Using an example of an industry you have studied. Describe and explain its growth and decline. Evaluate the success of government policy in regenerating the area.

Using an example of an industry you have studied. Describe and explain its growth and decline. Evaluate the success of government policy in regenerating the area. The growth of iron and steel industry in South Wales began since the 1800. There were about 35 irons works in the area. The population of towns such as Merthyr Tydif and Ebbw Vale grew because the valleys of South Wales were an idea location for iron making. Coal and iron were often found together on valley sides and limestone was available nearby. The raw materials were easily accessible for the industry. The decline of the industry begins in the 1970s was largely due to the collapse of the British Empire as coal, steel and iron were previously sold to ex colony like India and Australia. The collapse of the colonial system meant that the market for British's coal was minimized. Britain was also faced with cheap imports from overseas and this led to closure of many coal mines. The coal mines in South Wales were not modernized because the valley floor was too narrow for large machinery to access. Without mechanization, mines were forced to close down due to high competitions from overseas such as Wyoming and Australia. By the 1970s there were only two steelworks left in South Wales, but they were located on the coast at Port Talbot and Llawern. The modern integrated steelworks are now located on the coast at

  • Word count: 822
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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With reference to one or more MEDC's, explain why MEDC's often contain examples of regions suffering de-industrialisation at the same time as other regions experience growth.

Economic Activity Essay a) With reference to one or more MEDC's, explain why MEDC's often contain examples of regions suffering de-industrialisation at the same time as other regions experience growth. De-industrialisation is a decline in the number of people employed in secondary industry. Secondary industry is the process in which raw materials acquired from primary industry are made into other products. In the United Kingdom, de-industrialisation began to occur in the 1970's. This was due to many things. One of the reasons de-industrialisation occurred was an increase in mechanization. Mechanization is where technological development improves and machines, robots and computers then do much of the manufacturing and so jobs are lost. This means that a lot less factories were needed and so there are a lot less jobs available. Another reason for de-industrialisation is the decline in the traditional industries in the UK. These were industries such as iron and steel works. They declined due to a decline in demand for the products, as they could be made overseas for a lot less as labour was cheaper. Much of the industry from the north of the UK was industries such as iron and steel works and because of this the north went into an industrial decline, where as the south began to grow in its industry. In the south, much of the industry was around the M4 corridor and the

  • Word count: 738
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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The Pros and Cons of Modern Farming.

The Pros and Cons of Modern Farming > Worldwide, agriculture accounts for 38 percent of land use, 66 percent of water withdrawals, and 85 percent of water consumption. > It is responsible for most of the habitat loss threaten the world's forests, biodiversity, and carbon stores. > Water diversions for agriculture combined with agriculture-related water quality problems - oxygen depletion, pesticide and fertilizer runoff, and soil erosion - are the major threats to aquatic and avian species not only inland but, possibly, also in coastal and nearshore areas. In addition, land clearance and other agricultural practices contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. But, paradoxically, agricultural technology is also responsible for forestalling any silent springs - at least, so far. Had technology - and therefore yields - been frozen at 1961 levels, then producing as much food as was actually produced in 1998 would have required more than a doubling of land devoted to agriculture. Such land would have increased from 12.2 billion acres to at least 26.3 billion acres, that is, from 38 to 82 percent of global land area. (And this optimistically assumes that productivity in the added acreage would be as high as in the other areas). Cropland alone would have had to more than double, from 3.7 to 7.9 billion acres.(1) An additional area the size of South America minus Chile would have to

  • Word count: 1508
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Account for the rise and subsequent decline of consumer industries in MEDC's

a) Outline the main characteristics of consumer industries (5) b) Account for the rise and subsequent decline of consumer industries in MEDC's (20) A) Consumer industries are those that produce goods that are demanded by the market for consumption, the kind of goods produced relate strongly to market trends and fashions. The majority of consumer industries gain economies of scale, this is where the cost of a product is lowered in the long run by producing a large number of the same product. Having a large output, making use of automation, locating manufacturing in NIC's (newly industrialising countries) and having a standard design for a product are all common characteristics shared by consumer industries. B) In the UK the rise of consumer industries began for the middle class in the 1920s with white goods such as fridges. However consumer industries have not been steadily growing since then. There have been growth spurts, and several depressions: mainly due to wars or economic disasters such as the 1973 oil crisis - in the 1980s the consumer industries began to weaken in terms of employment. The 1960s, or the "age of mass consumption", was the period of time in which, consumer industries saw their greatest growth. This was largely due to an increase of technology and a higher disposable income, meaning goods could be produced for a lower cost and that more

  • Word count: 1188
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Arthur Lewis's dual-sector model of development.

By Oytun Pakcan Arthur Lewis's dual-sector model of development is based on the expansion of the modern sector of the economy while the indigenous sector contracts through the interaction and reallocation of resources between an advanced 'capitalist' sector and an agricultural 'non-capitalist' sector in a developing economy. However before Lewis introduces his dual-sector model, he makes a couple of significant assumptions that helps us to understand his model. First of all Lewis assumes that a capitalist sector with necessary ability and motivation to undertake long-term productive investment is present in all the developing economies. According to Lewis, the capitalist sector is defined as that part of the economy that uses reproducible capital, pays capitalists for the use thereof, and employs wage-labor for profit making purposes. The second assumption that the Lewis makes is that there is disguised unemployment in the non-capitalist agricultural sector of the economy. K. Sen explains that unemployment can be 'disguised' as a result of a particular task being performed by more labor than is necessary keeping the technology and productive resources constant. He gives the example that a piece of land that can be cultivated fully by two, may actually be looked after by four, if a family of four working people having no other employment happens to own it. If we look at the

  • Word count: 2140
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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The Industrial Revolution In the United States.

