Study Guide to the Semester Exam

1. Introduction (Excellence)

    a. A Letter to Garcia

    b. Socrates/ancient Greeks

    c. Did You Know?/Shift Happens

    d. Globalization

    e. Infrastructure

2. Population and Migration

    a. population pyramids

    b. crude birth rate, crude death rate) RNI, TFR

    c. immigration/emigration, NMR

    d. push forces, pull forces

    e. developed nations, developing nations

    f. God Grew Tired of Us

3. Cultural Geography
    a. language (bilingual nations, official language)

    b. major religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism,

    Buddhism)

    c. ethnic heritage

4. Political Geography

    a. country, nation, state, nation/state

    b. World Leaders of the 12 nations we studied (plus the US)

    c. type of government, leader and title, recognize photographs

5. Economic Geography

    a. microfinance

    b. infrastructure

    c. Kiva

    d. Peace Corps

Exam Talk 

We are going over what we have learned in the beginning of the year. I have to look over old test and notes. Making flash cards and writing notes helps me study the most. Exams are only 20% of your grade but it's still a big deal. It's good to get it over with before the winter break. We are in the brown room when we take the test.  

Test Review

Today in class we went over our test about micro finance. I got an 87%. We are also going over our exam for next week.  

Test 

Today in class we took a test on microfinance. I got an 87%. I thought I would have gotten a higher grade but I'm okay with what I got.   

 Microfinance 

Definitions

• Microfinance - a form of financial services for entrepreneurs and small businesses lacking access to banking and related services
• Microloan - a small loan given to individuals who might not have access to typical banking services, usually to start or expand small, self-sufficient businesses

Who provides microloans?

• As of November 26, 2013, Kiva has distributed $498,939,550 in loans from 1,015,823 lenders to 1,177,248 borrowers
• A total of 637,003 loans have been funded through Kiva
• The average loan size is $410.89
• The average Kiva user has made 10.06 loans

Kiva's current repayment rate for all its partners is 99.01%

Who receives microloans?

• microentrepreneurs who are trying to start (or kickstart!) a small business
• villagers needing to fund a clinic, hospital, or other health care facility (malaria treatment, drugs, hypos, refrigerators, sanitation)
• teachers trying to run a school (buying anything from books and pencils to desks and chairs)
• students wanting to further their education (college tuition)

Problems with microloans

• high interest rates sometimes as high as 23%
• The cost of providing banking services to those living in

poverty is high.  Being the company that provides tiny

loans can be expensive

• What’s harder and more time-consuming to process:

one $500,000 loan, or five hundred $1000 loans?   

Microloans are a help, not a cure

• banking services are often unavailable to poor people -

microloans fill a gap

• it’s not just loans, but also insurance, legal representation,

and help with financial planning that become available

• these are all important to people who are trying to break

the cycle of poverty

• but poverty is a huge problem with no easy solutions

Challenges

• there are many challenges faced by developing nations
• some of these can be alleviated through microloans
• substandard education ($ can help purchase supplies, buy books, pay teachers)
• poor health care ($ can help buy supplies, construct new/better buildings, deal with malaria)

Malaria

• It’s a mosquito-borne infectious disease
• humans and animals can be infected through the bite of a female mosquito
• no vaccine exists   :(
• it kills around 665,000 people

a year, many of them children

in sub-Saharan Africa

• mosquito nets can be effective

Philanthropy

• philanthropy is the generous donation of money to good causes, and Bill and Melinda Gates are the second greatest philanthropists in history ($28 billion, ⅓ of their wealth)

• they support research and development for a vaccine, diagnostics, and mosquito-control measures  -  like mosquito nets!

Test Questions for Human Geo    

                   Steven Kucther, Hailey Ishak, Ellie Gottschalk, Stephanie Imbierowicz, Carly Schofield.

1. who is microfinance used for ? - it is used for people to start up a business or to keep a business going or just to help people who need a small loan.

2. what is a common use for a micro loan? - starting up new businesses, products, clinics, machinery, furniture, and schools  

3.What is a microloan? Loans people money to help them get a kick start in a small business that they think will be beneficial to their village or town

4.what is mocrofinance? A general term to describe financial services to low-income individuals or those who do not have access to typical banking services.

5. Who has the most supply of mosquitoes nets? Bill and Melinda Gates

6.what is the difference between developing countries and developed countries?- developing usually have lower levels of affluence and higher levels of unemployment, developed countries have the

7. what is malaria?  - malaria is a wide spreading disease that is transmitted by getting from a mosquitos

8.why do poor people pay more for loans? -micro lenders don’t get paid as much so poor people have to pay higher loans

9. What is a microlender? An organization that makes business loans to individuals who arent able to obtain financing from traditional lenders.

10.In developing countries the majority of the population is? Poor

11. How is giving Microloans better than just regular donations to charity? This way you're not just giving them many for no reason but you're giving them a kick start to make a successful business and in the end it’s their responsibility to pay you back for your help.

12.give 3 problems in developing countries that can be solved by microloans: malaria, drought, clean water

Micro-finance Study 

• Microfinance- a general term to  describe financial services to low-income individuals or to those who do not have access to typical banking services
• Microloans- loans people money to help them get a kick start in a small business that they think will be beneficial to their village or town

What's a micro loan?

• A microloan is when a person lends a small amount of money to a developing business. Once the business is running good the lender will receive their money back
• Common use
• Starting up new businesses
• Products
• Clinics
• Machinery
• Furniture
• Schools 

What microfinance does for people

• Helps small businesses start up and keep running 
• An opportunity for people to buy livestock and small businesses
• Allows them to borrow money from somebody
• It can provide micro entrepreneurs with the capital needed to operate and expand their businesses
• Create choice, lets them switch jobs

Developing countries

• Poor people are less likely to be lent money
• Problems in developing countries that can be helped by Microfinance
• Malaria
• Drought
• Clean water
• Famine
• Poor health care
• Pollution
• Weak electricity

Bill Gates has the most mosquito nets in the world 

Micro Lenders

• Poor people pay more for loans then rich people
• Poor people have to pay more money for the same thing
• Maximum loans are $25,000

Micro-Finance Game 2 

Today in class we finished playing the micro-finance game. I never finished it because my game froze but I learned a lot about figuring things out about small business. People need to take a lot of precautions and listen to everyone's thoughts and ideas. Things don't always work out but you can always fix and tweak things to figure them out.   

Micro-Finance Game 

Today in class we did a few different things. We started off by watching a video where you could "change the channel" and it was different people lip singing each line to the same song. It didn't work out very well because it kept freezing. But after the video we all held and took pictures with this mans Emmy. Then we finished class time by playing a game about micro-finance. I was confused at first but i figured everything out later. 

Test Review 

Today in class we went over our world leaders test. I thought I was going to do really well and get an A but I read a few of the questions wrong and got the answers mixed up. I just need to read things more closely. 

Micro-finance

Micro-finance is a movement underway that provides better financial services to people that banks don't serve. Micro credit is a big part of micro-finance. Micro credit or small loans are amounts of money that people borrow all around the world. Loans are used for small businesses, homes, schools, or other opportunities for people to better there lives. Micro-finance institutions also deal with insurance and savings. Micro-finance is very helpful to people in poverty but it is not a complete solution.       

World Leaders Test 

Today in class we took a test on the world leaders. We got to use our blogs so I am very confident that I got an A. There was only one question that I was unsure of. But, I narrowed it down to what I thought it would be. 

