Our eyes on the world

Activities on Espace

2009-02-15T20:47:00.000-08:00

Dear students,

please be checking your espace module workbin and announcements as there has been a series of updates now that everyone in allocated respective access into the module workbin.

Still looking at the world

2009-01-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

Dear readers,

This module blog is discontinued and will move to http://www.geogbits.blogspot.com, where NUS High School students will continue studying and setting their eyes on the world.

Geogbits is a collective website for all the geography modules taught by Mrs Lim-Chen Madeline. It is also a resource website for her own teaching materials to be used in her class teaching.

See you at Geogbits!

Globalization and Development

2008-10-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

Dear GE1102 students,

Here's an interesting world bank report for you to read as supplement to globalization and its effect on poverty. You can see this as the relationship between globalization and development. There's going to be increasing inequality throughout the countries around the world. The income inequality is also going to be wider within countries like the USA and Singapore.

World Bank Report on Globalization and Poverty:
http://www1.worldbank.org/economicpolicy/globalization/documents/povertyglobalization.pdf

Questions from Class 106

2008-09-22T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hi there,

There were two interesting questions raised in 106:

Where do we place ebay.com within the classification of industries. Seeu Kun went to do some research and here are her findings.

There's still a question on arts goods being giffen goods..
----------------Start----------------------------

eBay Inc. is an American Internet company that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide. In addition to its original U.S. Web site, eBay has established localized Web sites in thirty other countries. eBay Inc. also owns PayPal, Skype, StubHub, and other businesses.

Type of industry: Auctioning
Products: Online auction hosting, Electronic Commerce, Shopping Mall, Paypal, Skype, Gumtree, Kijiji

An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the winning bidder. On eBay, items are put on auction and whoever is the highest bidder for that particular item will buy the item. On eBay, people are actually able to make money from selling their stuff.

Based on my point of view, eBay should be in the tertiary industry. In the tertiary industry, a more monetary based industry; it involves the selling of goods and provision of services and allows the people involved to make money. IT services are also part of the tertiary industry, as it facilitates communication between people, internet services, connects businesses etc. As eBay is an online auction and shopping website, it provides the service online, thus, we can conclude that eBay is in the tertiary industry.

She went on with more information and this is definitely some plus point information. :)

There are certain strategic advantages of an online auction business model:

No time constraints. Bids can be placed at any time (24/7). Items are listed for a number of days (usually between 1 and 10, at the discretion of the seller), giving purchasers time to search, decide, and bid. This convenience increases the number of bidders.

No geographical constraints. Sellers and bidders can participate from anywhere that has internet access. This makes them more accessible and reduces the cost of "attending" an auction. This increases the number of listed items (i.e.: number of sellers) and the number of bids for each item (ie.: number of bidders). The items do not need to be shipped to a central location, reducing costs, and reducing the seller's minimum acceptable price.
Large number of bidders. Because of the potential for a relatively low price, the broad scope of products and services available, the ease of access, and the social benefits of the auction process, there are a large numbers of bidders.
Large number of sellers. Because of the large number of bidders, the potential for a relatively high price, reduced selling costs, and ease of access, there are a large number of sellers.

As highlighted through her research here, ebay actually springs from the tertiary industries, as a type of financial and service based business. However, now that ebay is a virtual meeting place for sellers and buyers to meet, it does take on a quinary profile. As mentioned in class, one company need not sit neatly in one type of industries only.

Songs about Globalization

2008-09-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

Citizen of the Planet by Alanis Morisette

Quite a powerful song in terms of style, in rock and roll fashion. The visual, for those who know what is editing, is done quite stylistically too, disembodied parts of people as well as the lack of a human figure to empathise with, shows how 'alienating' and 'placeless' globalization can be. Aptly named "Citizen of the planet". No mentioned of countries at all.

Lyrics:



I start up in the North
I grow from special seed
I sprinkle in with sensibility
From French and Hungarian snow
I linger in the sprouting until my engine’s full

Then I move across the sea
To European bliss
To language of poets
As I cut the cord of home
I Kiss my mother’s mother
Look to the horizon

Wide eyed, new ground humbled by my new surroundings

I am a citizen of the planet
My president is Kwan Yin
My frontier is on na airplane
My prisons: homes for rehabilitating

Then I fly back to my nest,
I fly back with my nuclear
But everithing is different

So I wait, My yearn for home is broadened,
Patriotism expanded
by callings from beyond

So I Pack my things nothing precious all things sacred
I am a citizen of the planet
My laws are all of attraction
My punishiments are consequences
Separating from source the original sin

I am a citizen of the planet
Democracy’s kids are sovereign
Where the teachers are the sages
And pedestals fill with every parent

And so, next few years are blurry,
the next decade’s a flurry of
amells and tastes unknown

Threads sewn straight through this fabric
through fields of every color
one culture to another

I come alive and I get giddy I am taken and globally naturalized

I am a citizen of the planet
From simple roots through high vision
I am guarded by the angels
My body guides the direction I go in

I am a citizen of the planet
My favorite pastime edge stretching
Besotten with human condition
These ideals are borne from my deepest within

Taken from:
http://www.elyricsworld.com/citizen_of_the_planet_lyrics_alanis_morissette.html

Our Singapore history (economic aspects)

2008-09-16T04:58:00.000-07:00

Hi students!

