An illustration of 'chronotope', and a data challenge: spatial distribution of coffee production in 4 Central American nations
These images (from Robert G. Williams States and Social Evolution [HD9199 .C42 W54 1994]) are ancient, but raise some interesting questions and suggest a data-gathering chore. The chronotope point is that coffee "touches down" in some places but not everywhere --so national data (e.g., El Salvador's or Guatemala's coffee production) really refers to subnational areas, which may shrink or grow over time. One wants to know where and why...I haven't been successful in efforts to find more recent distribution maps, or to find similar information for Mexico.Coffee and Corn in El Salvador, 1950 (fascinating complementary distribution)
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In materials on malaria I referred to the tale that underlies the story told in the children's book The Day They Parachuted Cats on Borneo. Here are several extracts:
coverhelicopters spraying (spraying was done by men on foot, with backpack spraytanks)
helicopters bringing cats (I can find no evidence that this was ever done)
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And some more on Nike, in the globalization context:
As recently as 1997, Nike had by some estimates more than 100,000 people, mostly in Asia, making shoes and sports-related clothing with the ubiquitous "swoosh" (the mark of sorrow) upon them. But, as we have noted, the transnationalism here is in the contract between Nike and the small to medium-sized companies that are licensed to make its products, like the Tae Gurang Industrial Company in Korea, Samyang Tonsang, or Sung Hwa Corporation in Indonesia. Yes, there is some foreign direct investment involved, but the bulk of the economic activity is up to local companies who scramble around the labor markets of Southeast Asia subcontracting to meet Nike's 12- to 18-month production cycles. Despite the "swoosh" on the products, most of the workers in Asia never see Nike on their pay slip, much less an American in the factory. Sure, the behemoths of capitalism have trouble moving productive capital, but subcontracted sweatshops can move all the time...
(Hitchcock Imaginary States 2003:188-189)
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Web Frequency Indexer ("This page allows you to create a frequency index, or 'word list', of a text..."). Consider what uses one might make of this... see count of a file I did a year ago (Articulatorium)