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN THE UNITED STATES A American Advantages The United States enjoyed many advantages that made it fertile ground for an Industrial Revolution. A rich, sparsely inhabited continent lay open to exploitation and development. It proved relatively easy for the United States government to buy or seize vast lands across North America from Native Americans, from European nations, and from Mexico. In addition, the American population was highly literate, and most felt that economic growth was desirable. With settlement stretched across the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, the United States enjoyed a huge internal market. Within its distant borders there was remarkably free movement of goods, people, capital, and ideas. The young nation also inherited many advantages from Great Britain. The stable legal and political systems that had encouraged enterprise and rewarded initiative in Great Britain also did so, with minor variations, in the United States. No nation was more open to social mobility, at least for white male Protestants. Others-particularly African Americans, Native Americans, other minorities, and women-found the atmosphere much more difficult. In the context of the times, however, the United States was relatively open to change. It quickly adopted many of the technologies, forms of organization, and attitudes shaping the

  • Word count: 2755
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Economic Systems

Economic Systems . (a) Briefly outline the consequences of urban manufacturing decline. The consequences of urban manufacturing decline apply within most post-industrial countries. With this decline in manufacturing comes also a decline in job opportunities. This is shown with the huge unemployment met after the closure of coal mines around the country in the early 1990's. There was huge economic decline at this time, directly linked with the unemployment. With the closure of many industries, there is a growth in derelict land. This has the initial impact of environmental damage, as it is polluting and unsupervised and can cause dangers to the near vicinity. (b) Examine the causes of the decline in manufacturing employment in most MEDCs in recent years. Manufacturing in MEDCs such as England, U.S and France, has declined hugely in the past half century. There has been a major move toward the tertiary industry in the UK and other MEDCs. Other countries that are recently developed, such as China and Taiwan, are becoming the major forces in manufacturing. Most MEDCs are now post industrial economies, this means that the majority of employment in the country is now within the tertiary or quaternary industries. This is showed with the decline of secondary industries in the UK from nearly 40% in 1951 to a significantly smaller 27% in 1997. This is due to the advances in

  • Word count: 658
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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Industrial History of Taiwan

Industrial History of Taiwan Taiwan's real economic development began in 1895 when it was captured by the Japanese. They introduced a large number of new concepts and began to turn Taiwan into another part of Japan. First of all, they surveyed all the land to find which parts were useful to them and began recording things about Taiwan in the form of surveys and a census. They standardized measurements and currencies, introduced strict military and police controls and most importantly, began to monopolize on Taiwan's manufacturing potential. By 1918, they began to introduce compulsory Japanese schooling and developed Taiwan economically much more to make it base they could use to begin their southward expansion. They also began to change the culture to a more Japanese way of life, effectively beginning the integration of Japan and Taiwan. By 1940, Taiwan had truly become a part of Japan. The Taiwanese people were forced to wear Japanese clothes, eat Japanese food, observe Japanese religion and adopt Japanese names. They developed Taiwan as a centre for heavy industry and foreign trade, developing their foothold in the southern pacific during the war years, hoping to expand southwards. Over their time, the Japanese also vastly improved the Taiwanese infrastructure. They expanded the 17 largest ports and dredged shallow harbours to allow large boats to enter them. They also

  • Word count: 731
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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To what extent was the iron industry 'transformed' between 1750-1830?

To what extent was the iron industry 'transformed' between 1750-1830? Though the iron industry undoubtedly experienced a notable transformation between the years 1750-1830, the extent to which it was transformed, in R. Brown's opinion, was not of the same immense scale of that of the cotton industry. He claims that 'no other industry underwent the explosive development that the cotton industry experienced during the 'industrial revolution'.' This is true in some respects, but evidence indicates that though the iron transformation may have been less 'explosive', it was still a highly significant revolution, which occurred at a more gradual, yet accelerating pace. The change in the iron industry was caused by a number of factors. Firstly, Abraham Derby's substitution of coke for charcoal, which was said by J.R Harris to be "One of the greatest advances in the history of technology." This was followed by the development of the steam engine by Boulton and Watt in 1774, and finally Henry Cort's noteworthy 'puddling and rolling' technique in the 1780s, which was said to bring rationalisation to the iron industry. It is these innovations that assisted the iron industry in changing from "small, scattered and stagnant" (M. Falkus) to being widespread, "large scale" and "integrated" (J.R Harris), and ultimately leading to a dominant British iron industry by the beginning of the 19th

  • Word count: 1855
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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To what extent have the constraints of physical geography on agriculture been overcome in the developed world.

Matthew O'Byrne 20.9.02 Geography To what extent have the constraints of physical geography on agriculture been overcome in the developed world. There are many constraints of physical geography which influence agriculture in the developed world. Farmers wish to overcome these constraints the best they can so that they are able to achieve the best possible result in their agricultural year. The main constraints which farmers have to deal with are the Climate, Soil, Relief and Altitude. The Climate is a major constraint for farmers in the developing world. In order for a farmer to grow a good crop or graze good sheep the amount of rain water must be balanced. Having too much, or too less rain water will decrease the quality of the farmers products. Farmers are able to artificially water their crops using timed water sprayers, which are put in the crop field. This method is used when there is an inefficient amount of rain water in order to water the crops efficiently. If there is an excess amount of water when the crops are being grown, farmers often irrigate the soil using drainage systems in order to get rid of the excess rain water which can damage crops. The temprature is a very important factor within the climate constraint. In most developed countries it is most important to make

  • Word count: 519
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Geography
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