Okay, Miss Chen is a little cranky from her research on Singapore so she's blogging here for a while.

A simple writing tip for you project

I'm currently writing a review of Singapore's development as part of my thesis. Part of a good review is to critically evaluate multiple sources and choose to paraphrase some historical accounts, bearing in mind what are the key information one want to highlight. In this case, I'm trying to narrate Singapore's development, with an emphasis on development aspects I see as having an impact on Singapore's educational policies and directions. Before you slap your forehead and wonder what Miss Chen is doing *I like doing my homework okay?*

Check out this EDB website that tells you about the economic development of Singapore. This is EDB's perspective. Just one of the many sources I consult. This website serves as a "mini peephole" into understanding Singapore's economic development.

http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/about_us/our_history.html

Of course, you need to ask yourself what is 'missing' from their account. Since this is economic, there are the social, political, cultural and environmental aspects one need to think about. Remember SPECS okay? It reminds you to consider all factors (CAF).

Just some pointers: try to catch yourself asking these questions as you do writing:

What are the economic aspects brought out?

What questions do I have?

What will I like to know more about?

What are its inter links? Where should I see them? Justifiable in context?

Why do I see development this way?

What is my personal experience of growing up in Singapore?

What are the events that I'm most sensitive to?

Where are my biases?

Why do I have these associations?

How do I express it?

Why do I choose to write my sentence this way?

Is the information presented objective enough? Did I side with any of my materials' biases I consulted?

(written from Miss Chen's perspective, adapt for your own)

Think, think hah! Writing is a very thought-provoking and intellectually stimulating process. I hope you will learn to enjoy it as you prepare your module project. What I will encourage you to do is to "try to catch yourself asking yourself questions". I'm sure some of you do it to some degree. Try it!

The more you ask yourself and try to answer your own such questions, the better your meta-cognition, which is another way to make yourself smarter! Have fun. Gambate! ;P

Profiles of students in current GE1102 batch

2008-09-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

Just a short report:

Based on the small willing sample of students that took part in the multiple intelligences survey, I found that the dominant intelligences are:

Mathematical-logical
Musical
Nature-loving aka systematic

As such, I will use more songs than I intended and talk more about human-environmental interactions where possible. We will probably have some fun debating over industrialization and environmental protection in the industrialization sub-topic of this module.

Akvo.org

2008-09-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Dear students,

This is a new and very interesting development in humanitarian projects in water and sanitation where ideas on improving water supplies and sanitation systems are widely available and open to all via opensource to everyone out there.

This website is especially useful for your module project - which you ought to start on by now; you have about only a month left to submission.

http://www.akvo.org/

Gallery of Data Visualization: Best and Worse

2008-06-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Dear students,

Check out this website on data representation.

Gallery of Data Visualization The Best and Worst of Statistical Graphics
http://www.math.yorku.ca/SCS/Gallery/

This is something that cuts across Geography and many inter-related sciences and math.

The message here is - your graphic should represent the data you want to explore and elaborate on.

Looking at the profile of 2008 Semester 2 students

2008-06-12T06:29:00.000-07:00

Dear students,

For those students taking GE1102 in 2008 semester 2, can you please try out this link? This will apply to M08104, Mo8105, M08106 and M08107.

http://www.ldrc.ca/projects/miinventory/miinventory.php

It is about Multiple Intelligences and I think it will be useful to fill in your top 2 intelligences in a form to the incoming geography representatives so I know what is the profile of the learners I am dealing with. This will probably influence the design of the assignments as well as activities I am interested in innovating for this cohort.

Many thanks.
Miss Chen

How will a young Singaporean respond to this?

2008-01-18T19:15:00.000-08:00

It looks like the speaker here is very optimistic that we in Singapore have gotten some things right, especially at the scale of a city-state.

How will GE1102 students respond to this? Leave your comments.

This video was contributed by Brendan.

A warm welcome to the 2008 cohort

2008-01-06T22:51:00.000-08:00

It's the new year again. This blog will be needing some updates here and there.

As stated in the first few classes that I've met, this blog is meant as a supplement to what we learn in class and a online crossroad sign website to consolidate interesting Geographical articles and resources for GE1102.

I will also welcome contributions from students, present as well as past GE1102 students. Please drop me the contents via my work email and I will put the content up on your behalf.

