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Alec Gehman

Asheville area natural products industry on the rise - 1 views

  • Western North Carolina is not just where the wild things grow, but home to a growing number of businesses using technology to turn those native plants into consumer products.
  • Blue Ridge has added a natural products manufacturing line to help small start-ups venturing into skin care, cosmetics and even dietary supplements. This market relies on rigorous manufacturing standards, quality testing in high-tech labs, and carefully documenting ingredients through the process.
  • WNC is now home to this industry that goes all the way from the field from people growing and harvesting plants to manufacturers processing materials at Blue Ridge Food Ventures, to quality testing at A-B Tech and the U.S. Botanical Safety Lab, all the way to the market,”
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  • A new AdvantageWest report shows the fruits of three years of local efforts to cultivate that industry, resulting in more than 48 full-time jobs, 15 new manufacturers, 1,487 farmers trained and 44 new acres in production of medicinal plants, such as goldenseal, black cohosh and others.
  • Meanwhile smaller businesses and start-ups are joining the growing market for natural products.
  • As more manufacturers spring up, with a demand for locally sourced plants, more farmers may beginning to see botanicals as a feasible cash crop, Raker said.
  • “There’s a consumer demand,”
  • Gaia Herbs moved its operations to the region in 1997. Now 140 workers process 300 different lines of herbs and nutritional supplements in the 25,000-square-foot facility on rolling countryside outside Brevard.
  • buying healing plant materials from across the mountains to ship through New York brokers to pharmaceutical companies.
  • But the modern-day herbal market has gone more high-tech.
    • Alec Gehman
       
      a.) I am surprised that this specific operation and factories in the North Carolina region have existed since  1989, but are now gaining millions of dollars in revenue just from the medicine industry.
    • Alec Gehman
       
      b.) The theme of cultural landscape is found in this article.  Cultural landscape is used because the farmers and growers for these industries are changing the landscape so that they are able to produce crops from the land.  Nature culture is also fit into this because the farmers could be influenced by nature if there is a poor crop or something from the environment that influences their farming.
    • Alec Gehman
       
      c.) One reference to the industrial sector is how this specific industry is located near the farms in the region.  This makes sense to what we learned about industry because most of the product includes the crops harvested in this region so the actual facility locates near these crops.
    • Alec Gehman
       
      d.) Are these types of medicinal industries bulk-gaining or bulk-reducing?
    • Alec Gehman
       
      e.) http://www.ibtimes.co.in/video/?video_id=NTQwODEzfHwxNDcxfHx8fHx8MTZ8fA==&video_tile=Romanian+bees+still+creating+a+buzz+in+health+industry This article relates to this article here because both are about natural products from the environment being made into medicinal products.  Although the medicine from bees in the linked article is then transported and sold in stores, it is not on a scale that is as large as the industries in North Carolina in this article.
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    In your article is says "About 80 of those local companies will be featured among the 200 exhibitors at the Mother Earth News Fair, a massive natural products trade show..." It's very exciting to see these small scale, local businesses thriving. In a country dominated by commercial manufacturing, it is good to see these true home grown enterprises succeeding.
Nathan Vrabel

Dying for fashion - 101 East - Al Jazeera English - 1 views

    • Nathan Vrabel
       
      I'm not surprised that these workers go on so many strikes, considering the poor working conditions they are put in.
    • Nathan Vrabel
       
      This is an example of globalization because these brands are getting involved in an issue that is outside of their borders. Companies like Adidas are not stationed in Cambodia, but are becoming increasingly involved in the issues. This breaking down of the barriers is an example of globalization
    • Nathan Vrabel
       
      This portion is related to the industry sector. The clothing industry is one of the major industries in the world and the most important industry in Cambodia.
    • Mr. Reidy
       
      Nathan - Al Jazeera is a very unique media site. I like how it offers a different perspective other than an American one.
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  • Low wages and an abundant workforce, powered mainly by the country's rural population, have drawn major clothing brand names like GAP, H&M, Nike and Puma to Cambodia. Today, the industry is a $5bn-a-year business with almost 550 factories, mostly owned by Taiwanese, Korean, Chinese, Hong Kong and Singaporean companies.
    • Nathan Vrabel
       
      What are the other companies that set up shop in Cambodia?
    • Nathan Vrabel
       
      http://www.thezimbabwean.co/news/zimbabwe/71077/designer-calls-for-revival-in.html This separate current event connects with the importance of the clothing industry. The clothing industry is an important industry in the continent of Africa, a separate region from Cambodia. This goes to show how important the clothing industry is across the globe.
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    The inhumane conditions in the factories caused the workers to strike, and this caused great damage to the apparel industry. This is an example that shows why factories in the U.S. are more likely to locate in states with right-to-work laws. These states have lower chances that unions will organize and even strike, meaning that productivity will most likely remain at a high level. The striking workers in Cambodia will probably also demand higher wages, which lowers profits for manufacturing companies.
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    I found it interesting that there were quite a few fires throughout the factories in Cambodia. The government and factory owners don't seem too concerned about it, which makes me wonder if these factories have laws about safety in the work place or not.
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    It's crazy that it took until now for us to start seeing strikes in developing countries where wages are incredibly low. I wonder what the internet censorship laws are like that prohibited them from discovering what the rest of the world was earning.
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    Nathan, I found this article to be very interesting and how large this industry is, even in a developing country such as Cambodia. I am surprised to see that in one year this is a 5 billion dollar industry. I also was surprised to find out how many well-known companies outsourced to Cambodia, such as GAP, H&M, Nike and Puma.
Matt Juliana