Revised 3

Hamid Karzai

• Afghanistan
• President
• Against the Taliban
• Knew what was going on with the Taliban
• Worked against them
• Warned the United States
• Worked to over through the government
• Speaks five languages
  

Dilma Rousseff

• Brazil
• President
• Served three years in prison
• Was repeatedly tortured
• Divorced twice
• Degree in economics
• Underwent chemotherapy while being re-elected
  

Xi Jinping

• China
• President
• A son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun
• Married a folk singer/army general
• Father was jailed
• Their daughter studies at Harvard  
• Communist 
  

Francois Holland

• France
• President
• No previous experience in national government position
• Had a 30 year relationship and four children
• Got divorced because he had an affair
• Extreme right physician father
• Social worker mother
  

Joachim Gauk

• President
• Germany

Angela Merkel

• Chancellor
• Germany
• Been chancellor since 2005
• Top spot on FORBES list of most powerful women in the world for 8 of the past 10 years
• Degree in physics and physical chemistry
• Ph.D. in quantum physics
  

Pranab Mukherjee

• India
• President
• Taught Political Science
• Worked as a journalist
• One of the best financial ministers
• Had a conflict with Rajiv Gandhi who took over as Prime Minister
• Started his own Congress/party
  

Ali Hoseini-Khamenei

• Iran
• Supreme Leader
• Took part in street protest against the U.S.
•  imprisoned multiple times
• Elected president twice
• Became Supreme Leader 1989
• Been in charge for 24 years

Hasan Fedeidun Ruhani

• President
• Iran
• Served on the Supreme National Security Council
• Doesn’t go along with the president before him
• Doesn’t want to drop a bomb on Israel
  

Shimon Peres

• Israel
• President  
• His family fled to Palestine in 1934
• Organized Israel's nuclear program
• Father of Israel's atomic bomb
• Won the Nobel peace prize

Binyamin Netanyahu

• Prime minister
• Israel
• Nick name Bee-bee
• Lived in the US at a young age
• Brother was killed in 1976
• Believes that if Israel was established earlier the Holocaust would not have happened
  

Enrique Pena Pieto

• President
• Mexico
• Eldest of four siblings
• Father was an engineer
• Mother was a school teacher
• Teflon candidate because nothing sticks to him
• Had two affairs
• Three kids with two on the side
• Wife had a seizure
• Married again to soap opera actor Angelic Rivera
• Wants to clean up Mexico
  

Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud

• Prime minister
• Saudi Arabia
• 22 children
• Many different wives
• Worth 21 billion dollars
• Commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard
• First Saudi monarch to meet the Pope
• In 2011 he granted women to vote and run in future elections
• Has four wives currently
  

David Cameron

• Prime minister of the UK
• At 7 was shipped off to a highly exclusive preparatory school
• Has a disabled son who died February 2009
• Rides a bike to work everyday
• Had his bike stolen a few times
• Youngest prime minister in over 200 years
• Went into office at 43

Queen Elizabeth II

• Queen of England
• 60 years in reign
• Her son prince Charles
  

Nicolas Maduro Moros

• Venezuela
• President
• Worked as a bus driver before becoming politically active
• Was selected to be president
  
        

Revised 2

Hamid Karzai

• Afghanistan
• President
• Against the Taliban
• Knew what was going on with the Taliban
• Worked against them
• Warned the United States

Dilma Rousseff

• Brazil
• President
• Served three years in prison
• Was repeatedly tortured
• Divorced twice
• Degree in economics
• Underwent chemotherapy while being re-elected

Xi Jinping

• China
• President
• A son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun
• Married a folk singer
• Father was jailed
• Their daughter studies at Harvard  

Francois Holland

• France
• President
• No previous experience in national government position
• Had a 30 year relationship and four children
• Got divorced because he had an affair
• Extreme right physician father
• Public speaker mother

Joachim Gauk

• President
• Germany

Angela Merkel

• Chancellor
• Germany
• Been chancellor since 2005
• Top spot on FORBES list of most powerful women in the world for 8 of the past 10 years
• Degree in physics and physical chemistry
• Ph.D. in quantum physics