Just a note to my ex-GE1102 students, Please do take my Leisure, Recreation and Tourism module in Semester 2. It will be loads of fun and learning. (GE3201 has been cancelled for 2008's run. Apologies for the disappointment.)

Regards,
Miss Chen

Geography of Food!

2007-11-02T06:33:00.000-07:00

An interesting website that tells you about food (though in a UK context). Take this time to explore geography even in terms of seeing Geography in everyday things like food.

Just a foretaste of how perhaps this module will evolve. Have a great holiday ahead students!

Intel as a case study

2007-09-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Dear students,

as we start on industrialization, there are a few examples of industries that will serve as useful examples to cite in your answers. Go check out all these companies in your holidays. You may just fall in love with the kind of work they do. Start knowing the world of work early to have a more informed perspective on careers in future. I'm not saying you start work now as a teenager, just build that awareness!

Primary industries

Hay Dairy Farm
Toh Orchids
Kok Fah Technology Farm
Marine Aquaculture Centre (AVA, Sg)
Qian Hu Corporation Limited
Swee Chioh Aquaculture Holding Pte Ltd
small farmholds in China producing fruits like Mandarin oranges in farming areas of Xiamen
Cotton Inc (US)

Secondary industries

Mintek (produces car brake parts)
Intel
Apple
Toshiba
Lenovo
Creative

Tertiary industries

SMRT
SBSTransit
Hutchinson (shipping)
Evergreen (shipping)
KPMG
Pricewaterhouse
StandardCharter
Llyod and other commerical banks
AIA (insurance)
Hong Leong Bank
Metro
Tangs
Manicure companies like Fave Nails, body slimming centres etc (and other beauty treatment service providers)

Quaternary Industries

DSO
Nanoscience Innovation
Singapore Technologies
Fuji Xerox (research)
Shell Global Solutions
Heuristix Lab

Quinary Industries

Singapore Duck tours
Chan Brothers
Mount Elizabeth Hospital
Jean Yip
private educational insitutions (including our school and many others)

Remember Live Earth

2007-07-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

This module does its best to open the eyes of students to their world. Just wanted to expand the collection of pop music associated with environment protection.

Here's Madonna's "Hey You". I understand that there is a lot of controvesy over her carbon print, but I think it is good enough that she wrote a song to try bring up awareness for our environment and her director for this music video doesn't even have her in it for obvious reasons - this song is not about Madonna, it's about the environment and the people who shape, and the people who suffer in it, the people who live in it and off it.

To 2007 semester 2 students

2007-06-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

Hi, greetings geography student!

Please see the links on the right side for a start. Take time to explore CIA factbook. It's quite interesting.

Also, please make sure you have bought your atlas. I will need you to use it extensively for the first 4 lessons on development.

How to improve geographical literacy

2007-05-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

This post is actually targeted at parents who are concerned about their child's lack of interest or literacy in Geography.

Here are some useful tips I have adapted from http://ncge.net/geography/power/family/page2.cfm and thrown in a few of my own-

Having an Atlas and maps at home for the child
An atlas is the most comprehensive and useful geography reference work. Atlas maps allow children to locate countries, and physical features. Atlases also contain data on population, climates, economies, and usually pictures that are important for understanding a country's place in the world.

Maps are the tools of the geographer. A world map and a map of the United States can be hung on the wall of your children's room or elsewhere in the home where they can be used easily and frequently. Maps are available in most book stores.

My own observations*
Getting children to look at maps more often trains spatial intelligence - something many parents and adults tend to ignore in a child's development. Getting them to improve their spatial intelligence helps your child be a better map reader when older and gives them confidence in the very spaces they need to move in and unfamiliar spaces they need to conquer!

Encyclopedias and other world information materials
Encyclopedias, atlases and publications like Encrata are now available on CD-ROM and other electronic formats. If your children have access to a computer, you may want to consider using this form of access to geographic reference works and visit websites like BBC Geography, National Geographic.com or even the US CIA factbook that publishes information on all the different countries in the world.

Modeling and picking up geographical skills
Help your children learn to use maps, atlases, and globes. Work with your children to find places on the globe or look up information in the atlases. Be a good role model by consulting the atlas yourself and talk about countries or world issues in a particular country and its region with your child.

Critical thinking*
While this is not exclusive to Geography, it is applicable to all social sciences, history and humanities training. Take data representation from newspapers and other publications ask your child about the categories assumed, the definitions used and the way the data is represented. Do they agree with the definitions? Is it representative? Does it show "fairness"? Are things proportionate? what is the scale? Is it drawn to scale? What is included? What is not? Why is this so?

