General
True or False: Dubai Mall is the biggest mall in the world?
Answer: FALSE!
Answer: #1 Mall - Iran Mall (Tehran, Iran): Spans a staggering 21,000,000 sq ft. It includes 2,500+ stores, an Olympic-sized sports complex, traditional bazaars, a massive library, and indoor gardens.
#2: IOI City Mall (Putrajaya, Malaysia): Covers 8,840,000 sq ft, featuring an adventure park and massive exhibition spaces.
#3: South China Mall (Dongguan, China): Spans 7,100,000 sq ft, famous for its vast scale and architectural ambition.
#4: Dubai Mall (Dubai, UAE): Coming in at over 12 million sq ft of total space (approx. 5.9 million sq ft internal floor area). It draws over 80 million visitors annually to its 1,200 stores, indoor aquarium, and ice rink
Name one eco-friendly solution
Answer: transitioning to renewable energy (solar, wind, and geothermal)
How did the UAE use globalisation to build its wealth?
Answers:
1) Established free trade zones and tax-free economy
2) Established itself as a mega-hub for logistics and aviation & maritime Networks
3) Opened itself to global talent and expatriates
Name one reason critics oppose cultural globalisation?
Answer: local cultures and traditions can be erased
True or False: Is Dubai Airport the busiest airport in the world?
Answer: TRUE!
DXB is #1 busiest International Hub - handling 95.2 million international passengers in 2025, comfortably ahead of London Heathrow (79.9 million) and Incheon International Airport (73.5 million).
- Connects to over 290 destinations across 110 countries via more than 100 international airlines.
- Top source and destination traffic flows through India, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and Pakistan.
- The airport accommodates nearly 200,000 passengers per day and serves as the global hub for Emirates & Flydubai
What was Amazon originally and where did it start?
Answer: A bookstore and in Jeff Bezos' garage.
Which celebrity has been named the largest contributor to CO2 emissions through private travel?
Answer: Taylor Swift!
Emitting over 8,293 tonnes of CO2 in a single year. This footprint was primarily driven by extensive private jet travel, exceeding 1,000 times the annual average of an ordinary person.
A company designs a phone in one country, manufactures it in another, and sells it worldwide.
This is an example of:
A) Isolation
B) Global trade
C) Farming
D) Tourism
Answer: B) Global trade
Identify two social causes of globalisation.
Answers:
- Transnational Migration: Increased mobility has led to diverse urban centers
- Digital Connectivity: Social media and internet bridge geographic gaps, uniting communities around shared global issues.
- Consumerism & Lifestyles: Access to international markets allows foreign foods, media, and trends to transcend borders, standardizing daily routines across vastly different continents.
Explain why social media is both a positive and negative example of globalisation.
Answer:
Positives
- Borderless Communication: Platforms like Meta, X/Twitter and LinkedIn allow individuals and communities across the globe to communicate instantly, run global social movements, and build professional networks without physical barriers.
- Cultural Exchange: it allows everyday people in regions like the UAE to share local traditions, arts, and perspectives, enabling a multi-directional flow of culture rather than one-sided dominance.
- Global Commerce: small businesses and entrepreneurs can tap into the global market instantly through social commerce and targeted digital marketing, lowering the barrier to international trade.
- Spread of Misinformation: the rapid, borderless nature of networks means that hoaxes and fake news can destabilize societies and influence events globally before fact-checkers can intervene.
- Erosion of Local Identity: dominant global cultures (often Western) heavily populate social feeds, threatening the survival of indigenous or hyper-local subcultures and creating a "monoculture".
- Digital Inequality: Unequal access to high-speed internet and tech hardware exacerbates the digital divide, leaving marginalized communities or developing nations behind in the globalized conversation.
- Echo Chambers and Polarization: algorithms designed to maximize engagement often trap users in ideological bubbles, increasing political and social polarization worldwide rather than fostering true global understanding
Name three things that drive globalisation?
(Hint: "T")
Answers:
1) Trade
2) Technology
3) Travel/Transport
True or False: The fashion industry contributes more emissions that international aviation and shipping combined
Answer: TRUE!
The fashion industry accounts for an estimated 10% of global carbon emissions, which is more than international aviation and shipping combined (over 5%)
- Energy-Intensive Production: Roughly 60% of clothing utilizes synthetic fibers like polyester, which are derived from fossil fuels and require massive amounts of energy to produce and process.
