The structure of a global issue
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| global issue/ˈɡləʊbl ˈɪʃuː/ | An issue affecting people or environments across national boundaries and requiring attention at an international scale. |
| shared resource/ʃeəd rɪˈzɔːs/ | Something available for use by several people or groups, whose use may require coordination. |
| externality/ekˈstɜːnælɪti/ | An effect on others whose full cost or benefit is not reflected in an action. |
| collective action problem/kəˈlektɪv ˈækʃn ˈprɒbləm/ | A difficulty achieving a shared benefit because individual incentives or coordination hinder cooperation. |
| development/dɪˈveləpmənt/ | A process of growth, change or increasing complexity over time. |
Connect the issue to places and people
- A global issue 全球性议题 matters across societies or links places through causes, effects and responses. A local study can examine one part without explaining the whole world.
- Water access, food systems and education access involve different conditions. Identify the actual connection instead of assuming every issue has one structure.
Use concepts where they fit
- A shared resource 共有资源 is used by several groups. An externality 外部性 is an effect on others whose full cost or benefit is not reflected in an action.
- A collective action problem 集体行动问题 makes a shared benefit difficult to obtain through individual action alone. Ask who benefits, who bears a cost and what prevents cooperation; do not assume nobody is willing to act.
Which three concepts could help analyse the supplied shared-river case? Choose all that apply.
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The concepts help ask case-specific questions. They do not prove contamination, establish one universal cause or show that all global issues have the same structure.
State what an indicator measures
- Development 发展 can involve health, education, living conditions and income. One indicator describes a defined part, not the whole community.
- Check definitions, dates and distributions before comparing figures. A higher average does not show what happened to every person.
If average income is rising, most people must be getting richer.
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An average hides a distribution. A rising mean is compatible with most people getting poorer.
Two countries have the same average income. What else must you look at?
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Composite indicators exist because income alone describes very different lives identically.
A shared river, an unmeasured risk. In an invented case, A irrigates upstream and B draws household water downstream. A proposed discharge could affect B, but no tests establish contamination. Shared monitoring could inform both users. Funding and permit approval remain undecided.
Which interpretation fits the fictional river case?
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Both users rely on the river. Actual effects require tests, and monitoring funding and permit approval remain open.
In a congested road, identify the shared resource and a possible externality of an additional car.
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Road space is shared. In congested conditions, an additional car may add delay experienced by other users.
International attention is different from achieved results. The first UN Water Conference was held in 1977; SDG 6 was adopted as part of the goals in 2015. Neither milestone proves universal water access. Sources checked 2 October 2026: UN water and sanitation.
Choose an achievable, permitted research question with traceable evidence. Do not infer present contamination, success or one universal cause from a location, a goal or a general concept.