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Gapminder Screencast and Analysis Pt. 2

As income per person rises, the maternal mortality ratio falls.

1a. Income per person: annual income per person. Take total GDP/population. Measured in USD.

      Maternal mortality ratio: Annual number of maternal deaths compared to live births, multiplied by                   100,000. Measured in mortality:living ratio times 100,000.

1b. Income per person is one of the main indicators of economic development, because if the average citizen of a state, and the state itslef has more money, then the standard of living will go up, reflected in many developmental indicators such as maternal mortality, which reflects the health of a country. With higher economic development, the government and people of the country can afford to spend more on health care professionals, equipment, and facilities. Health is one of the main indicators in the UN Human Development Index. More developed economy = better health care = lower maternal mortality = better health score = higher HDI.

2a. There isn't data for many countries early in time, but in the past two decades, most of the world's countries rise in income per person and fall in maternal mortality. Also, starting in the 1950s, there was large decrease in maternal mortality. Regionally, the countries with the least maternal mortality and the most income per person are in Europe and Central Asia. On the other end of the spectrum, countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa have low incomes and high maternal mortality rates. However, all of the data for these variables is very spread out, and there are many outliers, so these observations are wide generalizations. The countries not in these regions are spread out in the middle. 

2b. Globally, income per person is increasing over time because of many reasons, for example: with more efficient ways of producing goods companies can afford to pay workers more, development of labor unions and minimum wage laws, more labor forces in countries are moving into the service sector (which pays more), etc. Maternal mortality has been globally decreasing because of new technological advances in health care, and also the general economic development in the world has been making health care more accessible. Regionally, Europe and Central Asia have the highest incomes and lowest maternal mortality because they developed first, which allowed them to colonize other countries that weren't developed, and take advantage of them, which helped them to develop faster. This lead to more capital, and thus better health care. The countries with low incomes are less economically developed because they were previous colonies of Europe. Many Sub-Saharan African and South Asian countries were colonized by Europeans. This led to them being dependent on European powers (dependency theory). When they wanted to become independent, they had to find new leadership (which caused civil wars) and after that in order to give the country a start they had to take out structural adjustment loans. It's extremely hard to pay them off with interest, so poverty hits those countries, they don't develop as fast, the're stuck with primary economic activities which don't pay much. This low economic development makes it hard to have good health care services, and it's hard for people to get the education to become health care professionals, so more people are giving birth without a maternal doctor or a proper facility, which gives a higher risk of mortality. The other countries are spread out in the middle because they are not extremely developed or underdeveloped, and their health care systems vary, so it's hard to make generalizations about them.

Gapminder Screencast and Analysis Pt. 1

As income per person rises, literacy rate rises.

1a. Income per person: annual income per person. Take total GDP/population. Measured in USD.

      Literacy rate, adult total: % of people 15+ years old who can read and write a simple statement on their         everyday life. Measured in % of population. 

1b. Income per person is one of the main indicators of economic development, because if the average citizen of a state has more money, then their standard of living will go up, reflected in many developmental indicators such as the one I chose: literacy rate. When people get paid more they don't have to work as often which frees up time for education, and also allows them to pay for it. Literacy rate is a value used to determine the level of education in a country, which is one of the indicator used in the UN Human Development Index. The higher the education, the higher the HDI.

2a. Throughout time, most of the world's countries rise in literacy rates and income per person. Regionally, the countries with the highest income per person and literacy rates over time are in Europe and Central Asia, followed by America. The lowest are in the Sub-Saharan African and South Asian countries. East Asian and Pacific countries are slightly lower, and countries in the Middle Eastern and South African regions are spread out in the middle. Lately, a number of countries in the latter regions are catching up to the others, but that's only a few of the majority. In the 2011 data, there is one particular outlier of the higher income-literacy countries that stands out: Papua New Guinea. It has far lower literacy and income per person than the other East Asian and Pacific countries. It dwells among the lower Sub-Saharan African countries. Also, over time, Zimbabwe increased it's literacy rates without having an increased income per person, which is odd.

2b. Globally, income per person is increasing over time because of many reasons, for example: with more efficient ways of producing goods companies can afford to pay workers more, development of labor unions and minimum wage laws, more labor forces in countries are moving into the service sector (which pays more), etc. Literacy has been increasing because of this economic development. When people get paid more they don't have to work as often which frees up time for education, and also allows them to pay for it. Regionally, Europe and Central Asia have the highest incomes and literacy because they developed first, which allowed them to colonize other countries that weren't developed, and take advantage of them, which helped them to develop faster. They had the first industrial revolution, which allowed for higher wages and more efficient manufacturing. As they developed, incomes became higher and people were able to get an education, which leads to literacy. The other countries with high stats have those because of their histories that allowed them to industrialize fairly quickly. The countries with low stats are less economically developed because they were previous colonies of Europe. Many Sub-Saharan African and South Asian countries were colonized by Europeans. This led to them being dependent on European powers (dependency theory). When they wanted to become independent, they had to find new leadership (which caused civil wars) and after that in order to give the country a start they had to take out structural adjustment loans. It's extremely hard to pay them off with interest, so poverty hits those countries, they don't develop as fast, the're stuck with primary economic activities which don't pay much, and the'res no time for education. Now, HDCs have control over LDC's (neocolonialism). It's hard to get out of this situation (structuralist theory).

