GlobeScan
Encyclopedia
Not to be confused with the British
airline company
'Globespan
' or the American
semiconductor company
'Globespan'.
GlobeScan (also known as GlobeScan International) is a Canadian-based company
that does research and polling
in public opinion
as well as of private groups. It used to be known as Environics International. It has offices in London
, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington D.C..
's 2004 book The Wisdom of Crowds
. Specializing in custom and syndicated research for global companies, NGOs, and other multilateral institutions, the company has been providing strategic research and counsel to clients around the world since 1987. Its research has been mentioned by numerous media agencies
such as Al-Ahram Weekly
, Christian Science Monitor, Asia Times Online
, The Moscow Times
, The Daily Mail, Vancouver Sun, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
, Financial Times
, and BBC Radio
.
progress toward environmental sustainability conducted annually in partnership with the National Geographic Society
. The project looked at 14,000 consumers in Australia
, Brazil
, Canada
, China
, France
, Germany
, Great Britain
, Hungary
, India
, Japan
, Mexico
, Russia
, Spain
, and the United States
. It also used 27 international experts in sustainability. In 2008 and 2009, the United States' economy was placed dead last with Canada next to last; India scored first.
The firm also attracted international media attention for its 2008 worldwide survey that matched Presidential candidates
Barack Obama
with John McCain
, questioning 23,531 people either face-to-face or via telephone in 22 countries. The poll found strong margins in favor of Obama. However, about 4 in 10 surveyed did not express an opinion. Doug Miller has said that "[l]arge numbers of people around the world clearly like what Barack Obama represents". He also commented that America's international image was mostly negative
at that time.
The survey was partially sponsored by United Kingdom taxpayers
through the BBC
at around £55,000 or more, which attracted criticism. The Daily Mail called the survey "worthless" given that non-Americans could not vote in the election. Tory
MP Philip Davies
stated that "I think this is an appalling waste of taxpayers' money, which has no bearing on anything." The BBC responded in a statement that "[t]he fact that the poll results are reflected in great detail by other news sources around the world, bringing credit to Britain, shows their value."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
airline company
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
'Globespan
Flyglobespan
Flyglobespan was a British low-cost airline based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It formerly operated scheduled services from 5 airports across the UK and Ireland to destinations in Europe, North America, North Africa and South Africa. Its main bases were Glasgow International Airport, Edinburgh Airport...
' or the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
semiconductor company
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
'Globespan'.
GlobeScan (also known as GlobeScan International) is a Canadian-based company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
that does research and polling
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
in public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
as well as of private groups. It used to be known as Environics International. It has offices in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington D.C..
Background
According to the firm's president, Doug Miller, its methodology is based on the principles in James SurowieckiJames Surowiecki
James Michael Surowiecki is an American journalist. He is a staff writer at The New Yorker, where he writes a regular column on business and finance called "The Financial Page".-Background:...
's 2004 book The Wisdom of Crowds
The Wisdom of Crowds
The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations, published in 2004, is a book written by James Surowiecki about the aggregation of information in groups, resulting in decisions that, he argues, are often better...
. Specializing in custom and syndicated research for global companies, NGOs, and other multilateral institutions, the company has been providing strategic research and counsel to clients around the world since 1987. Its research has been mentioned by numerous media agencies
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
such as Al-Ahram Weekly
Al-Ahram Weekly
Al-Ahram Weekly is an Egyptian English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt.It was established in 1991 by the Al-Ahram newspaper, which also runs a French-language weekly version, Al-Ahram Hebdo....
, Christian Science Monitor, Asia Times Online
Asia Times Online
Asia Times Online is a bilingual English‒Chinese, Internet-based newspaper covering geopolitics, politics, economics and business "from an Asian perspective"...
, The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times is an English-language daily newspaper published in Moscow, Russia since 1992. The circulation in 2008 stood at 35,000 copies and the newspaper is typically given out for free at places English-language "expats" attend, including hotels, cafés and restaurants, as well as by...
, The Daily Mail, Vancouver Sun, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
, Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, and BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
.
Services
The firm is well known for its 'Greendex', which is a study measuring and monitoring consumerConsumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
progress toward environmental sustainability conducted annually in partnership with the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
. The project looked at 14,000 consumers in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It also used 27 international experts in sustainability. In 2008 and 2009, the United States' economy was placed dead last with Canada next to last; India scored first.
The firm also attracted international media attention for its 2008 worldwide survey that matched Presidential candidates
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
with John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, questioning 23,531 people either face-to-face or via telephone in 22 countries. The poll found strong margins in favor of Obama. However, about 4 in 10 surveyed did not express an opinion. Doug Miller has said that "[l]arge numbers of people around the world clearly like what Barack Obama represents". He also commented that America's international image was mostly negative
Anti-Americanism
The term Anti-Americanism, or Anti-American Sentiment, refers to broad opposition or hostility to the people, policies, culture or government of the United States...
at that time.
The survey was partially sponsored by United Kingdom taxpayers
Taxation in the United Kingdom
Taxation in the United Kingdom may involve payments to a minimum of two different levels of government: The central government and local government. Central government revenues come primarily from income tax, National Insurance contributions, value added tax, corporation tax and fuel duty...
through the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
at around £55,000 or more, which attracted criticism. The Daily Mail called the survey "worthless" given that non-Americans could not vote in the election. Tory
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP Philip Davies
Philip Davies
Philip Andrew Davies is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Shipley in West Yorkshire.-Early life:...
stated that "I think this is an appalling waste of taxpayers' money, which has no bearing on anything." The BBC responded in a statement that "[t]he fact that the poll results are reflected in great detail by other news sources around the world, bringing credit to Britain, shows their value."
External links
- globescan.com
- GlobeScan Research Services
- GlobeScan Profile at SourceWatchSourceWatchSourceWatch is an internet wiki site that is a collaborative project of the liberal Center for Media and Democracy...