Innovations in Crude Oil Production Essay -- Oil Production Essays Pap

Innovations in Crude Oil Production The first oil well was drilled in 1859 by Edwin Drake. It burned to the ground several months later, but had it survived it would only have yielded around 20 barrels of oil per day, hardly a drop in today’s market.(â€Å"Story†) At the time however, it was considered a success and it began a revolution in oil production. Crude oil production in the world skyrocketed from a few hundred barrels of oil per day to 76 million today. (â€Å"International†) Of course, in the long term, this is not sustainable. In the near future however, it is the goal of the oil industry to continue this growth in order to continue to meet the world demand. Unlike the rest of the world, crude oil production in the US has gone down, from a high of 9.6 million barrels per day in the 1970’s to only 5.7 million barrels of oil per day now. But like the world, demand for oil has gone up. Looking at statistics for estimated US oil supply( â€Å"Environmental† : A History of Innovation, p. 9) :
162 billion barrels have already been produced
22 billion barrels make up our proven reserves
37 billion barrels are proven, but currently unrecoverable
50 billion barrels are estimated undiscovered and recoverable
351 billion barrels are estimated undiscovered and unrecoverable With an estimate of around 460 billion barrels of oil remaining, recent production declines are not due to the US running out of crude completely. However, 388 billion barrels of this country’s crude oil are technologically unrecoverable. What this means is that technology may exist to recover this oil, but that with today’s crude prices, it is not economical to do so. This problem faces oil producing countries all over the world. Thus,... ...o developing renewable energy technologies that will prepare for a fossil fuel-less future that this technology is bringing closer every day. Works Cited â€Å"The Story of Oil in Pennsylvania.† Paleontological Research Institution Official Home Page . 2004. http://www.priweb.org/ed/pgws/history/pennsylvania/pennsylvania2.html â€Å"International Energy Annual† 2001 edition, released in March 2003. Energy Information Administration (DOE) Official Home Page. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/iea/tableg1.html US Department of Energy. â€Å"Environmental Benefits of Advanced Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Technology†. Washington: 1999. http://www.fossil.energy.gov./programs/oilgas/publications/environmentalbenefits/ â€Å"Enhanced Oil Recovery/ CO2 Injection† Office of Fossil Energy (DOE) Official Home Page. 2004. http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/oilgas/eor/

The Native Son :: essays papers

The Native Son The novel, Native Son, by Richard Wright deals with a lot of themes all surrounding the protagonist, Bigger. Wright wants to show that, considering the conditions of Bigger's existence, his violent personality and his criminal behavior are not surprising. Bigger wants to feel like a human being with a free, independent will. His overwhelming sense of fear arises from his lack of power feeling in the face of an unnamed, hovering doom. Bigger’s crime is an act of rebellion, an affirmation of his independent will to act against the voice of social authority. Violence and crime are the only things Bigger feels he can use to declare his individual will as a human being. Two of the themes in the novel, deals with Richard Wright’s criticisms and the blindness of Jan and Mary. The social institutions described by Wright in the novel were very detailed. During the 1930’s, a symbolic code that was very common on black servants was one who was humble, clownish and ignorant. This helped elevate the whites rage, and boost the propagated images of black Americans. The newsreel depicted the entertainments and scandals of the ultra-rich. This newsreel was followed by a movie that portrayed black people as exotic, primitive savages. Together, these two films reflected an exaggerated portrait of racist symbolic codes. White society has control over the social dilogue that determines the meaning of the color of Bigger's skin and identity. "Blackness" is portayed as dangerous, savage, and inferior to "whiteness." The judicial system was also criticized in their rulings against Bigger. They didn’t seem to give much thought of Max’s speech. They still did what society wanted and found him guilty. Richard Wright criticizes the courts for being one-sided on every case that involves a â€Å"colored man.† In the middle of the second book, the press were so interested in Bigger to help with discrediting Jan and the Communist Party. They are delighted to hear that Bigger didn't want to eat with Jan and Mary at Ernie's. They wanted to print an article using Bigger to "prove" that the "primitive Negro" doesn't want to be "disturbed by white civilization.† Though they are the ones being fooled by Bigger’s role playing in which he can use to protect himself, due to their racism. Mr. Dalton’s real estate company charges homeowners in the black belt, an exhorborant amount for run down.

