Core Geographical Concepts Flashcards
What is geography?
Geography is the study of the physical features and processes of the earth and its atmosphere and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these.
What is economic geography?
Focuses on studying and explaining the patterns of economic activity and the factors that affect it.
What is social geography?
The study of people and their environment. It focuses on the way social groups interact with each other and the spaces in which they live.
What is environmental geography?
The study of the interactions between the biogeophysical environment and human societies.
What is political geography?
Studies how humans have divided up the Earth’s surface for management and control purposes.
What are key players?
Individuals, groups and organisations, stakeholders that are involved in geographical issues and decisions. For example international players (IGOs), national and local government, large and small private businesses, transnational corporations (TNCs), pressure groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Why do attitudes to geographical issues vary so greatly and how does this influence actions?
Influences on values and attitudes include identity, political and religious views, priority given to profit, importance of social justice/equality and attitudes towards the natural environment.
What are the different the approaches when making decisions about geographical issues that will affect people in the future?
1) Business as usual
2) Priority towards more sustainable strategies
3) Radical alternatives (mitigation and adaptation)
Why are the outcomes of decisions made about geographical issues uncertain?
Scientific development, demographic changes, economic and political uncertainty
What is a TNC?
A Transnational Corporation is a company that operates in more than one country.
What is an NGO?
Non-governmental Organisations are non-profit, voluntary group of people or organisations that operate independently of a government to address a social or political issue.
What is an IGO?
Intergovernmental Organisations are a group of states that coordinate actions on global issues.
What is causality?
The relationship between a cause and its effect or between regularly correlated events of phenomena.
What is a systems approach?
A set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network.
What is a feedback loop?
Occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop.
What is inequality?
Refers to an unfair situation or distribution of assets e.g. extreme differences between poverty and wealth.
What is identity?
An individual or group’s sense of attachment to the country, region, city or village in which they live or the key characteristics with which a particular country, region, city or village is associated.
What is globalisation?
Globalisation is the increasing interdependence between countries through flows of capital, trade, goods and services as well as culture and ideas.
What is interdependence?
When two or more places (or things) become reliant on each other e.g. financially or politically.
What is representation?
The description or portrayal of someone, something or a place in a particular way.