A2 Edexcel Geography 2016 Contested Planet/Geographical Research

If I gave you my email address could you also email it to me?

My prediction for the 2016 tectonics unit is : Assess the role of tectonic activity in producing a range of distinctive landscapes

Its very similar to the January 2011 exam because the explore and research parts are 97% the same!

If anyone is going to do an exemplar report for the question then please do notify me and I'll also send you my one!

I am doing cultural diversity to! What case studies are you using?

I'm also doing cultural diversity! Its great to finally find others who are doing it as it seems to be the least popular option
What definition for global culture are you using and do you think it exists? Currently I have been looking at the globalisation carried out by companies like Disney and the effects this has on other cultures. I'm linking it to superpowers and looking at whether China chose to adopt the western culture to be more like current superpowers. I'm also looking at Japan, Tibet, Malaysia Orang Asli...
It would be interesting to hear what your focusing on and what you think of the pre-release

I have this definition for a global culture "The economist 2013 describes a global culture as the way cultures in different countries of the world have become more alike, sharing increasingly similar consumer products and ways of life" I don't think it exists yet but we are leading to one. Thats a good idea, hadn't thought about that! Yeah I'm looking at Japan, London, Orang Asli, The Turks, Afro Germans, and will be looking at others.
We got this practice question to write about: To what extend are the characteristics of a global culture reflected worldwide? Haven't done it yet but might be worth having a go if you want!!

Is anyone else majorly struggling to revise geography like how do you do it? Science is so logical and you just do practice questions but the syllabus is so vague for geography! I want to write essays but have nobody to mark them so just don't know how to revise it?!

How do you evaluate in the report (life on the margins)? My teacher says I need to evaluate more but I just can't seem to pinpoint exactly what she wants me too say...

Explore the complex causes of food inequalities both natural and those generated by people and their lifestyle

I think your teacher wants you to focus on the word complex as this is the question you did. e.g. natural factor may be desertification, however it is also caused by people and their lifestyle, it is complex as all the factors are integrated

Thats a similar definition to the one I'm going off. I agree I don't really think there is one yet as the western culture is dominant but it hasn't been taken on around the world yet although parts of it have been. Yeah so much of Culture and superpowers links up especially all the stuff surrounding Tibet.
I've done the January 2010 question which has a very similar pre-release. The examiner report and the mark scheme for 2010 are really helpful. I may have a go at that question, thanks

Thing is I am though but she still wants more

Thats a similar definition to the one I'm going off. I agree I don't really think there is one yet as the western culture is dominant but it hasn't been taken on around the world yet although parts of it have been. Yeah so much of Culture and superpowers links up especially all the stuff surrounding Tibet.
I've done the January 2010 question which has a very similar pre-release. The examiner report and the mark scheme for 2010 are really helpful. I may have a go at that question, thanks

Here are The Development Gap notes I made extracted from the Edexcel Unit 3 Revision Book.

Defining development: Development can be categorised into different groups. These range from life expectancy, democratic governments, education to culture, social justice, mobility and quality of life.
Development implies “change, growth or improvement over time”. In the 1980’s focus of development shifted from wealth (economic development) to human development (standards in health, education, quality of life). A 21st century perception on development has been adopted, where economic, human, environmental, socio-cultural and political matters are all analysed.
The Development Gap can be defined as the difference in income and quality of life between the richest and poorest countries in the world. The Brandt report identified this disparity which later became known as the “north-south divide”


