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into India , the events resulted in prices spiking within short periods , and significant economic losses . Consequently , diversifying trade routes is not just a matter of economic efficiency but economic survival for such countries . Reliability of connectivity can therefore have significant effects on firms and countries .
NO SUSTAINABILITY WITHOUT CONNECTIVITY
Now that we are in an era with many threats to global sustainability , the need for connectivity is even more pressing . Addressing the issue of climate change , for example , would be difficult without connectivity . Countries need to continue negotiating how best to mitigate and adapt to climate change . Though reaching consensus has been arduous , there is light emerging at the end of the tunnel that will at least slow down global warming and avert the catastrophic consequences associated with climate change . Connectivity among nations and people is also seen as critical during the Covid-19 pandemic . The collaboration to share vaccines has proven to be a big challenge . The selfishness of rich nations has been very visible at the early stage of the vaccination drive . This has , to some extent , improved , as it has become obvious that the only way to stop the spread is by having at least 70 % of the entire world population vaccinated . Otherwise , global connectivity , which is also key to the revival of the world economy , would be difficult to achieve . The connectivity between countries is one part of the problem which has , to some extent , been resolved . It is the connectivity among people in the countries which now poses a serious obstacle to stopping the pandemic . As a result of the growing distrust between populations and their Governments , efforts to meet the desired vaccination level have met with opposition . The proliferation of fake claims on the media is also not helping .
Notwithstanding the negative sides of connectivity during the pandemic , there is also the positive outcome . This refers to the increasing deployment of digital platforms as a result of the challenges in connectivity posed by the virus . Internet commerce , for example , made a huge jump during the pandemic . So much so that the architecture of the retail business has witnessed a dramatic transformation . Many see a serious shrinking of the space-based retail sector in the coming years , as the technology to achieve the needed buyer-seller interaction has significantly improved . Digitalisation is again at the centre of such a transformation . This will no doubt also change investment in the retail business in the future . It is unthinkable how the retail business would cope without digitalisation during the difficult times brought by the pandemic .
Learning connectivity in the education ecosystem was , to some extent , though not perfectly , helped by online platforms such as Zoom , Teams and many more which sprouted during the pandemic . Now digital technologists are busy incorporating new algorithms to perfect the system . Many believe it is only a matter of time before all forms of educational connectivity will go digital and online . Serious rethinking must now go into reviewing the traditional schooling system , currently based entirely on physical structures . There are those among education planners who envisage the trend toward hybrid learning . Many believe there is still a need for the physical face-to-face interactions in learning but the space requirements would be much reduced . Higher learning institutions are also contemplating adjusting their business models to the new reality where digitalisation dominates .
CONNECTIVITY BEYOND SOCIAL
With the advent of 5G and artificial intelligence , connectivity has now spread beyond social needs . As a result of the achievement globally of research in digitalisation , connectivity between man and machine is now feasible . This opens up even more opportunities in the global drive to increase and enhance productivity . We are reaching a limit in the deployment of manual labour to produce goods and services . The demand for speed has in many ways contributed to this new reality . Furthermore , labour management is also under close scrutiny by the world as new labour standards are being introduced to prevent abuse . Some of such standards have also been used as non-tariff barriers by certain countries , banning the import of products which compete with their
32 VOL 90 APRIL-JUNE 2022