Unit 4: Global Citizenship & Quality of Life

Vocabulary flashcards covering quality of life, human rights, global challenges, and citizenship based on the Unit 4 lecture notes.

Quality of Life (QOL)

The general well-being of individuals and societies, including health, happiness, and rights, focusing on the "Intangibles" like freedoms and subjective happiness.

Standard of Living (SOL)

A measure of the level of goods, services, luxuries, and material wealth available to an individual or population, focusing on the "Tangibles."

Disparity

A significant difference or inequality between groups, such as the gap between the Global North and Global South.

Human Development Index (HDI)

The UN’s tool to measure a country’s level of social and economic development based on life expectancy, education, and GNI, with an ideal score of $1.0$.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita

A measure of a country's economic output per person ($\text{Total GDP} \text{ divided by population}$); often used as a proxy for standard of living.

Knowledge Index

A measure of a country's ability to generate, adopt, and diffuse knowledge.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

The foundational document created by the UN in $1948$ outlining the $30$ basic rights to which all human beings are entitled.

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

An international treaty that recognizes the specific rights of children under the age of $18$ to protection, education, and health.

Employment Equity

The principle of equal opportunity in the workplace for all, ensuring the removal of barriers for women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and visible minorities.

Democratization

The process of moving toward a democratic system of government, often linked to global political and economic pressure.

Gender Gap

The social, economic, and political disparity between men and women.

Ecological Footprint

A measure of the impact of a person or community on the environment, expressed as the amount of land required to sustain their use of natural resources.

Sustainable Prosperity

Practicing a way of life that allows all people to meet their needs and flourish without compromising the ability of future generations to do the same.

Green Revolution

A period of rapid increase in agricultural productivity through the use of pesticides, high-yield crops, and Genetic Modification (GM).

Genetic Modification (GM)

Altering the DNA of organisms (like crops) to produce desired traits, such as pest resistance or herbicide tolerance.

Pandemic

An outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects an exceptionally high proportion of the population, as defined by the WHO.

World Health Organization (WHO)

The UN agency responsible for international public health.

Civic Responsibility

The actions and attitudes associated with democratic governance and weight of participation, such as voting and volunteering.

Global Citizenship

The idea that one's identity transcends national borders and that individuals have responsibilities to the world community.

Consumer Activism

The practice of making purchasing decisions, such as boycotting a brand, based on ethical or political beliefs.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

A business model where companies integrate social and environmental concerns into their operations and are held accountable for their impacts.

Anti-Globalization Activism

A social movement critical of the globalization of corporate capitalism and its perceived negative effects.

Internationalism

The principle of cooperation among nations, often through organizations like the UN, for the common good.

Relative Poverty

Having a significantly lower standard of living than those around you.

Absolute Poverty

A set amount, such as $2.15/\text{day}$, considered the minimum for survival.

Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO)

A Canadian measure of poverty, approximately $55,000$ - $60,000$ for a $4$-person family depending on the city.

Malnutrition

A condition often caused when landowners grow cash crops for export rather than food for local populations to satisfy the profit motive.

Cash Crops

Crops grown for export profit, such as coffee, cocoa, or cotton, rather than for local consumption.

Food Sovereignty

The right of local communities to control their own food systems and agricultural decisions.

Blood Diamonds (Conflict Diamonds)

Diamonds mined in war zones and sold to finance armed conflict against legitimate governments.

The Kimberley Process

A global commitment designed to remove conflict diamonds from the supply chain.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault

A secure seed bank in Norway funded with approximately $\text{US }8.8 \text{ million}$ to ensure against the loss of seeds during global crises.