Measuring Development
Economic development is measured by either GDP per capita OR GNP per capita. In order to make comparisons easier and more accurate, results are converted via Purchasing Power Parity in US dollars.
Human development is measured through HDI (Human Development Index), which is based on life expectancy, GDP per capita and the adult literacy rate. Eventhough there is a clear north-south divide , there is not a perfect correlation between wealth and HDI. According to http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0908763.html, Congo is the poorest country in terms of HDI, closely followed by Niger, Burundi and Mozambique. Contrastingly, Norway, Australia and Switzerland have the world's highest human development rates with HDI’s above 0.917 in all three countries. For contextual purposes, the UK ranks fourteenth, whilst China ranks at 91.Positive anomalies like Cuba, a country with just a $6000 GDP per capita, ranks at number 44, reinforcing how countries don't have to be wealthy to score relatively highly in terms of HDI.
Other measurements include: PQLI (the Physical Quality of Life Index) measures the quality of life or well being of a country, GDI, which measures the gender gap in human development and the roles females play in development. The technology attainment index (TAI) is a more recent measure of economic development, used to reflect the “digital divide between the switched on and switched off countries”.
Development shows an unequal world, sometimes called the “80:20 world”- the rich world enjoys 80% of the world’s wealth but contains only 20% of the world's people.
What is happening to the development gap?
The development gap is widening at the extremities, with rich MEDC’s continuing to get richer (The West, Middle East and some parts of South Asia), whereas the low-income countries are at best remaining static or at worst getting poorer as a result of climate change, famines, wars and natural disasters. These LDC’s are concentrated in the African continent, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa.
The development gap is narrowing as many developing countries have recently industrialised (RIC’s), or expanding tourism (Kenya and Tanzania) and commercial agriculture (http://skift.com/2014/12/17/the-best-and-worst-african-countries-at-tourism-branding/). Many countries, particularly in the far East, are joining the ranks of the NIC’s, including India and China (the notable emergent superpowers of the decade). Singapore, formerly part of Malaya (now disbanded into two countries that are Malaysia and Singapore) was an original NIC, but is now so wealthy that it is classified as an MEDC. Many of these countries are now members of the world economic forum G20 group of countries, who fight for a sustainable future. Another group of countries, members of the OPEC (including Gulf states), are also becoming very rich as a result of their oil wealth (examples include Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Nigeria). The former communist countries (e.g. Ukraine, Congo and Afghanistan) are an anomaly as many have declined in terms of development- especially the non-rich. The world bank classifies countries: http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups
Theories of development
The theories are in chronological order:
Rostow's/Modernisation theory (1950’s)- Countries develop “through stages of economic growth” using a Western Capitalist model from an undeveloped state. The stages begin with a traditional society, which is a subsistence economy based on agriculture, it is very labour intensive, there is a lack of technology and development is generally restricted. The second stage, known as pre-conditions for take off, is where agriculture starts to become more commercialised due to mechanisation, more industries emerge, and resourced begin to be exploited. FDI occurs through TNC’s and this further provokes the development of other industries. The third stage, known as Take-off, illustrates the multiplier effect (more investment, leads to more jobs, increased wages leads to increased consumption and more tax revenue for the government, the government can then spend this on their country positively). Workers switch from working in land to working in factories kick-starting the process of urbanisation. Although growth is restricted to few regions of a country, the take-off stage is characterised by increased political and social reforms. Stage four is when development can really be seen. Growth is now supported by technological innovation, the population starts to grow and rapid urbanisation starts to occur. Primary industries now barely exist as manufacturing prevails. Economic growth is also now more evenly distributed throughout the country. Finally, the fifth stage, age of high mass consumption, where any remaining industries shift to production of consumer goods. Moreover, a rapid expansion of tertiary industry occurs.
Evaluating the ROSTOW model: Ironically, It is not a modern theory and perhaps is oversimplified. As the theory is so old, it prevents it from taking in new technological and scientific advancements. Also, the model is based on the UK, of which our development was mainly through colonialism. Nevertheless, the model can be used as a rough guide to less-developed nations wishing to embark on the five stages development.
Frank’s Dependency Theory (1960’s)- This theory suggests that a lack of development in poorer nations is because Western nations have deliberately underdeveloped them. The theory stipulates that capitalist countries like the US and UK exploit the peripheral nations/LDC’s. The LDCs remain dependant on income through the capitalist nations and thus are restricted from developing. In simple terms, poor southern countries like in sub-Sahran Africa are exploited by the rich North (UK, USA and now even China). http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19926886 .China is investing in African countries like Angola to reap the benefits of its natural resources. This is exploitation at the highest level as the investment is disguised as a benefit to the undemocratic African countries. http://foreignpolicy.com/2012/07/19/what-does-china-want-for-its-20-billion-to-africa/
Neo-liberalism (1975)- This theory illustrates how control of economic factors are shifted from the public sector the private sector. It basically “free’s” up an economy from its restrictions, focusing on free-market economies and free trade- all leading to development.
Other theories: The Wallerstein's theory which categorizes the world into 3 zones- core, periphery and semiperiphery. Core countries exploit periphery countries for labour and raw materials, making periphery countries dependant on core countries for capital and employment. Whilst semi-periphery countries have characteristics of both core and periphery countries.
The above theories illustrate the development gap. They show not only how the way we define development has changed in the last 70 years, but also how theories have developed to explain the “gap” that has evolved over time.
Major organisations that have an impact on global development
