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The integration of sensors in furniture brings many advantages to AmI systems, compared to other approaches that install sensors independently, for example on the wall. The first advantage is that this allows the definition of ubiquitous can be more easily achieved when sensor nodes are integrated in furniture, since the user will not perceive the existence of these devices, as mentioned by Mark Weiser, the father of the ubiquitous computing, “Hundreds of computers in a room could seem intimidating at first, just as hundreds of volts coursing through wires in the walls did at one time. But like the wires. | Growth and Change Vol. 39 No. 2 June 2008 pp. 252-282 Globalization and Regional Change in the U.S. Furniture Industry MARK H. DRAYSE ABSTRACT Furniture manufacturing has experienced rapid globalization in recent years. This is mainly the result of global production networks established by large manufacturers and retailers seeking to reduce costs in a highly competitive environment. The industry s globalization has been facilitated by technological innovations and the global reduction of trade and investment barriers. In the U.S. furniture-producing regions are experiencing tumultuous change. Growing numbers of firms are outsourcing production to China which is now responsible for about half of all U.S. furniture imports. Employment levels have plummeted. However an analysis of spatial patterns of employment output and capital investment in U.S. furniture manufacturing shows that regional change is not uniform. Southern regions characterized by larger firms specializing in wooden case goods production have been especially vulnerable to job loss. Introduction In October 2003 a coalition of furniture manufacturers and unions petitioned the U.S. International Trade Commission for relief under the Tariff Act of 1930 claiming material injury from Chinese imports. They argued that China was dumping furniture into the U.S. market taking advantage of its low wages and undervalued yuan. The petitioners were supported by politicians from furniture-producing regions such as North Carolina and Virginia. Virginia Business cried the onslaught of the Middle Kingdom is costing thousands of jobs nationwide Peters 2002 . The petitioners and their supporters were reacting to the dramatic growth in U.S. furniture imports from China which increased from 1.5 to 15.5 billion between 1996 and 2005.1 China s share of U.S. furniture imports grew from 13 to 46 percent and the U.S. furniture trade deficit quadrupled from 7.5 to 28.8 billion U.S. Census Bureau 2006a . Chinese imports were the
