The malaria train

According to the BBC website today.... "A train carrying enough free mosquito nets for one in ten of the population of the Republic of Congo has been making its way through the country.... this is part of the largest ever distribution of nets - by the end of the year the government says every pregnant woman and child under five will have one."

If you click on the photo you will link to a photographic record of the initiative. This would be a good case study example of a strategy for controlling malaria - one of the things you have to study if you do the Development and Health option in Paper 2 (Environmental Interactions)

Consequences of the One Child Policy

It is an indication of how long I have been teaching Geography that I can remember when China's one child policy was breaking news!

Now the news is not the policy itself but the consequences of that policy. I have made other postings on this topic on the Higher Geog Blog and you can access them by using the 'Population' label on the right. But here is today's angle as explained by an article on the BBC website.

Good reading for the Population Unit

There are two excellent articles on the BBC website today which have close links with the population section of the Higher Geography course. Firstly there is an article about the implications of ageing populations in Europe; in particular the pressure this puts on pension funds ....

"Who is going to pay for the retirement of future generations? Most European countries face the same difficulty, amid ageing populations and low birth rates."

Click on the image to link to the article and you can read how this question is addressed by correspondents in eight EU member states.

The second article is really a series of emails from an Indian immigrant in the UK to his brother back in India. They make quite poignant reading - particularly the irony that the writer, who is a highly qualified computer specialist, left India just before the recent boom there in the info tech industry. He is clearly tempted by return migration! "I'd like to go back to India in a few years time. There is a buzz in the air and I'd like to be part of it and make my contribution to the spectacular economic growth story that is happening right now. "

Pimp up my padi.. in a manner of speaking

I had to get my son to explain the verb but having cleared that up, I thought I'd share the image below with you. There is a tenuous link to the Rural section of the Higher course......Click on the image for an explanation! My thanks to virtual colleague Tom Biebrach for flagging this up.

Well done to last session's candidates!

I am delighted to report that the HSD Higher Geography results were excellent - 55% of you gained an A pass and 93% passed at A - C . The results are gratifying for Mrs W and for me but it is also pleasing to know that you have been rewarded for your hard work. Well done to all of you!

Business as usual...

After a few weeks of holiday, the Higher Geog Blog is back in business. Welcome on board if you are one of the new 'batch' of Higher candidates and welcome back if for any reason you are one of last year's Higher candidates who just can't stay away!

The results are out tomorrow - if you signed up for 0n-line access and on Tuesday for those who prefer to have an envelope to open. My fingers are firmly crossed for you all though I have a good feeling about this year's Geography exam. There were no traps and if you followed the blog, did the extra reading and took my advice, you should all have done well.

With the start of term just around the corner, it is, however, time to get back to the business of Higher Geog blogging. Here is something to get you started ....

There is an interesting article today on the BBC website entitled 'Birth rate crisis hits central Europe' . It contains some excellent information relating to the reasons for and conseqences of a declining birth rate in this part of Europe. Read the article and try to find answers to the following:

1. Why is Slovakia enjoying a minor baby boom at present?

2. What pro-natalist measures are being proposed in Poland?

3. Why might these policies struggle to succeed?

4. How is a declining birth rate affecting old people in the former Communist states of central Europe?