Kids are capable of thinking. It's the construct of this thing called "childhood innocence" that we try to give these children and in doing so, we make them stupid or we handicap them longer than they ought to be. Being able to think does not mean a loss of innocence. The loss of innocence is the loss of time to play and engage and think about their world. I'm talking about "homework time" with assessment books rather than meaningful thinking conversations between parents and their children.

Simple Mathematical skills*
Start a database of foods that your child eat on a day to day basis and eventually compare the data from week-to-week to month-to-month so as to teach time-interval studies and probability of their food preferances on a certain day. Including other data will eventually teach cross-referencing!

Get them to do a tabulation of their allowance money - have them to remember how they spend their pocket money and analyse their expenditure. This sets them thinking about analysing simple statistics but also act as a foundation for them to understand country budgets when they are way older. The act of data collecting and tabulation also instill discipline and routine when required. Award them treats when they do a good analysis. It should not be toys but their favourite foods or activities.

Simple acts like this can prep your child a long way. This mathematical skill actually helps your child in social science analysis.

NUS Geography Open House 2007

2007-05-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

Exam tips

2007-04-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

Hiya 2007 cohort,

This is an informal note basis.

As you prepare for your exams, please remember to drink water and study smart!

For those not identified as part of the "34 students", I have some extra handouts printed and stuck outside my pigeonhole for those who are interested in it and do not want to print out the soft copy from Espace folder.

Also, do note that you can sign up for consultation slots from 2 May afternoon (after 1.30pm) once I settle the slots for the weaker students. That is if you want to and you have done the practice questions to ask me questions...

We live in Singapura!

2007-04-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

Hi class,

It's not really related to what we study in this module but it is more related to what I'm researching on. This interesting song "We live in Singapura" is a very interesting alternative view of what Singapore is like and is an expression of national identity.

Listen and enjoy. It really is very original.

Trying to assemble relevant things for Industrialization topic

2007-04-08T22:08:00.000-07:00

Hi class,

Not that this blog is facing a standstill, but I've been busy setting class tests and exam papers (gasp!) for you all. Man, the topic of my post is scary huh?

I've been trying to find interesting thing about good old industrialization but many things I found are more about the globalization of industrial activities than anything else, which is more for my GE5201 class than a GE1102 class.

My loot so far:

Industrialization on wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrialization

Table showing the spread of industrialization from a historical perspective
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/indrevtabs1.html

Industrialization and De-industrialization
http://au.encarta.msn.com/text_781531184___0/Industrialization_and_De-Industrialization.html

Singapore the best place in the world for Asians to live

2007-02-13T23:03:00.000-08:00

I took this article from http://www.eca-international.com/Asp/ViewArticle2.asp?ArticleID=150 after catching sight of it in tomorrow.sg.

Students can think about this while we go through lessons on urbanization...

