Thinking Geographically - Introduction to Maps

UNIT ONE: THINKING GEOGRAPHICALLY 1. Introduction to Maps Learning Target: Identify types of maps, the types of information presented in maps, and different kinds of spatial patterns and relationships portrayed in maps. ● ● Reference maps are designed for people to refer to for general information about places. The two main reference maps are political and physical Thematic Mapsare used as a communications tool – tell us how human activities are distributed Cartogram Choropleth Dot Density Isoline Proportional Symbol Spatial Patterns Represented on a Map absolute and relative distance and direction Clustering: Grouped/bunched together Dispersal: appears to be distributed over a wide area Elevation: using levels of how high/low something is located on the land Map Projections(distortion in shape, size, distance, and direction) Mercator Map Shape and directions of countries are fairly accurate Greatly distorted toward poles Robinson Map Everything is distorted in small amounts Goode Continent sizes are accurately portrayed Directions and distant aren’t accurate Gall Peters Shape of countries especially near the equator are distorted 2. Geographic Data Learning Target: Identify different methods of geographic data collection. Geospatial Data:all information including physical features and human activities Geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking, and displaying data related to positions on Earth's surface GPS stands for Geographic Positioning System:This system uses data from satellites to pin-point a location on earth and help people find their way to a destination. Remote sensing: refers to the process of taking pictures of the Earth's surface from satellites (or, earlier, airplanes) to provide a greater understanding of the Earth's geography over large distances. ● Spatial information can come from written accounts in the form of field observations, media reports, travel narratives, policy documents, personal interviews, landscape analysis, and photographic interpretation. 3. The Power of Geographic Data Learning Target: Explain the geographical effects of decisions made using geographical information. Geospatial Data:all information including physical features and human activities Census data: an official count of individuals in a population (in the USA, it happens every 10 years) 4. Spatial Concepts Learning Target: Define major geographic concepts that illustrate spatial relationships. Absolute location: The precise spot where something is located Relative Location: where something is in relation to other things Space: extent of a area and can be in a relative and absolute sense Place: refers to the specific human and physical characteristics of a location. Distance Decay:a geographical term which describes the effect of distance on cultural or spatial interactions Time-Space Compression: is the increasing sense of connectivity that seems to be bringing people closer together even though their distances are the same Pattern: The geometric or regular arrangement of something in an area 5. Human-Environmental Interaction Learning Target: Explain how major geographic concepts illustrate spatial relationships. Sustainability: the goal of the human race reaching equilibrium with the environment; meeting the needs of the present without while also leaving resources for future generations Natural Resources:a physical material constituting part of Earth that people need and value Environmental Determinism:How the physical environment caused (determined) social development Possibilism: the physical environment may limit some human actions, but people have the ability to adjust to their environment 6. Scales of Analysis Learning Target: Define scales of analysis used by geographers explain what scales of analysis reveal Scale: the relationship between the distance on the ground and the corresponding distance on a specific map - also a concept describing how "zoomed in" you are while studying a geographic trait (Global (Globalization), Regional, National,State, and Local) Scale of Analysis: how zoomed in or out you are when looking at geographic data 7. Regional Analysis Learning Target: Describe different ways that geographers define regions. Region: a place larger than a point and smaller than a planet that is grouped together because of a measurable or perceived common feature Formal Region:a region that is based quantitative data data (that can be documented or measured) - all government areas are this because they share a government (Example: Wisconsin) Functional Region:a region based around a node or focal point - terrestrial radio broadcasts are an example of this (example: Radio station broadcast area, DC metro) Vernacular (Perceptual) Region:an area that shares a common qualitative characteristic, it's only a region because people believe it's a region (example: midwest) UNIT T WO: POPULAT ION & MIGRAT ION 1. Population Distribution Learning Target: Identify the factors that influence the distribution of human populations at different scales. Ecumene is a term used by geographers to mean where people are settled on the earth. (along rivers, fertile land, coast, etc) ● Physical Factors: People avoid areas too dry, too wet, too cold, too high ● Cultural Factors: Populations will be concentrated in areas that have access to Education, health care, and entertainment opportunities ● Historical FACTORS: certain areas where life could be sustain and lived (Areas where human flourished and survived) Learning Target: Define methods geographers use to calculate population density. Arithmetic Density- total number of objects in an area Physiological Density:Number of people supported by a unit area of arable land (Land suited for agriculture) Agricultural Density: Ratio of the number of farmersto amount of arable land Learning Target: Explain the differences between and the impact of methods used to calculate population density. 1. Agricultural density reflects how developed a country is, 2. Physiological density (as a measure of how many people must be fed by a particular amount of land) reveals whether the country is considered overpopulated 3. Arithmetic density is a calculation and not terribly meaningful on its own. 2. Consequences of Population Distribution Learning Target: Explain how population distribution and density affect society and the environment. Areas with larger populations and greater population density have greater political, economic, and social power ● Political – greater control over laws and larger influence ● Economic – concentration of jobs, areas make more revenue ● Social – greater access to health care, better educational opportunities, greater cultural diversity As population grows and communities expand we start to alter the environment and landscape (remember landscape is what you see when you look around) Carrying Capacity: the maximum population size of the species that the environment can sustain Overpopulation: when there are not enough resources in an area to support a population 3. Population Composition Learning Target: Describe elements of population composition used by geographers. Age/sex ratio: comparison of the numbers of males and females of different ages Population structure is unique to each area due to their own unique history and current condition Learning Target: Explain ways that geographers depict and analyze population composition. Population Pyramid:a graph of the population of an area by age and sex - when a population is growing it takes a pyramid shape 4. Population Dynamics Learning Target Explain factors that account for contemporary and historical trends in population growth and decline. Demography - the study of population Crude Birth Rate (CBR)- the number of live births per one thousand people in the population Crude Death Rate (CDR)- the number of deaths per one thousand people in the population Doubling time - the time period it takes for a population to double in size Fertility - the number of live births occuring in a population Infant mortality rate (IMR) - the number of children who don't survive their first year of life per 1000 live births in a country Mortality - the number of deaths occuring in a population Infant Mortality Rate– number of babies that die during the first year per 1,000 live births Rate of Natural Increase (RNI) (also known as NIR) - (birth rate - death rate)/10 - a positive NIR means a population is growing and a negative NIR means a population is shrinking Total fertility rate (TFR) - the average number of children a woman is predicted to have in her child bearing (fecund) years ● Social factors can affect fertility, mortality, and migration (Role of genders in society, is family planning acceptable, age of marriage and traditional family size values, and if marrying young is culturally expected fertility rate is going to be higher) ● ● ● Cultural factors can affect fertility, mortality, and migration (Religion - Catholic church forbidding birth control, Ethnicity – certain ethnic groups have larger families (ties into religion as well), Seeking health care or using home remedies to cure diseases) Governments can play a role (Policy on limiting or encouraging children, Government supports/funds healthcare for society) Economic factors that affect fertility, mortality, and migration (Women in jobs and education = less babies) 5. The Demographic Transition Model Learning Target: Explain theories of population growth and decline. Demographic Transition Model Epidemiological Model Explains how society has developed and the change in how/why people are dying as we have progressed Stage 1: Pestilence and Famine (High CDR) Infectious diseases are a principal causes of human deaths Stage 2: Receding Pandemics. A pandemic is an epidemic that occurs over a wide geographic area and affects a very high proportion of the population – whole country or world wide --improved sanitation, medicine and better nutrition Stage 3: Degenerative and Human-created diseases:Characterized by a decrease in infectious diseases (polio, measles) but increase in Chronic disorders associated with aging. Two especially important chronic disorders are heart disease and cancer Stage 4: Delayed Degenerative: The major degenerative causes of death - cardiovascular diseases and cancers, but with extended life expectancy. Medicine helps make cancer spread more slowly or stop ▪Better life choices, diet, exercise, reduce use of tobacco and alcohol However, there has been recent consumption of non-nutritious foods and less exercise which has resulted in obesity in many areas 6. Malthusian Theory Learning Target: Explain theories of population growth and decline. Malthus Theory: While population increases geometrically, food supply increases arithmetically (population will increase more quickly than food supply) Neo-Malthusian theory : earth's resources can only support a finite population --Pressure on scarce natural resources leads to famine and war --- Advocate for contraceptive and family planning in order to keep population low and protect resources and prevent famine and war. 7. Population Policies Learning Target Explain the intent and effects of various population and immigration policies on population size and composition. Antinatalist policies - when a country provides incentives for people to have fewer children (sometimes including punishments) Pronatalist policies - when a country provides incentives for people to have more children Immigration policies - States can set up policies that make it easier or harder for people to immigrate to their territory (quotas and accepting or refusing refugees into the country 8. Women and Demographic Change Learning Target: Explain how the changing role of females has demographic consequences in different parts of the world. Contraception: methods of preventing pregnancy Ravenstein’s Laws of Migration 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The majority of migrants go only a short distance Migration proceeds step by step (Step Migration) Migrants going long distances generally go to large economic centers Each migration stream produces a compensating counter-stream Natives of towns are less migratory than those of rural areas - people who live in urban areas are less likely to migrate Females are more migratory within their area of birth, but males migrate more frequently internationally 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Most migrants are young adults, families rarely migrate out of their country Large towns (Urban areas) grow more as a result of migration than natural increases (Births) As infrastructure improves (business, roads, industries) migration increases with it The major directions of migration is from the rural (agricultural) to urban (centers of industry and commerce) The major causes of migration are economic (seeking jobs and opportunity 9. Aging Populations Learning Target Explain the causes and consequences of an aging population. Dependency ratio - the ratio of the number of people not in the workforce (dependents) and those who are in the workforce (producers) - useful for understanding the pressure on the producers Life expectancy - the average number of years a person born in a country might expect to live 10. Causes of Migration Learning Target: Explain how different causal factors encourage migration Push Factorsforce that drives people away from a place (no jobs, slavery, political instability, no water) Pull Factorsforce that draws people to immigrate to a place. (jobs, to be near family) Intervening opportunity – the presence of a nearer opportunity that greatly diminishes the attractiveness of sites farther away (Example: Finding a good paying job when migrating looking for economic options) Intervening obstacle – and force of factor that may limit human migration (example: Coming into contact with a border, laws, language, natural feature that does not allow the migrant to continue their migration) 11. Forced and Voluntary Migration Learning Target: Describe types of forced and voluntary migration Asylum seeker: a person seeking residence in a country outside of their own because they fleeing persecution Chain migration: a series of migrations within a group that begins with one person who through contact with the group, pulls people to migrate to the same area. Step-migration: migration to a far away place that takes place in stages Forced migration: when people migrate not because the want to but because they have no other choice Guest worker: a legal immigrant who is allowed into the country to work, usually for a relatively short time period Internally displaced persons: a person forced to flee their home who remains in their home country Refugee: a person who flees their home country and is not able to return Transhumance: moving herds of animals to the highlands in the summer and into the lowlands in the winter Transnational migration: moving across a border into another country Voluntary migration: people choosing to migrate (not being forced) 12. Effects of Migration Learning Target: Explain historical and contemporary geographic effects of migration Political Impact -Brain drain: when the majority of educated or skilled workers leave an area to pursue better opportunities elsewhere Cultural Impact - loss of culture or migrants bring in new langua Economic Impact - loss or gain of income dependent on the migrant flow