"l tremble for my country when I reflect that God is Just† because e believes slavery is not right, he hopes for the total emancipation and that slavery is â€Å"disposed in the order of events with the consent of the masters. Jefferson's hopes for the end of slavery differed from his fears because he hoped of an emancipation, which happened. Rather than slaves taken from â€Å"masters† which would anger them. Jefferson's notes do not seem to be something typical of the era or that most would agree on, slavery and segregation were very strong and blacks were not even considered or thought of to have human rights like they have today during that era.

Reaction Paper to Ethics Essay

Ethos – Characteristic way of acting Ethics’ Greek word is ethos. The ethos of man as man is revealed in the following: He is able to distinguish between good and evil, right or wrong, moral and immoral; he feels within himself an obligation to do what is good and to avoid what is evil; and he feels himself accountable for his actions, expecting reward or punishment for them. In our study, ethos refers to those characteristics belonging to man as a rational being endowed with intellect and free-will. It provides the person with knowledge that he may know what to do and how to do it, thus, ethics provides the guides to the performance of an act. In the topic discussed above, I learned that ethos or ethics is important to us, in able for us to become a noble man or noble woman, we need to know what is good and do it and know what is evil and avoid it. We need ethos in our lives to be aware of the result of each action that we do in our everyday lives, if it will result to a good thing which is represented by rewards or it will result to a bad thing which is then represented by punishments or consequences. In our childhood days, we intend to copy the ones who are bigger and older than us, thinking that what they are doing is always right, so we do what they do, because we don’t know how to act yet, we don’t know what is good for us or bad for us back then. Now we’ve grown up and became knowledgeable about what is good and what is evil, but in each day of our everyday life, sometimes forgot that what we have been doing is wrong but seems to be right for us, like lying for the benefit of ourselves to keep us safe from being scolded by our parents, cheating during the quizzes, drinking with our peer groups or circle of friends and a lot more. What I’ve learned in ethics is the ethos: that we are accountable for all our actions and we have an obligation to do things right for us to be able to attain the good life. It gives us awareness for the things we must do and the things we must avoid. We’re not a child anymore, so we know what is good and what is evil, but sometimes, even we know it is bad, we are forced by our own desire to try it. Our curiosity leads us to try things done by common people in our society, then later, we find it good, but deep inside, we feel it is wrong. â€Å"But they did it, so I did it so†, that was the  common alibi. Now, I know that what we’ve done is wrong and we are now expecting punishment for the things we have done. We are now aware and will try to not to do it again. We would not depend on the activity of other people to be our activity too, but rather, we would have a basis in every act that we do, thinking first if it would be good or right for us, or bad f or us. Gerson R. MonteserGeneral Ethics BSIT-CPT IIReaction to Chapter 2 Man must strive for happiness What makes a man happy? Is it riches? Is it gadgets and gizmos? Is it fame? Or is it freedom? So what does make a man happy? I believe that man is a non-contented being, even he said, this is enough, but deep inside of him, he needs more. Man is in a continuous search of things that would make them happy for a long period of time. When a man has this desire to gain an object or an experience that he really loves to have, he will strive for it, he will work for it, and he will do anything to get it. He will set his desire as his goal in life, and he will commit to have it whatever it takes, which is said to be the highest commitment. But, when he achieved his goal in life, he will search for something to have again, and this would result to a never ending desire while he is still here in the earth. Now, the Enlightened One, Gautama Buddha states that man must strive for happiness but happiness can not be attained in this world for it is a state of peace. So, the happiness can be attained by having peace? Is that right? Maybe yes, because Gautama Buddha looks happy and at peace in his monuments, statues, and pictures. So, we have to be in peace in order to achieve true happiness. But how can we achieve peace? In my opinion, you should be contended in material things, and start to be at peace by not worrying for problems that come to our life, instead, be thankful because God gave us another day to live. Problems would never remain a problem, it will just pass in our life like that we are in and obstacle course, and the problems are the obstacle that will add difficulties in our way to success. So, to be at peace, one must be relaxed and just think a problem as a part of life that will make a man stronger than before. If we don’t have problems in  life, we would become a lazy couch potato, we will never do anything because there is nothing to be worried about, so, it’s like we are just the animals here in the earth that doesn’t have any problems. In this lesson, I learned that we must strive for our happiness, and by all means, we must strive