Unit 1- Thinking Geographically

Human Geography

One of the two major divisions of geography: the spatial analysis of human population, its cultures, activities, and landscapes

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

Physical geography

One of the two major divisions of systematic 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

Pandemic

An outbreak of a disease that spreads worldwide

Epidemic

Regional outbreak of a disease

Location theory

An attempt to explain the locational pattern of an economic activity and the manner in which its producing areas are interrelated.

Sense of place

State of mind derived through the infusion of a place with meaning and emotion by remembering important events that occurred in that place or by labeling a place with a certain character

Spatial interaction

the degree of flow of people, ideas, and goods among places.

Connectivity

Connectedness of a node in the world economy to other nodes along networks.

Sequent occupance

The notion that successive societies leaver 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.

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 of latitude and longitude

Global positioning system

Satellite-based system for determining the absolute location of places or geographic features.

Relative location

The regional position or situation of a place relative to the position of other places

Remote sensing

A method of collecting data or information through the use of instruments such as satellites that are physically distant from the area or object 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.

Mental map/activity space

Picture of the way space is organized as determined by an individual's perception, impression and knowledge of that space; places where daily activity occurs

Formal region

A type of region marked by a certain degree of homogeneity (sameness) in one or more areas.

Functional region

A region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it. (Job of an area)

Perceptual region

A region that only exists as a conceptualization or an idea and not as a physically demarcated entity. (Opinion of an area)

Time-distance decay

The declining degree of acceptance of an idea or innovation with increasing time and distance from its point of origin of the source.

Expansion diffusion

The spread of an innovation or 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

Contagious diffusion

The distance-controlled spreading of an idea, innovation, or some other item through a local population by contact from person to person.

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

Process in which the items being diffused are transmitted by their carrier agents as they evacuate the old areas and relocate to new ones. Most common involves migrating populations

Environmental Determinism

The view that the natural environment has a controlling influence over various aspects of human life.

Possibilism

A response to determinism that holds that human decision making, not the environment is the crucial factor in cultural development. Possibilists view the environment as providing a set of broad constraints that limits the possibilities of human choice

scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole

Sustainability

meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs