Since the mid-l970s, economic reforms have transformed China from one of the most egalitarian societies into one of the most unequal in the world. Wide disparities currently exist between the income levels of a relatively few rich and middle-class Chinese and their fellow citizens who number in the hundreds of millions. This "wealth gap" is particularly acute when one compares the incomes of urban and rural residents, between Chinese living in the interior of the country and those living in the rapidly developing cities on China's eastern coast.The causes of the growing income gap include previous governmental policies that favored city dwellers over farmers, the uneven regional patterns of foreign investment, and the massive outflow of displaced farmers to China's already overcrowded cities in pursuit of manufacturing jobs.Recently, the Chinese government, in recognition of the potential for social instability, and in the face of growing unrest amongst China's poor, has made the elimination of economic and social inequalities a top priority. Plans are in motion to build a more "harmonious society" through the delivery of improved educational and health services to those who appear to have been left behind in China's rush to modernize its economy.This lesson, using clips from the WIDE ANGLE film "To Have and Have Not" (2002), can be used after a lesson on the Communist Revolution and Mao's rule. A basic knowledge of China's geography, of the tenets of Chinese Communism, and of Mao's efforts to redirect the course of China's future by means of the Cultural Revolution, is required for the successful completion of the lesson.

The movement of people and goods is an important part of the New York State Global History and Geography Curriculum. It is listed as one of the themes that are emphasized in the core curriculum. Students are expected to understand why people migrate and what the impact of migrations has been on people, nations, and regions. Recently, the PBS WIDE ANGLE documentary series created two programs that relate to the movement of people. 'Border Jumpers' (2005) documents migration between countries in Africa, and 'To Have and Have Not' (2002) deals with migration from rural to urban areas in China. By studying these two migrations, students can deepen their understanding of events and trends in Africa and China since World War II. A study of these two migrations can also provide students with a framework for reviewing other migrations included in the core curriculum and help students to prepare for possible thematic essays on the Regents exam. The purpose of this lesson is to show the reasons why people are migrating in Africa and China today and how these migrations are impacting those regions. In addition, students will be motivated to critically analyze national immigration policies and to consider the relevance of national borders in a world that is experiencing rapid globalization. As a culminating activity, students will outline a response for a sample Regents thematic essay question and will be assigned to write the essay for homework.

Looks at rural and urban demographics in relation from conflict, symbolic interactionist and functionalist perspectives.

 How has imperial conquest shaped urban centers in the bible? How much power did religious institution wield in the ancient near east.  This module we will examine major religious centers in Canaan, Egypt, Greece and Rome to determine the extent of imperial influence in sanctioning and/or support religious establishments.  Objectives:       Examine the impact of an imperial presence on urban religious practices.       Discuss the presence of religious diversity in an urban context       Describe the complexities attending popular and state sponsored religion       Explain the social capital of religious institutions

This seminar aims to develop a teaching knowledge of the field through extensive reading and discussion of major works. The reading covers a broad range of topics - political, economic, social, and cultural - and represents a variety of historical methods.

Students will understand the role agriculture plays in determining the wealth of a nation, document the role agriculture played in American history, and describe the impact environmental and agricultural systems will have on the future world population.

These exercises are designed to guide a student to an understanding of how rainfall and storm events result in runoff over the surface of the earth. Runoff is influenced by the nature of the surface of the earth. Streamflow is particularly influenced by urbanization-the paving over of permeable surfaces with impermeable ones. In light of this, students are encouraged to think about design elements that incorporate more permeable surfaces into their own environments, including their school parking lots and neighborhoods.

Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser, an influential and at times infamous author of literary naturalism, was born in Terre Haute, Indiana in 1871. The eleventh of thirteen children, he had an unhappy childhood shaped by poverty. At age fifteen, he left home. After several years of menial labor and some college, in 1892 he started as a journalist at the Chicago Globe. Interested in the work of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer, Dreiser began writing fiction that explored ideas of social determinism and the “survival of the fittest,” particularly during a period of intense urbanization across the country.