Report on Thai fishing finds 'slaves at sea' - CNN.com - 0 views

  • The report found that one in six working on long-haul fishing boats did not decide to do so willingly, but acknowledged that the vast majority of workers in the sector are Thai and work voluntarily. 
  • To Tay's horror he was taken onto a fishing boat, despite no experience of fishing, and for the next six months was forced to work without pay.
  • According to a 2013 U.S. State Department report, the Thai marine department and navy inspected 608 fishing vessels in 2012 but found no cases of trafficked workers, suggesting corruption and inadequate financial and human resources were allowing the continued exploitation of workers. 
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  • Fishing boats have to make longer trips for less catch, making an already tough job harder and less attractive to domestic workers, as well as threatening profit margins for all involved in the industry.
  • A group of 14 men from Myanmar rescued from boats last year told the EJF of 20 hour work days with little or no pay and beatings at the hands of Thai crew members. According to reports from the EJF some even witnessed murder, with bodies being thrown overboard as causally as unwanted catch.
    • Matt Juliana
       
      Are all of the voluntary workers okay with enslaving and killing the migrants? How on earth can they get away with murder when other people can clearly see it?
  • According to Tay, some of the girls in his group were sent to work in seafood processing factories, while the prettier ones were sent to brothels.
  • the Thai fishing and seafood industry, worth $7 billion annually, involves considerable exploitation of trafficked migrant workers, most from neighboring Myanmar and Cambodia.
  • smuggled across the border by labor brokers with the promise of a safe and stable job at the end of the journey.
  • he and 12 others who made the journey with him were sold for around $430 each into jobs that made them virtual slaves.
    • Matt Juliana
       
      This definitely relates to the theme of mobility, because of the amount of resources and motion that go into smuggling illegal migrants into Thailand. Smuggling these people and lying to them about where they will go has almost become another industry of itself, due to the attraction of the profit of selling these people into slavery.
  • "We have documented evidence of marked police cars transporting trafficked victims who are then sold onto boats as slaves,"
    • Matt Juliana
       
      Thailand's pathetic investigation into all of this is so clearly and disgustingly corrupt. Even the law enforcement are profiting by moving slaves. If all of these civilians can see what's going on, higher up government officials must purposely ignoring it.
  • and will drop to Tier 3 -- the lowest classification this year -- if it does not improve, something the EJF is calling for. The results could be the withdrawal of international financial aid.
    • Matt Juliana
       
      http://time.com/12628/human-trafficking-rife-in-thai-fishing-industry/ This link leads to an article that talks more about the cruelty and abuse in this industry that the captains of fishing vessels do to the migrants.
  • critical of Thai attempts to clampdown on human trafficking in the country citing widespread corruption among law enforcement officials.
  • The rise in forced labor on board Thai fishing boats is tied to growing global demand for cheap seafood and diminishing fish stocks, say the EJF.  
    • Matt Juliana
       
      The fishing businesses in Thailand have started to use these migrants as slave labor to keep profits in the fishing industry high. By needing to supply more fish and having dwindling resources, they're combating lost profits by using slaves as free labor, and working them to death.
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    Fishing industries in Thailand are abusing migrant workers.
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    I wonder why the Thai government finally took action against the slavery type conditions that the fishers were put in, even after so many years?
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    It's unbelievable how corrupt the Thai government is and how far they have let the human trafficking go. Will this continue on its own or do you think that other, more developed countries will intervene?
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    I've never heard of a fishing industry helping in human trafficking. It just shows how much people don't know about the messed up industrial world that we live in. It is also crazy to hear about all the different situations people live in around the world. Globalization is happening, but places around the world still are drastically different.
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    I didnt even know that Thailand had such a prominant fishing industry, let alone the fact that they are basically using slaves instead of at least paying some sort of wage.
Kelly Gallick

American-Made Clothing Companies Find Ways To Survive As Others Chase Cheap Labor Abroad - 5 views

    • Kelly Gallick
       
      Most of the apparel that we wear is made in another country, and very rarely do I see something made in the US, which makes sense because the foreign-made clothing is much cheaper.
    • Kelly Gallick
       
      The topic of outsourcing is linked to globalization because industries aren't just located in one area, but have some branches in other countries that have cheaper labor or products, which is connecting the world.
    • Kelly Gallick
       
      In the industrial sector, you learn that in countries that have a surplus of workers, the wages tend to be very low. Large industries use this as an advantage and send some of their products to these countries to save money and to make more.
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    • Kelly Gallick
       