United Nations (UN)- they have developed the Millennium Development Goals, and monitor and manage investment via development agencies like UNICEF and FAO. Large-scale projects get the job done and problem solved, though sometimes they are slow to act as the decision making comes down to the UN security council (made up of USA, UK, Russia, China and France)
International Monetary Fund (IMF)- they manage financial transactions if a country gets into debt and employ a stabilization problem if the country does get into debt (Greece). They are responsible for the HIPC initiative (special assistance for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries). The IMF is useful as it stops a country going bankrupt however structural and stabilization adjustment programmes can hinder development.
World Bank- Borrows around $20-30 billion to lend money to finance around 4,000 devlopment projects in 130 countries. “IBRD lending to developing countries is primarily financed by selling AAA-rated bonds in the world's financial markets”. The WB provides investment for economic and social projects to improve life in many countries.
World Trade Organization (WTO)- They promote free trade and economic cooperation between countries (e.g tariffs and quotas). Groups of countries that promote free trade are NAFTA, the EU and ASEAN (all trade blocs). They can promote trade (though not always fairly). They encourage trade dependency and create barriers to fair trade. They are good for members but set barried up for LDC’s.
Transnational Corporations (TNC’s)- They provide FDI for investment in many countries (Shell, Unilever, Nestle). They drive economic globalisation and transfer of technology, they provide employment via investment but they exploit cheap labour and the profits always leak back to the parent company in the HQ.Global non-governmental organisations (NGOs)- They manage aid projects like Oxfam and WWF. Smaller specialist charities carry out bottom-up schemes. However NGOs are reliant on donations and government grants to fund its projects, although the projects are very successful. However success can be difficult to replicate especially in a world where the economy is driven by capitalist demands.
Overall, there are positive and negative impacts for all the actions of key players. Some, such as the World Bank, IMF and WTO attract huge opposition, especially from left-wing press (Labour government for example), who claim they actually hinder development and actually widen the development gap. Oppositely, organisations like NGOs are seen as saviours of the poor and are regarded favourably because of their ability to develop bottom-up, sustainable projects that can be very effective locally in both the short and long run. For TNC’s, there are both positive and negative impacts, with many TNC’s now working hard to change their image as exploiters of poor countries.
The consequences of the development gap
The very poor countries are most disadvantaged and are experiencing the largely negative consequences of a widening development gap. Some developing countries benefit from economic growth and are significantly reducing poverty levels. However, economic development comes at a price as there are negative environmental and social impacts that in itself are a challenge to manage.
As countries develop, rapid urbanisation occurs leading to the growth of megacities. In the early stages of urbanisation of emerging megacities the traditional poverty of rural areas is transferred to the urban slum areas as people move from the country to become the urban poor (slums in Delhi, Favelas in Rio).
Within each population, certain groups are disadvantaged. Women, the disabled and ethnic/religious minorities are bypassed/neglected by the positive impacts of development. As they experience their own social development gap this can lead to social unrest and the development of new political movements that fight the negatives of disparity. The 2011 Middle Eastern unrest has been largely fuelled by the younger people, both men and women, many of whom lack opportunities for well-paid employment as well as freedom of expression (the former- Greece is a good example, whilst for both the former and the latter, Egypt and Libya are good examples).
The consequences of the development gap can be classified into economic, social, political and environmental, and are largely negative. Consequences for very disadvantaged poor countries (LDC’s), low income countries under stress (LICUS) or heavily indebted poor countries (HIPCs) are summarised below. There are currently 50 countries in these categories, largely concentrated in Africa.
ECONOMIC- Lack of money to develop (low FDI), lack of money to pay for food, investment, infrastructure (transport, schools, hospitals) and rural development. Poor employment prospects- largely dependant on a few primary exports (Primary product dependency). Isolated and switched off from globalisation. Many people live below the poverty line.
SOCIAL- Low levels of literacy and skills, high levels of infant mortality and a low life expectancy. Inability to combat HIV/AIDS. Basic infrastructure of roads, airports and port facilities add to their alienation and disconnection from the world.
ENVIRONMENT- Prone to natural disasters (vulnerable population). Lack capacity to adpat ro climate changed induced droughts and floods (2011 East Africa drought, Malawi’s floods 2015 http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2015/01/malawi-faces-unprecedented-flood-disaster-201511774238313771.html ) Some environmental degredation e.g forests for fuel wood, loss of mangroves. In general environments are less exploited and less pressured and some are in a pristine state (a positive).
POLITICAL- Poor countries low on development scale often have corrupt, non-democratic governments (Somalia) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3819027.stm) . Resources are diverted if a country has internal and external conflicts. Limited or no access to trading agreements/trade blocs, however as of June 2015, Africa is launching a “26-nation trade bloc” to boost regional trade with a market of 1.3 billion being made available. Removing trade barriers could stimulate some much needed economic growth into the country without the reliance on TNC’s and FDI. (http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFKBN0O61YX20150521)
Consequences for countries that are bridging the development gap e.g China:
Positive impacts- Increased investment from FDI and internally, rising personal incomes from improved range of employment, improved education and more skilled population, improved international status (membership of the WTO). Expansion in core cities should trickle down to the periphery and poor. Increasingly switched on by technology of mobile phones/internet.
Negative impacts- Over reliance on export-led growth, increasing indebtedness to international banks for loans, increasing reliance on TNC’s which can dominate decision making (monopoly power). Increasing pressure on services such as waste, health and education. Increasing pressure on land and ecosystems (environmental consequences). Increasing pressure on resources for energy, increasing levels of air and water pollution from industrialisation and increasing congestion from traffic. Lastly, there is a loss of cultural values- are they being Americanised/marginalized into a one-world culture?




