Industry Production Essay Example For Students

Industry Production Essay Industry ProductionThe structure of industrial production and the service industries ischaracterized by the prevalence of smarkforce, 30% beingll and medium-sizedcompanies (94% and 5.6% according to 100 workers) thoug981 data), employing,however, only 70% of the workforce, 30% being monopolized by large c ompanies(more than 100 workers) though these comprise only 0.4% of the total. This meansthat companies are widely dispersed over the whole country, obviously withsignificant location and concentration of industry, and more than half theindustrial comp anies operate at little more than workshop level, as is seen bythe small workforce in each production unit. On the other hand, the small number of large companies is explained by increasedconcentration, at that level also indicated by the high number of employees. There is only a limited number of cooperative companies (food sector and thetransformation of agricultural products), while large companies tend to becomemultinational. The presence of companies with foreign capital monopolizingspecific commodity secto rs (pharmaceuticals, photographic materials,electronics, cosmetics etc.) is far from rare. One particular kind of development regards medium-sized companies, frequentlyderivations of small family-run businesses with a specialized production, whichas a result of management flexibility have succeeded in reconverting productionand using technol ogical innovations which, with increased competitivity, enablethem to penetrate international markets, in this way contributing to theconsolidation of the Italian image and presence throughout the world. The Industrial SectorsThe steel and metalworking industriesThe countrys economic revival in the immediate postwar period was essentiallysustained by development and expansion of the basic industries, particularly thesteel industry, itself conditioned by the importation of raw materials such asores, scrap iron and coal. Membership of ECSC enabled the Italian steel industry, which had installed theintegral processing cycle, to attain extremely high levels of production thussatisfying increasingly greater domestic demand, such as that of the engineeringindustry, as well as the export market. Following plant reconversion steel andmetal production is now stagnating due to the international economic situationdominated by strong competition from Japanese industries and plastics, leadingto overproduction in the principal European countries. The engineering industriesMechanical engineering production is extremely varied and includes companiessuch as shipbuilding, aerospace, carbuilding etc. with complex work cycles,together with the manufacturers of simple tools. Component manufacturing is alsowell developed and cl osely allied to companies producing durable goods noteasily classified in any one sector (for example, non-metallic materials used inthe car industry: rubber, glass, plastics etc). In practice, mechanical engineering with its diversification and multiplerelationships with other industries is considered the mainstay of the nationalproductive system also in terms of the large workforce employed (over 2,2million according to the 198 1 census, including small workshops). Apart fromcars and other vehicles, the most highly developed industries are tools,household appliances, electronic equipment, precision instruments etc. Theindustrial machinery sector is particularly active with ex tensive overseasmarkets, and includes components for complete process cycles. The chemical industryThe chemical industry is closely linked to mining and quarrying and usesprevalently liquid (oil) and gaseous hydrocarbons (methane) from which animmense range of materials is produced (rubber, plastics, synthetic resins,synthetic fibres, fertilizers et c.), apart from traditional utilization asheating fuel, engine fuel etc.). Like the steel industry, the chemical industry has been going through a criticalperiod due to over-production and problems related to modernization of plant. One serious additional condition is the need to resort to large-scaleimportation of raw materia ls for transformation, and consequent submission tofluctuating conditions on the international market. The textile industryTextiles are the oldest Italian industry, widespread throughout the formerStates on the peninsula and frequently linked to the rural community whichprovided plentiful low cost labour. In the postwar period, this sector faced aperiod of crisis caused pr imarily by the use of old machinery and inefficientworking methods, though also by competition by foreign producers, particularlyin developing countries which were already raw material suppliers (cotton, wool,jute etc.). In actual fact, the crisis in the textile industry has deeper roots in theprogressive decay of some traditional related activities, such as silkwormbreeding and the cultivation of hemp and flax. The utilization of artificialfibres derived from cellulos e, and later of synthetics derived fromhydrocarbons, together with renewal