      New technologies are cutting down on production prices and therefore cutting down on the amount of outsourcing that industries do, but are the prices of the technologies cheaper than the prices of the cheap labor overseas?
    • Kelly Gallick
       
      http://www.epi.org/publication/bp336-us-china-auto-parts-industry/ This additional current event talks about the auto industry and how many are based in the US, but most of the small parts that go into making the cars are make in developing countries, like China. This is becoming a problem because some American workers are out of jobs due to the workers in China that do the same amount of work for less pay. Outsourcing of the apparel industry and the auto industry are very similar in this regard.
  • d .
  • said
  • Henry has been in the apparel business for three decades, enough to see nearly all of his competitors disband or head overseas in search of workers who will do the job for lower wages. Henry has taken the opposite route, shrinking the geographic scope of his supply chain and making that a marketing feature.
  • Workers at TS Designs in North Carolina are paid an average of $15 an hour,
  • estimated .
  • His “most sustainable” T-shirt, which uses certified organic cotton, a transparent supply chain, with a patented environmentally-friendly print and dye system, costs around $14 wholesale. The same type of shirt would cost about $8 to make overseas, he estimated
  • The average factory worker in Bangladesh makes $0.21 an hour,
  • bargains on store shelves in Los Angeles and Philadelphia may come at the expense of people toiling in unsafe conditions in Dhaka and Guatemala City.
  • quality of raw materials
  • His shirts are made in America, and not on the other side of the world, in a poor country in which workers may be mistreated.
  • If you take production overseas, the labor cost would be less than $1. The fabric and design cost doesn’t change much, he said, especially for a simple piece of apparel like a T-shirt.
  • “This industry is so mobile that it gets fixed in one place and then pops up somewhere else,” Rivoli said.
  • But American apparel manufacturing may eventually see a resurgence, some experts said. The garment industry is undergoing the kind of technological change reshaping many industries:
  • Machines are increasingly attending to tasks once performed by humans. That undercuts the overall cost advantages of going overseas in search of cheaper labor.
  • As automation emerges as a greater force in the apparel trade, that could send investment back to the United States, where mastery of machinery remains a core strength.
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    Kelly! I find your annotations and article to be very interesting, as myself often wonder how American-made clothing companies survive, with foreign-made clothes being so much cheaper!! I also totally agree with you that countries with a surplus of people who need jobs in that field have very cheap labor wages. For example, the maquiladoras in Mexico. I think American clothing companies DO have an advantage in the fact that many people respect American-made brands as they are seen as higher quality and more durable. Thanks for sharing!
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    What's up Gallick. You had a lot of annotations that were very helpful in understanding your article. It's unfortunate and shocking that the workers in Bangladesh only make 21 cents an hour, I find that hard to believe, although I know it's true.
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    Kelly, I find it very interesting how this article incorporates both the desire to reestablish manufacturing in the U.S. and the outweighing factors, such as labor costs, that attract businesses to LDCs. In addition, the article describes the evident connection between labor cost and working conditions. For example, workers in Bangladesh are only paid $0.21 and hour, while recently there was a factory collapse that killed many workers. This portrays that with low labor cost also comes poor working conditions.
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    Kelly G, great article! This article proved my hunch that American made clothing is better quality than ones made in foreign countries though more expensive. I found this very interesting and reminds me of some of the Made in America things that I have seen on TV. I believe that if American companies put more stress on the quality of clothing they are making that outsourcing competitors may start having troubles.
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    Companies have now started to transition to finding the cheapest cost for the production of their products instead of quality. What paths will companies have to take if countries like Bangladesh start to develop more and price of labor rises globally? I assume that greed has taken over in today's world that we look for the cheap way to make products instead of making a great quality one.
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    I found this article very interesting, mainly because of the difference in cost of apparel made in the United States versus in a lower wage country, such as Bangladesh. I find it very hard to believe that they only get paid 21 cents an hour! Overall, I think that our country needs to look at clothing not by how cheap it is, but how it was made and what certain people had to go through to make it.
Mr. Reidy

E-Cigarettes: FDA Regulation Looms for $1.5 Billion Industry - Businessweek - 0 views

  • booked a trip to China; and began meeting with manufacturers.
    • Allyson Fea
       
      I chose this article because it really interested me. Though I do not smoke myself, and I hope I never will, I have always wondered how E-Cigs work and how they are different than regular cigs
    • Mr. Reidy
       
      I think there is an E-Cig shop in Mechanicsburg, downtown.
  • it did work, it could upend the tobacco industry.
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  • Verleur saw right away that if e-cigarettes could be made as convenient and satisfying as a pack of smokes, he’d make a killing. He enlisted the help of his brother, an engineer working for an Agilent Technologies (A) spinoff; booked a trip to China; and began meeting with manufacturers. In 2009 he formed his company, V2Cigs, with four employees working out of an apartment.
    • Allyson Fea
       
      This article really display the effects of worldwide globalization, a theme we discussed in class. E-Cigs were created in China, but they quickly became a huge part of the US economy through electronic media and industry. Both of these are ways that new inventions can diffuse across the globe. Now many countries are using E-Cigs due to globalization.
    • Mr. Reidy
       
      Interesting graphic.
  • booked a trip to China; and began meeting with manufacturers.
    • Allyson Fea
       
      One thing we talked about in class was cheap labor. I find it very interesting that Verleur and his brother immediately thought to manufacture their product in China, almost as if this was the only place TO manufacture it. China provides very cheap labor for US companies and E-Cigs are probably not that expensive to ship, so they would save a lot of money.
    • Mr. Reidy
       
      I like your connection to this major site factor.
  • six manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen, China
  • 250 employees, and 5 million customers worldwide.
  • Miami headquarters,
  • commercially marketed device was created by a Chinese pharmacist, Hon Lik, and introduced to the Chinese market as a smoking cessation device in 2004.
  • iny fraction of what Americans spend on tobacco, but it’s pretty solid for an industry that barely existed five years ago.
    • Allyson Fea
       
      More examples of Globalization and Mobility as ECigs diffuse to different countries around the world. They were created through stimulus diffusion and now are expanding
    • Allyson Fea
       