- Global Supply Chains: Manufacturing a single garment involves highly fragmented steps—growing materials (like cotton), spinning yarn, weaving, dyeing, and assembly—often scattered across different countries relying on coal-powered grids.
- Fast Fashion Model: The rapid turnover of cheap collections leads to overproduction and rapid disposal, with approx. 85% of textiles ending up in landfills or incinerators.
True or False: The UAE is economically dependent on oil
Answer: FALSE!
Non-Oil Growth: Approximately 70% to 72% of the GDP is now generated by financial services, real estate, manufacturing, construction, retail, and tourism.
What is cultural globalisation?
Answer: the sharing and spreading of ideas, food, fashion, music, language, customs and traditions from different cultures
The current oil crisis is an example of a disadvantage of globalisation, specifically s________ c_______ d__________.
Answer: supply chain disruption
What are four examples of globalisation in everyday life?
Answers:
1) International Brands
2) International Cuisines
3) Internet / Social Media
4) Online Shopping
5) Entertainment - Movies, Music etc.
Which country emits the most CO2?
A) UAE
B) USA
C) China
D) India
Answer: C) China
- China: ~31% of global emissions, heavily driven by coal-fired power generation and industrial output.
- United States: ~14% of global emissions, primarily driven by transportation and electricity.
- India: ~7% of global emissions, experiencing rising industrial demand.
- United Arab Emirates has one of the highest per-capita footprints globally due to high energy consumption for cooling and desalination.
Name four disadvantages of globalisation.
Answers:
1) Cultural homogenization (erosion of local culture)
2) Displacement of jobs (outsourcing)
3) Accelerated environmental degradation
4) Vulnerability to economic shocks
What is cultural homogenisation?
Answer: the spread of pop culture, fast-food chains, and fashion risks from a particular culture erasing unique, localized traditions into a single monoculture.
Which global company is considered the largest by worth in the world?
A) Google
B) Amazon
C) nVidia
D) Apple
Answer: C) nVidia
By Market Capitalization (Total Market Value)
- #1 Nvidia: Valued at over $4.9 trillion.
- #2 Apple: Valued at over $4.5 trillion.
- #3 Alphabet (Google): Valued at roughly $4.4 trillion
What are the three most watched sporting events in the world?
Answers:
1) FIFA World Cup
2) Olympics
3) Cricket World Cup
What are the five key environmental challenges in the UAE?
Answers:
1) Water Scarcity: UAE relies heavily on groundwater over-extraction and energy-intensive seawater desalination. This causes localized soil degradation and high energy costs.
2) Waste Generation: each individual generates roughly 585 kg of solid waste annually, with high volumes of textile, plastic, and electronic throwaway culture ending up in landfills.
3) Marine & Coastal Degradation: marine environments face pressure from industrial runoff, coastal development, and high-salinity discharge from desalination plants.
4) Biodiversity Loss: urban sprawl fragments native desert and mangrove habitats, threatening vulnerable indigenous wildlife.
5) Air Pollution & Urban Heat: high dependence on private vehicles and industrial activity exacerbates air quality challenges, particularly during regional dust and sandstorms
What is considered the global universal currency?
A) Chinese Yuan
B) Euro
C) British Pound
D) US Dollar
Answer: D) US Dollar
True or False: Homogenous groups are more successful than heterogeneous groups?
Explain why.
Reminder:
Homogenous = collection of individuals that share similar characteristics, backgrounds, or traits
Heterogenous = collection of individuals that do not share similar characteristics, backgrounds or traits.
Answer: FALSE!
Heterogeneous groups are often more successful at complex problem-solving because diverse perspectives trigger deeper information processing and prevent Group Think. While homogeneous groups feel more confident, diverse teams excel by challenging assumptions
The FIFA 2026 World Cup is starting this week - name up to five ways this event showcases globalisation.
Answers:
1) 48 countries participating
2) Jointly hosted by 3 countries & 16 cities
3) Televised around the world
4) Fans travel to watch from all around the world
5) Players are citizens by birth and FIFA rules allow players to represent a country if they hold citizenship and meet specific ancestry or residency criteria, and many play for overseas club leagues