Human Geo Words

GIS (Geographic Information System)

A system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, mange and present all types of geographical data. (Google Earth)

GPS (Global Position System)

Finds absolute location (Find My)

Remote Sensing

Images of earth features acquired from distance (Satellites)

Quantitive Data

Any type of information that can be expressed in a number (Population, Economic Data)

Qualitative Data

Descriptive, usually written accounts (Photos, Interviews, Observations)

Distance Decay

The distance between two places increases, the interactions between decreases

Time-Space Compression

The increasing sense of connectivety that seems to be bringing people close together even through their distances are the same (Airplanes, technology)

Formal (Uniform) Regions

Regions united by one or more traits (Political, Physical, Economical, Social;Cultural)

Functional Region

organized around a focal point and are defined by an activity, usually political, social, or economic. (Airplane is a node, Pizza delivery areas)

Absolute Location

The exact position of a place on the surface of Earth (Coordinates, Address)

Absolute Distance

Measurable distance between places (5 miles, 3 feet)

Relative Location

Describes location of a place in relation to other human and physical features (Walmart is across the street from Warren HS)

Relative Distance

Measured in terms of the degree of interaction between places or in units of time travel (Walmart is a 3 minute walk from Warren HS)

Clustering

objects are closely grouped together

Dispersal

Objects are spaced further apart (out)

Perceptual/Vernacular Regions

Defined by the informal sense of place that people ascribe to them. Vary widely because people have a different sense of what defines and unites these regions (No clear boundaries)

Human-Environment Interaction Sustainability

The practice of using natural resources responsibly today so they are available for future generations

Environmental Determinism

The physical environment controls human actions and culture (What someone wears/eats)

Possibilism

The environment puts limits on humans, however, people may choose what to do (Bridges, Dams)

Scale of Analysis

Level at which data is presented (Global, Regional, National, State, Local)

Demography

Statistical study of human populations

Census

A count of everyone living in the untied states every 10 years

Ecumene

Portion of the Earth with permanent human settlement

Arithmetic Population Density

The total number of people divided by the total land area

Physical Population Density

Number of people by a unit of arable land (land suitable for growing crops)

Agricultural Population Density

The ratio of the number of farmers t o the amount of arable land

Carrying Capacity

The maximum number of a species that can sustainably live in a given area

National Increase Rate (NIR)

The percentage by which a population grows in a year (Birth rate minus Death rate)

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The number of births per 1,000 population

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The number of deaths per 1,000 population

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a women will have through her child bearing years

Infant Mortality Rate

The number of infant deaths per 1,000 live briths per year

Life Expectancy at Birth

The average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live

Replacement Rate

The number of children a couple must have in order to replace themselves in a population (Average is 2.1; ensures stable population)

Demographic Transition Model

Shows five stages of population change that countries pass through as they modernize. Stage one; most of the world before the Industrial Revolution, today no countries are classified with stage one. Stage two; rapid population growth and least developed countries (Molly). Stage three; middle income countries (India). Stage four; most developed countries (U.S). Stage five; aging population (Japan)

Dependency Ratio

The percentage of people within a population who are either to young (under 15) or to old )over 65) to work

Epidemiologic Transition

Reason for death rate in DTM. Stage one and two=Infectious Diseases, Stage three and four=Chronic Diseases, Stage five=Infectious Diseases resurgence.

Malthusian Theory

In 1793 an essay was published in which Thomas R. Malthus argued that population growth will outpace food production, resulting in widespread famin

Neo-Malthusian Theory

Belief that the population is essential for the survival of the earths human population and that unchecked population growth could lead to environmental degradation and resource depletion

Antinatalist

Policy go government to slow population growth by attempting to limit births (Chinas one child policy)

Pronatalist

Promotes child birth and parenthood as desirable for the social reasons to ensure national continuance (Russia, maturnity leave covered)

Aging Population

Growth in population of older people caused by a decrease in the birth rate and an increase in life expectancy

Emigration

People leaving (exiting) a geographic area

Immigration

People entering a geographic area (in)

Ethnocentrism

People believe that their own cultural group is more infant and superior to other cultures (stereotypes)

Cultural Relativism

A concept that a person or groups belief, values, norms, and practices should be understood from the perspective of the other groups culture

Culture

The shared practices, technologies, attitudes, are behaviors transmitted by a society

Ethnicity

Refers to a persons background (Heritage, Ancestry, Religion)

