Problems in Our Industrial World

Introduction: Industrialization has transformed our world with new technology and innovation. For many people industrialization has led to a better way of life and a higher standard of living. Almost everything that we use in our daily lives are made in factories - cars, cell phones, computers, clothes, food. The fact that we can go to a store and purchase anything we want, allows us to pursue other interests - education, sports, leisure. However, we only achieved this standard of living after a long, hard fight on the part of workers for fair wages and better working conditions.

Although life is good for people living in advanced industrialized societies, like Great Britain and the U.S., for many other people around the world, life is still very difficult because their economies are only just beginning the process of industrialization. Today, people living in these developing countries face many of the same problems that people faced in Europe and the U.S. two centuries ago during the Industrial Revolution.

Your Task: You are going to be learning more about the many problems faced by people today in developing countries. You will be assigned one problem to research independently. After you have completed your research, you will work with others who researched the same problem to create a presentation designed to educate the class about your issue.

Child Labor 

Do you know who made your t-shirt?
What is child labor?
10 Worst Countries for Child Labor

Sweatshops

Background on Sweatshops
Bangladesh Factory Fire 
Sweatshops in China

Sanitation & Disease

 Why Matt Damon Loves Toilets
Access to Clean Water 
The Global Water Crisis
Water-related Diseases
Environmental Factors Influencing the Spread of Disease

Urban Slums / Urban Poverty

What are slums and why do they exist?
Overview: Urban Poverty
How To: Measure Urban Poverty

Global Wealth Inequality

Oxfam Report, 2014 
How Income Inequality Hurts America
How to Solve the Problem of Wealth Inequality