to have peace. Some ideas came in thought that Gautama Buddha said happiness is not here on earth, so where can we find happiness? So, this thing comes to my mind, that we can attain true happiness when we are dead. Funny, but it makes sense, because Gautama Buddha added that it is in the states of peace, the happiness must have in the state of peace, and that peace would be when a person is dead, you know, because he would be now rest in peace, funny right? I didn’t know too, so I’m just drawing my own conclusions. Don’t judge me. Well, that’s all. Gerson R. MonteserGeneral Ethics BSIT-CPT IIReaction to Chapter 3 Man does not act without any motive or objective in view I have watched in the television a various number of news about burglary, kidnapping, sexual harassment, rape and slay, illegal drug selling, murder and etc, but the common thing a policeman always try to find out is their motive in doing this so. Motive is the reason why a man does act, and without motive, he has no reason to do the act. In our lesson, this chapter discusses about man and his ends. The definition of an end is both termination and goal of activity. It is that which completes or finishes a thing, and it is that for which the thing is finished. By an end, therefore, we mean the end of an activity or what we call end is the purpose or goal of an act. The only way to give meaning to human existence is to have a goal, the very reason for being and existence. Very well said, the above states all the things that define the man and his end, so what does will it to do with the topic motive? As in my opinion, motive would add to the man’s end, in his will to finish his end, he has to have a motive in doing it, so that, the motive will push his mind to achieve the activity he is trying to end. In my own understanding, activities involving the act of achieving the end is like a man trying to achieve his goal; the reason he work, or the reason he continuous to live is because of his goal that must be achieved to meet  his end. Now, for him to achieve his goal and to meet his end, he must have a great motive or a big reason for all his why’s: why he needs it, why he wants it, and why he must have it. If a person is motivated, and he and his will agrees on that motive, he would be a fierce person, so much eager to achieve something he loves, that no other people could hinder him from achieving his goals, and no one could ever put out the fire that is inside of him that pushes him and making him an indestructible man because nothing stops his way to his end. There was a person here in the earth that demonstrate this kind of motivation and that is Steve Jobs. His doctor said that he would just live in a few weeks because of his severe disease. The doctor added that Steve Jobs must do everything he wants to do before he died. So, Steve Jobs spend all his time in developing apple gadget and his motive is undisputable that he wants to develop a good apple gadget that will be known in the whole wide world. Not knowingly, Steve Jobs live more than the doctor said and he saw how the result he worked hard for and that moment, he accomplished his goal in life, he met his end – the fruit of his motivation. So, that’s what motives do, it pushes someone to do something even it is beyond his abilities. Gerson R. MonteserGeneral Ethics BSIT-CPT IIReaction to Chapter 4 Ignorance – negation of knowledge The absence of intellectual knowledge in man is what we called ignorance. It also means the presence of what is falsely supposed to be knowledge. In my own understanding, it’s the rejection of man to the truth because he doesn’t know what the truth is. Like for example, people becomes ignorant when they feel that they are stupid because other person teach them how to do something. They rejects the knowledge being taught to them, thus, they became ignorant. Ignorant people are proud people, who thinks they are wise but actually they are fool. They seems to be smart in their own ways, neglecting the view of others, they only Lack of education results in ignorance and ignorance finally leads to living in a limited world. People who don’t want to be taught and relies only on what he knows or depends only on their own belief are ignorant. They will defend what they know and will say that it is right even if, in the eyes of others, it is wrong. Thus ignorance is the curse for human beings. They are great hindrances on the path of progress. To achieve the optimum goal, spread of education is must. Without it people are cut off from useful information. Only education can remove the ignorance. After all, education does not hurt but ignorance does. What I’ve learned was that because of ignorance, people kept neglecting the true knowledge they must have, and because of their ignorant thinking, they don’t have any progress at all, their learning is still small and not growing because of their way of thinking that their knowledge is enough and they keep claiming that they know everything and they do not need any teachings from professionals, thus making them a fool of themselves. People in that thinking are boastful and full of pride, always boasting that they know things, pretending to be a professional in every field but they don’t have any basis to prove their statements, they only depend on their own understanding not consulting any other person insights and view. People in the present time is in this situation and the only thing that would be able to put it aside is by means of themselves realizing that their thought and way of thinking is stupidity