Ignite Presentation

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Gapminder Screencast and Analysis

In the first video I am comparing percentage of the labor force of a given country engaged in the service industry, (which include jobs like government telecommunications, financial services, and healthcare) to income per person, or GDP per capita. GDP per capita takes the gross domestic product of a country and divides it by the number of people within that given country, measured in dollars per person. In the second video I compare total children per woman in a country (total fertility) to its HDI ( Human Development Index). This is measured by health level, education level and living standard.

Looking at the distribution of a county's labor force through the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors can tell a lot about that country's economic development. A country that is more economically developed will have a higher percentage in the service sector. To work in the service sector the employee must have a certain level of education (typically high) and countries with more people working in this industry offer more educational opportunities. For a country with very little advancement in economic development will have a higher percentage of labor in the agricultural industry. GDP per capita directly correlates to economic development. The higher the gross domestic product per person, the higher the economic development of the country. This means that the country is generating more money. 

Typically countries with more children per woman are less economically developed because of a lack in education of women or accessibility to contraceptives. Measuring the HDI of a country shows its citizens' health and education level and living standard, which, when high, is a result of high economic development.

In the first video it is easy to notice that the majority of North and Central America, most of Europe and Eastern Asia pull ahead in percentage of workers employed in the service industry and in highest income per person in the 1980's. But, in the early 90's, China is the country with the least percentage of service workers, and one of the countries with the lowest GDP per capita. Many of the Caribbean islands have a high percentage of labor in the service sector with a medium income per person. In the 1990's, unlike the majority of Europe, Ukraine has the lowest GDP per capita and percent of labor force in the service industry in its continent. From 2004 to 2006 Ethiopia moves from being the front runner in percentage of service workers to the very last, multiple times.

In the second video North and South America, Europe and East Asia are in the lead in 2011 with the rest of the world, particularly Africa, far behind. In the 1980's I noticed Saudi Arabia had an average of 7.2 children per woman, but a .651 HDI. Whereas, China had an average of 2.3 children per woman, but a .404 HDI. I had assumed that countries with less children per woman would have a higher HDI. In the 1990's Australia took the lead with an HDI of .8862 and 1.8 children per woman. Africa has the highest number of children per woman and lowest HDI. In the early 2000's Europe, North and South America are in the lead along with the Middle East. In 2011, despite being in a continent with most of the countries at the back of the pack in terms of HDI, Mauritius leads Africa with number of children per woman at 1.5 and and HDI of .728. For the most part Europe and North America stay in the front with highest HDI and lowest amount of children per woman. 

In order for people to be employed in tertiary activities (service sector) there needs to be less of a need for employment in the agricultural and industrial sectors. In order to achieve this mechanization has to occur to replace the jobs of people out in the fields and in the factories. As more countries adopt new technologies they mechanize and their labor force shifts to the service sector. In general, the service sector pays higher wages, which explains the rise in income per person for countries with more people working the service sector. Sometimes, however, wages are lower in different parts of the world, especially concerning tourism. This explains income per person differences in South America and Central America, where tourism is a key component in their economy. The lack of service industry and higher income per person in Ukraine in the 1990's could be a result of its independence from the Soviet Union. The fluctuations of Ethiopia could have been the result of the Ethiopia- Eritrea war. It is easy to realize that countries in Europe and North America would have more people working in the service sector because a greater amount of technology has diffused there, making the transition to the tertiary sector possible. 

Many countries in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia have very high average of children per woman. This could easily be traced to lack of education of women. Women stay home instead of finding a job and working, so they are unlikely to decide to hold off on having children for the sake of their career. Another reason could simply be religious beliefs and practices, especially in the Middle East. One key factor for such

a high HDI in Saudi Arabia is that it is a very oil rich country and is able to provide its people with living necessities. Even though China had a low average number of children per women it did not mean that the country's HDI was high. The government enforced the one child policy and people were forced not to have children rather than choosing not to in order to focus on their careers. Another reason for China's low HDI could be the large amounts of poverty and dangerous working conditions. Reasons for Mauritius's economic development are traced to its independence in 1968, since then the country has a diverse economy, growing industrial, financial, and tourists sectors. 

Crossing the Line GIS Activity

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Crossing the Line GIS Analysis

One country that is predicted to split into two different countries is Canada and one of its current provinces, Quebec. Quebec is located on the far east of Canada (which is in North America) and is directly above the eastern side of the United States. The new boundary that I have created surrounds the entirety of Quebec separating it from the rest of Canada. China and Siberia, Russia, are the two countries that have been envisioned to come together. China is in eastern Asia and directly under Russia. Siberia takes up roughly 77% of Russia, but the part that I focused on was on the far south eastern tip of Siberia, just north east of China. These two countries are in Eurasia; Siberia and China border the Pacific ocean.

There is an array of reasons as to why China would band together with Siberia. First and foremost hundreds of thousands of Chinese already inhabit the area and have set up trading posts and have even started intermarrying with the Siberian natives. China is resource hungry and Siberia happens to be very rich in copper, zinc, and other raw materials. Siberia also has the markets and other resources that China needs and is positioned for land-based transition of certain resources coming from the Middle East and Africa in order to avoid pirate infested waters. In the past, Russia's demographic growth rate has been very low and poses a threat to the country's future. In the far east of Russia (Siberia) the population is only comprised of six million people, while in the northern provinces of China alone the population consists of some ninety million people. Not only would the unification of China and Siberia benefit China economically, but it would be perfect to alleviate some of the population density there as well.
Concerning the division of Quebec from Canada, a large factor in the separation is the difference in language. French is the primary language spoken in Quebec, where English is the primary language for the remainder of Canada. One of the most effective ways to preserve culture is to form an independent country to maintain identity and language. Some argue that Quebec should become a sovereign state because in 1793 the English conquered New France and took Quebec, and some feel that the current people of Quebec should finally be given their national sovereignty. Quebec has already been granted a large amount of autonomy in internal affairs such as, immigration, healthcare, and education which displays the closeness of Quebec's future sovereignty. With the separation of Quebec from Canada, Canada would be able to rid itself of a large amount of debt which may push the process of independence even further.

The borders drawn for the division of Quebec from Canada are based off of cultural differences and are therefore cultural boundaries. Quebec speaks primarily French while the rest of Canada's provinces speak mostly English. For the new boundaries surrounding Siberia and China it could be argued to be geometric because the boundary separating the part of Siberia from the rest of Russia is arched and is not related to a specific physical feature or cultural difference.

The reason for devolution between Canada and Quebec was purely ethnocultural. The split of Quebec from Canada will relieve tension between each other. There will no longer be any disputes regarding language differences and a fight for sovereignty. Once Quebec is recognized as a state, clashing between its current country and itself about whether or not its cultural differences warrant independence will cease. If Quebec becomes independent it will separate Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Breaking the country apart any further could cause spatial devolution in some remaining Canadian provinces. The purpose in joining Siberia and China together was so China could utilize the farm land and resources in Siberia. Only taking a section of Siberia at first could lead to future Chinese expansion into Russia which would push Russia's population west. China would gain, however, the land that many Russians are not motivated to use. A larger percent of Chinese would then have appropriate land to cultivate and ability to take control of many companies in Russia.

Cultural Geography Photo Collage