Planned obsolescence

Comprar, tirar, comprar

Have you ever heard your parents or grandparents say that things lasted more in the past? They might be right. This is a very interesting documentary broadcasted on La 2 a few weeks ago. It explains one of the pillars of  industrialized societies: planned obsolescence. This is a strategy many companies develop to oblige consumers to buy new products, by limiting their duration. Many products have been designed to have a short useful life, so that consumers have to buy new models. It is cheaper to buy a new product than trying to get it fixed. Some experts try to justify planned obsolescence, like a way of preserving employments: if products lasted for ages, less workers would be needed and unemployment rates would be higher. However, other experts explain that this strategy has led to consumerism, the exhaustion of many resources and high pollution and waste levels. The documentary is in Spanish, but many of the people who appear in it speak in different languages.


More about planned obsolescence: 


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planned_obsolescence

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/planned_obsolescence.asp

A famous assembly line

This is a famous scene of Modern Times, a 1936 Charles Chaplin comedy film. The character Chaplin plays, a tramp, works on an assembly line and has problems to follow the rhythm of the machines. On this film Chaplin wanted to criticize the dehumanizing effects of machines in the Industrial Age and he also reflected the hard conditions many unemployed people had to face during the Great Depression era. 

I strongly recommend you the whole film. This was the first time the audience could listen Charles Chaplin´s voice. 

More information about the film: 

http://www.filmsite.org/mode.html

Presentation about industry

Here you have the small presentation we have used today to learn some new concepts about industry. Please, review it. Next day we´ll learn about horizontal and vertical concentrations. 

Industry

View more presentations from papefons.

Monday 31st of January

Today in Social Sciences class we have checked one exercise about products before industrial revolution and after it.

Then we have read page 45, elements of the industrial process and type of industries. When we have finished reading page 45, then we have started a powerpoint about industry. Paqui saids homework for next day and she has given a sheet to make a project at home.

After this we have gone out of the class to do an honoring about something.....

When we have returned we have continued with the powerpoint. We have little time to see it, and the time was over.

Paqui today has established a new law: If we speak in Spanish, we will have to pay 10 cents.

Source: http://www.kalipedia.com/tecnologia/tema/robotica/fotos-robots-cadena-montaje.html?x1=20070821klpinginf_124.Ies&x=20070821klpinginf_96.Kes

Coltan

Hello everybody!

We are Yolanda Rubio and Laura Meco. We would like you to watch this presentation. It's about Coltan mineral. As you can see, this mineral is used to make a lot of elements that we use in our normal life.

It's made by the talantite and comlumbite's minerals and its color is grey.

In Congo, there was a war, and people were exploiting children. It's sad, but that is the truth.

Here you have a video in which you can see how these children were exploited.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q7s53Ego-Q

We hope you like our video about Coltan, and we are sure about you'll like it.

Bye, bye class!

See you!

Yolanda Rubio and Laura Meco.

Friday, 28th of January

Today we have corrected the exercises 25, 26 an 27 from page 47. Then we have cheecked the crossword. After Paqui has spoken about mines and their differents types, their mains problems... One of the mains problems of mines is that can collapsed, and miners can died. Then we have read the information in the book about industy. And Paqui has said to us that we have to do the box on page 44. Finally Paqui has put on the proyector a photograph of Juan, Cristina's son. ¡Many of us, have been mad about it!

Source: http://www.convip.net/industry.html

Challenge Number 5

Source: http://www.angrywhiteboy.org/index.php/2007/03/09/biofuels/

As fossile fuels are pollutant and oil reserves are exhausting, biofuel production has increased in the last years. This week´s challenge will consist in researching about biofuels and their economic impact.

QUESTION 1

 What are biofuels? What are their types?

QUESTION 2

What are the most common liquid biofuels? What is the difference between them?

Source: http://priceofoil.org/2009/08/17/policy-re-think-needed-for-biofuels-bogeyman/

QUESTION 3

What is the relationship between the development of biofuels and the increase of the price of cereals? How can the development of biofuels affect food supply in developing countries?

The pictures included on this post and the links below will help you to complete your answers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_vs._fuel

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090128074830.htm

Source: http://www.vc4africa.com/group/socialentrepreneurs

Dangerous mines

Source: http://mediacrit.com/covering-coal-mining-by-accident

Today we have learned how dangerous is working in underground mines. Miners are exposed to gas leaks (especially methane) and if the working conditions are not safe, collapses can happen and the miners can get trapped. Precisely today an accident has happened at a coal mine in Colombia. At least 20 miners have been killed. Working underground requires specific safety rules that have to be respected and qualified workers who follow the instructions. Minig accidents are more fequent in the least developed countries. 

Here you have some links where you can get more information about mining: 

- Infomine website: this site provides a lot of information about mining around the world. If you click on "Mines sites", you will have access to a world map with the most important mines. You can know what minerals they extract and the type of mines (open- cast/open- pit or underground mines): 

http://www.infomine.com/minesite/

- Chinese mines are among the most dangerous in the world. This BBC report explores the reasons for this dangerousness: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11497070

- On this link you can get information about the world´s worst mining disasters: 

http://worldnews.about.com/od/disasters/tp/Worlds-Worst-Mining-Disasters.htm

- Finally, a piece of news about today´s mining accident in northest Colombia: 

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70P4GP20110126

Wednesday 25th of January

Today we have finished the Unit 3, so for homework we have to do the crossword in the photocopy that Silvia has given us and the exercises 25, 26 and 27 of the Review.

The exam of this unit is going to be on the 4th of February, all the unit for the people who didn't pass the project and only of fishing and the Primary Sector in Spain for people who passed the project.

In this picture we can see an old gold mine in La Cabrera (Madrid).

Source:http://www.leonoticias.com/frontend/leonoticias/Oro-En-La-Cabrera-vn7927-vst306 (in Spanish)

Afterwards we have started the new unit, The Secondary and Tertiary Sectors and Paqui has explained us the projects that we have to do if we don't want to do all the exam which are in the pages 48 and 53, they are about the Secondary or Tertiary Sectors.

Then we have copied the index of the unit and we have read the page 43. In that page we have seen that mining is a very important activity because we need the minerals to make a lot of things that we use in our life but is also a very dangerous activity because mines are dangerous. But like is very important, there are a lot of problems with mining, there are wars, like the First African War caused by the fights for the control of coltan mines.

In the Secondary Sector we also include the production of energy, that is also very important. We classify the energy sources in renewable, like solar power, and non renewables, like the oil.

In this picture we can see an oil field in Neuquén (Argentina)

Source:http://www.corrienteshoy.com/vernota.asp?id_noticia=71588 (in Spanish)

Study for all the exams of tomorrow! Bye!

Pirates of every kind

Source: http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/a/affirmative_action.asp

Source: http://www.biyokulule.com/view_content.php?articleid=3117

The dictionary defines "piracy" as a robbery committed at sea. Today we have been talking about piracy in the Indian Ocean, next to the Somali coasts. If you think in the definition of piracy and you relate it to the overexploitation of some fishing grounds and the practices of some developed countries in this area, you will reach interesting conclusions. 

Here you have some links where you can read more about the origins of present piracy in the Indian Ocean: 

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1567/1/

http://wardheernews.com/Articles_09/Jan/Waldo/08_The_two_piracies_in_Somalia.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-you-are-being-lied-to-about-pirates-1225817.html

http://www.alternet.org/story/136481/why_we_don't_condemn_our_pirates_in_somalia/?page=entire

And this last cartoon compares Somali pirates with other land pirates: 

Source: http://www.bendib.com/black/new.html