and nonsense. This could be done by asking him to act what he says to prove if it is true, for if his experience is his best teacher that would teach him the true knowledge about this world. As far as I know, ignorance would not refer only to people with unawareness to knowledge but also people with awareness to knowledge but keep neglecting it. In my conclusion, ignorance could only mean the refusal of a person to knowledge that surely would result to lack of improvement and personal development. Gerson R. MonteserGeneral Ethics BSIT-CPT IIReaction to Chapter 5 Good act may become evil†¦ This caught my attention while I’m reading my module in ethics. I never taught that a good act may become evil, but there is a follow-up phrase, by reason of circumstances. So, a good act may become evil by reason of circumstances and by circumstances we mean, the situation in the present time. As far as I know, this is always been done by people who doesn’t have enough awareness in a particular area he or she currently stay. This good  act that may become evil could be considered as an extrinsic act where the act which is in itself is not evil but is now evil on account of something. I thoroughly searched how a good act may become an evil act and I found out that it becomes evil when you feel you do something good and you are proud of it but in the other side, you’ve just broken a law without further notice. For instance, you saw street children in the sidewalk in Manila, and then, due to your compassionate heart, you gave them coins as your alms to him and you feel great about it. It is good to your side, but it is bad for the community, because you have no assurance that the money you’ve just gave would be spent for food. You gave alms to make you feel better from the pity in your heart; your money, although given with good intentions, just might encourage children to commit crime and make their parents lazy. Children should not beg, they should be in school studying, be with their parents who would take care for them. If you truly wish to do good, you shouldn’t give alms, you should take these children to a good institution that would take care of them, to nurture them and to change their lifestyle. Most of us feel great whenever we encounter these situations, helping others, but some of us are doing this to be known and their hearts are with pride. The true essence of giving is that you never boast to what you did, hence, you give secretly and helping others anonymously. You don’t take credits to what you’ve done because it is a part of your life, to help others, not like those politicians and other government officials that whenever they do projects in helping people, they always put their large name with it stating that it was there project, for the purpose that the people would know that they are good. I learned that not all good are really good; sometimes it becomes bad depending on the circumstances.

Has Globalization Transformed International Politics?

Has Globalization transformed International Politics? Introduction A wide debate on how globalization affects global governance has taken place during the last years. Globalists and sceptics have argued about the transformations going on, their nature and importance. As Chanda notes, throughout history, interconnections between states and people have been growing (Chanda, 2008). However, globalization seems to have pushed these changes to a point in which a new global order arises, threatening to transform the essence of international politics. This essay will explore the ideas that have raised around the issue of globalization within international politics, trying to give a response on whether they have suffered a transformation or not. With this purpose, I will first try to give a proper and widely accepted definition of globalization. On a second section, I will look at the different perspectives defended by globalists and sceptics, as the theories proposed by both are quite relevant to understand the reach of the current circumstances. In order to give a response to the question of the title, in a third section I will focus on different areas of global governance, analysing how globalization is supposed to have transformed politics. I will refer to issues of cooperation, sovereignty, welfare, economy and security, considering the arguments of both globalists and sceptics as means to find a conclusive answer. In every section, I will try to give a personal response to every enquiry previously raised. Finally, I will end with a conclusion in which I will try give a general answer to the question on whether globalization has transformed international politics or not. Defining some concepts Defining globalization and its nature seems necessary in order to understand the issues that it has raised. Reaching a consensus on the definition of globalization is quite complicated. As Kiras, (in Baylis, 2005, p. 480) notes, it is a phenomena open to subjective interpretation and, consequently, definitions differ widely. However, it is possible to find some basic characteristics that most theorists have pointed about globalization. As a very simple explanation, Scholte (cited by Mingst, in Vayvr , p. 89) defines globalization as â€Å"the emergence and spread of a supraterritorial dimension of social relations†. Meanwhile, Thomas (cited in Clark, 1998, p. 481) defined it as â€Å"the process whereby power is located in global social formations and expressed through global networks rather than through territorially-based states†. These two general descriptions suggest