      Will E-Cigs replace regular cigarettes in the near future? I wonder!
    • Allyson Fea
       
      This article relates to current events we looked at when we discussed the globalization of food products around the world, especially fast food, and how people in developing countries and developed countries all drink coca-cola, etc. Same with ECIGs
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    An article discussing how the E-Cigarette industry is quickly growing and diffusing around the world. 
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    Interesting choice of article Ally. I like how it show the production of the e cigarettes spreading all around the world, even to china, which shows globalization. Good Job!!
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    I think that it's very interesting how he moved to China immediately to build and produce his product. It must have had several appealing characteristics, perhaps cheap labor, resources, or less strict regulations. I wonder if the tobacco industry will try to combat e-cigs to protect their profits, maybe even by leading research on the effects of inhaling the nicotine vapors.
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    I Think that it was interesting that hey immediately thought to produce it in China. I have seen many start up businesses that was to get to manufacturing in China because it will cut down their production cost and it will increase their profit which is the goal of the business.
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    I was surprised to read that globally, cigarettes earn more than a half trillion dollars in sales annually because I thought the amount would be much less. With the rise in popularity of E-Cigerattes, the markets, as well as the inputs for cigarettes is likely to decline. In addition, I find it very interesting that the product, after improving it with access to technology and knowledge in the U.S., is produced in China. This is probably due to the cheap labor force, as well as the large amount of land available to produce the product, for production near urban and suburban areas could spark debate with health problems.
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    After reading Danyelle's article and the one we read in class, I wonder if the increase in Chinese wages will have an impact on the industries which produce the e-cig. If the factor of cheap labor is taken away, but available somewhere else, how will that shift the distribution and manufacturing of the cigarettes.
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    An article discussing how the E-Cigarette industry is quickly growing and diffusing around the world. 
Alexia Ometz

Industry Awakens to Threat of Climate Change - NYTimes.com - 4 views

  • Both Nike and Coke are responding internally: Coke uses water-conservation technologies and Nike is using more synthetic material that is less dependent on weather conditions. At Davos and in global capitals, the companies are also lobbying governments to enact environmentally friendly policies.
  • Coke’s vice president for environment and water resources, listing the problems that he said were also disrupting the company’s supply of sugar cane and sugar beets, as well as citrus for its fruit juices.
  • global warming as a force that contributes to lower gross domestic products, higher food and commodity costs, broken supply chains and increased financial risk. Their position is at striking odds with the longstanding argument, advanced by the coal industry and others, that policies to curb carbon emissions are more economically harmful than the impact of climate change.
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  • ven the most conservative estimates peg the social benefit of carbon-based fuels as 50 times greater than its supposed social cost.”
  • n Europe, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the Paris-based club of 34 industrialized nations, has begun to warn of the steep costs of increased carbon pollution.
  • Nike, which has more than 700 factories in 49 countries, many in Southeast Asia, is also speaking out because of extreme weather that is disrupting its supply chain. In 2008, floods temporarily shut down four Nike factories in Thailand, and the company remains concerned about rising droughts in regions that produce cotton, which the company uses in its athletic clothes.
    • Alexia Ometz
       
      Why is the cheaper electricity helping to raise so many people out of poverty? And why in China and Inda?
  • as high energy costs, declining industrial competitiveness and a recognition that the economy is unlikely to rebound soon caused European policy makers to question the short-term economic trade-offs of climate policy.
  • “There will be agriculture and economic effects — it’s inescapable.” He added, “I’d be shocked if people supported anything other than a carbon tax — that’s how economists think about it.”
    • Alexia Ometz
       
      I find it interesting and surprising that high energy costs are causing declining competitiveness between industries because it just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. It maybe causes different companies to go broke or stop manufacturing different things because of the high costs of producing them. 
    • Alexia Ometz
       
      This part shows how this article is related to industry. Nike has different factories, which is part of industry. Also, it talks about how different factors would cause factories to shut down, such as droughts. Many people would go out of jobs because of this happening for a certain length of time, which we have talked about in the industry and service chapters. 
    • Alexia Ometz
       
      This section talks about globalization and nature-culture. It shows globalization because of the different factories that Nike owns, and even with most in the same place, Southeast Asia, they sell to the entire world. It shows nature-culture with the different factories having to close because of floods. 
    • Alexia Ometz
       
      http://environment.about.com/od/waterpollution/a/groundwater_ind.htm This article connects because the beginning of this article talks about how Coca-Cola is using up water and creating droughts to produce its drinks. 
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    Just an idea in all, but if this so-called carbon tax is passed wouldn't it raise the price of goods? But then again, I guess companies have to make up the deficient somehow.
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    It's crazy to think that a company has so much power that even though it is depleting water supplies and causing pollution it is still not shut down. This is probably due to lack of knowledge consumers have and the mass of money that the company has.
cmerris

Western Sydney ready and willing to work hard and clever | thetelegraph.com.au - 3 views