DISPARITIES AS A RESULT OF DEVELOPMENTWithin the megacities that are stimulating the modernisation, speed and scale of the rural to urban migration that has fuelled such rapid urbanisation has resulted in growing numbers of the urban poor (Delhi slums, Rio Favelas). Many lack adequate housing, services and employment. Megacities are a microcosm of the development gap (they are not representative of the development gap), with a sharp divide between a sea of urban poor and the very glitzy centre and a few rich suburbs.
Consequences of the development gap on the world’s development megacities:
CITY TYPE (IMMATURE)- Economic- informal street trading, urban farming, small-scale manufacturing represents opportunities, rural to urban migration at 3% + per year. Social- Dominated by 60% slums, especially on urban fringes, squatter settlements for huge numbers of urban poor with no jobs. Environmental- major environmental problems from litter, sewage, lack of safe water (results in cholera). Political- difficult to govern, many protest groups from under classes.
CITY TYPE (CONSOLIDATING)- Economic- Increased wealth of people leads, to rapid migration continuing, which is difficult to manage in an expanding city (2-3% year) many jobs in industry and service emerge. Social- Increased city wealth, beginnings of planning (waste and water), some upgrading of slums, many have access to basics of health and education. Environmental- Pollution problems from developing industries and growing number of vehicles, problems such as rubbish and sewage remain but are improving. Politica- Many slum districts such as Nairobi are considered illegal by the government; showing a disapproval of tribal groups.
CITY TYPE (MATURING)- Economic- Migration rates slow to under 2% per year as the peripheral areas of countryside are developed, job opportunities increase in urban area (often in high-tech sectors). Social- quality of life increases, but for certain ethnic and social groups, they remain very disadvantaged. Environmental- they are now being tacked with transport, sewage and housing systems. Political- Government systems increase the inequality between the rich and poor; the rich live in gated suburbs, occasional riots from under classes.
The development gap has major consequences for people living in many countries. The very poorest people with a country become increasingly marginalised. Their income levels fall significantly lower than the dominant groups in the same population (relative poverty). This is invariably the result of overt (open) or covert (closed) discrimination, which limits the economic, social and political opportunities available to disadvantaged minority groups. The results can lead to social unrest, outmigration and political protests from which new political movements for justice, freedom or human rights are formed.
DISADVANTAGED GROUPS AS A RESULT OF DEVELOPMENT:
Ethnic groups- Chinese traders went all over the world and settled in Mauritius, Malaysia etc. They were often second-class citizens with few rights.
Contract migrant workers- Indians working in gulf states like Dubai, or illegals exploited with very poor pay. Development passes them by although they are clearly part of it.
Religion- Tibetans in China have few human and political rights to practise their religion.
Racial groups- For example during the apartheid in South Africa, coloured people including blacks and indians had no political say and were persecuted/discriminated daily. They had poor standards of living, health and education as a result. Moreover, civil war like the Tutsi and Hutu fight in Rwanda is an example of ethnic cleansing and killing.
Disabled/old people- In LDCs there is no support system. Old people in poor families are left to die.
Women- In sub-Saharan Africa, girls rarely get to complete secondary school, usually only 2 years of basic education is completed. Many work on subsistence tasks walking miles for clean water and fuel wood. This leads to disadvantaged futures, early marriages and too many children. Key stat: Only 30% of girls go to secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa. http://dayofthegirl.org/girls-denied-education-worldwide/

