Unit 1: Geography, Its Nature and Perspectives – Flashcards
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Physical geography
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The environment a culture has lived in
, One of the two major divisions of systematic geography; the spatial analysis of the structure, processes, and location of Earths natural phenomena such as climate, soil, plants, animals, and topography.
, One of the two major divisions of systematic geography; the spatial analysis of the structure, processes, and location of Earths natural phenomena such as climate, soil, plants, animals, and topography.
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Human geography
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The spatial analysis of human population, there cultures, there activities ; there landscapes. , concentrates on patterns of human activity and on their relationships with the environment, One of the two major divisions of Geography; the spatial analysis of human population, its cultures, activities, and landscapes.
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Absolute location
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exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates
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Absolute location
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exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates
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Relative location
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the regional position or situation of a place relative to the position of other places
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Spatial perspective
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An intellectual framework that looks at the locations of specific phenomena, how and why that phenomena is , and, finally, how it is spatially related to phenomena in other place
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Map
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a diagrammatic representation of the earths surface (or part of it)
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Mental map
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an internal representation of a portion of Earths surface based on what an individual knows about a place, containing personal impressions of what is in a place and where places are located
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Distribution
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the act of distributing or spreading or apportioning
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Pattern
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plan or create according to a model or models
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Formal region
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An area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics.
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Functional (nodal) region
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a region defined by the particular set of activities or interactions that occur within it
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Perceptual (vernacular) region
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A region that only exists as a conceptualization or an idea and not as a physically demarcated entity.
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Remote sensing
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The acquisition of data about Earths surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.
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Geographic Information Systems
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A collection of computer hardware and software that permits spatial data to be collected, recorded, stored, retrieved, manipulated, analyzed, and displayed to the user.
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Diffusion
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the act of dispersing or diffusing something
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Expansion diffusion
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The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a snowballing process.
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Relocation diffusion
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The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.
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Acculturation
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the adoption of the behavior patterns of the surrounding culture
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Assimilation
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the social process of absorbing one cultural group into harmony with another
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Transculturation
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cultural borrowing that occurs when different cultures of approximately equal complexity and technological level come into close contact
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Contagious diffusion
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The rapid, widespread diffusion of a feature or trend throughout a population.
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Hierarchical diffusion
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The spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places
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Stimulus diffusion
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the spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected
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Independent invention
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development of the same culture trait or pattern in separate cultures as a result of comparable needs and circumstances
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Environmental determinism
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the view that the natural environment has a controlling influence over various aspects of human life including cultural development
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Possibilism
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The theory that the physical environment may set limits on human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to the physical environment and choose a course of action from many alternatives.
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Culture
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the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization
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Cultural diffusion
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The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people to another
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Cultural landscape
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the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape
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Culture hearth
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early centers of civilization whose ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas
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Culture trait
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A single element of normal practice in a culture, such as the wearing of a turban.
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Culture complex
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A related set of culture traits descriptive of one aspect of a societys behavior or activity (may be assoc. with religious beliefs or business practices).
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Culture realm
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A cluster of regions in which related culture systems prevail.
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Culture region
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an area in which people have many shared culture traits
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Culture system
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A collection of interacting elements taken together shape a groups collective identity. Includes traits, territorial affiliation, shared history, and more complex elements, like language
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Sequent occupance
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the notion that successive societies leave their cultural imprints on a place, each contributing to the cumulative cultural landscape
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Folk culture
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Refers to a constellation of cultural practices that form the sights, smells, sounds, and rituals of everyday existence in the traditional societies in which they developed.
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Popular culture
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cultural patterns that are widespread among a societys population
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Commodification
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The process through which something is given monetary value; occurs when a good or idea that previously was not regarded as an object to be bought and sold is turned into something that has a particular price and that can be traded in a market economy.
