Unit
3: Life on the Edge:
Informality in the Urban Setting
Answers to Activities |
| Activity 3.1: Personal Experiences
of a Latin American City |
This activity is primarily a group and class discussion. Students also
prepare a short written news report that you may or may not wish to collect
and evaluate. If you choose to grade the reports, use the general criteria
listed below as a guide for evaluating their work. Students’ news reports
will vary depending on the narrative they choose to focus on, the particular
perspective they adopt, and the additional sources they use for information.
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Is the report concise and does it fit within the three-minute time limit?
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Does the report contain references to the "human" experiences provided
by the narratives?
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Has the student done additional research to support his or her story?
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Is the report well-written?
| Activity 3.2: The Question of
Ethics |
In response to the readings, students are asked to (1) write a paragraph
commenting on the reading and (2) make a list of some advantages and disadvantages
to workers and corporations of adopting a code of ethics. This written
work is intended to help students prepare for the debate or role play.
You may or may not want to collect it for evaluation. The responses students
prepare will most likely show up during the role play or the debate and
may include the following:
-
In response to the Donaldson article, students should be able to identify
several problems with his argument, including issues of enforcement (would
the corporation be willing to pull out of a country or impose fines if
standards were infringed upon?) and the ways in which moral standards would
be decided.
Advantages for workers Disadvantages for workers
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better wages and working conditions · violations of cultural beliefs
and
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better housing and residential infrastructure norms
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the right to unionize
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more dignity
Advantages for corporations Disadvantages for corporations
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better worker morale · a cut into profits
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less turnover · the threat of strikes
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more productive work force · enforcement
You can also mention that higher wages in the LDCs could benefit workers
in MDCs insofar as they could worry less about their jobs being exported
to areas with lower wages.
For both the role play and the debate, there are no specific answers.
You should facilitate when necessary to keep the discussion flowing smoothly
and to give each student or group a chance to speak. Make sure that students
respect each other’s viewpoints, do not interrupt when others are talking,
and allow other students an opportunity to speak.
| Activity 3.3: Delegate to the
World Cities Conference |
Because this is a creative writing activity, there are no specific answers.
Student presentations will vary depending on the city they choose to represent,
the presentation option they select, and the perspective they adopt. As
part of the activity, students’ presentations will be evaluated by other
students in the class. Use these evaluations and the criteria below as
a guide for evaluating students’ work.
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Does the presentation indicate that the student did sufficient research
on the chosen city?
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Is the student’s (mayor’s) position clearly stated and supported?
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Does the student indicate how the socioeconomic and environmental conditions
of the city influence the position he/she took in the presentation?
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Are the plans for urban development, industrial cooperation, and the urban
environment realistic and balanced?
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Is the presentation well-written, concise, and less than three pages long?
See Notes
on Active Pedagogy for additional suggestions for evaluating
students’ written work.
| Activity 3.4: Visualizing Urban
Landscapes II: A Deeper Understanding |
Student posters will vary depending on the city chosen, the time constraints,
access to information, and the number of students in the groups. In group
projects of this kind, it is possible that several students will complete
a disproportionate share of the work for the entire group. One way to account
for these inequities is to assess students’ participation by asking each
group member to evaluate her or his own contribution to the project as
well as the contribution of each of their team members. Let students know
that the evaluations will be confidential and that their final grade will
be based upon their own evaluation, their evaluation by other team members,
and your assessment of the final product during the poster symposium.
For additional information on evaluating this type of on-going group
work, see Notes
on Active Pedagogy or the source below:
Kneale, Pauline. 1996. Organizing student-centered group fieldwork
and presentations. Journal of Geography in Higher Education 20,
1 (March): 65-74.