of production plant (mainly automated) andjob reorganization, has enabled far higher levels of productivity to be reached,offset by a considerable decrease in the workforce and concentration ofcompanies. For its raw material supplies (synthetic fibres) and the utilization of thefabrics produced, the textile sector is closely allied (also by verticalmergering of companies) to the chemical and garment manufacturing industries. The latter, in particular, i s still scattered over the country, in the form ofsmall firms. The food industryDevelopment of the food industry is a direct consequence of the expansion oflarge urban centres and progressive industrialization. Strictly allied to theprimary sector (agriculture and livestock) it makes considerable usenevertheless of imports, the re sult of insufficient national agricultural andlivestock production.Ascatteringofsmallartisan-typefirmsgenerallyorientedtowards meeting local demand is now flanked by numbers of medium-sized companiesoperating at a national level, using advanced systems of processing,conservation and packaging, themselves flanking the pasta, wine and oilproducers, and other traditional companies. The food conservation industry is ina special position, connected with agriculture, livestock and fisheries. Certain sectors of the economy such as wines, bakery products and confectionery,are particularly renowned abroad. A number of big multinationals monopolizesupplies and are thus in a position to influence market conditions, while massdistribution (super markets) is interdependent with certain food manufacturers,while frozen and vacuum packed foodstuffs have helped to extend seasonalconsumption, particularly of fresh fruit, vegetables and perishables. Here is a chart showing the dramatic changes in Industry. The Geological SubstratumEven if it is not very extensive,theItalian territory is distinguished by theconsiderable variety of its substratum rocks. The Alps are largely formed fromcrystalline rocks (granites, gneisses, mica-schists, porphyries, etc.) but thereare also sedimentary rocks (limestones, dolomites and sandstones) that arewidespread in the eastern sector and the pre-Alpine belt. Sedimentary rocks arealso prevalent throughout the Apennines (limestones, dolomites, sandstones,clays, marls, etc.), including Sicily, and are found in Sardinia too, wherecrystalline and volcanic rocks predominate. There latter (formed from ancientand recent lava and tufa) also appear in Sicily and along the peninsulasTyrrhenian margin (where there is a considerable concentration of volcanicphenomena, in part still active) as well as in the Alps. Finally, the flat areas,including the great Po-Venetian Plain, are basically formed of mixed depositsthat are mainly fluvial in origin (conglomerates, grav els, sands, clays). Thegreat variety of rock types characterizing the Italian framework is mainly theresult of a complex geological past, distinguished by marked environmentalalternations now marine, now continental as well as frequent changes inclimatic conditions. Furthermore, even if present mountain forms are consideredto be rather recent, Italy does contain extremely old rock formations. Some ofthe metamorphic outcrops in the Alpine arc and in the Sardinian-Corsican andCalabrian-Peloritan massifs were formed before the Palaeozoic era, that is morethan 600 million years ago, and therefore do not contain significant traces oforganisms. During the Palaeozic era (lasting from circa 570 to 230 million yearsago) the area now occupied by Italy was largely covered by a tropical sea(called Tethys by geologists) from which must have emerged some mountain folds,as those of the Caledonian period, begun some 500 million years ago and whosetraces remain in southwestern Sardinia (Iglesiente and Sulcis). The nextmountain building period, the Hercynian, occurred during the last 100 millionyears of the Palaeozoic era and was accompanied by considerable volcanicactivity. This provoked the formation of the original nucleus of the Alpinechain together with the emergence of the Calabrian-Peloritan mountains(Aspromonte and Sila in Calabria and Peloritan in Sicily) and the Sardinian-Corsican massif. The volcanic activity of this period also affected the Alpinearc (porphyry effusions in the Adige Valley), as well as in the northernApennines (Garfagnana and Apuan Alps) and Sardinia and Corsica. Following theHercynian orogenesis, the mountains formed by it were subject to intense erosion. Thus at the end of the Palaeozoic era there emerged from the waters of theTethys (the extensive oceanic basin separating the Euro-Asiatic continentalplate from the African) the remains of the palaeo-Alpine chain, part of thenorthern section of the peninsula probably connected with the Sardinian-Corsican massif, and, further south, the other great island fold of theCalabrian-Peloritan massif. During the course of the succeeding Mesozoic era,lasting for over 160 million years, almost all the present area of Italyremained covered by a large marine basin on whose bottom (which variedconsiderably in depth) was deposited on