Pranab Mukherjee

• India
• President
• Taught Political Science
• Worked as a journalist
• One of the best financial ministers
• Had a conflict with Rajiv Gandhi who took over as Prime Minister
• Started his own Congress/party

Ali Hoseini-Khamenei

• Iran
• Supreme Leader
• Took part in street protest against the U.S.
•  imprisoned multiple times
• Elected president twice
• Became Supreme Leader 1989
• Been in charge for 24 years

Hasan Fedeidun Ruhani

• President
• Iran
• Served on the Supreme National Security Council
• Doesn’t go along with the president before him
• Doesn’t want to drop a bomb on Israel

Shimon Peres

• Israel
• President  
• His family fled to Palestine in 1934
• Organized Israel's nuclear program
• Father of Israel's atomic bomb

Binyamin Netanyahu

• Prime minister
• Israel
• Nick name Bee-bee
• Lived in the US at a young age
• Brother was killed in 1976
• Believes that if Israel was established earlier the Holocaust would not have happened

Enrique Pena Pieto

• President
• Mexico
• Eldest of four siblings
• Father was an engineer
• Mother was a school teacher
• Teflon candidate because nothing sticks to him
• Had two affairs
• Three kids with two on the side
• Wife had a seizure
• Married again to soap opera actor Angelic Rivera
• Wants to clean up Mexico

Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud

• Prime minister
• Saudi Arabia
• 22 children
• Many different wives
• Worth 21 billion dollars
• Commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard
• First Saudi monarch to meet the Pope
• In 2011 he granted women to vote and run in future elections

Revised

 Hamid Karzai

• Against the Taliban
• Knew what was going on with the Taliban
• Worked against them
• Warned the United States

Dilma Rousseff

• Served three years in prison
• Was repeatedly tortured
• Divorced twice
• Degree in economics
• Underwent chemotherapy while being re-elected

Xi Jinping

• A son of revolutionary veteran Xi Zhongxun
• Married a folk singer
• Father was jailed
• Their daughter studies at Harvard  

Francois Holland

• No previous experience in national government position
• Had a 30 year relationship and four children
• Got divorced because he had an affair
• Extreme right physician father
• Public speaker mother

Joachim Gauk

Angela Merkel(chancellor)

• Been chancellor since 2005
• Top spot on FORBES list of most powerful women in the world for 8 of the past 10 years
• Degree in physics and physical chemistry
• Ph.D. in quantum physics

Pranab Mukherjee

• Taught Political Science
• Worked as a journalist
• One of the best financial ministers
• Had a conflict with Rajiv Gandhi who took over as Prime Minister
• Started his own Congress/party

Ali Hoseini-Khamenei(Supreme Leader)

• Took part in street protest against the U.S.
•  imprisoned multiple times
• Elected president twice
• Became Supreme Leader 1989

Hasan Fedeidun Ruhani(president)

Mexico

• Enrique Pena Nieto
• #37 most powerful person
• elected president by a narrow victory

Germany

• Joachim Gauck
• former Lutheran pastor
• 4 children 

Venezuela

• Nicolas Maduro Moros
• worked as a bus driver before being named foreign minister
• was vice president  

China

• XI Jinping
• a blog about how high his pants are everyday
•  looks just like his younger brother

United Kingdom

• Queen Elizabeth II
• a highway named after he 
• Favorite dog is a Pembroke Welsh Corgi

Saudi Arabia

• Abdallah bin abd al-aziz al saud
• he became king after his brother died
• the 6th king of Saudi Arabia 

India

• Pranab Mukherjee
• attended two collages 
• 13th president of India 

France

• Francois Hollande
• was nick named marshmallow
• had an affair 

Iran

• Ali Hoseini-Khamenei
• has six children 
• also served as president 

Afghanistan

• Hamid Karzai
• inflicted great suffering on Afghans 
• Nato brought a lot of death

Brazil

• Dilma Rousseff
• first woman to hold office
• was tortured as a child

Israel

• Shimon Peres
• has three children
• comes from Poland