aphg vocabulary

absolute direction

Based on the cardinal points of North, South, East, and West. These appear uniformly and independently in all cultures, derived from obvious givens of nature

absolute distance

Exact measurement of the physical space between two places.

absolute location

The exact position of an object or place, measured within the spatial coordinates of a grid system (latitude and longitude)..

census data

Periodic count of a population, in the US every 10 years, which collects data that indicates a myriad of demographic indicators (e.g. ethnic makeup, age profiles, religious beliefs, access to plumbing...); also, significant in the USA for representation in the House of Representatives (federal government).

clustering

Gathering; forming in a group, more densely populated.

dispersal

Movement of individuals away from centers of high population density or their area of origin. Distributing as opposed to clustering.

distance decay

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.

elevation

The height of land above sea level.

environmental determinism

A doctrine that claims that cultural traits are formed and controlled by environmental conditions.

field observations

A study of a phenomenon in a natural setting.

formal/uniform region

An area which shares in one or more distinctive characteristic(s) (either human or physical).

functional/nodal Region

Area organized around a node or focal point/place where there is a central focus that diminishes in importance outward.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A collection of computer hardware and software that permits spatial data to be collected, recorded, stored, retrieved, manipulated, analyzed, and displayed to the user. Often referred to as the layering of data on a map.

global scale

analyzing data and information at the global level, or patterns across the entire world such as climate regions or international migration

Landscape Analysis

Using field observation, spatial data, and aerial photography to gather data to define and describe landscapes.

land use

Various ways humans use the land such as agricultural, industrial, residential, or recreational.

local scale

analyzing data or information that describes the space where an individual lives or works; a city, town, neighborhood, or rural area

map projection

A way of representing the spherical Earth on a flat surface.

natural resources

Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.

pattern

The geometric arrangement of objects in space (not off the planet/outer-space). For Geography, the arrangement of objects on Earth's surface (spatial patterns)

perceptual (vernacular) region

An area that only exists as a conceptualization or an idea and not necessarily as a actual entity, based on thoughts and personal perception.

personal interview

A face-to-face conversation in which a researcher surveys an individual to obtain research data.

place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by its human and physical characteristics.

policy documents

Policies are business or government rules and guidelines that ensure consistency and compliance with the strategic direction of the entity. The Policies lay out the business or government's rules under which a company, division, or department will operate.

possibilism

The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment using innovation and choose a course of action from many alternatives.

reference maps

Maps that show the absolute location of places and general geographic features determined by a frame of reference, typically latitude and longitude. (political maps, physical maps, road maps)

regional scale

Viewing data or a phenomena occurring in an area usually larger than a country (e.g. South Asia or section of the world). Can also be an area within a country (farming regions in a country)

relative direction

Directions such as left, right, forward, backward, up, and down based on people's perception of places.

relative distance

Distance measured in terms such as cost or time which are more meaningful for the space relationship in question.

relative location

The position of a place in relation to another place.

remote sensing

A method of collecting data or information through the use of instruments that are physically distant from the area or object of study (e.g aircraft or satellite).

satellite navigation system

A device used to plot the user's position on a map, using GPS technology to obtain the location.

sustainability

The ability to keep in existence or maintain. A sustainable ecosystem is one that can be maintained.

thematic map

A type of map that displays one or more variables-such as population, or income level-within a specific area. These are referred to as spatial aspects of information

time-space compression

The rapid innovation of communication and transportation technologies associated with globalization that transforms the way people think about space and time.

national or state scale

analyzing data or information by looking at patterns from an entire country.

flows

Referring to the movement of people, ideas, disease, goods, etc from one place to another.

space

occupying a spot on the surface of Earth

spatial pattern

patterns of information that can be tied to specific points on the surface of Earth such as population distribution, migration patterns, etc.

Agricultural Density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land.

Anti-natalist

A government policy concerned with limiting population growth.

Arithmetic Density

The total number of people divided by the total land area.

asylum seeker

Someone who has migrated to another country in the hope of receiving sanctuary due to political or cultural threats in their home country.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The total number of live births in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

carrying capacity

The largest population that an environment can support at any given time.

Chain Migration

Migration of people to a specific location because relatives or members of the same nationality previously migrated there.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The total number of deaths in a year for every 1,000 people alive in the society.

Demographics

Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within the population.

Demographic Transition Model

A model of how the size of a population changes as a country develops its economy and becomes more urban (based off of Great Britain's history).

dependency ratio

The number of people under age 15 and over age 64 compared to the number of people active in the labor force (i.e. the number of people too young or too old to work compared to the working age population).

Epidemiologic Transition

The process of change in the distinctive causes of death in each stage of the demographic transition model (based off of Great Britain's history).

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman will have throughout her childbearing years.

Forced Migration

Human migration flows in which the movers have no choice but to relocate (often culturally motivated).