that globalization is about a vast growth of interconnections between societies, governments and trade actors around the world. Summing both definitions, it can be argued that globalization is as a process that involves a shift in the spatial scale of the human social organization of our world, linking distant communities and expanding the reach of power relations through all the continents. Held (1997, p. 253) that this shift that characterizes globalization involves that day-to-day activities become progressively influenced by events taking place in other places around the planet, even those on the other side. In addition, globalization implies that actions and decisions adopted by local minority groups can have an important impact on the global issues. Thus, globalization is a multidimensional condition. It involves mostly every aspect of life. Social, technological, cultural, economic and political spheres are affected by and take part in the process of globalization. Increasing flows of power, capital, labour force, information and ideas is another of its basic characteristics. Globalization has been usually defined as a matter taking place out of the human control. However, Mingst (1999, p. 9) clarifies that this process is not inexorable and argues that â€Å"what is critical in globalization theory is the recognition that people perceive that this process is actually taking place, although not all are similarly affected†. The reach of globalization Although some consensus can be reached when defining the basic characteristics of globalization and the transformations that it ca uses, the problem comes when trying to specify the reach of its consequences and its real importance. As Rosenberg points the globalization debate is not about the reality of the change. It is about the significance and the nature of these changes that are taking place, and about the driving forces behind them (Rosenberg, 2005, p. 43). There has traditionally been a great division between globalists and sceptics. Globalists maintain that there are important transformations taking place in the world which are leading to a radically different new order. On the other hand, sceptics sustain that these changes are not that significant (Weis, 1999, p. 59). It can be argued that globalists see globalization as a threat for the current order. They think that international politics, global economy and social relations around the world will suffer a huge transformation due to globalization. Meanwhile, sceptics suggest that, although it is true that some changes are taking place, none of them will modify the essence of power and economy relations. There are two basic points in which globalists and sceptics disagree. The first one refers to the dilemma of whether globalization has led to transcendence of territory, meaning that cross border and open-border relations have been substituted by trans-border relations. Sceptics believe that transcendence of territorial space is not possible, as all transactions take place inside national defined borders and are subject to the laws of the state in which they operate (Weis, 2000, p. 61). The second divergence refers to the weight of these new transnational networks within the national and international panorama. Globalists see that there is an increasing influence in all fields, while sceptics state that globalization is mainly a financial phenomenon that affects some capital markets. When referring to international politics, the divergence between globalist and sceptic authors is also notable. Globalists believe that globalization implies a drastic power shift that restricts the capacities or national organisms, institutions and policies and favours the emergence of non-national actors. Even some sceptics have agreed with this theory, suggesting that globalization within international politics is about actors winning or losing power. Furthermore, there is a popular belief which suggests that if global networks exist, national ones are in danger, and thus globalization would cause the erosion of the power of the state (Weis, 2000, p. 4). However, it is not clear whether this theory overemphasises the changes in power without indentifying its sources. Thus, when discussing if globalization has affected International Politics, the main objective is trying to define if states have been more or less affected by the issues that globalization has raised. Of course there is always the trouble of the difficulty that it implies trying to give substance to the notions of ‘moreà ¢â‚¬â„¢ or ‘less’. However, what we can do is looking at different issues within nternational politics and analyzed the way in which globalization has transformed them –consequently changing the way in which states and international actors address these problems. That will be the task for the next section. How has globalization affected international politics? In a wide context, globalization has increased the demand for new policies aiming to address global problems that have appeared, showing certain limitations of current international organizations and states. Globalization has raised the problem of transborder networks becoming more relevant than local, regional and international ones. Together with it, theories on how the authority of states has been eroded have flourished. Governments acting within the power network of international relations seem to have overshadowed their own policy preferences in order to support others and avoid incurring high costs. Thus, economic integration and political interdepence