Unit 1: Geography: its nature and preservatives Flashcards
globalization
the set of processes that are increasing interactions, deepening relationships, and accelerating interdependence across national borders
human geography
the spatial analysis of human population, its cultures, activities, and landscapes
physical geography
the spatial analysis of the structure, processes, and location of the Earth’s natural phenomena such as climate, soil, plants, animals, and topography
spatial distribution
physical location of geographic phenomena across space
spatial perspective
observing variations in geographic phenomena across space
location
geographical situation of people and things
human-environment interaction
reciprocal relationship between humans and environment
region
an area marked by a degree of formal, functional, or perceptual homogeneity
place
the uniqueness of a location
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
cultural landscape
the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape ex. Layers of buildings, forms, and artifacts from various human occupants
sequent occupance
the notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape
networks
a set of interconnected nodes without a center
cartography
the art and science of making maps, including data compilation, layout, and design
gps
Global Positioning System, satellite-based system for determining the absolute location of places or geographic features
relative location
the regional position of a place relative to the position of other places
absolute location
the position or place of a certain item on the surface of the Earth as expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds of latitude and longitude
mental maps
image or picture of the way space is organized as determined by an individual’s perception, impression, and knowledge of that space
remote sensing
a method of collecting data or information through the use of instruments (ex. satellites) that are physically distant from the area or object of study
GIS
Geographic Information System, a collection of computer hardware and software that permits spatial data to be collected, recorded, stored, retrieved, manipulated, analyzed, and displayed to the user
scale
representation of a real-world phenomenon at a certain level of reduction or generalization, also the ratio of map distance to general distance
formal region
a region marked by a certain degree of homogeneity in one or more phenomena (ex. the French speaking Canada)
functional region
a region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it (ex. The Seattle Metropolitan Area)
perceptual region
a region that only exists as a conceptualization or an idea and not as a physically demarcated entity (ex. “The South” in the US)
cultural hearth
place of origin of a major culture
time-distance decay
the declining degree of acceptance of an idea or innovation with increasing time and distance from its point of origin or source
expansion diffusion
the spread of an innovation or an idea through a population 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 people (ex. Fashion trends first spread to major cities then to other cities)
contagious diffusion
the distance-controlled spreading of an innovation or an idea through a local population by contact from person to person (ex. A viral video)
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 (McDonalds spreading to Hawaii and serving spam)
relocation diffusion
sequential diffusion process in which the items are transmitted by their carrier agents as they evacuate the old areas and relocate to new ones (ex. Irish immigrants spread St. Patricks day to US)
possibilism
geographic viewpoint that holds that human decision making, not the environment, is the crucial factor in cultural development, view that the environment provides a set of broad constraints that limits the possibilities of human choice
environmental determinalism
the view that the natural environment has a controlling influence over various aspects of human life
HDI
Human Development Index, a list created by the United Nations that looks at the economic, social, and demographic factors of each country, such as literacy rate or life expectancy, to rate how high a country is developed
mdc
More developed country, a country with high HDI and has progressed further along the development continuum
ldc
less developed country, a country with low HDI and is in an earlier stage of development
gdp
Gross domestic product, the value of the total output of goods and services produced in a country, normally during a year
primary sector
area of work where workers directly extract materials from Earth through agriculture, and sometimes mining, fishing, and forestry
gdi
Gender-related Development Index, compares the level of development of women with that of both sexes
gem
Gender Empowerment Measure, compares the ability of women and men to participate in economic and political decision making
how to apply spatial thinking to analyze human activities
observe variations of human activities across space and time, find a pattern and think why
Explain and apply geographical concepts: location, place, human-environment interactions, movement, regionalization, and globalization
- location-geographical situation of people and things(why are villages where they are?)
- place-the uniqueness of a location (what traits are similar/different to another place?)
- h/e int-reciprocal relationship between humans and environment (how did draining the everglades affect the environment?)
- mvemnt- mobility of people, goods, and ideas across the surface of the planet (how did this idea/good/people spread?)
- rgnalization- organization of earth’s surface into distinct areas that are viewed different from other areas (how did this region form, with these characteristics?)
- glbalization- expansion of economic, political, and cultural processes to the point that they become global in scale and impact (how did this mcdonalds become global?)
Evaluate the extent to which globalization is integrating the world
globalization is happening at all scales: individual, local, regional, national, and global. Globalization at smaller scales help it get to larger scales
Identify the tools geographers use
- remote sensing-collecting data or information through the use of instruments (ex. satellites)
- gis-Geographic Information System, collection of computer hard/software that permits spatial data to be collected, stored, analyzed
- gps-Global Positioning System, satellite-based system for determining the absolute location of places
- maps
Explain how changing the scale, aggregation and type of map can affect the interpretation of a map
-changing scale- larger scale(1/10) means smaller place with more detail, smaller scale (1/100000) means large place with less detail
-changing aggregation- city/state/country similar to scale
-type-county choloropleth-highlights south
county circles-highlights urban cities
population dot-good distribution
Describe the distribution of african amerians in the us
african americans are mostly in the south and urban cities
Compare different types of regions
- formal- a region marked by a certain degree of homogeneity in one or more phenomena (ex. the French speaking Canada)
- functional-a region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it (ex. The Seattle Metropolitan Area)
- perceptual-a region that only exists as a conceptualization or an idea and not as a physically demarcated entity (ex. “The South” in the US)
Analyze how traits diffuse
- expansion:number of those influenced grows continuously larger, resulting in an expanding area of dissemination
- hierarchical-idea or innovation spreads by passing first among the most connected places or people (ex. Fashion trends first spread to major cities then to other cities)
- contagious-spreading of an innovation or an idea through a local population by contact from person to person (ex. A viral video)
- stimulus-cultural adaptation is created as a result of the introduction of a cultural trait from another place (McDonalds spreading to Hawaii and serving spam)
- relocation-items are transmitted by their carrier agents as they evacuate the old areas and relocate to new ones (ex. Irish immigrants spread St. Patricks day to US)
Compare MCD’s and LCDs
(general trend, not always true)
- mdcs: high hdi, high gdp, high education/literacy, high life expectancy, more gender equality
- ldcs: low hdi, inverse of ^