different occasions material of varioustypes. This was to produce, following a process of compaction and orogenesis,disparate rock formations: limestones, dolomites, sandstones, marls, etc. Inparticular, in the northeastern area there formed extensive coralline reefs fromwhich the present Dolomites are derived. Towards the end ot the Mesozoic era theprogressive moving together of the African and European continental platesreduced their common marine space and caused a folding of their respectivemargins and part of the bed of the Tethys. This was to produce the Alpine andApennine chains whose curvature reflects the anticlockwise movement of thecontact line between Europe and Africa produced by the particular forces oftheir respective plates. Their collision took place some 40 million years ago(between the Eocene and Oligocene periods) in the first-half of the Cenozoic era,which is considered to have lasted from circa 65 million to 2 million years ago. Al Gore: Presidential Candidate EssayThe coastlineThe complexity of the peninsulas relief is echoed in the diversity of itscoastal profile. Along the low and sandy Adriatic shores this is generallyrectilinear, with the exceptions of the bulge of the Po delta and of the tworocky promontories of the Conero and Gargano. The Ionian and Tyrrhenian shoresare very different, their extensive sandy curves, corresponding to the edges ofthe coastal plains, alternating with high rocky coasts or steep promontorieslike those of Piombino, Argentario, Circeo, the Sorrento Peninsula, etc. Thecoasts of Sicily and Sardinia present a similar morphological picture, thelatter having frequent rias or deep inlets resulting from the sinking of longstretches of the eastern coast. Climatic ConditionsDespite its geographical position at the centre of the temperate zone, Italy hasrather variable climatic characteristics. This is due to the presence of theMediterranean, whose warm waters mitigate thermal extremes, and the Alpine arc,which forms a barrier against the cold north winds. Furthermore, Italy issubject to both wet and moderate atmospheric currents from the Atlantic Oceanand dry and cold ones from eastern Europe. The Apennine chain too, confrontingthe wet winds from the Tyrrhenian, causes considerable climatic differencesbetween the opposite sides of the peninsula. The differences in temperaturebetween the winter and summer months are more marked in the northern regionsthan in the south and along the coasts. The mean temperatures for the month ofJanuary in the Po Plain fluctuate around zero, while in the Alpine valleys thethermometer can drop to -20 and snow can remain on the ground for many weeks. In the southern regions, instead, the mean temperatures for January remainaround 10, with the exception of the inland mountainous zones. Mean summertemperatures throughout all Italy rise to 24-25 for July, only being lower inthe highest zones. Rainfall distribution also varies considerably, due to theinfluence of both mountains and prevailing winds. The highest quantities areregistered in the Alpine arc (over 3,000 mm pa in the Lepontine and Julian Alps)and on the Apennines (over 3,000 mm pa in the Apuan Alps). The plains, however,including that of the Po, receive scarce precipitation. Generally it is lessthan 800-900 mm pa but in the southern regions (Tavoliere and southern Sicily)it falls below 600 mm pa. The great internal Alpine valleys and the coastalplains of the Tyrrhenian (Maremma) and Sardinia also receive little rain. Altogether, six large climatic regions can be distinguished, mainlycharacterized by mountain influence. 1) An Alpine region, strongly influenced byaltitude, with long cold winters and short cool summers having an elevated day-time temperature range; precipitation is more intense in the summer months,especially in the pre-Alpine belt. 2) A Po region, with continental conditions,consisting of cold and often snowy winters and warm and sultry summers;precipitation is greatest in the spring and autumn months; the climate becomesmilder, however, around the pre-Alpine lakes; fog is frequent, due to thewetness of the land. 3) An Adriatic region, whose sea has lit tle influence dueto the inability of its shallow waters to trap the summer heat; consequently theclimate has a continental character, with its winters being dominated by coldnorth-east winds (bora). 4) An Apennine region, also with continental tendenciesand cold snowy winters; precipitation is more intense on the Tyrrhenian slopesan d is abundant in all seasons apart from the summer. 5) A Ligurian-Tyrrhenianregion, with a maritime climate and heavy and frequent precipitation, which isless in the summer and distributed irregularly; the winters are cool and theannual temperature range narrow. 