Sorting Through Education :: Classrooms School Learning Essays

Sorting Through Education "The whole world’s a classroom, and to really make it one, the first thing is to believe it is." (62) This quote is from Jon Spayde’s article entitled "Learning in the Key of Life" in which he discusses education outside of the classroom. Education is a word that encompasses all new knowledge that a person receives. This includes learning to walk and talk as a child, learning to read and write, learning to make friends and how to keep them. We receive an education everyday starting the minute we wake up. Some knowledge is practical, such as cooking and working effectively with others, and other knowledge is philosophical such as complicated mathematical theorems and Protegra’s idea that "Man is the measure of all things." The question now becomes which type of knowledge is more important, practical or philosophical? My challenge to the reader is to try to see these two ideas as a weighted balance. Both sides are equally important and each enriches the other. If there is enough of both everything tends to balance nicely with each idea corresponding with another. What happens if learning and education focuses more on one then the other? The scale is then lopsided. The more extreme the tilt toward one type of education, the more extreme that life is. For example, a person who can pass any test they take with flying colors but can not use a map to find thier way around. That person is book smart but has no common sense. Let’s look at what is referred to often as "street smarts" or common sense. Street smarts are those things that are learned outside the classroom such as how to communicate with people and how to survive in the every day world. This practical knowledge is extremely important to learn. Everyday we go out we usually learn something that is useful to us as humans. For example, let us take a looks at a man known as Edward. Edward was tiling a roof as child with his father. A piece of paper flew off the roof and Edward, being a little boy, tried to jump off after it. His father stopped him and Edward learned an important lesson that day on impulsiveness. He now knows to think before acting. Other examples of learning through experience are: we learn to read through magazines and comics as seen in Mike Rose's article "Lives on the Boundry.

Life Without Technology Essay

If someone told me that I would have to be technology-free for 24 hours I would probably have asked them for a tranquilizer so I could sleep through the horrid day. From the moment my alarm clock goes off in the morning to the time I set it at night I am using some sort of technology. I couldn’t even eat lunch at school without the help of those little machines that take our meal plans. Last week I did my best and tried as hard as I could to be free from technology. Obviously, being at college made it impossible but it was a good experience nonetheless. After my alarm goes off, it’s time to take a shower. The lights aren’t necessary so I leave them off. I come back from my shower with sopping wet hair and decide to suck it up and leave the blow dryer in the closet. It’s Monday so I only have one class, which means I have more time to torture myself. On the way to lunch my roommate and I take the stairs; I live on the 7th floor so we know this won’t last long. On my way out I contemplate whether or not the lock on our mailboxes is too technologically advanced for me to use. Honestly, I would have to admit that my day was not all that bad. My wet hair eventually dried itself from running up and down the seven flights of stairs. There is so much that we take for granted it is unbelievable. Even if I wanted to be absolutely free from technology I couldn’t. Lights are on everywhere you go and someone always wants you to listen to the message on their cell phone from their boyfriend. There are unavoidable motion sensor lights and unavoidable automatic doors. Car trips, if driving in the car were even allowed, would be extremely boring not to mention dangerous. Without traffic signals there would be a lot of accidents; for some reason I don’t think people would pay attention to little men in bright orange vests  waving flags. I am convinced that without technology smoking and drug use would increase and people would be fat. While people would be forced to walk most places I think that they would just choose to stay closer to home. Sleeping would probably take precedence over most activities, except maybe those associated with reproduction. So basically if you think about it the world would literally be one big, fat, high, drunk family. On Mondays I have geography and my teacher lectures with the help of PowerPoint. Since there is no way I can copy notes from just listening I once again must give in to the machine. On the way back from class my roommate and I cut through the Science building to make our trip shorter. It isn’t until I am through the second door that I realize the doors are handicapped accessible and automatic. It’s amazing the little things we take for granted. When I get back to the room, seven flights later, automatically the first thing I do is flick on the lights. I then shake my head and turn them off.