Singapore the best place in the world for Asians to live, says ECA International - 03 April 2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Poor air quality in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur cause fall in ranking
High living standards make Singapore the most favourable place in the world for Asians to live according to the latest Location Ranking Survey on expatriate living conditions by ECA International, the world’s largest membership organization for international human resources professionals, serving a global network of over 4000 HR professionals in 1500 companies in 35 countries.
Singapore claims the top spot because it offers residents a good quality of living, scoring favourably in most categories. High quality infrastructure and health facilities, combined with low health risks, air pollution and crime rates make it a very desirable location in which to live. And the cosmopolitan make-up of Singapore adds to its appeal.
Kobe is the only other Asian city ranked in the top 10, ranked fifth behind Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. Making up the top 10 are Auckland, Copenhagen, Vancouver, Wellington and Basel.
Yokohama and Tokyo are the other Asian locations to feature in the top 20, ranked 11th and 14th respectively. They are followed by Hong Kong (32), Taipei (60), Macau (64), Bangkok (69) and Kuala Lumpur (72). Shanghai, 89th in the global ranking, is considered the best Chinese city for Asians to live, beating Beijing because of its more favourable climate and lower levels of air pollution.
Baghdad came out as the worst location to live, followed by Kabul and Karachi. Their position at the bottom of the rankings is largely due to the high risk to personal safety and lack of adequate infrastructure and facilities.
Culture, language and proximity to an expatriate’s home country also affect the overall scores which are used by ECA member companies to establish allowances which compensate expatriate staff for the difficulties of living in their assignment location.
“Although Singapore is top for Asians, it comes in at only 58 for Western Europeans. Although still a great place to come to, distance from home, differences in culture, language and climate all make it harder to live here than Basel, for example, which comes top for Europeans," explained Lee Quane, General Manager of ECA International in Hong Kong.
Movers and shakers
Quality of living is on the up in most Chinese cities, with Xi’an showing the greatest annual improvement although it remains the worst-ranked of all the Chinese cities covered by ECA’s survey. Infrastructure, health facilities, goods and services, recreational facilities and housing are the areas that are seeing the biggest improvements across the country. However, locations in China still have a long way to go before they offer residents the same living standards afforded to residents in Singapore and Japan, with high levels of air pollution a particular complaint amongst expatriates.
Scores for Phnom Penh and Vientiane have also improved this year, as they have done for the past couple of years. Both have seen a growth in the expatriate community in recent years as they have become more open to foreign investment.
Hong Kong dropped down the rankings this year falling from 20th to 32nd. Its fall is due to an increase in the levels of air pollution, with the number of hazy days rising every year as polluted air from an increasingly industrialised Guangdong province affects the city. An increase in the levels of air pollution caused by forest fires on Sumatra contributed to Kuala Lumpur slipping 11 places this year. Flash-flooding and landslides also affected its overall hardship score.
“It isn’t all good news for Asia,” said Quane. “Although Singapore is ranked the best city in the world and many Asian cities recorded improvements in their score, only five Asian locations make the top 50. This shows that living conditions in most Asian cities is lower than those in their European and North American counterparts. What’s more, the drop experienced by Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur shows that the rapid pace of development in Asia, which is attractive to so many people, is also having a detrimental impact of living conditions through by-products such as pollution.”
ECA’s biggest ever location ranking survey scores 257 locations worldwide according to categories that include climate, prevalence/impact of natural disasters, health facilities and risks, transportation, the quality and availability of goods and services, accommodation standards, education, recreation, crime and socio-political climate. Culture, language and proximity to an expatriate’s home country also affect the overall score. The scores are then used by ECA member companies to establish allowances which compensate expatriate staff for the difficulties of living in their assignment location.
About ECA International
ECA International is the world’s largest membership organisation for international human resources professionals, serving a global network of over 4000 HR professionals in 35 countries. The leading provider of online data, software solutions and advice for more than 1500 international companies, ECA’s innovative approach has been providing cost-effective solutions to international HR management since 1971. For more information, please visit http://www.eca-international.com.
About ECA’s Location Ranking Survey
The Location Ranking Survey is carried out on an annual basis. The rankings above and below are made by comparing the factors listed above for 257 locations worldwide on an Asian base.
ECA‘s Location Ranking Survey is delivered through ECAAdapt, part of its Assign suite of HR information tools. ECAAdapt offers a transparent and detailed system for calculating location or “hardship” allowances for expatriates relocating to a new country.
ECAAdapt allows users to select region-to-city allowances or city-to-city allowances, so that depending on your policy the system reflects the level of detail that required. ECA’s system provides an immediate “banding” for the host location, based in part on the circumstances of the home location. With the banding comes ECA’s recommended allowances, expressed as a percentage of home gross salary.
ECAAdapt also gives breakdowns of the scoring given to a number of different categories contributing to the overall score which translates to banding and allowances. Categories include climate, health services, isolation, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure and political tensions.
The best locations in the world for Asians to live
2005 Rank
Location
1
Singapore - Singapore
2
Australia - Sydney
3
Australia - Melbourne
4
Australia - Canberra
5
Japan - Kobe
6
New Zealand - Auckland
7
Denmark - Copenhagen
8
Canada - Vancouver
9
New Zealand - Wellington
10
Switzerland - Basel
The most difficult locations in the world for Asians to live
2005 Rank
Location
257
Iraq - Baghdad
256
Afghanistan - Kabul
255
Pakistan - Karachi
254
Algeria - Algiers
253
Haiti - Port-au-Prince
252
Angola - Luanda
251
Palestine Territories - Ramallah
250
Mauritania - Nouakchott
249
Uzbekistan - Tashkent
248
Sudan - Khartoum
The best locations in Asia for Asians to live
2005 Rank
Location
1
Singapore - Singapore
2
Japan - Kobe
3
Japan - Yokohama
4
Japan - Tokyo
5
Hong Kong - Hong Kong
6
Taiwan - Taipei
7
Macau - Macau
8
Thailand - Bangkok
9
Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur
10
Thailand - Chiang Mai

Life in a city through songs

2007-02-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

This song is called "LDN" by Lily Allen. I picked this song to show how people see urban living. Though I do not cover the social aspect of living in urban areas, you are all urbanites, and probably can feel something from this song about the kind of cynical view of life that is perculiar to urbanites!

