UNIT TWO Vocab Flashcards
Ecumene: The proportion of earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement. This is important because it tells how much of the land has been built upon and how much land is left for us to build on.
My definition: Proportion of earth’s surface occupied by permanent human settlement.
Example: The ecumene of Canada is less than 1/3rd.
Population densities: the frequency with which something occurs in space is density…
My definition: frequency with which something occurs in space is density
Example: Arithmetic density of Florida is 140.8/km2
Arithmetic density: The total number of people divided by the total land area. This is what most people think of as density; how many people per area of land.
Example: The arithmetic density of District of Columbia is 4088.4 people/km2.
Carrying capacity: This is the population level that can be supported, given the quantity of food, habitat, water and other life infrastructure present. This is important because it tells how many people an area will be able to support. Affects the population and a country’s or area’s ability to support that population.
My definition: Population level that can be supported given the state of resources and infrastructure.
Example: Carrying capacity of the United States exceeds that of Rwanda because it is a more stable political region and it is much, much bigger.
Sustainability: providing the best outcomes for human and natural environments both in the present and for the future. Relates to development that meets today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
My definition: providing best outcomes for human and natural environments in both the present and the future.
Example: Brazil’s most difficult challenge for striving for sustainability is management of its rainforests.
Population distributions: the arrangement of a feature in space is distribution. Geographers identify the three main properties as density, concentration, and pattern (used to describe how things and people are distributed).
My definition: Three main properties of population distributions are density (frequency of with which something occurs in space), concentration (the spread of something over space), and pattern (arrangement of something over space).
Example: The population distribution of Subways in Miami seems irregular, is clustered, and has the highest density of Subways in Florida.
Major Population Concentrations (Distributions):
East Asia: largest concentration; China, Japan, North and South Korea (>1.5 billion people). Ribbon-like extensions of dense population (clustered near rivers; majority of people are farmers)
South Asia: second major concentration; India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka (1.5 billion). Also ribbon (finger)-like extensions of dense population (e.g. Ganges River in India), majority are farmers as well.
Europe: third major concentration; Britain to Russia, including Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Netherlands, Belgium, parts of France, northern Italy (700 million). Ribbon-like extension deep into Russia (follow Europe’s coal deposits, not fertile river valleys). Ribbons are concentrated along numerous cities & towns (due to the Industrial Revolution; Germany – 85% urban, UK - >90%).
North America: a far fourth concentration; east-central US and southeastern Canada (<200 million). Like Europe, much is concentrated in major cities.
My definition:
East/ Asia has largest concentration
South Asia has second largest concentration
East/South Asia has ribbon-like extensions of dense population and majority are farmers
Europe is third major concentration
Europe has ribbon-like extensions, many of which are concentrated along numerous cities and towns
North America is fourth major concentration and many people are concentrated in major cities
Map below is from 1994
Linear growth: arithmetic growth; increases at a constant amount per unit time (1,2,3,4…)
Exponential growth: geometric growth; doubles each population (2, 4, 8, 16, …)
My definition: Linear increases at a constant rate and Exponential increases at an increasing rate.
Example: Grown food’s production can be linear because a certain number of crops can be harvested each year in the amount of arable land provided. Spread of flu can be exponential growth.
Doubling time: The number of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant rate of natural increase. This is important because it can help project countries’ population increase over the years and when its population will double. It is a projection and not meant to be an accurate predictor of the future.
My definition: CBR-CDR = Natural Increase Rate, and then 70/NIR = Doubling Time
Example: Doubling time for Gaza is 15 years (from May 1977)
**Population explosion: **a sudden increase or burst in the population in either a certain geographical area or worldwide. This occurred in the late 18th and early 19th centuries because several countries moved on to stage 2 of the Demographic Transition Model.
My definition: Sudden increase or burst in the population.
Example: The Natural Increase Rate (NIR) was 2.2% in the 1960s, which is one of the highest the world has ever seen.
Population structure (composition or distribution): (Population pyramid) is two back-to-back bar graphs, one showing the number of males and one showing females in a particular population in five-year age groups. This is important because you can tell from the age distribution important characteristic of a country, including level of political stability within a region, access to water/electric utilities, etc.
My definiton: Back-to-back bar graphs showing number of males on the left and number of females on the right.
Example: US experiences slow growth, and Ethiopia experiences fast growth.
Cohort: Population of various age categories in a population pyramid. This is important because this can tell what state this country it is whether in Stage 3 or Stage 5 in the demographic transition model.