Indian Cuisine

Indian Cuisine Think of India and one of the first things that come to mind is its diversity. A large populous country divided into many states; each with its own unique traditions and gastronomic fare. Indian cooking is one of the most popular cuisines across the globe. Not only is it popular among the large Indian diaspora but also among the mainstream population of North America and Europe. For the uninitiated, Indian food may seem foreign, scary, spicy and not for the faint of heart. This paper aims to explore many of the facets that make up Indian cuisine and hopefully allay any misconceptions or fears that may exist. The chapters are categorized under the following sections: 1. The Evolution of Indian Cooking 2. Geographical Variation 3. Dietary Customs in India 4. The Story of Spices 5. Curry: What is it? 6. Indian Dining Etiquette The Evolution Of Indian Cooking Indian cuisine derives from a 4000 year timeline. It has significantly evolved as a result of the various influences introduced into the country by many travelers and rulers. Despite this evolution, it has not lost its original identity, but rather became richer with the assimilation of theses varied influences. The following historical timeline (Bhattacharya, n. d. ) of how Indian gastronomy evolved will help shape our understanding and appreciation of this cooking style. 2000 BC and earlier. Most people believe that the origins of Indian history, and therefore the cuisine, dates back to Mohenjedaro and Harrapan civilizations. It is understood that the Ayurvedic tradition of cooking, which is a complete holistic approach to cooking, evolved at this point in time. In Vedic times, a normal diet consisted of fruit, vegetables, meat, grain, dairy products and honey. Over time, some segments of the population embraced vegetarianism due to the ancient Hindu philosophy of ahimsa. 1000 BC. At this point we see the first influx of outsiders into the country. The Mohenjodaro people are believed to have been pushed to southern India and the cuisine there is still largely vegetarian. The roots of Hinduism are shaped at this point along with the Vedas and the Mahabharata. The caste system is developed dividing eating habits broadly by caste. For example; the Brahmins were mostly vegetarians while the Kshatriyas were meat eaters. 400 BC: This period saw the development of Buddhism outside India which resulted in the migration of people as well as their food and dietary requirements. 1200 AD: This period saw several north Indian dynasties rule and became known as the Golden Age of Indian Art. There were several travelers who visited India and were responsible for the introduction of tea. However, from a culinary perspective there are still no significant external influences brought into the country. 1200-1800AD: During the reign of the Moghuls we see the emergence of Moglai cuisine. It’s this type of cooking that people now associate with India. The cooking style is characterized by the addition of several seasonings like saffron and nuts. The influx of European influences into parts of southern India, such as Kerala, resulted in the beginning of the Syrian Christian cuisine. 1800 – 1947 AD: The age of British colonial rule saw the start of the English love affair with Indian food. It was hardly a glorified period in Indian history, but the British loved the elaborate way of eating and adapted several of the food choices to their taste. They developed the curry as a simple spice to help them cook Indian meals. Geographical Variation The cuisines of India are as richly diverse and varied as its culture, ethnic makeup and geography. According to Sarakar (n. d. ), the common characteristic of all Indian cooking is the tremendous use and blending of a variety of wonderfully exotic spices. As a land that has experienced extensive immigration and intermingling over the centuries, India's cuisine has benefited from numerous food influences. The diverse climate which ranges from tropical to alpine has also helped broaden the set of ingredients available for cooking. Northern India North Indian cuisine is distinguished by a proportionally high use of dairy products. The tawa, or griddle, is used extensively for baking flat breads like roti and paratha. A tandoor oven is also frequently used to cook main courses like chicken. Goat and lamb are favored ingredients of many northern Indian recipes. The samosa, a common appetizer on all Indian restaurant menus, has its roots in northern India. The staple food of most of north Indians are a variety of