LDN - Lily Allen

Riding through the city on my bike all day
Cause the filth took away my licence
It doesn't get me down and I feel ok
Cause the sights that I'm seeing are priceless

Everything seems to look as it should
But I wonder what goes on behind doors
A fella looking dapper, but he's sittin with a slapper
Then I see it's a pimp and his crack whore

You might laugh you might frown
Walkin' round London town

Chorus
Sun is in the sky oh why oh why ?
Would I wanna be anywhere else
Sun is in the sky oh why oh why ?
Would I wanna be anywhere else

When you look with your eyes
Everything seems nice
But if you look twice
you can see it's all lies

There was a little old lady, who was walkin down the road
She was struggling with bags from Tesco
There were people from the city havin lunch in the park
I believe that it's called al fresco

Then a kid came along to offer a hand

But before she had time to accept it
hits her over the head, doesn't care if she's dead
Cause he's got all her jewellery and wallet

You might laugh you might frown
walkin round London town

Chorus
Sun is in the sky oh why oh why ?
Would I wanna be anywhere else
Sun is in the sky oh why oh why ?
Would I wanna be anywhere else

When you look with your eyes
Everything seems nice
But if you look twice
you can see it's all lies

Life, that's city life, yeah that's city life, that's city life
Life, that's city life, yeah that's city life, that's city life

Chorus
Sun is in the sky oh why oh why ?
Would I wanna be anywhere else
Sun is in the sky oh why oh why ?
Would I wanna be anywhere else
Chorus x4

Lyrics taken%

Urbanization: Going down the streets of different cities

2007-02-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Jakarta:

Go down the streets, it's almost like I'm in Medan City!

Fly over Jakarta. the low atmospheric clouds is probably air pollution.

Walk down a street in New York

How do you feel about the 2 different places that you have seen here? Talk about it in class!

Population Websites

2007-01-31T17:11:00.000-08:00

Hi students,

As we go through concepts and definition in population, remember these are only starting points. Population changes are very dynamic and is very important to development as it concerns the distribution of economic benefits and affect people's welfare directly.

Here are some websites for your surfing for this time period.

The Population Reference Bureau - you may want to check out the new 2006 population data sheet under quick links to look at the current population situation around the world.
http://www.prb.org/

UN Population division - Department of economic and social affairs
UN Population Division

A linking point between population and the next topic, urbanization - most of the people we see being added to the world are in the ELDCs and they will be in the big cities in these ELDCs.
http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WUP2005/2005WUP_agglomchart.pdf - Get the report here

A little lesson on data representation

2007-01-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

Dear students,

Here's something for you to sharpen your mind.

Look at the data (value of IT industrial activities sent out to different countries).

What is the misrepresentation? Try answering via the comments.

Mind you, this is actually on BBC website. I'm wondering if there was a mistake..

A warm welcome to the 2007 cohort

2007-01-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

Dear 2007 cohort students,

As you take GE1102, please look through the 2006 archives, for now, for past lesson contents that I will bring into the teaching of this module from time to time.

For starters, please check out the 2 links I have picked out from the archives under "links for 2007 cohort" and explore those.

I will do my best to link as many things thematically as soon as possible. It will require a bit of hardcore html programming on my side, so bear with my selectivitiy and slowness. :)

Meantime, have fun in this module. It has been revamped, so it's hard to recycle projects and homeworks from the Year 2s. Do your best to be original too okay..

*******LATEST UPDATE*******

notice to students:
Please check Espace for updates.

The thing about signing up for modules...

2006-11-21T20:59:00.000-08:00

Now the kids are kind of sad that they are on waiting lists etc. It feels just like how it was when I was in NUS Year 1 - trying to sign up for modules that I like. I ended up taking funny things like American Film - which turns out great in the end and I went ahead to look for film and theatre related modules in literature, didn't score too well (a range of C+ to B+) but they were good modules that helped me develop a critical eye to appreciate films.

I made a boo boo with my tourism module, the students who did my colleague's Yr 4 module as Year 2 students were able to do so only during the manual sign ups, after clearning it with the VP of academic affairs who was acting HOD. So I'll have to wait til staff meeting to get a green light..

Sorry people, I'll update via the GE1102 blog about signing up for the Yr3 tourism module.

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Hi people,

The Year 3 module will stay open only to the year 3 students as there are now enough students in school to sustain it. Thanks for the great interest but do keep a look out for this enjoyable elective in your 3rd year if you are now only 2nd year.

Highly recommended for students who do not want to do Geography as a major but you still like the fun, critical thinking skills and activities I typically infuse into my modules.

No Logo: Brands, Globalization & Resistance

2006-10-23T01:56:00.000-07:00

A last thought on globalization:

Some people's ways to tackle bad labour practices within the global economy is to take up the same icons perpetuated through globalization.

Examine how the same brands can be used both ways. :)

Hey, look at how protest should actually look like. We have quite a lot to learn..

With this, all the best for your final assessment.

GlobALIzAtIoN oF TrAnSnAtIonAL CoRpOrAtIOns

2006-10-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some anti-nike websites to get you started on your last class activity for this module.

Have fun exposing Nike. :)

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/acropolis/5232/links.html

http://www.ibiblio.org/prism/jan98/nike2.html

http://www.mail-archive.com/leftlink@vicnet.net.au/msg03133.html

http://www.le.org/pipermail/vnforum/2002-October/000143.html

http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/CSRfiles/nike.html

http://www.counterpunch.org/ballinger02082006.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.

http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/3932.html

What is globalization?

