Human Geography Vocabulary Part 8

the spatial property of being crowded together

broad concept implying all the tangible and intangible ways in which places are connected

the visible imprint of human activity and culture on the landscape.

measure of the number or quantity of anything within a defined unit of area

the amount of spread of a phenomenon over an area

a region/area sharing one or more physical or cultural feature (uniform region)

Area organized around a node or focal point. The characteristic chosen to define this kind of region dominates at a central focus or node and diminishes in importance outward. This region is tied to the central point by transportation or communication systems or by economic or functional associations. (nodal region)

an integrated software package for handling, processing, and analyzing geographical data and computer database in which every item of information is tied to a precise geographic location

the increasing interconnection of peoples and societies in all parts of the world

images about an area developed by an individual on the basis of information or impressions received, interpreted or stored

simplified abstraction of reality, structured to clarify causal relationships

The array of landforms that constitutes the Earth's surface (mountains, hills, plains, and plateaus) and the physical features that mark them (such as water bodies, soils, and vegetation). Each geographic realm has its distinctive combination of natural landscapes.

Area organized around a node or focal point. The characteristic chosen to define this kind of region dominates at a central focus or node and diminishes in importance outward. This region is tied to the central point by transportation or communication systems or by economic or functional associations. (functional region)

geometric arrangement of objects in space

reflect feelings and images rather than objective data

the method chosen to represent the earth's curved surface as a flat map

earth areas that display significant elements of internal uniformity and external difference from surrounding territories

The view that physical and cultural phenomena on the surface of the earth are rationally arranged by complex, diverse, but comprehensible interrelated spatial processes.

culturally based and locationally variable direction despite reference to cardinal compass points eg. "Near and Far East"

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

the position of a place in relation to that of other places or activities

detecting the nature of an object and the content of an area from a distance

the mathematical relationship between the size of an area on a map and the actual size of the mapped area

the physical and cultural characteristics and attributes of the place itself

external relations of a locale; relative location with particular reference to items of significance to the place in question

the process of dispersion of an idea or an item from a center of origin to more distant points with which it is directly or indirectly connected.

the arrangement of items on the earth's surface

places interact with each other in structured and comprehensible ways

functions as a unit because its component parts are interdependent

a region/area sharing one or more physical or cultural feature. (formal regions)

This is Alfred Weber's theory of industrial location, explaining and predicting where industries will locate based on cost analysis of transportation, labor, and agglomeration factors. Weber assumes an industry will choose its location based on the desire to minimize production costs and thus maximize profits. Drawbacks to the model include its assumption of an immobile and equal labor force.

Hotellings theory of locational interdependence asserts that an industry's locational choices are heavily influenced by the location of their chief competitors and related industries. In other words, industries do not make isolated decisions on locations without considering where other, related industries exist.

Developed in the 1950s, this model exemplifies the liberal development ideology, as opposed to structuralist theory, Under the model, all countries develop in a five-stage process. The development cycle is initiated by investment in a takeoff industry that allows the country to grow a comparative advantage, which sparks greater economic gain that eventually diffuses throughout the country's economy. Drawbacks to this model include its not identifying cultural and historic differences in development trajectories because it is based on North American and western European development histories.

Clumping together of industries for mutual advantage.

Positive effects of agglomeration for clustered industries and for the consumers of their products, often in the form of lower costs to the industries and consumers.

Twentieth-century German geographer who created the least cost theory to predict the locational decisions made by industrial operations.

Group of new industrial countries comprising Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

Occurs when other regions suffer a drain of resources and talent due to agglomeration in another region.

Tool for calculating purchasing power parity that compares prices of a Big Mac throughout the world.

Giving a price tag or value to something that was not previously perceived as having a money-related value.

Ability of a country (or place) to produce a good or offer a service better than another country can.

Massive corporation operating a collection of smaller companies that provide it with specific services in its production process.

Unclumping of industries because of the negative effects and higher costs associated with overcrowding.

Theory that exemplifies the structuralist perspective, arguing that the political and economic relations among countries limit the ability of less-developed countries to modernize and develop.

Process of improving the material condition of people through the growth and diffusion of technology and knowledge.

Widening difference between development levels in more-developed and less-developed countries.

System of production, consumption, and distribution.

Type of tourist attraction built around an environmentally friendly activity that aims to preserve the earth and its resources.

