Assignment - 12/01/2014

Many factories have facilities in China because there the low cost of labor.  I did some reserach and I saw that big companies, such as Apple, has factories in China. In the website Jie's World is possible to see a list of all the American Companies that have factories in China. A part of this list is shown below:

• AT&T
• Acer Electronics
• Adidas
• Apple Computer
• Ashland Chemical
• Avon
• Colgate-Palmolive
• Dell Computer
• Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.
• Family Dollar Stores
• LG Electronics
• PetsMart
• Walmart

Is a little bit difficult to find in the news what this companies practice employee abuse, the most noticed in the news that I found is Apple company.

In my opinion, the only pro is for the companies that have facilities there. Usually, these companies are interested just in profit, so the countries that offer low cost of production will be better than countries that the cost is higher. Also, for China, I think is good, because the country receives a lot of investment and money from big companies around the world. But, for me, despite all this, the cons are too much bigger. The people that work in these companies receives a really low wages, and the news that I read always said that there are a great number of children working in those companies, also the situation of work is not good. They work in a really bad situation, without any incentive or adequate working conditions. For me, more important than profit or benefit to the Chinese government, are the conditions of that people work and live.

Actually, I really do not know what are the policies of the United States in relation to work, but I know that is practically impossible that a country try to control something in other country. For example, is really hard that United States try to apply its policies in China. I think that the United States can create a law, or something giving the permission of companies goes out only if they meet certain goals related to working conditions. Also, the companies could have more responsibility, for example, if they want to install their factories in other countries, they could have a protocol that insures the good conditions of work. The companies need to focus not just in the profit but also in the life of their employees.  

Melamine

Melamine is an organic base chemical most commonly found in the form of white crystals rich in nitrogen. It is usually used in plastics, adhesives, countertops, dishware, whiteboards.

Figure 1: Melamine plates (image from google)

In China, water has been added to raw milk to increase its volume, so with this addition the milk has a lower protein concentration. Some companies are using melamine to increases the nitrogen on milk because its apparent prontein content. Some years ago, melamine was found in pet food in the United States, what caused a large number of deaths in dogs and cats.The melamine in humans, when it is combined with cyanuric acid can form crystals that can give rise to kidney stones. The small crystals can block the small tubes  in the kidney potentially stopping the production of urine, causing kidney failure and, in some cases, death. Melamine has also been shown to have carcinogenic effects in animals.

Rice in China

The need for rice production has led the Chinese to pay particular attention to irrigation technologies, improving cultivation. The agricultural way of life, centered around rice, has had a strong influence on the social, economic, political and ideological developments of ancient China. In this sense, traditional Chinese culture may be considered a rice culture. The region that have a large production of rice, where the rice is transplanting, and irrigating are in the Yellow River Valley region in the north, and Hanshui Basin region in the northwest. Archaeologists have confirmed that China started planting rice at least 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. The cultivation of rice led to the development of an economic lifecycle centered around agriculture: ploughing in spring, weeding in summer, harvesting in autumn, and hoarding in winter. Rice farming influenced many other aspects of the old Chinese economy. For instance, to be viable Chinese farming depended on sophisticated irrigation techniques. China accounts for 26% of all world rice production. All rice cultivation is highly labor intensive. Rice is generally grown as a wetland crop in fields flooded to supply water during the growing season. Transplanting seedlings requires many hours of labor, as does harvesting. To Chinese people mechanization of rice cultivation is only minimally advanced. The production of rice in China is not just a part of their economy, rice production is a part of their life, the people that work in rice production do this with enthusiasm transforming work in an important part of their lives. So in this way, is impossible to think China without this incredible culture production. In addition, to produce rice, how I said before, they need to develop an incredible structure of production, with many interesting technologies. The production of rice is just a part of this fabulous country.

Below we have some pictures of the production.  

Topography of China

In this image we can see the topography of China. 

This image shows the topography in feet of different elevations.

Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. For me, this is a place where you can meet the real peace, where you can find all the good energy. Is a place that I want to go.

You can see a little bit about this wonderful place here. Just click

Provinces of China

Provinces of China