chapter 1: intro to human geo Flashcards
Fieldwork
The study of phenomenon by visiting places and observing how people interact with and thereby change those places
Human Geography
One of the two major divisions of geography; the spatial analysis of human population, its cultures, activities and landscapes
Physical Geography
the spatial analysis of the structure, processes, and loccation of earth’s natural phenomenon such as climate, soil, plants, animals, and topography
Globalization
The expansion of economic, political, , and cultural processes to the point that they become global in scale and impact. The processes of globalization transcend state boundaries and have outcomes that vary across places and scales
Spatial
Pertaining to space on the Earth’s surface; sometimes used as a synonym for geographic
Spatial Distribution
Physical location of geographic phenomena across space
Medical Geography
The study of health and disease within a geographic context and from a geographical perspective. Among other things, medical geography looks at sources, diffusion routes, and distributions of diseases.
Pandemics
An outbreak of a disease that spreads worldwide
Epidemics
regional outbreak of a disease
Spatial Perspective
observing variation sin geographic phenomena across space
Five Themes
- location
- human-environment
- region
- place
- movement
Location
The geographical situation of people and things
Location Theory
A logical attempt to explain the locational pattern of an economic activity and the manner in which its producing areas are interrelated. The agricultural location theory contained in the von Thünen model is a leading example
Human Environment Interactions
Reciprocal relationship between humans and the environment
Region
an area on the earth’s surface marked by a degree of formal, functional, or perceptual homogeneity of some phenomenon
Place
uniqueness of a location
Sense of Place
state of mind derived through the infusion of a place with meaning an demotion by remembering important events that occurred in that place or by labeling a place with certain character
Perception of Place
Belief or :understanding” about a place developed through books, movies, stories, or pictures
Movement
the mobility of people, goods, and ideas across the surface of the planet
Spatial Interaction
the degree of flow of people, ideas, and goods among places.
Distance
Measurement of the physical space between two places
Accessibility
the degree of ease with which it is possible to reach a certain location from other locations. Accessibility varies from place to place and can be measured.
Connectivity
connectedness of a node in the world economy to other nodes along networks
Landscape
the overall appearance of an area. Most landscapes are comprised of a combination of natural and human-induced influences
Cultural Landscape
The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape. The layers of buildings, forms, and artifacts sequentially imprinted on the landscape by the activities of various human occupants
Sequent Occupancy
The notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape
Cartography
The art and science of making maps, including data compilation, layout, and design. Also concerned with the interpretation of mapped patterns
Reference Maps
maps that show the absolute location of places and geographic features determined by a frame of reference, typically latitude and longitude
Thematic Maps
maps that tell stories, typically showing the degree of some attribute or the movement of a geographic phenomenon
Absolute Location
The position or place of a certain item on the surface of the earth as expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds (coordinates)
Mental Maps
Image or picture of the way space is organized as determined by an individual’s perception, impression, and knowledge of that space
Activity Spaces
The space within which daily activities occurs
Terra Incognita
areas on maps that are not well defined because they are off limits or unknown to the map maker
Generalized Maps
helps us see general trends, but not all cases of a phenomenon
Remote Sensing
a method of collecting data or information through the use of instruments (eg. satellites) that are physically distant from the area or objectivity of study
Geographic Information Systems
a collection of computer hardware and software that permits spatial data to be collected, recorded, stored, retrieved, manipulated, analyzed, and displayed to the user
Global Positioning System (GPS)
satellite based system for determining the absolute location of places or geographic features
Geocatching
a hunt for a cache, the GPS coordinates which are placed on the internet by other geocatchers
Relative Location
The regional position or situation of. a place relative to the position of other places. Distance, accessibility, and connectivity affect relative location
Rescale
Involvement of players at other scales to generate support for a position or an initiative (eg. the use of internet to generate interest on a national or global scale for a local position or initiative)
Formal Region
a type of region marked by a certain d degree of homogeneity in one or more phenomena; also called uniform region or homogeneous region
Functional Region
a region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it
Perceptual Region
a region that only exists as a conceptualization or an idea and not as a physically determined demarcated entity. eg. “ the south “
Culture
the sum total of the knowledge, attitudes, and habitual behavior patterns shared and transmitted by the members of a society. - Anthropologist Ralph Linton
Culture Trait
a single element of a normal practice in a culture, such as the wearing of a turban
Culture Conplex
a related set of cultural traits, such as prevailing dress codes and cooking and eating utensils
Cultural Hearth
heartland, source area, innovation center; place of origin, of a major culture
Independent Invention
the term for a trait with many cultural hearths that developed independent of each other
Diffusion
the spatial spreading or dissemination of a culture element or some other phenomenon
Time-Distance Decay
The declining degree of acceptance of an idea or innovation with increasing time and distance from its point or origin or source
Cultural Barriers
prevailing cultural attitude rendering certain innovations, ideas, or practices unacceptable or unadaptable in that particular culture
Expansion Diffusion
The spread of an innovation or an idea through a population in an area in such a way that the number of those influenced grows continuously larger, resulting in an expanding area of dissemination
Hierarchical Diffusion
a form of diffusion in which an idea or innovation spreads by passing first among the most connected places or peoples. an urban hierarchy is usually involved, encouraging the leapfrogging of innovations over wide areas, with geographic distance a less important influence
Contagious Diffusion
the distance controlled spreading of an idea, innovation or some other item through a local population by contact from person to person — analogous to the communication of contagious illnesses
Stimulus Diffusion
a form of diffusion in which a cultural adaptation is created as a result of the introduction of a cultural trait from another place
Relocation Diffusion
sequential diffusion process in which the items being diffused are transmitted by their carrier agents as they evacuate the old areas and relocate to new ones
Geographic Concepts
ways of seeing the world spatially that are used by geographers in answering research questions
Environmental Determinism
the view that the natural environment has a controlling influence over aspects of human life “ environmentalism “
Possibilism
- response to determinism
human decision making is the crucial factor in cultural development, not the environment. this idea is constrained by the limits of human choice
Cultural Ecology
the multiple interactions and relationships between a culture and the natural environment
Political Ecology
an approach to studying nature society relations that is concerned with the ways in which environmental issues both reflect, and are the result of, the political and socioeconomic contexts in which they are situated
latitude
horizantal
longitude
vertical
absolute location
exact coordinates
relative location
where you are close to
international date line
An arc that for the most part follows 180° longitude, although it deviates in several places to avoid dividing land areas. When you cross the International Date Line heading east (toward America), the clock moves back 24 hours, or one entire day. When you go west (toward Asia), the calendar moves ahead one day.
meridian
An arc drawn on a map between the North and South poles.
polder
A piece of land that is created by draining water from an area.
prime meridian
The meridian, designated at 0° longitude, which passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.
principle meridian
A north-south line designated in the Land Ordinance of 1785 to facilitate the surveying and numbering of townships in the U.S.
relocation diffusion
The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.
site
the physical character of a place
situation
the location of a place relative to other places
space-time compression
The reduction in the time it takes to diffuse something to a distant place, as a result of improved communications and transportation systems
stimulus diffusion
The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected.
vernacular region
An area that people believe to exist as part of their cultural identity (perceptual region)
