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"THE best quality of life of any of the world's urbanites is still enjoyed by Melburnians, according to the latest Liveability report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, our corporate sibling. For the third year in a row Australia's second city has kept a hair's breadth ahead of Vienna and Vancouver, which spent almost a decade in first place before Melbourne's reign began. The ranking scores 140 cities on a scale of zero to 100 for each of 30 factors such as the quality of public healthcare or the threat of military conflict. These 30 values are then combined to create scores in five areas: stability, infrastructure, education, health care, and culture and environment. A weighted average of those five numbers gives each city its final score."

"Demand for sugar is triggering land conflicts, says Oxfam, as it calls on Coca-Cola and other major firms to have zero tolerance"

Globalization is a contentious process. Ever since the term was first used to make sense of large-scale changes, scholars have debated its meaning and use. As the term became a globally popular buzzword, it served to crystallize disagreements about the direction of change in the world at large. By the end of the twentieth century, the meaning and merits of globalization were contested in the media and in the streets. Intellectual debate blended with political conflict. In the years to come, debates and conflicts surrounding globalization will increasingly affect the processes captured by the term.