Reducing the development gap
External approaches to reducing the gap- Global economy and economic growth, increased globalisation, aid and FDI, trade strategies, tourism development, debt reduction or cancellation and international cooperation.
Internal approaches to reducing the gap- A focus on political stability, government investment in infrastructure (ICT,social services and local communities), food security, increased resources for health care and HIV/AIDS, addressing inequalities between regions, gender and rural/urban. Also, the legal empowerment of the poor and pro-poor strategies.




STRATEGIES: While many disadvantaged countries such as Rwanda or Mongolia receive over 25% of their GNP from aid, almost all donor countries contribute less than 1% of their GNP towards aid; most give around 0.4% (depends on the amount of GNP). Most aid (over 60%) goes to the poorest LDCs, but some middle-income countries that have effective political lobbying , such as Israel, receive large quantities and others, such as Turkey (during the Gulf War), receive aid for supporting a war effort.
Donor countries have a pattern of giving that reflects their colonial past. For example, France gives aid to many countries in north and west Africa. China is offering aid strategically to Africa (e.g Angola) and is being accused of neo-colonialism (using power to influence/control countries) as it seeks to secure supplies of resources for its OWN development.
There are TWO different types of aid:
Official aid- Paid for by taxpayers in donor countries (UK) and administered by governments in those countries (UK government). It has indirect and direct official aid. The former is classed as multilateral aid, in which a donor countries gives to organisations such as the World Bank which then distribute aid to needy causes. Direct aid is classed as bilateral aid, which there is a one-to-one relationship between donor and the recipient country.
Voluntary aid- this is money raised by independent organisations and private donors. NGO’s work at a local scale in collaboration with local communities (e.g bottom-up projects). Official and voluntary emergency aid- immediate and short-term disaster and longer-term development programmes.
Another key concern is that giving aid to the poor focuses on the symptoms not the causes of poverty. However, few would doubt the value of emergency aid after a natural disaster such as the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. But even then controversies broke out between donor and recipients as to where, when and how the money should be spent.
Some argue that trade is responsible for widening the gulf between rich and poor. Oxfam says trade is unfair to developing countries as they do not gain access to fair markets because rich countries follow protectionist strategies often via trade blocs (EU, NAFTA). Rich countries control commodity prices, keeping them at a low level, so few developing countries can benefit as much as they should from commodities like tin and cotton. Rich countries also dump their subsidised agricultural commodities on international markets at prices below the cost of production. A particular concern is how the patent rule are used by pharmaceutical companies so that (until recently) LDCs could not gain access to affordable medicines.
There have been many negotiations to try to make world trader fairer for developing countries. The FAIRTRADE movement is now a global market worth over £350 million a year. This involves 400+ MEDC companies and an estimated 500,000 small farmers and their families who are usually organised into cooperatives in the world's poorest countries. In this system the producers of food and commodities such as cotton receive a fair price for the products that they grow (above the world market price). The problem is that the scale is extremely small compared to the overall volume of trade.

The future of the development gap- signs of hope
UN secretary Bank Ki-moon has said that there is no question that the UN’s overarching goal of putting an end to poverty. We know what to do, but it requires an unswerving, collective long term effort. However, the future can also be considered very depressing for the world’s poorest countries like in sub-Saharan Africa.
Are we managing to mitigate short-term climate change, are we managing to cope with the global depression and are established players really rethinking development and working together to overcome their conflicting priorities?

Hey, I have just made a document analysing each resource from the resource booklet for the superpower question, if anyone wants me to upload it just let me know!

I am doing cultural diversity as well , for Tibet , what is happening to cultural diversity? Also are you doing focus points, if so what are yours?