2006-10-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in lessons, you are not expected to 'define' globalization per sec, but you can read about it and make your own decision on what is 'globalization'.

There is a pretty good website to start from:

http://www.globalisationguide.org/

As I tried to word it for a proposal I am writing, hope the following excerpt makes some sense to some of you:

"The globalized world today has resulted in increasingly unregulated financial and labour markets in different regions and countries that are unevenly integrated in the world economy. There is increasing income disparity between economies as well as the uneven accumulation of capital between global regions. The same processes have also increase the fluidity of the movement of people across and between national borders. The globalization phenomenon is seen as a virtually unstoppable process that can only be accommodated rather than resisted (Ohmae, 1990). The world is now flattened by globalizing technologies (Friedman, 2006) and is responsible for integrating the world closer through space-shrinking and time-compressing technologies.

This has led to the blurring of political boundaries and the seemingly homogenizing of a global landscape where notions of the nation-state is contested and even argued as ‘dead’ (Guehenno, 1995; Knoke, 1996). The new complexity of global causality visibly exceeds the capacity of nation-states to maintain effective control as the distinction between the global and the local is ‘resignified’ (Pensky, 2005) and [globalization] is played out in the apparent fluidity of material practices across space and time, constructing imaginations of the world as a nestled world of opportunities for people in its circulatory flows of goods, people, capital and ideas. In essence, globalization as a force from ‘outside’ is re-aligning and re-defining the nation-state’s capacities as political bodies (Held & McGrew, 2002; Dicken, 2003).

*References to be inserted later.*

What is a TEU?

2006-10-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

Dear students,

The internet is a maze of information, and I understand your frustrations in not knowing how a "1 TEU" looks like.

1 TEU = a 20 feet equivalent unit container

This means 20 feet containers like the container below is 1 TEU.

So what's the biggie about calling it 1 TEU?

TEU refers to the capacity of container ships while the container is, well, simply a container when the people doing the packing look at it!

Why have different names? Well, this is because of the 2 TEU!

2 TEU can mean a 40 feet container like the one below or 2 20-feet containers.

So using TEU is a lot simpler. Of course, the world of containers have become a lot more exciting with containers that open both ways, containers with refigerators called reefer containers and open top containers that can accomodate tractor or special mining vechicle's kind of super big wheels. It's very exciting.

Imagine you have to stack containers in a container ship with the exact precision you stack Uno stacko cards, and you need to program a software that communicates with the cranes lifting the containers in and out when the ship docks into your berth, and you need to co-ordinate trucks and trailers on standby to move the incoming and outgoing containers around. You need a computer to do that okay? Don't fry your brains, little ones. Especially the maths whizzes in our midst!

Check out such a system at this website!
http://www.jp.com.sg/container/ctms.htm

To streamline your burning desire to know more about containers - shipping is a very good industry to go into, make sure you are good at programming or with math or just have good plain commonsense with training in geography (pay attention in class huh), google "shipping" or "logistics" and read about it.

To know about the world of containers, read this website!

http://www.mrbox.co.uk/

All container photos on this post was taken from Mrbox.co.uk. website. :)

I love the logistics and shipping part of this module. So fun!

What a big gal!

2006-10-02T18:30:00.000-07:00

I am covering transport technologies in Globalization now and an article on this beautiful container ship caught my eye as I was reading the newspapers.

It is on Emma Maersk, the world's biggest container ship in the world, with a capacity of 11000 TEUs!! Oh my goodness! That's very big!

The largest ship before Emma was Shenzhen shipping line's OOCL with 8068 TEUs.

Check out the beauty!

Photo taken from:
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=109670&ran=87860

The shipping gazette carries a feature on it:

http://www.shipgaz.com/english/magazine/issues/2006/16/1606_article.asp

What difference big gal makes in globalization:

Updated: 6 Nov 2006

Christmas is around the corner and according the the graph that I placed in 2006 Sem 2 paper Q7, exports from Asia to other regions, especially Europe and US, usually hit sky-high around this time.

Here are a few articles on people in Europe who are veru concerned with the huge export of goods Emma Maersk is bringing over from China.

News from UK

Christmas is coming

Canada covering the news too.

Christmas ship embarks on Santa-like voyage

So who says globalization doesn't affect people? Don't underestimate this giant gal. She brings big news where ever she goes.

Old industrial landscapes

2006-09-18T01:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I blog at this site.

While I try to catch up on the urbanization content for ELDCs, here's a clip on an old industrial area, probably in USA, judging by the smoke stacks and metalworks shown in the clip.

What does this tell you about old industrial cities that urbanized primarily due to industrialization?