Crossing the Line GIS Activity

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The Separation of Somaliland from Somalia

Somaliland, a region which I predict will secede from Somalia in the not distant future, is located on the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the South and West, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and Somalia to the East.

Somalia has a lot of conflict in it’s history. Many years ago, the Somaliland region was previously a protectorate of Great Britain, called British Somaliland. It was bordered by Italian Somaliland, which is now the non-Somaliland Somalia. The two regions became Somalia. When  Mohamed Siad Barre was dictator, he committed violence against clan-based protesters of the Somaliland region. This sparked a rebellion against the dictator, and through the war the region gained autonomy and declared independence, though it doesn’t have enough external recognition to be considered a state.

The boundaries are there because that is where the previous boundaries between Italian Somaliland and British Somaliland were before Somalia gained independence. As you can see from this map of northern Somalia, the border is also based off of the political groups. I could not find any layers for my map so I am using this map instead:The dark green is Puntland, in which the people are unionist, meaning they do not want to secede. The orange, is Somaliland, in which the people are secessionists, which means that they want to secede. The rest of the political groups are unionist, except for Adwal (blue), which has a dispute with Somaliland. Once Somaliland becomes a state, this region has a possibility of seceding from Somaliland itself. The border between Somalia and Somaliland is cultural.

This possible separation will have impacts at both the local and world scales. After becoming a country, Somaliland may have positive affect on it’s residents and the rest of the world. It is doing economically well for a new, unofficial country. It’s main export is livestock, and agriculture has potential. It could possibly be a  good business partner for another country, and a benefit to the world economy. However, since this is a violent conflict, many Somali lives will be lost in the process, and many civilians will be caught in the crossfire. The United nations will have to provide food water, and services to refugees. Business to and from Somalia will be greatly decreased. Surrounding countries will be affected by refugees coming into their borders for a safe haven, and may even become involved in the conflict.

The Reunification of North and South Korea

The potential new state of Korea is located in East Asia. To the north and northwest of it is China, and to the south and southwest is the East China Sea.  To the east is the Sea of Japan.

Korea first split during WWII because of Japan’s annexation of it. Once that Japanese were defeated, China, Great Britain and the United States signed  conference that said that Korea will one day be entirely independent. But until then, Russia and the US setup military occupation zones: Russia in the north, US in the south. The border was not meant to be long-term, but Cold War politics resulted in uncooperating sides and two separate governments. The north wanted a single communist government, while the south wanted a democracy. Thus, the Korean War began, and the State officially split into North Korea and South Korea. But things are looking up for the countries. Recently, it was announced that a representative from each government visited the other side, and that there are plans for reunification. The reason for this being, as said in the North-South Joint Communiqué, “As a homogeneous people, a great national unity shall be sought above all, transcending difference in ideas”. The leaders are basing this unification upon culture: ethnicity (the main ethnicity in both North and South Korea is Korean), language (in both states the primary language is Korean), religion (the majority in both is irreligious), and a shared history. The main centrifugal force between them is political differences, but there are many other cultural centripetal forces that would help unite the two countries.

The new borders for this country will be what it both of the countries’ boundaries were before (they were mainly anthropographic, but North Korea had a physical boundary with China), but now the border dividing the two will be abolished.

This reunification will have very drastic effects on the world as we know it. For starters, the country could potentially become much more powerful because of it’s combined forces. On the other hand, sudden reunification could send the country back into war because of disagreeing sides. This would start the Korean War all over again. Another factor to take in is China. China has had a turbulent history with South Korea, mainly because of their different forms of government (Communist vs. Democratic). In a new Korea, which is expected to be united under Seoul in a democratic government, would be at conflict with China. China is a very large world power, as are both Koreas, so this would affect not only the opposing sides but also the whole world.

Cultural Geography Photo Collage

Census Data Mapper Map and Analysis

LINK to this map on Google Drive

In a Census map of Percent Black or African American in United States, most of the African American or Black population seems to live in the South. By the South, I mean the highest percentages (14.8%-85.7%) are evenly distributed in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. There are also high percentages in most parts of Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia, on the lower half of Arkansas, and in the eastern region of Texas.

These high percentages of Black or African American people in the South may be because of their ancestry. Many African Americans before the Civil War lived as slaves in the South. Sometime after the Civil War, when all African Americans were freed from slavery, most of them probably wanted to stay where they were. Racism was just as bad in the North, and it would only make sense to stay with all of your friends and family in the South. So, most Blacks or African Americans probably live in the South because they grew up there, and their parents grew up there, and so on.

It is important to know this fact mainly for medical reasons. It’s important to know because some ethnic groups are more prone to certain diseases. For example, Sickle Cell Anemia. Sickle Cell is a gene variant, which means it is hereditary. Many people in and around Africa have developed this trait because it provides a resistance to malaria. If your ancestors had the Sickle Cell trait, then you have a high chance of developing it, too. Also, African Americans tend to have a higher blood pressure, which can lead to a variety of health issues. If the United States  Government knows that there is a higher percentage of Blacks or African Americans in these southern areas, they can provide the appropriate healthcare and medicine needed.

Activity Space Map- September 2013

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