lentils, vegetables, and roti. Common north Indian foods such as kebabs and meat dishes originated with the Muslim incursions into the country. The influence of Europeans is also apparent with the creation of new dishes like chicken tikka masala which is actually a British invention during colonial times. Eastern India In the eastern part of India there is a large Oriental influence resulting from an influx of movement from Tibet and Nepal. All of these influences helped form the dietary customs in eastern India. Popular food is this region is a unique blend of vegetarian meals prepared in the traditional Chinese cooking style. Rice and fish are the staple foods because most of the towns and fishing villages are located on the coast. Southern India Southern Indian cuisine is distinguished by a greater emphasis on rice and the liberal use of coconut, coconut oil and curry leaves. Before Christianity came to India in the early 52 AD, Kerala was strictly vegetarian as regulated by Hinduism. However, after the visit of St. Thomas, Christianity quickly spread throughout Kerala and thus the diet evolved to also include meat. Western India The geography of the landscape and the culture of the people definitely influenced the region’s cuisine. Rajasthan and Gujarat have hot, dry climates so the relatively smaller varieties of vegetables available are preserved as pickles and chutneys. Culturally these states are largely Hindu and vegetarian. Peanuts and coconut are prominent ingredients as they are freely available. Goa, with its lush green coastline, has an abundance of fresh fish and seafood. Local dishes like Vindaloo are testament to the fact that Goa was a Portuguese colony until the 1960s. This region probably has the most diverse styles of food in India. Food from the Rajasthan area is spicy and largely vegetarian but includes many meat dishes. Gujarat’s cuisine is know for its slightly sweet taste (at least a pinch of sugar is added to most dishes) and is traditionally entirely vegetarian. Dietary customs in India As you would expect from a country as large and diverse as India, there are a variety of different dietary customs. Religion is a significant contributing factor to the diets of Indians. Hinduism is the dominant religion in India making up about 80% of the population while Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and Buddhists make up a sizeable minority. Some religions impose dietary restrictions which prohibit the eating of beef or pork. The most commonly served dishes at Indian dinner parties and public functions tend to comprise of chicken, lamb or fish as this avoids any potential difficulties with restricted diets for meat eaters. Here is a general guide to the dietary customs of the three major religious groups in India: Hindus Most Hindus follow a balanced vegetarian diet. Some do eat meat occasionally but Hindus do not eat beef out of reverence for the cow as a sacred animal. Strict Hindus will also avoid garlic, onions and mushrooms. Mushrooms are thought to promote ignorance, whilst garlic and onions are thought to invoke passion. Muslims Muslims cannot eat pork, lard or any other porcine derivatives. Islam prohibits eating meat that is not slaughtered in the correct Islamic way. Muslims recite the name of God before and after eating, eat with the right hand and find it desirable to always eat in the company of others. Sikhs Sikhs do not believe in ritual killing and are instructed to avoid meat slaughtered in this way. Although in many aspects Sikhism is less prescriptive than some other religions, most Sikhs do not eat beef or pork. Many Sikhs are vegetarian and in observance of such a variety of dietary habits, all food served in Sikh places of worship is vegetarian. Sikhism is probably the only major organized religion which does not encourage fasting as it is viewed as having no spiritual benefit. The Story Of Spices Spices are the jewels of Indian cooking. Their flavors are meant to be savored and should not be overpowered by the burning sensation resulting from the liberal use of hot chilies. Parbhoo (1985) suggests that authentic Indian food should generally not be too hot and recommends that spices be used lavishly in the same way cheese or wine is used in French cuisine. Chilies in themselves have very little flavor but contribute to the dish by providing a sensation of heat which can be regulated to the cook’s preference. Spices have three traditional functions: medicinal, preservative and seasoning. Early Indian literature written in Sanskrit and dating back 3000 years to the Vedic