Skip to main content

Home/ Groups/ APHumanGeography
Mr. Reidy

Mapping America: Every City, Every Block - 1 views

  •  
    This is an excellent GIS tool that will help you with your Urban Patterns Booklet. Browse local data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, which was conducted from 2005 to 2009.
Mr. Reidy

There is no one living on 47 percent of the land in the United States - 1 views

  •  
    What surpises you the most from these maps?
  •  
    I actually feel like it is not that surprising because any area that is industrial, business, shops, restaurants, farmland, water sources, etc is highlighted in blue. What surprises me is that a whopping 53 percent of the US DOES have residents. wow. that is a ton.
Mr. Reidy

12 Reasons Teachers should use Diigo | resourcelinkbce - 0 views

  •  
    Great article about Diigo.
Elina Wright

UK service sector exports hit an all-time high - Telegraph#_=1397086335357&id=twitter-w... - 1 views

    • Elina Wright
       
      It surprised me that the service sector is at an all time high now. It makes sense because we have more money and need for people in the tertiary sector but it still surprised me.
    • Elina Wright
       
      The sentence about British companies being successful over seas shows globalization. When companies have markets across seas it brings the word together.
    • Elina Wright
       
      This article relates directly to the service sector because it talks about how the service sector in the UK is at its all time high.
  • ...2 more annotations...
    • Elina Wright
       
      http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/04/03/us-service-sector-growth-accelerates-in-march/ This article relates to the article about the UK because it discusses the growth in the U.S. service sector after a decreasing period.
    • Elina Wright
       
      How will businesses fight inflation?
Mr. Reidy

With so many unemployed, why are 7,400 manufacturing jobs open in this region? | clevel... - 0 views

  • For all the talk about the lack of jobs in Northeast Ohio, there are 7,400 open manufacturing jobs in the region.
    • Veronica Werner
       
      This is surprising, because the unemployment rate would be much lower if those jobs were filled.  It seems that even though the tertiary sector is most important to the American economy, a manufacturing job is still preferable to unemployment.
  • The number is so high because many workers don't have the skills that area employers need
    • Veronica Werner
       
      What would be some examples of skills or education people working in manufacturing would need? Would Fordist production eliminate this need, or would it only cause more productivity problems?
  • It's just the old job disappeared as new technology made the old job obsolete. For people to compete for the new jobs, "you need to get the new skills," he said.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • businesses, educators and community leaders started focusing more on the role of education in manufacturing
  • manufacturers will locate their plants in certain areas based on three factors: infrastructure, regulatory issues and trade and tax policies
  • Firms will locate where they believe they can innovate and tap into human capital.
  • The most recent recession was brutal for manufacturing,
  • manufacturing has long been the backbone of Northeast Ohio and the nation
  • representatives from local businesses, regional economic development organizations, national industry organizations and even from China.
    • Veronica Werner
       
      The inclusion of representatives from China shows the importance of globalization in the American economy.  This is mostly related to a regional issue, but even other countries are involved in American manufacturing.
  • collaboration among universities and the business community.
    • Veronica Werner
       
      This includes both the secondary and tertiary sectors.  The secondary sector includes the industrial portions of businesses.  The tertiary sector is found in the business people who handle the finances related to manufacturing, as well as the educators at universities.
    • Mr. Reidy
       
      Great review of the major sectors.
  • improve U.S. competitiveness, encourage innovation and help manufacturing thrive.
    • Veronica Werner
       
      This article contains information and suggestions on how manufacturing companies can fill the same jobs that are open right now in Ohio.  http://www.automationworld.com/operations/tips-filling-skilled-manufacturing-positions
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.
  • ...17 more annotations...
    • 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.
  • 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
  • estimated .
  • Workers at TS Designs in North Carolina are paid an average of $15 an hour,
  • 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.
  •  
    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!
  • ...3 more comments...
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
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. 
  • ...5 more annotations...
    • 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.
  •  
    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?
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. 
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • 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.
  •  
    Fishing industries in Thailand are abusing migrant workers.
  • ...2 more comments...
  •  
    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?
  •  
    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?
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
Mr. Reidy

Freshpet expands in Lehigh Valley to meet market demand for natural pet food - Morning ... - 0 views

  •  
    Why is the Lehigh Valley a valuable site and situation for companies like Freshpet?
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
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • 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
  •  
    All about possible sanctions of U.S goods from Russia which effects many computer companies which have factories in silicon valley
  • ...2 more comments...
  •  
    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?
  •  
    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?
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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!
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.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • 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.
  • 250 employees, and 5 million customers worldwide.
  • six manufacturing facilities in Shenzhen, China
  • 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
  •  
    An article discussing how the E-Cigarette industry is quickly growing and diffusing around the world. 
  • ...4 more comments...
  •  
    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!!
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
  •  
    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.
  •  
    An article discussing how the E-Cigarette industry is quickly growing and diffusing around the world. 
« First ‹ Previous 721 - 740 Next › Last »
Showing 20 items per page