    • cmerris
       
      Australia is ranked second in HDI, yet it is still in industries that most stage three countries would have.  Australia still has not opened themselves up to services like the United States and Western European nations.
  • Experts say an influx of “knowledge jobs’’ — that usually require a tertiary degree — are growing strongly despite a high Australian dollar and competition from cheap imports.
  • industries such as healthcare, finance and insurance are growing strongly, while manufacturing companies are adapting to changing conditions.
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  • There is a recognition and a willingness to adapt to new and emerging industries such as those providing the ‘knowledge’ jobs so crucial to future growth,” he said.
  • education facilities
  • colleges are developing and offering courses tailored to new industries.”
  • “Importantly, this contraction has been more than offset by strong growth in a number of industries, primarily the construction and service (finance, healthcare and transport) sectors.
  • Manufacturing makes up 14.5 per cent of the Greater Western Sydney economy.
  • manufacturing remains the most important employer in Western Sydney, making up 15.6 per cent of total employment.
  • Healthcare and social assistance accounted for 60,174 jobs (12.1 per cent of employment in the region), followed by retail trade with 52,523 (10.5 per cent) and wholesale trade 34,879 (7.0 per cent)
  • Healthcare and social assistance accounted for 60,174 jobs (12.1 per cent of employment in the region), followed by retail trade with 52,523 (10.5 per cent) and wholesale trade 34,879 (7.0 per cent)
    • cmerris
       
      This relates to the theme of globalization because it shows how more countries are using service related jobs instead of primary and secondary jobs because technology is making those jobs easier for fewer people to complete.
    • cmerris
    • cmerris
       
      An article about the United States that relates to growing industries after the recession can be seen by clicking the link below.  Although this article is more about the rebounding secondary sector jobs, it parallels the growth in new jobs.
    • cmerris
       
      Why is Australia so behind in making this change if they are higher in the HDI which normally relates to how high a country is developed?
    • cmerris
       
      This article relates to chapter eleven and twelve because it explains the change a developed country, Australia is going through the process of becoming reliant on tertiary sector jobs instead of jobs in the secondary sector.  This article explains how quickly healthcare is growing while other companies in manufacturing have to adjust to not having as much of the population to hire.
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    This article explains the changing jobs in the developed country, Australia.
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    First thought...interesting article Cameron. It encouraging to see a country like Australia developing and implementing services in its economy. I wonder how this will effect the prices of the minerals Australia exports to the majority of the world? With more people moving to the service sector there will be less in the mines, so my gut tells me that the world wide prices will go down due to the fact that companies will be able to make a bigger profit selling the same amount of material due to lower labor costs.
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    I feel like Australia has a lot going for it! Like you mentioned, it has a high HDI- this is no coincidence. As we know, it has access to important natural resources. It is fairly isolated, which can hurt its economy, but there is less competition for jobs. It is also a highly popular area for tourism. It doesn't get involved in a lot of matters occurring in the northern hemispheres, which keeps it out of costly wars.
Danyelle Allen

U.S. Manufacturing No More Expensive Than Outsourcing To China By 2015: Study - 4 views

    • Danyelle Allen
       
      This directly relates to site factors because in Shanghai, the land is limited and expensive due to it being a dense urban region. It is cheaper for businesses to establish factories in rural and suburban areas with proximity to junctions and highways. Also, businesses prefer to build horizontally, therefore needing more land area.
    • Danyelle Allen
       
      I am surprised that the U.S. workforce had to be reassured that businesses wouldn't relocate all of their industries to China.
    • Danyelle Allen
       
      Can we expect the same trend to occur in other less developed countries that currently possess key site factors, such as India, in the future?
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  • As the cost of manufacturing in China has risen, so have reports of companies pulling their plants out of the country to find cheaper locations.
  • manufacturing in China has risen, so have reports of companies pulling their plants out of the country to find
  • Even with manufacturing costs rising in China, Prince Industries has benefited from expanding its operations outside Chicago to include a plant in China
  • move plants to inner or western China where labor costs are lower
  • The rising value of the RMB was expected and has made it more costly to ship goods built in China around the world.
    • Danyelle Allen
       
      This connects to Kelly Gallick's current event on the survival of U.S. manufacturing as businesses compete with low-cost labor in LDCs. This statement portrays that keeping industries in the U.S. and not outsourcing to China would be beneficial. The manufacturing costs would be the same, while the U.S. provides proximity to markets, which reduces transportation costs.
    • Mr. Reidy
       
      Danyelle - I like how you are connecting different topics together and making new inferences. Superb work!
    • Danyelle Allen
       
      Though rapidly declining, the profit that can be made with outsourcing to other countries with a cheaper labor force can prove to be beneficial to businesses. How much longer until businesses see the shift from profit to loss with outsourcing. 
    • Danyelle Allen
       
      Outsourcing links to the geography theme of globalization, for it increase involvement with transnational industries and corporations. In addition, outsourcing causes businesses to become known in the region where products are being manufactured, initiating a closer-linked globe. Globalization promotes the cooperation with other countries to become successful in the world markets.
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    It's interesting to read that manufacturing costs in China have risen, which could potentially cut back on the amount of outsourcing from the US.
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    I like that you chose an article about industry in china because of its profound amount of industry, and its BRICS status.
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    This relates to the article we read in class and I remember it saying that the government supports the increase in wages. Its interesting to see your comment on how companies who outsource will react.
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    This surprises me since it seems that there is such a push to continue to outsource. I wonder what the US will do: will we continue to outsource, or will more domestic jobs be created?
Hayley Murdough

New study raises threat of bankruptcies for container-shipping industry - 0 views

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    This article details how many container shipping industries are in danger of going bankrupt due to some fuel saving attempts and even attempts to drive up prices to increase profit. Due to these attempts, carriers lost $1.1 billion between 2007 and 2011. This could affect how goods are moved, and may drive up prices as more expensive modes of transportation are used. Since boats are the most cost-effective by distance, the problems of money in shipping could increase. I wonder if this will end up being an issue, or if the government or shipping industries will step up to reduced this problem. This could affect where companies place their factories. It is a largely situational issue.
Isabella Silagyi