6) A Mediterranean region, also with a limitedannual temperature range; precipitation is frequent, especially in winter, andthe summers are hot and dry. The interior and mountain zones of the islands andCalabria also have an Apennine type climate due to the altitude. Inland WatersThe characteristics of the Italian water network are closely associated withmorphological and climatic conditions. There are only a few tens of watercourseslonger than 100 km, though the Po, which is also the longest of them all (652km) has a rainwater basin almost equal to a fourth of the national territory(74,970 sq km). Other important rivers are the Adige and Piave, descending fromthe Alps and flowing from the north into the Po, and the Arno and Tiber, flowingthrough central Italy into the Tyrrhenian. The other main tributaries of the Poare the Ticino, Adda and Oglio, arising in the Alps, the Tanaro, from theApennines, and the Reno too, though it has its mouth to the south of the Podelta. The rivers running down the Tyrrhenian slopes of the peninsula areusually longe than those of the Adriatic, because of the Apennine watershedbeing further to the east. The Italian waterways are little used for transportdue to their rather limited and variable flow. In fact the Alpin e rivers have acycle conditioned by the winter snow cover, being high in the summer and low inthe winter; while the pre-Alpine and northern Apennine source rivers are mainlyrain-fed and are only full in spring and autumn. Consequently, the cycle of thePo River is the most regular and therefore best suited to navigation. The otherrivers of the peninsula and islands are heavily influenced by climaticconditions, being full in winter and empty in summer. In the latter case it isnot unusual for the bed to remain completely dry, as in the case of the typicalfiumare in Calabria and Sicily. Italy is fairly well supplied with lakes, havingseveral thousand natural and artificial basins of different sizes and origins. The largest and deepest occupy the bottom of the great pre-Alpine valleys attheir junction with the Po Plain (from Lake Orta to Lake Garda, which is thelargest of all, while Lake Como is the deepest) and they were all excavated byPleistocene glaciers. Also along the Apennine spine there are fairly frequentlarge lakes, such as Trasimeno the remains of an older lake that together withothers occupied the bottom of the internal basins of the peninsula. The numeroussmall lakes scattered inside the spent craters of Latium and Campania arevolcanic in origin. The coastal plains of the Tyrrhenian, Adriatic and largeislands contain basins that are sometimes extensive and derived from lagoons. Furthermore, the Italian Alpine slopes, above 2,800 m., contain about a thousandglaciers. Some of these are of a considerable size, such as the Miage Glacier,which is some 10 km long and descends the southern slope of Mont Blanc in ValledAosta. The glaciers are especially important for their function as waterreserves, providing as they do a constant supply for the Alpine rivers. Thecentral Apennines also have a small glacier, under the northern walls of theCorno Grande (Gran Sasso). Finally, Italys water system is completed by themany underground water bearing strata of the numerous limestone karst massifs inthe pre-Alps and Apennines. These produce springs bearing a considerable volume(as that of the Peschiera in Latium or the Sele in Campania, etc.). In addition,there are those reaching to varying depths under the Po Plain and the otheralluvial plains. The Italian SeasWith its extension from southern Europe towards Africa, the Italian peninsulaalmost divides the Mediterranean in two separate basins. Leaving aside theStrait of Messina, the shortest distance between Sicily and Africa (NE Tunisia)is circa 140 km, reduced to 70 km if it is measured from the island ofPantelleria. In this part of the sea (Channel of Sicily) the depth does notexceed 500 m. Furthermore, the eastern Mediterranean section, known as the Seaof Sicily and from which emerge the Maltese Islands, the Pelagian andPantelleria, rarely exceeds a depth of 1,500 m. Considerably deeper, on theother hand, is the Ionian Sea. This extends eastwards from Sicily and Calabriaand southwards from the Salentina Peninsula, touching on the 4,000 m isobath. Equally deep is the Tyrrhenian Sea, within the triangle formed by Corsica andSardinia, Sicily and the Italian peninsula. At its centre it often exceeds adepth of 3,500 m. A narrow channel (the Canale di Corsica) separates it, to thenorth, from the Ligurian Sea. This latter exceeds a depth of 2,000 m in itswestern section corresponding to the Riviera di Ponente. The shallowest of theItalian seas is the Adriatic, which up to the level of Ancona does not exceed 80m and only at Pescara does it decend below 200 m; off the coast of Puglia,however, it exceeds a depth of 1,200 m. Finally, in the area of the Strait ofOtranto the two shores of the Adriatic draw close together and here the Italianand Albanian coasts are only 75 km apart. As for the rest of the Mediterranean,the surface temperature of the Italian seas is on average rather high. In thenorthern Tyrrhenian, the Sea of Sicily, Ionian and southern Adriatic it is circa13; in the Ligurian Sea circa 12; in the southern Tyrrhenian circa 14; but inthe northern Adriatic, because of the shallowness of the waters, it drops to 9. The quality of the water is also rather elevated, reHistory