period emphasizes the importance of spices for preserving food. The Ayurveda, an ancient Hindu treatise on medicine, places special emphasis on the medicinal properties of spices. A few of examples of commonly used spices and their additional medicinal benefits are listed below: |Name |Uses in cooking |Medicinal Benefit | |Chilies |Prime ingredient of masalas and provides the heat and |Used to neutralize poison and relieve hypothermia in cases of cholera. | |flavor. | | |Cinnamon |Used for aroma in meat, rice and pickles. Ground cinnamon |Has anti-inflammatory that can lessen joint and muscle pain. | | |used in sweet dishes. | | |Anis Seed |Used in savory dishes to provide flavor. |Used to aid digestion and act as a breath freshener. | |Fenugreek Seeds |Provides a bitter flavor in savory dishes. |Provides relief from coughs, asthma and rheumatism. |Cloves |Used for aromatic qualities in meat and rice dishes. Also |Used as a local anesthetic. | | |an essential ingredient in masalas. | | Curry: What is it? Curry is a generic description used throug hout European and American culture to describe a general variety of spiced dishes. The word curry is an anglicized version of the Tamil word kari. Several articles (Sarkar, n. d. ; Smith, 1998) suggest it is usually understood to mean gravy or sauce, rather than spices. Curry's popularity in recent decades has spread outward from the Indian subcontinent to figure prominently in international cuisine. While many people think that curry is a particular spice, it is actually a mixture of spices commonly referred to as curry powder. This powder is versatile in both taste and flavor and varies widely depending on the region it comes from. Most people associate curry with a bright yellow color. This color is caused by the spice turmeric that is a common ingredient. However, not all curry powder mixtures contain turmeric and, in fact, curry powders can be as individual as the person making them. Some spices you might find in this mixture include chilies, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, nutmeg, cloves, coriander, mace, fenugreek, sesame seeds, red pepper, black pepper, poppy seeds, tamarind and saffron. Oftentimes the curry powder mixture recipe is passed down from one generation to the next and is a safely guarded secret. Indian Dining Etiquette Though Indian cooking uses an extensive array of specialized utensils for various purposes, Indians traditionally do not use much cutlery for eating as many foods are best enjoyed when eating with the hand. It is a technique that is clean and easy when done correctly. Cook (2008) suggests the reason for using the hands is that it adds an additional element of enjoyment to the taste because it helps with blending the food. In many parts of India, when eating curry, the gravy must not be allowed to stain your finger only the fingertips. The left hand is not used and kept clean to facilitate the passing of dishes along the table. These variations are further compounded and increased by the diversity of the population India, leading to regional differences in the way people dine. In Janjira’s (2009) article on Indian Dining Etiquette, he explains that in North India it is common to be seated at a dining table to eat. While in south India, especially is Kerala, it is as common to see people sitting down and eating on banana leaves. The entire meal will be placed and served on banana leaves and eaten with the hand. The concept of courses at mealtime does not exist in India. Most Indian homes will serve the food all at once and then keep filling the dishes as dinner progresses. Everything cooked will be made available on the table with the exception of the dessert which will follow once most guests are done eating. While general etiquette rules might suggest that everything should be tried, it is more in theory than in practice and it is perfectly fine to skip something which might not suit your taste. Desserts on the other hand more often than not require the use of utensils. Unlike the western world where dessert may also be followed by coffee or liquor; the serving of the dessert would often indicate that dinner is almost over. Conclusion As evident in the above chapters, Indian cuisine has a long history of being influenced by the unique needs and tastes of its indigenous people, invaders and explorers. The food, cooking techniques and ingredients have evolved based on peoples’ religious needs or influenced by the availability of ingredients across India’s vast and varied landscape. But even after all this; Indian cuisine manages to retain its unique heritage and identity in a global gastronomic landscape that tends to be fickled and faddish. Indian food is enjoyed by commoners and royalty alike and it is hoped that this paper will enlighten the reader and allay any fears or misconceptions that may have previously prevented the sampling of Indian cooking. References Bhattacharya , R (n. d) History of Indian Cooking: A Historical Perspective on Indian Cooking. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from http://www. inmamaskitchen. com/Indian_Cooking/history_Indian_food_cooking. html Cook, S (2008). Indian Eating Etiquette. Retrieved September 28, 2009 from http://www. india-travel-suite101. com/article. cfm/eating_in_indian_style Curry. Retrieved October 15, 2009 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/curry Indian Cuisine – Origins and Indian Culinary History. Retrieved November 10, 2009, from http://www. ndianfoodsco. com/Classes/CulinayHistory. htm Indian Cuisine. Retrieved October 25, 2009, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Indian_cuisine Janjira, M (2009). Indian Dining Etiquette. Retrieved September 22, 2009 from http://www. indianmusings. wordpress. com/2009/02/020indian-dining-etiquette Leong, K (n. d). The Health Benefits of Indian Food. Retrieved October 15, 2009 from http://www. associatedcontent. com/pop_print. shtml? content_ty pe=article&content_typeid=1829365 Parbhoo, R. (1985). Indian Coookery for South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Printpak Books. Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) (September 30th 2008). APA Formatting and Style Guide. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Sarkar, P (n. d). The Cuisine Of East India: An Introduction to Eastern Indian Food. Retrieved September 29, 2009 from http://indianfood. about. com/old/thebasics/p/eastindia. htm Smith, D (1998). Definition and History of Curry. Retrieved September 24, 2009 from http://www. curryhouse. co. uk/faq/define. htm

City Lights Movie Reflection Essay

A film in pantomime, I believe, means a romantic comedy where actors express their feelings by miming. The film’s story was mainly told through mime actions and the actors along with their facial expressions since it’s the only thing that is going on in a silent film, besides the sound. A pantomime uses its technique, in where a story is told using just music, sounds, and the motion and facial expressions. The scene I find memorable is where the main character firsts meets the man trying to commit suicide. I find it memorable because the same camera angle was used, and there was little camera movement. The man falling into the water and coming back out several times was shot in one take, if I remember well, and that takes lots of good acting and possibly more than one take was used for that scene. What also made the scene memorable was the lighting, because the scene might have been filmed during the night time, and the lights that were used showed the important places of the scene without showing much of the background, for example the bench had proper lighting and the place where they jumped in the water did as well. This movie’s filming is different than modern films because the shot lengths are much longer and there is little camera movement. There were few close-ups and few establishment shots. The only transitions between scenes were fade-outs and fade-ins. Shots also had to be rehearsed several times because film was very expensive and cameras were not digital so things could not be deleted on the spot or filmed over. Because of no sound, filmmakers had to rely on picking good actors, sound effects, and facial expressions. The actors play a huge part because the story can only be told through their motion and or expressions. The music had to be used to show suspense, playful/silly moments, or serious moments. The actors needed to be really well because it was really expensive for shots to be filmed more than once if not needed. The actors needed to know how to show different moods by facial expressions, movement of body, etc. This film is unique because of the long shots and the little camera movement. Charlie Chaplin did a great job at telling a story, and he did so with using few quote screens, and used them only when they were completely necessary. The storyline is also very different in this film. The opening scene of the movie also was irrelevant to the plot, and was used as an introduction to the main character and the type of person he is. I haven’t seen a single movie similar to City Lights.

