Human Interest

Preliminary HSc - Global challenges: Population

The article headline is quite click-baity, but there is some real substance to this article.  The graphs are especially useful to teach concepts such as population momentum and the age-dependency ratio. These were the key parts of the article that caught my eye:

• An aging population will mean higher costs for the government, a shortage of pension and social security-type funds, a shortage of people to care for the very aged, slow economic growth, and a shortage of young workers.
• Following feminism's slow build in Japan since the 1970s, today's workers strive for equality between the sexes, something Japan's pyramid-style corporate structure just isn't built for. That's because institutional knowledge is viewed as a big deal in Japan.
• The elderly now make up 27% of Japan's population. In the US, the rate is only 15%. Experts predict the ratio in Japan could rise to 40% by 2050. With that comes rising social-security costs, which the shrinking younger generations are expected to bear.
• To make up for an aging population and aversion toward immigrant work, Japan's tech sector has stepped up its efforts in robotics and artificial intelligence.

Tags: culture, gender, labor, population, migration, Japan, East Asia.

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This passage was about the immigration that are coming into Europe. It helped me learn how they get to there destination and the struggles they go through. This scoop also showed me thew amount of money a immigrant would have to spend in or for them to get to their destination. By it showing us statistics i can get a better understanding. Also, the statistics about the amount of immigrants that don't get to even make it to their destination and what they can and cannot bring with them.

Due to the vast distances and irregular manner of transportation to Europe, prices are very high with transport between northern Africa and southern Europe often costing more than 1000 dollars. Even traveling from Greece to Italy can cost up to 6000 dollars. Despite the high price to "guarantee access", the journey is still dangerous with 500 deaths over a two month period in 2013. This interactive shows that even though 35,000 seems like a lot of people to arrive in Europe in 2013, it is a very long, difficult, and expensive journey to get there.

This is a good article about immigrants in America because it talks about all of the different places people have immigrated from and now live and work in the U.S. Since my topic is European Immigration, It shows that there are 2.4 million Europeans currently working in the U.S.

I enjoy stories like this, because it demonstrates people willing to fight for their home. Many interesting ideas lie behind stories such as this one, but what I find especially intriguing is the dynamics of money in relation to these small rural villages. Money and "income" drives our current economic positions, but there are some places which were left behind and have none of the jobs we in the first world would traditionally think of. They had to either subside off their own products through farming, or trade their livelyhood for a small amount of money. Put simply, money is necessary for a so called "modern" existence, but not necessary for survival. These villagers are working for their own future in their home country now though, while it may not be necessarily profitable in the short term, it will pay off for their children in the long term.

(Mexico topic 1)
"Things are not good in the United States. There is not a lot of work and Mexicans like to keep busy." I was surprised by this this comment which sums up one of the main reasons why many Mexican immigrants are returning to Mexico. This implies that as the American economy has worsened, Mexico's must be improving (at least by comparison). This completely supports the concept of Mexico evolving into a "semi-core" country.
   Additionally, I hope this quote will help to shed some truth onto the negative lazy stereotype many Americans associate with immigrating Mexicans.

With a little help from the video, it is clear now, to understand why many Mexican folks are actually not leaving their country for the US. It said in the video that there is not a lot of work in the US and Mexicans like to keep busy. Also, a lot of Mexicans are finding opportunity right in their own country where there once was no opportunity. Electricity reaches the house, they have paved roads and updated pipes. They will need to rely on us for fuel. It is also nice for them to know that they do not need to leave their families behind in Mexico while they go to the US, they can have the satisfaction of working in local fields and seeing family when they get home at the end of the day. 

When it comes to deportation, its usually a loss win situation. But in the case of Mexicans who once lived a life on US soil from since birth and having been deported later on in life, adjusting to a new life in a new world is challenging. The comfort of being able to work in an environment that reminds them of being back home eliviates the agony of being separated from their family back in the US. The outsourced phone companies give these deported individual an opportunity to be able to participate in a life they once lived by being able to interact with Americans. While they make subsequently less than what they were making in the states, the opportunity of being able to work in a foreign land is one that they are forever grateful for.

This article is similar to the topic of outsourcing jobs to the United states, only it is the reverse, with deportees being giving jobs at call centers in the city of Tijuana. It brings up the topic of culture shock and the differences between Mexican and United States Economies.

Brings to mind the whole debate over over illegals vs. legals, work visas and work permits, political change and citizenship. So many factors are present in the decisions these Mexican born, living in America, deported back to their home country, must make. How culturally shocking it must be to be living the American Dream in an area that is bi-lingual, San Diego, and be deported back to Tijuana, making $150 a week.

It's a blessing and a curse for both sides of the border. The USA loses tax revenue from the money Henry was bringing in while working in real estate, conversely Mexico gains a smaller slice of the tax given his drop in pay. He clearly was happy and productive here, but others such as the gang member mentioned, may make the USA happier by taking his gang affiliation with him. Not good for Mexico, but perhaps he can make a fresh start in that country.