appear to be keys of understanding the changes that globalization is pushing within international politics. Now, I will focus on the main areas in which globalization is sought to have exerted an important influence on the issues of governance. International cooperation Krahmann (2003, p. 29) remarked that many authors emphasize the fact that, through the years, global governance has been concentrated in specific regions, mainly in the developed countries, due to the concentration on power and trade networks in this areas. However, he points that this situation has been gradually shifting into a new panorama. Especially since the end of the Cold War, globaliza tion has been seen as force of change. As Weis also notes, â€Å"an unprecedented widening and deepening of international cooperation has led some to maintain that the nature of the state and of world politics are being fundamentally transformed† (Weis, 1999, p. 6). Globalization is one of the causes of states cooperating over more areas and not monopolizing the control over internal issues when they could have international consequences. International institutions and treaties have multiplied in the last years. Their expanding web has come to regulate all the problems of interstate activities. States have recognized the limitations of their capacities when addressing global problems and, as Krahman states, globalization has contributed to the creation of new networks among governments, implying international organizations, NGOs and even smaller community groups. States have continued to play a central role on international politics. However, there is little doubt that this kind of organizations, together with multinational corporations, are increasingly participating in the regulation and formulation of international policies, promoting cooperation between international actors. The absence of a global authority within international governance is also one of the reasons for the rise in cooperation (Vayrynen, 1999). However, some doubts arise contrary to these evidences. There is not real prove that globalization has been the main cause for this expansion of international organizations. Moreover, it is not clear proliferation of these new entities is really pushing forward a relevant transformation on international politics. In fact, Rosenberg (2005, p. 43) points that rather than states decision-making being undermined by the rise of international organizations, a â€Å"vigorous re-assertion of great power national interests† has taken place. Nevertheless, if globalists were true and globalization is actually transforming cooperation within International Politics, I would argue that this transformation is positive, rather than negative. If that is true, it could be argued that globalization of technologies and information has revealed to the whole world certain issues that were hushed up. It has made governments and people more conscious of problems taking place in countries that they have never thought about. The fast international mobilization after 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean is a good example of how cooperation has improved. Sovereignty Mingst (in Vayrynen, 1999, p. 90) defends that globalization of information and economy has challenged the state, as it sees â€Å"its sovereignty undermined and constrained and its structures unable to provide the necessary public goods†. Focusing the issues of sovereignty, Mingst and others have noted that the ability of states to initiate actions has been reduced and its sovereignty has been circumscribed. Krahman (2003, p. 333) pointed that this loss of sovereignty leads to a fragmentation of authority which benefits three entities that become increasingly powerful: subnational groups, upranational organizations and private or voluntary actors –such as NGOs or Transnational Corporations (TNCs). Thus, decision-making capacities which were traditionally taken by national states are increasingly being devolved to specific actors. Globalists have described a picture in which globalized system and people are divided, as citizens are still determined by the st ructure of the state even when their confidence in national sovereignty has been eroded. That would lead to the renaissance of national links and the reaffirmation of cultural, religious or ethnic identities (Castells, 1997, p. 74). Globalists continue of affirm that this situation would lead to the end of the current state-centric world defined by both realists and liberalists (Mingst, in Vayrynen, 1999, p. 90). From a more sceptic position, the threat on sovereignty does not seem so disturbing. â€Å"The danger is not that states will end up as marginal institutions, but that meaner, more repressive ways of organizing the state’s role will be accepted as the only way of avoiding the collapse of public institutions†, says Evans (1997, p. 64). The fact that economic or other kind of gains can be pursued without help of sovereignty does not imply that the sovereignty of the state is compromised. Thus, it seems more likely to think of globalization as a tool to reconstitute the capacity of the state, rather than eroding it. Nor even civil society does not seem a likely substitute –as some globalists have pointed (Falk, 2005, p. 222)– for public institutions of government. In fact, the growth of these kinds of new actors requires solid state powers in order to develop properly. Both international and local actors need vigorous capable organizational counterparts in the state. As Evans pointed, â€Å"a move toward less capable and involved