Industries, TCEQ fight study linking death, ozone - 0 views

    • hseig13
       
      Even though it is obvious the pollution is bad for health, there are still those trying to fight against regulations.
    • hseig13
       
      Texas seems to be an area with heavy industry, probably close to inputs and/or markets.
    • hseig13
       
      How, even after research is conducted, are there still those fighting against regulations?
    • Isabella Silagyi
       
      Article on Harrisburg states the opposite, industries seem to not be the leading factor in increased air pollution.
    • Isabella Silagyi
       
      Nature Culture: because people are exposing pollution to the air, it in turn is having a negative affect on people. The way they interact with the environment (degrading it).
Clayton Lockwood

Current Event #9 - 3 views

  • U.S. technology companies remain silent in the wake of the sudden and escalating standoff between the U.S. and Russia over the latter's annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, but experts say that economic sanctions could still impact their operations in the countr
  • U.S. technology companies remain silent in the wake of the sudden and escalating standoff between the U.S. and Russia over the latter's annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, but experts say that economic sanctions could still impact their operations in the country.
    • Clayton Lockwood
       
      This text, though connecting directly to industry, also speaks a lot about political geography, 'the struggle over space' as well, tieing it in to past units, and showwing the connectivity between all sections of uman geography
  • Technology companies in Silicon Valley
    • Clayton Lockwood
       
      What in particular lures computer companies in particular to put factories in silicon valley?
    • Clayton Lockwood
       
      one of the words larger industrial centers because of the nearby ural mountains, which contain many reasorces
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  • Global technology companies have only a small impact on Russia's overall economy, despite the country's recent status as a high-growth "BRIC" economy.
  • Russia is the 15th-largest smartphone market and fifth-largest tablet market in the world.
    • Clayton Lockwood
       
      this connects to cultural landscape because it shows that many people in russia probably have iphones or tablets, and owning one, or seeing them often is not an unusual occurance.
  • You might find that Moscow suddenly finds that these U.S. companies 'owe taxes
    • Clayton Lockwood
       
      because of the situation, tax might prompt companies to move
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    All about possible sanctions of U.S goods from Russia which effects many computer companies which have factories in silicon valley
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    I think this is so interesting as it is a dramatic issue in the world right now. We know that through political geography, conflict almost always arises over land and resources. This situation is no different. Russia is trying to gain more resources and the rest of the world does no approve. I wonder how sanctions will affect developing nation's economies. Which economies will be hurt the most by this change?
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    The fact that all of those big companies declined to make any comment on how the situation will affect their business just really proves to me that they are really worried about the impacts of the events going on in the Ukraine and Russia. With the Russian economy right on the brink of recession, can/will they be able to risk losing a ton of U.S. technological business, and be able to create all of their own technology without U.S. parts or devices?
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    I think that it is interesting that the company might have to move due to taxes. I don't think that they talked much about it in the textbook but I do feel that it is a HUGE reason that companies might have to move so that they can keep up their profit.
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    It's interesting that the US is getting involved in the issue between Russia and Ukraine. It's unfortunate that the computer companies might feel a backlash from Russia's actions in Ukraine. Nice work Lockwood!
Bronte Lebo

Boomers Feed Growing Wellness Vacation Industry - 2 views

shared by Bronte Lebo on 10 Apr 14 - No Cached
    • Bronte Lebo
       
      Fitness/wellness has become a hugely popular fad in America, so it makes sense that this would spread into tourism and travel.
    • Bronte Lebo
       
      This connects to mobility. People are able to travel much easier than they could in the past, so vacations are easier and more popular than ever before.
  • A study presented at the first Global Wellness Tourism Congress in October 2013 estimates this type of travel is now a half-trillion dollar market, accounting for 14% of all tourism revenues.
    • Bronte Lebo
       
      This connects to the service sector of the economy, because tourism and travel is a major part of the leisure/hospitality category within the consumer services
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  • Boomers
    • Bronte Lebo
       
      When they refer to "boomers" are they talking about the baby boomer generation?
  • Boomers Feed Growing Wellness Vacation Industry
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    This article is interesting. Bronte- you said this is a "popular fad" in America. Does this mean it will most likely die off just like other fads? After all, I don't feel like a vacation for wellness is very family-friendly.
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    I understand where Jake is coming from with his statement but isn't a vacation that gets you away from the stress of work and neighbours and everything healthy? Wouldn't that constitute a wellness vacation? Also for really busy parents a vacation with their children would be both family-friendly and healthy. Not to mention that the service sector, including the consumer sector, is continuing to grow and in the quote Bronte highlighted it said that wellness vacations make up 14% of all tourism revenues, so wouldn't that imply that this fad will continue to grow?
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    I find it very interesting that there are vacations that can help you with your wellness. I am curious about the different ways that they actually intend to do this. I agree with Olivia, with the idea that a vacation away from stress would be a wellness vacation in its own idea.
Thomas Nicewicz

Savioke Gets $2M To Build A 'Services Industry' Robot | TechCrunch - 2 views

    • Thomas Nicewicz
       
      A) Both spinoffs were acquired by Google. It's odd that Google owns so many companies.
    • Thomas Nicewicz
       
