Often the word "globalization" is thrown around rather carelessly, and many people just associate it with the expansion of such familiar icons as Starbucks and McDonalds into the far-flung corners of the world. Fortunately, there are programs such as this one from American Radioworks, which is sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio, with significant assistance from the Corporation for Public...

How does one stir the pot of creative possibilities, so to speak? It is a daunting challenge, and UNESCO's Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity is interested in exploring "new ways to turn creativity in developing countries into sustainable cultural industries." The Alliance was launched in 2002, and they have recently embarked on a number of public-private partnerships that are designed to...

More and more individuals are turning to the Internet to communicate with colleagues, friends, and relatives and there are a number of helpful programs currently available for general use. This edition of the Global Communications Network application allows visitors to engage in video and voice chat and administer their own chat rooms, all within a secure format. This version is compatible with...

As more and more businesses grow socially conscious, there has been an interest in adapting business practices to align with certain desired goals. The United Nations Global Compact dovetails quite nicely with this trend, and it is a "strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of...

Transparency International publishes a myriad of reports related to governmental corruption and operations. The Global Corruption Barometer report for 2007 was released in December 2007 and it contains a wealth of important, albeit troubling, findings. The Barometer surveyed almost 64,000 respondents in 60 countries, and in doing so, created a profile of where citizens see the greatest degree of...

The international organization Transparency International is well-known for its distinguished work on investigating corruption around the world, and this latest report from their research team is timely and tremendously valuable. The 429-page report takes a close look at judicial corruption around the world. As the report notes this disturbing trend "undermines economic growth by damaging the...

For policymakers and academics alike, having access to information about the global distribution of poverty is crucial. Based at the Earth Institute at Columbia University, The Poverty Mapping Project at The Center for International Earth Science Information Network is a very fine resource for anyone interested in this subject. Understandably, the site provides access to dozens of maps which...

The "Inside Politics" website is maintained by Professor Darrell West of Brown University, and visitors to the site will find some of his publications, lectures, and related materials. One of his recent additions to the site is this paper on the state of global e-government from August 2007. This is actually the seventh annual update on the state of global e-government from Professor West, and...

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics publishes numerous technical guides and strategy papers every year, and this particular document is both timely and important. The Global Education Digest 2007 offers a comparative look at education statistics and spending across the world, and there are a number of findings that are particularly revealing within its pages. One such finding is that governments...

Many have wondered, "What will become of the world's forests?" It's an important question, especially given the pressures presently facing forests from Moscow to Mozambique. Recently, The World Bank asked the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) to convene a group of key stakeholders in order to consider this question. Over 600 forest experts responded to IIED's survey or...