states will make it more difficult for civic associations to achieve their goals† (Evans, 1997, p. 82). Rather than globalization challenging the power and the integrity of the state, certain authors see a picture in which both engage in everlasting reciprocal regulation that ends up redefining the state itself (Clark, 1998). Clark remarks that one of the main issues within globalization is its challenge to the realization of democracy. Globalization requires a new way of behaving in the international sphere that cannot consist on merely extending domestic practices to international activities. As he argues, it is not possible to maintain that â€Å"aggregation of democratic states produces democratic multirateralism†. In this context, the theory of the ideological pendulum proposed by Evans (Evans, 1997, p. 83) looks like the better explanation for all this changes. We are witnessing the end of an era in which the states tried to handle with more issues than what they really could. Now the new tendency is the contrary, as there is an excessive pessimism on the capacities of states (Rodrik, 1997a, p. 413). The excessive optimism on the states capabilities is turning into a situation in which it sees necessary ceding part of its sovereignty to other entities. However, this does not mean that sovereignty is in danger, nor even that states will lose their central role. As Chanda suggests, throughout history states have been able to give response to wide or global problems without surrendering or compromising its sovereignty (Chanda, 1998). The dismantling of the welfare state? Taking again in consideration Mingst definition of the challenges of globalization for the state, we see that the second one referred to the guarantees of social welfare that governments can provide. He asserted that in an era of globalization states structures are â€Å"unable to provide the necessary public goods† (Mingst, in Vayrynen, 1999, p. 90). Many globalists blame globalization for the dismantling of the welfare state and the expansion of the division between rich and poor in more developed states. In the global era, national economies are exposed to fluctuations that they cannot control and that affect their capacities to provide traditional welfare conditions (Hirst and Thompson, 1999, p. 164). Rieger (in Held and McGrew, 2000) states that there is a real globalization pressure which seeks to minimize welfare state –mainly from private enterprises, especially TNCs. The power of trade unions has been apparently eroded and democracies seem to become more restrictive. Firms that operate in globalized and integrated markets suffer major cost differentials in social benefits and, thus, globalization seems to threaten the welfare state. In addition, in a period of globalization, the number of citizens depending on the welfare states increases –as a consequence of migration and movement of labour force– and governments become unable to afford welfare. Moreover, the integration of markets on global levels leaves no space for welfare states in which the rates of labour productivity and production quality are similar. Thus, globalist authors suggest that the only way for avoiding that globalization ends up with the welfare state is by signing new international social contracts (Castells, 1997, p. 253). If we take in consideration this theory, it would be quite clear that globalization has transformed the way in which governments have to deal with welfare states issues. Moreover, it would mean that the global order is pushing for a renewal of the international policies within this field. However, sceptics have a totally different vision of the problem. Rieger, for instance, admits that although it is possible to see a pressure of globalization on welfare state, this pressure is not unsustainable (in Held and McGrew, 2000). Sceptics argue that globalization has not brought any drastic dismantling of the welfare state. In fact, it seems even more difficult to change the status quo of the welfare state as the pressure of globalization becomes stronger. In fact, studies have demonstrated that globalization does not affect wages, employment or income inequality; especially in countries were the welfare state is strong (Slaughter and Swagel 1997). Consequently, it would be possible to conclude that globalization is not transforming international policies related to the welfare state in a crucial way. Governments are, in fact, renewing their policies constantly, but there is no real evidence that the new global order has reduced states’ capability to provide welfare to its citizens. Political economy Globalization of economy and trade has traditionally been seen as the main responsible for the loss of authority of the states within international politics. Globalists state that prosperity and power are increasingly a consequence of private business between private actors across the boundaries of countries. Transactions taking place inside national borders have lost weight, and thus globalists assert that, within global economy, â€Å"it has become harder to sustain the image of states as the preeminent actors at the global level† (Nettl, cited in Evans, 1997, p. 65). Globalists believe that nowadays private actors make the decisions on which territory is included in the global markets or excluded from the global production networks. Thus, states are seen merely as mediators, which just can try to make their nations attractive for investors, but they cannot run the global economy system. In fact, it has been mentioned that states engaging