On April 26, 1913, Confederate Memorial Day, thirteen-year-old Mary Phagan was murdered at the National Pencil Company in Atlanta, Georgia. Leo Frank, the Jewish, New York-raised superintendent of the National Pencil Company, was charged with the crime. At the same time, Atlanta’s economy was transforming from rural and agrarian to urban and industrial. Resources for investing in new industry came from Northern states, as did most industrial leaders, like Leo Frank. Many of the workers in these new industrial facilities were children, like Mary Phagan. Over the next two years, Leo Frank’s legal case became a national story with a highly publicized, controversial trial and lengthy appeal process that profoundly affected Jewish communities in Georgia and the South, and impacted the careers of lawyers, politicians, and publishers. By the early twentieth century, Jewish communities had become well-established in most major Southern cities, continuing a path of migration that began during colonial times. The Leo Frank case and its aftermath revealed lingering regional hostilities from the Civil War and Reconstruction, intensified existing racial and cultural inequalities (particularly anti-Semitism), embodied socioeconomic problems (such as child labor), and exposed the brutality of lynching in the South. The exhibition was created by the Digital Library of Georgia (http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/). Exhibition Organizers: Charles Pou, Mandy Mastrovita, and Greer Martin.

 U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.Senior Contributing AuthorsP. Scott Corbett, Ventura CollegeVolker Janssen, California State University, FullertonJohn M. Lund, Keene State CollegeTodd Pfannestiel, Clarion UniversityPaul Vickery, Oral Roberts UniversitySylvie Waskiewicz

U.S. History is designed for a two-semester American history sequence. It is traditional in coverage, following a roughly chronological outline, and using a balanced approach that includes political, economic, social, and cultural developments. At the same time, the book includes a number of innovative and interactive features designed to enhance student learning. Instructors can also customize the book, adapting it to the approach that works best in their classroom.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:Explain the growth of American cities in the late nineteenth centuryIdentify the key challenges that Americans faced due to urbanization, as well as some of the possible solutions to those challenges

In this activity, students model the impact of land-cover changes on stormwater runoff using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator (Calculator). The students are introduced to the Calculator through a tutorial. Students are provided with a particular site -- a residential neighborhood -- and model two land-use scenarios associated with it: (1) a pre-expansion scenario that includes current forest and developed land cover, and (2) a post-expansion scenario, under which the forest cover will be developed as low-intensity residential.

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In this activity, students model the impact of changes in land cover on stormwater runoff using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator. Students mitigate increased stormwater runoff resulting from development with low impact development (LID) controls. Students assess the LID controls in terms of the ecosystem services that they are intended to replace and discuss alternative development designs to reduce the need for them.

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In this activity, students model the impact of a proposed land-use change for a local site using the EPA's National Stormwater Calculator (Calculator). Given a description of the proposed land-use change, students devise and execute a series of simulations in the Calculator that model its potential impact on stormwater retention. Using additional simulations, students explore changes to the site that utilize low impact development (LID) controls to mitigate stormwater runoff.

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The introduction and examination of the food, energy, and water connection -- as a system in Unit 1 -- established the dictates of human dependency on and human modification of the environment. We continue a logical progression of what this means in Unit 2, with a focus on how people see, confront, and solve their resource challenges in the light of their need for affordable, accessible, healthy, sustainably-grown food. This unit introduces and explores the concepts, themes, and practices of: urban agriculture, urban farming, local food, food insecurity, food deserts, health & wellness education, community food gardens, community food dialogue, public policy, civic engagement, volunteerism, expert technical assistance, land reclamation, grants and incentives, entrepreneurship, and community economic development.

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In this activity, the student groups organized at the end of Unit 3.1 will prepare presentations representing different stakeholder positions. This artifact -- Part I of the Module Summative Assessment (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 25kB Sep4 16) -- can be part of a presentation to the instructor, to a panel of faculty/students, or to a "board" representing some decision-making unit (Community Council, University Board of Trustees, City/County Planning Commission). At the conclusion of this unit, students will be prompted to reflect, individually, on an ecosystem services approach to natural resources management -- Part II of the Module Summative Assessment (Microsoft Word 2007 (.docx) 23kB Sep4 16) .

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Urbanization is rapidly transforming communities around the globe. It could be doing the same to the microbial communities that inhabit the human gut. A new study examines how, in China, urbanization and other health factors are affecting gut microbes from the third domain of life: archaea. Though smaller in number and distinct from the bacteria and fungi also found in the gut, archaea are revealing to be just as important to human health. In this study, researchers studied archaea in 792 healthy adult volunteers from 5 regions in China. In particular, how these archaea profiles were linked to 119 variables, including urban residence, ethnicity, lifestyle, and diet. Results showed that geographical region had the strongest effect on archaea composition—followed by ethnicity and urban residence. Urban residence, for example, was associated with lower archaea numbers and diversity..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.