Globalisation Drivers

Explain what is meant by the term globalisation. Identify and analyse the key drivers of the process of globalisation over the last twenty years. During the mid 1990’s the International Monetary Fund has defined globalisation as: ‘The growing interdependence of countries world-wide through the increasing volume and variety of cross-border transactions in goods and services and of international capital flows, and also through the more rapid and widespread diffusion of technology’ (Turner, 2006).Over the years, this interdependence of countries worldwide has increased dramatically. An indication of this has been the increase in the number of domestic and foreign strategic alliances by six times during the period 1989-1999 (Nam-Hoon Kang, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2001). This change clearly indicates how companies from all over the world interact with each other and form partnerships in response to the phenomenon of globalization.The mai n drivers that have helped globalization to expand and deepen over the past years have been technological revolutions such as the widespread use of Internet and the ease of trans-boundary travelling, the creation of international institutions that encourage free trade by removing trade barriers, the establishment of multinational corporations which seek to increase their profits by taking advantage of what globalisation has to offer (Economics for business 5th edition John Sloman p. 498) and last but not least the change of governments’ policies towards deregulation and privatisation (Development in Practice Taylor & Francis p. 24). This study aims to outline and examine these key drivers that made it possible for globalisation to evolve. The study will also focus on the magnitude of the drivers with relation to globalisation. â€Å"Globalisation is both a result and a force of modernisation and capitalist expansion, entailing the integration of all economic activity (local, national, and regional) into a ‘global' market place: that is, a market place that transcends geopolitical borders and is not subject to regulation by nation states. (Development in Practice Taylor & Francis p. 524) Technological revolutions are viewed by many as one of the key drivers of globalisation. (Bradley 1993, Dicken 1992). Firstly, the reduction in transportation costs and the ability to communicate freely and easily due to the advances in technology have caused tourism to rapidly grow over the years (Tourism in the age of globalisation Salah Wahab, Chris Cooper p. 320). Most importantly, not only individual people as passengers were benefited by the lower transportation costs.In the last half of the twentieth century, the price of transporting products worldwide has fallen dramatically due drops in the cost of air travel, the containerization and increasing ship size (Chrystal, 2007, p. 11). Containers have the ability to move non-fragile goods at the cost of 1% of retail value to any place. In the past years, when the transportation of goods was done through shipping before containers were invented, the cost involved used to be around 10%-20% of retail value. by BCRA) The striking difference in cost indicates the new potential for transfer of goods at increased quantities at a faster and cheaper rate from one place to another. In addition to this, the rapid grow of communications, especially through Internet has added significant strengths to globalization (Economics of globalisation By Partha Gangopadhyay, Manas Chatterji). The Internet has provided a powerful and cheap tool for sharing of information on goods and services through the form of advertising. This helped firms to boost their sales since they can target a bigger range of potential customers at a very low cost.The trends clearly show a constant increase of Europeans e-commerce sales from 2006 to 2011, reflecting a similar increase in the corporations that are investing in the e-bu siness (ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND THE GLOBALISATION ERA). Furthermore, internet enables free, fast and easy communication of ordinary people from all around the world which also serves as a factor that promotes globalisation and exchange of views and ideas on new products and services (Economics of globalisation By Partha Gangopadhyay, Manas Chatterji).In the recent years, technology is undoubtedly an enabling driver of globalisation but the latter is also influenced by economic motives. This actually means that globalisation is also driven by the economic motives of people. These motives have to do with shifting patterns of production and consumption from one place in the world to another (Tourism in the age of globalisation p. 321). More specifically, businesses seek new opportunities to lower their costs, to achieve savings of scale and to establish a competitive global position by gaining a greater global market share (Economics for business 5th edition).As a result of these motiv es, the foreign direct investment over the years has increased substantially and inevitably the number of cross-borders mergers and acquisitions has also increased. Corporations are trying to lower production costs by shifting the production to countries with cheap labour as well as to countries with abundant resources such as raw materials. China, India and Eastern Europe have been in the recent years the targets of FDI since they possess a production comparative advantage because of abundant and low wage labour force (By Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee).Furthermore, the reduction in trade barriers, the lower transportation costs and the development of stock markets, increased the corporations’ ability to trade and invest at a global scale. For