Pre-Impressions
I researched the Blegny mine for my pre-tour presentation, so I had a good idea of what to expect on the tour. We will be going into the mine during the tour and will be able to see firsthand what it was like to work in the mine. We will be able to see some mining equipment and learn about the process of coal mining. We will learn about immigration patterns during the time that the mine was open, and how this affected the mining operations.
Post-Impressions
I enjoyed the tour of the mine and found it very informative. I wasn't really surprised by anything on the tour, since I had researched this place already. I also enjoyed the humor that our tour guide added to the tour. Before the tour began, we watched a video about coal mining that helped explain the process of how coal forms, and how it is mined. When we first descended into the mine, we were able to see how dark it was in the mine, and feel how cold it was inside. This was the first glimpse into the life of miners that we had. From there, we were able to get an even better idea of the harsh conditions that the miners faced, including the loud noises from the mining tools and the extremely tiny spaces that they had to crawl into in order to mine. My favorite part of the tour was when we were able to go underground into the actual mine.
The mine relates to concept of class identity. The miners were part of the working class and were sometimes taken advantage of by those of the upper class (who ran the mines). The mines could set lower wages and also pay the miners in special “mine currency” which could only be used in stores that were operated by the mines. Finally, the mine relates to the idea of diasporic histories. There were many people that immigrated to Blegny to work in the mine. This diversified the racial composition of the area. The “diasporic histories help us understand the important connections among people affected by […] transnational migrations” (Martin & Nakayama 80).
The mine tour ties in with Porter's diamond model of national competitive advantage. One corner of the diamond is the factor conditions. The mining town has high-quality labor because they are able to work hard at mining. There is also quality land that contains coal, which was a great asset for Blegny. A second aspect of the diamond model is demand conditions. There was a huge demand for coal as a result of the industrial revolution. Since demand for coal was so high, there was an increase in the number of coal suppliers (or mines). The third aspect of the model is related and supporting industries. Houses needed to be built around the mines, as well as stores and other necessities for the miners. This created supporting industries which were needed to keep the mines going. The final aspect of the model is firm strategy, structure, and rivalry. The mine used a top-down structure, where job assignments and instructions were handed down from top management to the miners. There was also a rivalry among the different mines, which resulted in competition and possibly harsher working conditions as each mine wanted its workers to mine as much coal as possible (Gaspar Chapter 2).
I researched the Blegny mine for my pre-tour presentation, so I had a good idea of what to expect on the tour. We will be going into the mine during the tour and will be able to see firsthand what it was like to work in the mine. We will be able to see some mining equipment and learn about the process of coal mining. We will learn about immigration patterns during the time that the mine was open, and how this affected the mining operations.
Post-Impressions
I enjoyed the tour of the mine and found it very informative. I wasn't really surprised by anything on the tour, since I had researched this place already. I also enjoyed the humor that our tour guide added to the tour. Before the tour began, we watched a video about coal mining that helped explain the process of how coal forms, and how it is mined. When we first descended into the mine, we were able to see how dark it was in the mine, and feel how cold it was inside. This was the first glimpse into the life of miners that we had. From there, we were able to get an even better idea of the harsh conditions that the miners faced, including the loud noises from the mining tools and the extremely tiny spaces that they had to crawl into in order to mine. My favorite part of the tour was when we were able to go underground into the actual mine.
The mine relates to concept of class identity. The miners were part of the working class and were sometimes taken advantage of by those of the upper class (who ran the mines). The mines could set lower wages and also pay the miners in special “mine currency” which could only be used in stores that were operated by the mines. Finally, the mine relates to the idea of diasporic histories. There were many people that immigrated to Blegny to work in the mine. This diversified the racial composition of the area. The “diasporic histories help us understand the important connections among people affected by […] transnational migrations” (Martin & Nakayama 80).
The mine tour ties in with Porter's diamond model of national competitive advantage. One corner of the diamond is the factor conditions. The mining town has high-quality labor because they are able to work hard at mining. There is also quality land that contains coal, which was a great asset for Blegny. A second aspect of the diamond model is demand conditions. There was a huge demand for coal as a result of the industrial revolution. Since demand for coal was so high, there was an increase in the number of coal suppliers (or mines). The third aspect of the model is related and supporting industries. Houses needed to be built around the mines, as well as stores and other necessities for the miners. This created supporting industries which were needed to keep the mines going. The final aspect of the model is firm strategy, structure, and rivalry. The mine used a top-down structure, where job assignments and instructions were handed down from top management to the miners. There was also a rivalry among the different mines, which resulted in competition and possibly harsher working conditions as each mine wanted its workers to mine as much coal as possible (Gaspar Chapter 2).