in policies contraries to the interests of financial actors would be punished with measures such as a decline of their currencies or its access to capital (Evans, 1997, p. 67). Furthermore, globalists state that even the own market can react against hostile decisions of states. â€Å"Capital has long demonstrated willingness and ability to react to what it perceives as unfavourable policies† says Weis (1999, p. 8). Taking these arguments in consideration, it could be argued that globalization has undermined the power of states within political economy, thus radically transforming this aspect of international politics. However, some sceptic authors, such as Rodrik (in Nye, 2000, p. 349) state that economic globalization is far away from being extended as it seems. He think s that â€Å"international economic integration remains remarkably limited†. In fact, some arguments support this theory. There are still great obstacles for the global market, such as tariff barriers or linguistic and cultural differences. National borders have not disappeared, contrary to what most globalist theorists argue, and their restrictions and rules are still relevant in most international transactions. Moreover, the levels of investments in national assets are still higher that internationals. There are still strict restrictions for the mobility of labour around the world. Thus, Rodrik suggests that â€Å"while formal barriers to trade and capital flows have been substantially reduced over the past three decades, international markets for goods, services, and capital are not nearly as thick as they would be under complete integration†. It is possible to argue, as Evans does, that the role of states within international political economy is not undermined by the fact of its becoming increasingly dependent on private actors and global trade. In fact, it has been proved that the bigger is the reliance on trade, the more important is the role of the state (Evans, 1997, p. 68). Thus, powerful and involved states are more likely to participate actively within global markets. Then, the role of the state is not really undermined, and even â€Å"high stateness† can be a competitive advantage. It can be argued that globalization is not responsible for the growth of the multilateral economic order; neither is it a cause of undermining the power of states as international actors. Then, if some crucial transformations have taken place during the last years within international political economy, it would be unfair to blame globalization. Globalization of crime As a final point, I will briefly refer to one of the issues that has been more present within international politics in the last years. National security is one of the main problems pointed to have emerged as a big challenge of globalization. As Kiras (in Baylis, 2005, p. 482) pointed, globalization of technologies and information has improved the capabilities of terrorists. Communication and mobility of people across the borders is increasing, and this gives more facilities for criminals to act. Apart from terrorism, a new global organized crime seems to have emerged, conditioning certain economic and political aspects of international politics and, moreover, destabilizing national governments (Castells, 1997). In fact, there is a growing importance of economic flows with criminal origin –such as those coming from the illegal weapons or drugs markets. Whether globalization can be blamed for these circumstances or not is a difficult question to be answered. However, it is clear that this is one of the issues that have transformed international politics in a more crucial way. Governments are not able to fight with this new global crime by themselves, so they are moving towards multilateralism in foreign policy and defence (Castells, 1997). Whether this multilateralism is something that erodes the autonomy of the states or just a positive cooperative measure is a question that still needs to be answered. Conclusion The debate between globalists and sceptics is still continuing nowadays. However, recent events have come to support the theories of the latter ones. As Rosenberg points, globalization has not transformed the essence of international politics. The new global and radically distinct order that globalists had announced is not a reality. Little essential changes have taken place (Rosenberg, 2005, p. 3). While examining the issues of sovereignty, welfare or trade that globalization has raised, it is possible to perceive that it has pushed some transformations. However, most of them are not significant. Moreover, it is not quite clear in what grade globalization is responsible for them. Nevertheless, it can be argued that the global order is not undermining the power of the state. Instead, states that are strong and participative seem to be more powerful and play a more important role within the issues of globalization. As Clark stated, instead of globalization eroding the capacities of states, it is more appropriate to sustain that globalization in a process parallel to an apparent reconstruction of the state (Clark, 1998, p. 491). International politics are suffering a shift on the policies that they need to apply in fields like welfare and finance. Although this shift does not affect the nature of international politics, it seems necessary to preserve the predominant position of traditional states. New private and public powers are arising, and governments need to learn to deal with them in order to keep their status. 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