My definition: Population of various age categories in a population pyramid.
Example: Population proportion of young people is probably not as much in Japan as in the United States.
Baby Boom: people born in the US between 1946 and 1964; this post-war era allowed for better education, employment, peace and prosperity - increasing higher rates of both marriage and fertility.
My definition: people born in the US between 1946 and 1964.
Example: My two oldest uncles are baby boomers.
Baby Bust: period in the US during the 1960s and 1970s when fertility rates dropped as many female baby boomers sought higher levels of education and jobs, marrying later in life.
My definition: During the 60s and 70s women married later in life and so fertility rates dropped
Example: Many women sought higher levels of education and jobs
Generation X: people born in the US between 1965 and 1980; will have the burden of supporting the Baby Boom cohort as they head into retirement.
My definition: people born in the US between 1965 and 1980.
**Example: **Many parents are of Generation X.
Demography: geographic study of population
My definition: geographic study of population
Example: Race ethnicity in Edgewood is mostly Caucasian with some Orientoles and very few African-Americans.
Natural increase: births minus deaths in a given population.
Crude birth rate (CBR or natality): number of live births per year per 1,000 people
Crude death rate (CDR): number of deaths per year per 1,000 people
My definition: Natural increase is births-deaths
CBR is # of live births/1000 people
CDR is # of deaths/1000 people
Example: CBR and CDR are high in Africa.
Rate of natural increase: the percentage by which a population grows in a year.
CBR-CDR = NIR (excludes migration)
My definition: CBR-CDR = NIR (excludes migration)
Example: Rates of natural increase in well developed countries are usually not very high.
Infant mortality rate (IMR): The annual number of deaths of infants under one year of age, compared with total live births. It is expressed as the annual number of deaths among infants per 1000 births rather than a percentage. This is important because it tell how developed a country is, if they have a high IMR they are an LDC and if it is low they are an MDC.
My definition: # deaths of infants under one year of age / 1000 live births
Example: High IMR means a least developed country; Low IMR means a most developed country
Demographic Transition model: Has 4 steps. Stage 1 is low growth (low stationary), Stage 2 is High Growth (early expanding), Stage 3 is Moderate Growth (late expanding), and Stage 4 is Low Growth (low stationary), and Stage 5 although not officially a stage is a possible stage that includes zero or negative population growth. This is important because this is the way our country and others countries around the world are transformed from a less developed country to a more developed country.
My definition:
Stage 1 - low growth
Stage 2 - high growth
Stage 3 - moderate growth
Stage 4 - low growth
Stage 5 - zero or negative growth
Example: I believe Italy is close to Stage 5
Epidemiological transition (model): essentially the same thing as the demographic transition, however it specifically denotes a human phase of development witnessed by a sudden and stark increase in population growth rates brought about by medical innovation in disease or sickness therapy and treatment, followed by a re-leveling of population growth from subsequent declines in procreation rates.
(1) The first transition occurred when advancements in antibiotic research in the mid twentieth century, most notably in the discovery of penicillin, led to widespread and dramatic declines in death rates from infectious diseases.
(2) The second transition occurred when human birth rates drastically decline, as the inherent need for manual physical labor drops. This transition is more complicated, and entails the sociological adaptations associated with demographic movements to urban areas, and a shift from primary and secondary production output to technological and service-sector-based economies (tertiary, quaternary, and quinary).
My definition: stark increase of population growth brought about by medical innovation and treatment, followed by a re-leveling of population growth from declines in procreation rates. First stage results from antibiotic advancements such as penicillin. Second stage results as inherent need for manual physical labor drops.
Example: USA has natural increase of about 1.2%, which is not much, but it does make sense because it is highly modernized in medical innovation and treatment.
J-curve: This is when the projection population show exponential growth; sometimes shape as a j-curve. This is important because if the population grows exponential our resource use will go up exponential and so will our use as well as a greater demand for food and more.
My definition: when the projection population shows exponential growth.
Example: Bunny population in Australia in the early 20th century showed a j-curve.
Overpopulation: relationship between the number of people on Earth, and the availability of resources. Problems result when an area’s population exceeds the capacity of the environment to support them at an acceptable standard of living.
My definition: an area’s population exceeds the capacity of the environment to support them at an acceptable standard of living.
Example: Looming overpopulation problems in places like India, China, and some parts of Japan and the United States.