example, stock markets have served as mechanisms for important inflow of capital for corporations since they can go public and raise significant capital that can be used for FDI (http://www. globaldesig nandbusiness. org). Someone can easily distinguish that while benefiting from what globalisation is offering the corporations are themselves driving the phenomenon through their innovations on technology and their overseas activities.The corporations’ economic activities, which are mentioned in the previous paragraph, are also related to the trade institutions that are world widely formed. The world trade institutions are associations that aim to the liberalisation of trade and encouragement of transnational economic actions. Such institutions are namely the WTO, NAFTAA and EFTA. These institutions have similar goals ie to increase competition and economic efficiency through the reduction of trade barriers and the governments’ regulations over trade within the members of their organisations.These organisations are having their members agreeing in reduction of tariffs and other policies (such as antidumping and subsidies) in order to make the governments transparent. Th e organisations are also setting special committees with the task of making sure that the pre-agreed policies are followed and that no member gets out of line. Because of the establishment of such institutions and the clear increase in their membership with ascending time the world trade has increased dramatically (http://www. wto. org, http://www. nafta-sec-alena. org).A good indication of that is the fact that the United Kingdom’s imports and exports contribution to its GDP has increased from 45% to 57% over the period of 1950 to 2005 ( Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee). Consequently, as the world institutions become stronger more active and more influential, globalisation is strengthened due to the improved and amplified interactions of corporations and countries as a whole. The governments as the years pass are trying to create a more competitive environment so that they can become attractive for foreign inflows of capital and investment.Fur thermore, they want to minimize the outflows to less regulated countries (Global public policy: governing without government: Wolfgang H. Reinicke p. 15). In order to achieve these goals, they have been converting their policies towards a more economically favourable manner. Inevitably they have been trying to reduce their trade barriers and accelerate economic growth by joining the world trade institutions (e. g. WTO) as well as the free trade blocks such as the E. U and ASEAN. The trading blocs have a large number of objectives that bring the country-members closer to each other.Some of these objectives demand that the members cannot practise anticompetitive behaviour such as high tariffs, quotas and anti-competitive taxation whereas additionally peace, mutual respect and cultural acknowledgement are also promoted (http://www. aseansec. org, http://europa. eu). Looking at another aspect in the chapter of the governments’ policies that is driving globalisation, someone could identify the remarkable example of the transition countries. The transition countries are suggested to be China, the former Soviet Union, ex-communist Europe countries and third world countries such as India (http://en. ikipedia. org). Over the past 20 years these countries have undergone various economic and political changes that have substantially shifted the countries from the previously central planned economies towards free market economies. As a result liberalisation and privatisation have been encouraged (Privatization in transition countries: By Oleh Havrylyshyn, Donal McGettigan p. 7 and 8). Because of those changes, globalisation has been favoured through its inherent characteristics to become stronger and deeper with modernisation and capitalist expansion. (Taylor &Francis). Looking back to the key drivers of globalisation we have presented in this study, they have all been relatively important since they are all favouring globalisation correspondingly. It is clear that the technological advances and the governments’ policies and behaviours separately and distinctly are really adding to the increasing pace of globalisation. However, the interesting thing that someone could safely say, it is that these drivers are interrelated which suggests that one driver is driving the other and both of them are driving globalisation. References: 1.European Business 2nd Edition Debra Johnson Colin Turner p. 59 2. Nam-Hoon Kang, Organisation For Economic Co-Operation And Development, 2001 3. Economics For Business 5th Edition John Sloman p. 498, Development In Practice Taylor & Francis p. 524 4. Tourism In The Age Of Globalisation by Salah Wahab, Chris Cooper (Bradley 1993, Dicken 1992) p. 320-323 5. Economics By Richard G. Lipsey, K. Alec Chrystal p. 11 6. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND THE GLOBALISATION ERA by STUPARU, DRAGOS, VASILE, TOMITA (article) 7. Economics of globalisation By Partha Gangopadhyay, Manas Chatterji p. 191-193 8.Globalisation: prospects and policy responses, fourteenth report of session †¦ By Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Treasury Committee p. 7-12 9. http://www. globaldesignandbusiness. org 10. http://www. wto. org 11. http://www. nafta-sec-alena. org 12. Global public policy: governing without government: Wolfgang H. Reinicke p. 15 13. Privatization in transition countries: By Oleh Havrylyshyn, Donal McGettigan p. 7-8 14. Monetary Policy under Uncertainty Proceedings of the 2007 Money and Banking Seminar – BCRA p. 86 (report) 15. http://www. aseansec. org 16. http://europa. eu 17. http://en. wikipedia. org