Development Summary

2006-07-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

Development has its origins in the late 1940s- in a speech by President Truman in which he employed the term underdeveloped areas to describe poor areas that we now know as Economically Less Developed Countries(ELDCs). Poor areas in such countries are seen as traditonal. Development tend to take on the idea of modernization, which is perceived to be at odds with many traditional societies in these poor areas.

Development since the 1960s is largely dominated by economical concerns and it was only in the late 1970s and even present day that social and spatial development has been incorporated into its practice.

Development in general thus addresses the need to bring about a betterment of socio-economic aspects of a nation, with care given to sustainable development with regards to managing its environment.

Useful Websites to look at indicators measuring development around the world:

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/Host.aspx?Content=Indicators/OfficialList.htm - this is the official list of indicators to monitor and measure the eradication of poverty around the world.

Relief and development materials

2006-07-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Pardon the Christian overtones. Development also takes place in the form of such non-government organizations' (NGOs) efforts to benefit a community directly, be it crisis relief or perhaps in the developing of the society in a particular area.

Favela Rising shows a local in a Brazilian squatter settlement trying his best to reach out to the young people in his community. This also help contribute to the development of people as he tries to use music therapy to occupy the youngsters' lives and bring about social development.
http://favelarising.com/default.php

I volunteer with Touch Community Services (International)as well as Touch Community Services (in Singapore), a non-religious organization but with many Christian volunteers.

The other alternative would have been a Japanese relief work video in East Timor~!

Song lyrics of music about Earth

2006-06-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

Saltwater by Julian Lennon

Earth Song by Micheal Jackson

Don't Cut me Down by Olivia Newton John

Urban Sprawl and Suburbanization nightmare

2006-06-12T01:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a video to better understand how suburbanization looks like in the US and we can also perhaps relate it to our HDB experience in Singapore?

How do you think you can remember your way home if the neigbourhood looks like what we see in this video??

How do you imagine cities? Look at LA.

and this "Speedboat through Old Bangkok"

and see the traffic?

Let's talk about some of the views we see of cities we have visited. Bring photos if you can!

What is SPECS?

2006-06-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

SPECS is a memory technique in which we compress the perspective all Geographers under my teaching should remember.

S - Social
P - Political
E - Economical
C - Cultural
S - Surroundings (pointing to the Environment and what can be seen, which is important in Geography)

Geography is about seeing the world, about seeing the patterns and making good informed views based on the patterns you are seeing in the world.

When we look at data, we must always ask ourselves - what kind of a pattern am I seeing? More about this on another post.

Development

2006-06-12T00:43:00.000-07:00

What is development? To answer this simple question in this module is actually not simple. It is even more complicated given that the world has changed dramatically these last 15 years, what we can call now the "globalized world", which is the life-span of many students in this module. What changes are we actually aware of this last 15 years?

Becoming more keenly aware of the world around you requires reading up, which means reading up on newsweek, watching some documentaries of life in other countries and perhaps picking up a habit of simply googling up on countries or reading the CIA world factbook for starters in this module.

Building up this cultural capital of being aware of what is "life" like in othe parts of the world will help you in this module, better than memorising the fact that it is the Pacific Ocean separating Japan and the American continents. There is a place for that, but you need to know MORE than that!

What is development? It encompasses economic, social, cultural, political and last but definitely not the least, the environment.

What makes a nation or place developed? Or underdeveloped?
Caution to students: THERE IS NO SUCH THING CALLED UNDEVELOPED.

More Economically Developed Countries (MEDCs)

Look at countries like Finland (where ikea came from), Italy, France and the United Kingdom. Include in your consideration, Japan and think Tokyo when I say Japan.

What common characteristics do you see these countries share?

Less Economically Developed Countries

Look at countries like Angola, East Timor, Peru, Cambodia and even our neighbour, Indonesia.

What common characteristics do you see these countries share?

These are observations we can gather to associate certain characteristics with countries that are tagged either MEDCs or LEDCs.

USE SPECS to examine each characteristics you can think of.

What is not covered in this module is Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) or what is better known as Newly Industrialized Economies (in economic geography terms) which includes countries and economies like Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Recently, some people (like Newsweek) are suggesting that Vietnam may jolly well be joining this league.

Disclaimer: This is a Singaporean educational website

Update: 9/1/2007

Explore development online

I will be bringing you students through this website more, but you will definitely benefit from explore it more after class or before (if you have not taken your lesson).

BBC higher geography website - Development and Health

Use the website to get ideas on what affects development. It is a nice visual representation of what factors affect which areas the most. You can use your atlas to find out the countries identified in each region.

Urbanization video: The world you don't want?

2006-05-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

Uneven development video

2006-05-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

Videos for Lecture 1

2006-05-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

Collage of introductory clips to the world we know.

Old school Geography?

The world we try not to see...

See the world at youtube.com : Use "world" as a search string