Cultural Appropriation

The action of adopting traits, icons, or other elements of another culture

Acculturation

Often, an ethnic or immigrant group moving to a new area adopts SOME values and practices of the larger group that has received them, while still maintaining valuable elements of their own culture

Assimilation

Happens when an ethnic group can no longer be distinguished from the receiving group, when groups adopt ALL the features of receiving group

Syncretism

The fusion or blending of two distinctive cultural traits into a unique new hybrid trait (Marriage between two groups)

Multiculturalism

The coexistence of several cultures in one society with the ideal of all cultures being valued and worthy of study

Cultural Diffusion

The expansion and adoption of a cultural element, from its place of origin to a wider are

Relocation Diffusion

The spread of an idea through physical movement of people from one place to another

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a characteristic throughout the population

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread of an idea from person or place of authority or power to the other persons or places

Stimulus Diffusion

When a cultural trend spreads but is changed by those adapting the idea

Colonialism

People move into and settle on the land of another country

Imperialism

Influencing another country or group of people by direct conquest, economic control, or cultural dominance

Toponym

Name of place

Globalization

Increasing interactions, interconnections, and independence of economic, cultural, and political characteristics across earth

Cultural Convergence

The tendency for cultures to become more alike over time

Cultural Divergence

The restriction of a culture from outside cultural influences

Popular Culture

Practice by large, heterogeneous group; often originating from more developed countries; widespread diffusion

Cultural Landscape

The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape; the built environment (Religion, Language, Architecture, Land use Patterns, Agricultural Patterns)

Sequence Occupance

The idea that successive societies have their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cultural landscape; layers of history

Sense of Place

The character of a place or the meaning people give to it; the emotions someone attached to an area based on personal experience

Placelessness

The loss of uniqueness of place in the cultural landscape so that one place looks like the next

Cultural Hearth

Place of origin; heartland

Animistlindigenous Religions

People believe in the presence of the spirts and the forces of nature

Ethnic. Religions

Focus on. one ethnic group and generally have not spread into other cultures, they do not seek to convert people to their beliefs (Hinduism, Judaism)

Universalizing Religions

Seek followers all over the world, they hope to appeal to all people (Christianity, Islam, Buddhism)

Secular

Non-Religious people

Dialect

Regional variety of a language dialects can differ, pronunciation, grammar, common words, and tone rhythm

Langauge Family

Group of families within a shared but distant organ (Indo-European)

Language Sub-Family

Division within a language family (Romance Group)

Language Convergence

Collapsing of two languages into one resulting from spatial interaction

Langauge Divergence

Spatial interact breaks down and the language fragments (Latin to Spanish)

Pidgin Language

Simplified mixture of two languages; no native speakers

Creole Language

A new combined language, more formal (has native speakers)

Lingua Franca

A language that facilitates communication or trade between people who speak different native languages (English is worldwide Lingua France)

Sovereignty

Final authority over social, economic, and political matters should rest with the legitimate rulers of independent states

Territoriality

A countrys sense of property and attachment toward its territory; its determination to keep it strongly defended

State

Independent country

Nation

A group of people

Stateless nation

Cultural group that has no independent territory (Palestinians)

Nation-State

A country where whose citizens are homogeneous; the same (Iceland)

Multination State

Country that contains more than one nation (U.S.S.R former)

Multistate Nation

A nation in many can countries; a nation has a state its own but stretches across borders of other states. (Germany)

Irredentism

Movement to reclaim and reoccupy a lost homeland; tries to justify its territorial claims on the basis of historical or ethnic affiliations (Russia annexing Crimea)

Autonomous Region

A defined area within a state that has a high degree of self-government and freedom from its parent state (Hong Kong; China, Greenland; Denmark)

Semi-Autonomous Region

Largely self-governing within a larger political or organizational entity (American India reservations)

Nationalism

Loyalty and devotion to a nation

Internation Boundaries

Boundaries between countries (Canada and U.S)

Physical (Natural) Boundary

Follows a feature of the landscape (Rio Grande)

Geometric Boundary

Usually straight lines; often based on lines of longitude or latitude (49th parallel)

Relic Boundary

A boundary that no longer exists, but can still be detected on the cultural landscape (Berlin Wall)

Antecedent Boundary

A boundary that existed before the present settlement (Andres mountains from Chile)

Superimpose Boundary

boundaries drawn on an area by a conquering or colonizing power that ignores existing cultural patterns (1885, European states met in Berlin to divide up Africa among themselves, tribal territories)