Region of a less-developed country that offer tax breaks and loosened labor restrictions to attract export-driven production processes, such as factories producing goods for foreign markets; sometimes called free-trade zone.

Policies that favor oversight of foreign direct investment and outsourcing to ensure that workers throughout the world are guaranteed a living wage for their work, enough to survive in their home countries.

Industry not bound by locational constraints and able to choose to locate wherever it wants.

Manufacturing process broken down into differentiated components, with different groups of people performing different tasks to complete the product.

Investment by a multinational corporation in a foreign country's economy.

Concept of allowing multinational corporations to outsource without any regulation except for the basic forces of market capitalism.

Originally, this buzz term referred to the spread of economic activities from a home country to other parts of the world, but its reach has profoundly influenced cultural and political realms.

Argues that the earth's surface temperature is gradually rising because of the greenhouse effect, which is responsible for changing global climate patterns.

Rise in the average temperature on the earth as a result of the buildup of chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and other polluting outputs of industrialization.

Value of total output of goods and services produced in a country, usually over one year.

Place where technology and computer industries agglomerate.

Measurement developed by the United Nations to rank development levels of countries.

Growth of manufacturing activity in an economy or a region; usually occurs alongside a decrease in the number of primary economic activities within a country.

Social and economic change that began in England in the 1760s when the industrial geography of England changed significantly and later diffused to other parts of western Europe. In this period of rapid socioeconomic change, machines replaced human labor and new sources of inanimate energy were tapped. Coal was the leading energy source fueling the industrial revolution in England's textile-focused industrial explosion.

Network of business transactions that are not reported and therefore not included in the country's GDP and official economic projection.

Method of improving a country's development that pushes the country to identify its unique set of strengths in the world and to channel investment toward building on these strengths. To compete internationally, this approach argues, a country must find out what it can offer the world and capitalize on that good or service.

Country on the economically poorer side of the development spectrum.

Theories that claim development is a process through which all countries can move.

Theory that industries choose locations based on where their competitors are located.

Special economic zone on Mexico's northern border with the United States.

Result of locating weight-gaining industries near the marketplace for the heavier product.

Result of locating weight-losing industries near the supply of raw resources.

Country on the wealthier side of the development spectrum.

As one of the primary agents of globalization, this business has headquarters in one country and production facilities in one or more other countries; sometimes called a transnational corporation.

Country that has recently established an industrialized economy based on manufacturing and global trade.

Division of the manufacturing process across several countries, wherein different pieces of the product are made in different countries, and then the pieces are assembled in yet another country.

Organization not run by a government but by a charity or private organization that supplies resources and money to local businesses and causes advancing economic and human development.

Pattern of development levels in which most most-developed countries exist in the Northern Hemisphere whereas most less-developed countries exist in the Southern Hemisphere.

An MNC relocating a piece (or all) of its manufacturing operations to factories in other countries.

Together with China and Japan, the four Asian Tigers make up the core of the Asian economic engine.

Economic activities that revolve around getting raw materials from the earth.

Selling of publicly operated industries to market-driven corporations.

Purchasing power parity (PPP)

Include assembling, distributing, and processing information, and managing other business operations.

Subset of quaternary activities that involves the highest-level of decision making, such as that of a legislature or a presidential cabinet.

Economic activities related to processing raw materials (acquired through primary activities) into a finished product of greater value.

Approach to improving economic development by building a country's independence from foreign economies and fostering its ability to provide for its own people.

Costs that remain the same no matter where a business chooses to locate.

Costs that vary (or change) depending on the location of an industrial activity.

Region offering special tax breaks, eased environmental restrictions, and other incentives to attract foreign business and investment.

Stipulations that require the country receiving an international loan to make economic changes in order to use the loan.

Argue that less-developed countries are locked into a vicious cycle of entrenched underdevelopment by the global economic system that supports an unequal structure.

Asserts that an industry will choose to move to access lower labor costs despite higher transportation costs.

Balance between the pace of human development and the environment that supports that development. A level of development that does not destroy the earth's ability to regenerate its resource supply for future generations of inhabitants of the earth.

Economic activities that move, sell, and trade the products made in primary and secondary activities.

Process that takes raw materials and creates a heavier final product.

Weight-losing process

A two dimensional model of Earth's surface, or a portion of it.

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

An area of Earth distinguished by a distinctive combination of cultural and physical features.

The relationship between a map's distances and the actual distances on Earth.

Relationships among people and objects across a barrier of space.