Reflection

           Without ever having taken an economics class, I feel that I have learned how the world works in an economist perspective.  I believe that exchange rates are the most applicable to understanding how the world works.  With the market always changing between different currencies, I feel that this information is valuable to understanding life from a worldwide view.  Each country has some kind of currency, and this currency is an important part of the market.  Currency allows these individuals to purchase and sell goods and help to make a transaction successful.

            I am interested in learning more about the hierarchy of places that occur within a society.  In particular, the central place theory was fascinating because it provided realistic examples of “things to do” in the cities around Kalamazoo.  In addition, the urban land use model, created by Burgess in 1925, was also interesting.  This concentric zone model began with the central business district in the center, and commuters were on the outside of the circle.  With that being said, I would like to analyze more places that focus on a hierarchy of places especially places that I am familiar with. 

            While I am studying abroad in Scotland next year, I think the most difficult task will be adjusting to the academic life.  I am in motion with classes here at Kalamazoo and know what to expect with each class because all of the students talk to one another.  By taking random classes and not having any idea what the professors are like, it will be difficult to adjust to.  I have researched and the University of Aberdeen appears to be an excellent school.  I just hope that it isn’t too hard so I can have some time to enjoy my time while on study abroad by visiting other places.  I’m sure that I will have a good time and cannot wait for the experience to begin!

City Analysis - Scotland

           Aberdeen, Scotland is considered a national city because it has its own malls, airport, water port, universities, professional sports teams, and even has a dense population of individuals.  According to Burgess’ 1925 concentric zone model, Aberdeen is located in the central business district.  This is considered to be the “downtown” area where most employment is located and where the urban transport infrastructure is meeting.  In the central business district, there is commercial, social, and a civic center where many of the citizens perform most of their work. 

            Aberdeen has other central places of hierarchy that are bigger than it, and it also has other smaller cities and towns.  Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland and has a population of 495, 360.  Some tourist attractions in Edinburgh include the Edinburgh Castle, National Museum of Scotland, Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh Zoo, Scottish Pariliament Building, and just about everything in an international city.  Below Aberdeen is the rural village called Pitmedden.  Its population is 1,137 people and has local shops, primary school, church, and a village park in its town.

            Aberdeen offers several attractions that wouldn’t be available in smaller places.  Some of these attractions include malls, water ports, professional sports team, and an airport.  Because Aberdeen has such a dense population of people, it is easy for companies like those previously mentioned to succeed.  In a nutshell, more people means more business, which means more profit.  In addition, castles are locally unavailable in Aberdeen when comparing it to a higher order city like Edinburgh.  

News Summary - Scottish Gambling

            There is a gambling problem with the citizens of Scotland.  The Church of Scotland moderator, Reverend Lorna Hood, says that we live in an era of where gambling is more accessible due to recent advancements in technology.  Hood blames the marketing by moneylenders for further adding problems to the Scots financial woes. 

Simply stated, gambling all begins with the click of a button. 

           

Article - http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/gambling-problem-growing-say-church-of-scotland-1-3252469

            Looking ahead to the future, Hood suggests “recent cuts to welfare payments have also been fuelling money struggles for many of the country’s disabled and long-term unemployed.”  With the many citizens of Scotland struggling to make ends-meet, they are being forced to rely on food-banks to feed themselves and their families.  Gambling is yet another problem that the Scots must avoid, along with the fight for independence which they are currently dealing with.

            With the increasingly popular demand for gambling in the Scottish economy, this has proved to be a problem.  Many of the Scottish citizens are treating gambling over the necessities of life (including appropriate food, clothes, etc).  In fact, several have a problem with gambling especially the Scots that cannot afford it.  The struggle to fight gambling along with the fight for independence is making life difficult for the Scottish citizen.

"Junkyard Planet" - Minter

            India and China are both rapidly industrializing countries with a large demand for resources, yet the vast majority of US scrap metal goes to China.  The cheap transportation is what distinguishes doing business in China versus India.  Simply stated, scrap metal is going to go to the place where the labor and transportation is cheap.  Suppose the labor’s really cheap in India, and it’s seven centers per pound to ship it to India.  While the labor is also relatively cheap in China, it’s only two cents per pound to ship it to China.  Since the Chinese provide the cheaper price, the scrap metal goes to China.

            The use of the backhaul allowed the Chinese and Americans to be efficient with their means of transportation.  While the Chinese export scrap metal to the Americans, the Americans export pounds of cardboard and/or paper.  In fact, “that box your new Chinese-made television was packed in might have once been the box that your last laptop was packed in.”  The backhaul significantly increased globalization because it allowed containers to go back with some cargo.  In the long run this allowed profit to be made on the backhaul as well, instead of going home empty-handed.

            Diamond suggested that a society’s success is based on access to specific resources (with transportation being one of them).  The themes raised in Diamond relate to modern transportation in the sense that only the strongest will survive.  In Diamond’s article, “the Eurasians proved to be so powerful because of their access to steel swords, guns, and horses.”  There were not many methods of transportation back in the day, but these horses allowed the Eurasians to travel from place to place and goods to be traded.  Likewise, modern transportation allows individuals to travel from place to place to exchange goods.  The means of modern transportation are through car, boat, or plane.  In a nutshell, if transportation is successful, then trade will be successful.  

The Box: "Container"

The efficiency of the ships handling the containers is unbelievable and remarkable.  It would only make sense that humans organize the containers because they can put them wherever they want.  In fact, this is not the case and of course, technology is the answer once again.  The computers are programmed in advance to determine the order in which the containers are to be removed from the ship.  This allows for a speed unloading/loading process without destabilizing the ship.  Furthermore, the computer programs are so detailed that they have the container number and exact time that the containers will be picked up at.  In addition to picking up a container, the computers are also programmed to drop off a container to be increasingly efficient.  For example, “incoming container ABLQ 998435 should be summoned to the terminal at 10:45 a.m., and that outgoing container JKFC 119395, a 40-foot box bound for Newark, carrying 76,800 pounds of machinery and currently stacked at yard location A-52-G-6, will be loaded third from the bottom in the fourth slot in the second row of the forward hold.”

The development of the shipping container has significantly influenced and contributed to globalization.  The container shipping processes is the most effective because, in a sense, everyone is doing their role without wasted time.  While one freight is dropping off several containers from the waters, a truck is readily available to transports these goods from point A to point B on land.  These containers have spread globally because they are the cheapest and most easy method for transportation.  With this, domestic businesses quickly turned into international business and the shipping container was beginning to be used worldwide. 

The international manufacturers and business are gaining form the transformation of global transportation because they are able to sell more products.  By exposing their company’s goods to many more individuals around the world, these customers are able to purchase the goods, which would benefit the company.  With the shipping containers, the companies are allowed to transport bundles of their goods from various locations for a cheap shipping cost. 

The downside of the transformation of global transportation is that jobs are being lost due to the increasingly technological advances.  The computers are programmed so not manual labor is required.  In addition, computers are a lot smarter and can move a lot faster than humans.  “A few crew members can manage an oceangoing vessel longer than three football fields.  A trucker can deposit a trailer at a customer's loading dock, hook up another trailer, and drive on immediately.”  In the long run, programmed computers prove to be most efficient and effective for businesses.