Guest Workers

Citizens of poor countries who obtain jobs in Western Europe, the Middle East, and more developed countries.

Internally Displaced Person (IDP)

People forced to migrate but don't migrate internationally (usually cultural conflict involved).

Internal Migration

Permanent movement of people within a particular country.

Intervening Obstacles

An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that hinders migration.

Intervening Opportunities

The presence of a nearer opportunity (often unknown prior to finding) that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther away.

Life Expectancy

A figure indicating how long, on average, a person may be expected to live.

Malthusian Theory

Focuses on how the exponential growth of a population can outpace the linear growth of the food supply and lead to social degradation, massive starvation, and societal conflict (over food).

Migration

Movement of people from one place to another.

mortality rate

The number of deaths per thousand in a population.

Physiological Density

The number of people per unit of area of arable land, which is land suitable for agriculture (good indicator of strain on land i.e. carrying capacity)..

doubling time

The number of years needed to double a population, assuming a constant rate of natural increase (short hand formula, "the rule of 70," population doubling time \= 70/RNI (rate of natural increase)..

Population Pyramid (Age-Sex Pyramid)

A visual representation of age and sex composition of a population.

pronatalist policies

Government policies that encourage child birth such as tax breaks, government subsidies (e.g. daycare, housing), extended maternity and/or paternity leave, National Holidays...

pull factors

A factor that draws or attracts people to another location.

push factors

A factor that causes people to leave their homelands and migrate to another area.

Rate of Natural Increase (RNI) or Natural Increase Rate (NIR)

The difference in births and deaths in a population, usually expressed as a percentage; does not take into account migration into or out of an area.

Ravenstein's Migration Laws

Set of 11 "laws" that can be organized into 3 groups: the reasons why migrants move, the distance they typically travel, and their characteristics. Most migration is for economic reasons. Cultural & environmental factors induce migration, but less than economic factors (i.e. economic factors major cause in most migration).Most migrants relocate a short distance and within their own country (step migration)Long distance Migration is usually to other countries major centers of economic activity (i.e big wealthy cities)Most long distance migrants are male. Most migrants are adult individuals. Inverse relationship between the volume of migration and the distance between source and destination

Refugees

People who are forced to migrate from their home country and cannot return for fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.

Rural-urban migration

People are drawn in to cities for opportunities; driven by poverty and hope to do better economically.

social values

The deeply rooted system of principles that guide individuals in their everyday choices and interactions.

step migration

Migration to a distant destination that occurs in stages, for example, from farm to nearby village and later to a town and finally to a city.

Transhumance

The seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pastures.

transnational migration

A form of population movement in which a person regularly moves between two or more countries and forms a new cultural identity transcending a single geopolitical unit.

Voluntary Migration

Movement in which people relocate in response to perceived opportunity; not forced.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children born to a woman during her childbearing years.

aging population

an increasing median age in the population of a region due to declining fertility rates and/or rising life expectancy

population distribution

how people are spread over an area, or where people live within a region

Boserup Theory

Population growth will not exceed food production. "Necessity is the mother of invention" As human population increased the need for food, humans can invent new methods of production and technology to increase food yields.

Neo-Malthusian Theory

agree with main idea of Malthus... although population and food supply CAN be controlled through sustainability, human population growth will outpace resource production like oil or water access. (examples: regional PERIPHERY population growth (Sub-Saharan Africa) & DEPLETION of nonrenewable resources (like fossil fuels)?

Culture

Beliefs, customs, and traditions of a specific group of people.

Diffusion

The process of spreading a phenomenon from one place to another over time.

Acculturation

The adoption of a cultural trait or traits, such as language, by one group to help the group achieve political, social, and or economic goals.

architecture

The art or practice of designing and constructing buildings.

Assimilation

The social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another (i.e. a minority culture begins to practice the majority culture).

Buddhism

The teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering. Hearth: India

centrifugal force

A force that divides people and, in turn, states (i.e. countries).

centripetal force

An attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state (i.e. country).

Christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior. Hearth: Israel

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.

Creolization of Culture

Creole cultures emerged in the New World as a result of colonization; a new culture mixed between people of indigenous, African, and European descent.

cultural convergence

The tendency for cultures to become more alike as they increasingly share technology and organizational structures in a modern world united by improved transportation and communication.

cultural divergence

The likelihood or tendency for cultures to become increasingly dissimilar with the passage of time and increased disconnectedness.

Cultural Hearth

Locations on Earth's surface where specific cultures first arose (Mesopotamia, Nile River Valley, Yellow River Valley, Indus River Valley, and way later MesoAmerica).

cultural landscape

The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape, coined by Carl Sauer.

cultural relativism

Not judging a culture but trying to understand it on its own terms (i.e. viewing the culture from a perspective of someone who practices the culture).

culture trait

A single element of normal practice in a culture, such as the wearing of a turban.

Ethnicity

The fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.