      B) The Human Geography theme of region is referenced here. Silicon Valley is a functional region with well-defined boundaries. 
    • Thomas Nicewicz
       
      D) Will robots be the future of services? If so, when will the majority of services be occupied by robots? Also, will this increase unemployment?
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    • Thomas Nicewicz
       
      E) http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/04/08/beth-israel-use-google-glass-throughout-emergency-room/WhIXcVzkpn7MOCAhKuRJZL/story.html This article relates to the article "Google Glass embraced at Beth Israel Deaconess" because both are centered around Google.
    • Thomas Nicewicz
       
      C) The service sector is referenced here. Different types of consumer services are mentioned such as those provided by hospitals and restaurants.
  • It is planning to use the money to develop and build its first robot, an as-yet unnamed piece of hardware that will be focused on the services industry.
  • Hospitals, elder care facilities, hotels, restaurants, office services
  • moving out from behind the fences in factories and out from research labs to provide value around people, where we live and work
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    With the development and inclusion of technology such as this in industry, unemployment must rise...Robots could reach a level in which their work is superior to that of a human. I imagine robots would be reserved for high precision/high skill careers.
jared snell

China's Embrace of Foreign Cars - NYTimes.com - 0 views

  • Chinese consumers increasingly favor American brands, which have a reputation for safety, youth and international flair. The domestic brands have tended to lag in surveys of initial quality and engineering, although they are starting to close the gap. In long-term reliability, they are far behind and falling even further.
  • Multinational corporations are steadily clawing market share from Chinese brands in their home market
  • as a succession of global brands have pushed their way into China
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  • Rising affluence has left consumers reluctant
  • to accept cheaper, spartan models from domestic manufacturers
  • They want to persuade China’s Commerce Ministry to retain a requirement seldom found in other top manufacturing nations: Foreign automakers may assemble cars in China only through 50-50 joint ventures with domestic partners.
  • “If there is a loosening of the restrictions on foreign ownership in automotive shares, it will instigate massive changes in the configuration of our country’s automotive industry,”
  • “The cap has hindered fair, open and transparent competition, which undermines the interests of consumers and the overall competitiveness of the Chinese auto industry,”
  • “It is our common goal to further develop these and to be successful together in the Chinese automotive market,” Volkswagen said in a statement.
  • The original goal of the joint venture requirement was to force multinationals to work with big, state-owned automakers with ample access to credit from state-owned banks. The ministry’s hope has been that the state-owned automakers would learn from their partners to build world-class cars that they could then export
  • The multinationals have continued to provide most of the designs, engineering and marketing. They build essentially the same cars that they sell in the rest of the world
  • domestic brands had only 29.5 percent of the car market last year
  • Ford’s joint venture here in western China has 15,000 employees who assembled more than 600,000 vehicles last year, making it Ford’s largest operation outside southeastern Michigan
  • The second factory is among the most modern anywhere in the world: Steel coils go in one end and finished cars come out the other just eight hours later.
  • Domestic Chinese automakers have also bought robots for their operations from international suppliers. But they have tended to rely much more on using huge teams of workers for manufacturing, and they have struggled to figure out how to integrate robots efficiently into assembly lines — a task that took decades for multinationals to master
    • jared snell
       
      <-- This 50-50 Domestic and Foreign part requirement is interesting in the fact that I have never heard another country implicate a guideline like it. It certainly goes against what is found in the US (IE. The vehicle is either 100 percent foreign or 100 percent domestic...rarely both.
    • jared snell
       
      This bit of text here exemplifies the Human Geography them of Globalization, or the diffusion of ideas and innovations to other regions. By allowing international manufacturers like Ford to form joint ventures with its domestic manufacturers, the Chinese state hopes that important ideas like an aspect of a design or Aerodynamics will "rub off". These industry secrets if you will would, in turn make Chinese domestic cars much more valuable and safe.
    • jared snell
       
      The fact that Chinese domestic manufacturers are can't use robots as efficiently as their international counterparts is just the classic case of under-skilled labor within the secondary sector.. Because international corporations have been around for years, they have been able to master and teach the techniques of operating a complicated machine like a robotic arm. In turn, they are much more efficient in their production and generate a higher profit. On the other hand, China is relatively new to the light vehicle scene and as consequence it's workers aren't as experienced.
    • jared snell
       
      My only question is why have the 50-50 cap in the first place? Is it to protect domestic companies and act as a tariff in a sense? Or is it their to allow the Chinese government to tax the multi-national vehicles?
    • jared snell
       
      The article had mentioned that Chinese domestic vehicle manufacturers were unpopular with the public due to poor crash test results and safety risks. This other article relates seeing how it explains how Toyota had to recall over 6 million vehicles due to product defects that could pose a serious safety threat. Here's the link:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/business/international/toyota-to-recall-vehicles.html?rref=business/international&module=Ribbon&version=context&region=Header&action=click&contentCollection=International%20Business&pgtype=article
Katelyn Kopacko

GM recall of 1.4 million cars hurts industry's income - 0 views

    • Katelyn Kopacko
       
      I was surprised that other car industries had to pay massive fines, while GM didn't have to pay any.
    • Katelyn Kopacko
       
      Other car companies around the world have to follow the NHTSA guild lines, and GM just now did.
    • Katelyn Kopacko
       
      This is industrial because GM tested and created it's own cars, and failed to report hazards.
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    • Katelyn Kopacko
       
      Why did GM not react as quickly, when they obviously knew about the on going problems with the cars?
    • Katelyn Kopacko
       
      Mazda also has started to recall faulty car parts, but it was recognized much more quickly than GM. http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Recalls+&+Defects
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    GM has started to recall millions of cars after 31 deaths throughout the past few years, which has resulted in the industry not being as successful as it once was.
Elliott Bashore

Construction industry seeing a shortage of workers - Business - The Buffalo News - 1 views

    • Elliott Bashore
       
      I'm surprised that with the current unemployment rate there is a shortage of people willing to do a job.
    • Elliott Bashore
       
      This is an example of nature culture because it displays how we as humans are interacting with the environment.
    • Elliott Bashore
       
      This is a direct connection to the industry sector because the most important site factor for companies is labor.
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    • Elliott Bashore
       
      Wouldn't the absence of unions make jobs less appealing in the construction industry?
    • Elliott Bashore
       
      This relates to the need for immigration reform in our country and the various points of view that must be looked at while creating a new bill. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/04/07/raul-reyes-immigration-last-call/7424931/
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    It's interesting that there are less people going into construction even as a part time job since most college grads don't get a job right out of school. You would think that instead of working at a McDonalds or something people would do construction jobs where they have more of a chance to turn a profit and actually get a permanent job.
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    It is quite interesting to see that a large amount of construction workers are over the age of 55. This is going to cause problems within the field with less teens filling in their spots. As we learned in class those people over 55 will soon be added into the dependency ratio and they will no longer be able to work causing even more problems within the construction work force.
Nicole Weenink

Current Events #9- Maquiladoras - 1 views

  • The anthropologist said that women are also organizing unions and becoming labor activists to improve working conditions in both the border-town maquiladoras and in Sinaloa's shrimp fisheries
  • research on the relationship between adequate fishing resources and food security in northwestern Mexico – where she has discovered that women in particular play a critical role.
    • Nicole Weenink
       
      I found it interesting that Maria Cruz was able to switch from beaming a doctor to become person who studied the environment and the effect it has on people. Also it was cool that she was able to use what she learned in medical school and apply it to her new course of study. 
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    • Nicole Weenink
       
      This relates to what we are studying in class because the maquiladoras are working for very low incomes. This is not very much but it is a site factor for the United States. They would rather transport materials across the border and have cheap labor. The problem is that the people that work in the factories are in very bad conditions and have to ban to gather to form unions to get better labor conditions. 
    • Mr. Reidy
       
      What are some cons to unions?
    • Nicole Weenink
       
      This relates to cultural landscape because the humans are modifying the landscape with the shrimp. There is pollution which modifies the environment and people are working to overcome this pollution and keep their families safe.
    • Nicole Weenink
       
      What kind of things are the women doing in order to try to get better wages and working conditions?
    • Nicole Weenink
       
      http://allafrica.com/stories/201403290105.html Relates to the article because it says that women make up the majority of maquiladoras. 
  • The anthropologist said that women are also organizing unions and becoming labor activists to improve working conditions in both the border-town maquiladoras and in Sinaloa's shrimp fisheries.
    • Mr. Reidy
       
      Veronica - great connection to point-source pollution ... I agree, seafood from the Gulf could be contaminated.
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    I found it interesting how the article referred to the point-source water pollution from the shrimp industry. The chemical pollution in the water comes from industrial and agricultural sources related to shrimp. While the shrimp industry is important to Mexico's economy, it also has downsides, including health issues coming from the pollution of water that may go untreated.
Mr. Reidy

Borderland: Dispatches From The U.S.-Mexico Boundary : NPR - 0 views

  •  
    Listen to one of these audio files from NPR about the US/Mexico border. How does it connect to our Industry and Political Geography (specifically about borders) chapters?
Nathan Saphore

The U.S. should encourage more manufacturing here at home: New Balance CEO | Daily Tick... - 1 views

  • The United States today has fewer people working in manufacturing than it had in 1941 before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the rush to produce weapons. But not all U.S. manufacturers are shadows of their former selves
  • Rising labor costs in foreign markets
  • incentives to make things closer to consumption
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  • Investment and innovation
  • global economy
  • U.S. manufacturing is expanding
    • Nathan Saphore
       
      It's surprising to me that 25% of New Balance's shoes are made in the U.S. and that 1300 employees are working in the U.S.
    • Nathan Saphore
       
      This connects to the theme of Mobility because New Balance has to determine what would be the best way for them to transport their goods to the markets and consumers, at the lowest costs.
    • Nathan Saphore
       
      This relates to industry because it shows that the labor costs are increasing in foreign countries, like China that is known for cheap labor, and it will cost less for the company to make their products in the U.S. and have them closer to markets. This is a situation factor because of transportation costs.
    • Nathan Saphore
       
      Will domestic product of goods increase and how would this affect countries that are currently "hubs" for cheap labor? How will those countries react?
    • Nathan Saphore
       
      http://businesstheory.com/136-increase-chinas-minimum-wage-compete-global-manufacturing/ The article above relates to this article because it talks about how higher wages in China will push factories to other places with cheaper labor, like Vietnam. The gap between U.S. and Chinese labor costs are shrinking, which helps explain why companies like New Balance are able to have industries in the U.S. instead of foreign countries.
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    This directly relates to how the tertiary sector is growing, because other sectors, like manufacturing is in, are declining.
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