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Glossary
of Terms
All definitions
from Geography for Life: Geography Standards, 1994 unless
otherwise noted.
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Workshop
1
developing
country -
an
area of the world that is changing from uneven growth to
more constant economic conditions and that is generally
characterized by low rates of urbanization, relatively high
rates of infant mortality and illiteracy, and relatively
low rates of life expectancy and energy use.
Geographical
Information Systems (GIS) -
a
geographic database that contains information about the
distribution of physical and human characteristics of places
or areas. In order to test hypotheses, maps of one characteristic
or a combination can be produced from the database to analyze
the data relationships.
human
geography -
one
of the two major divisions of systematic geography; the
spatial analysis of human population, their cultures, and
activities.**
human
process -
a
course or method of operation that produces, maintains,
and alters human systems on Earth, such as migration or
diffusion.
mental
map -
a
map which represents the mental image a person has of an
area including knowledge of features and spatial relationships
as well as the individual's perceptions and attitudes regarding
the place; also known as a cognitive map.
physical
geography -
one
of the two major divisions of systematic geography; the
spatial analysis of the structure, processes, and location
of the Earth's natural phenomena such as climate, soil,
plants, animals, and topography.**
physical
process -
a
course or method of operation that produces, maintains,
or alters Earth's physical systems, such as glacial processes
eroding and depositing landforms.
region
-
an
area with one or more common characteristics or features,
which give it a measure of homogeneity and make it different
from surrounding areas.
relative
location -
the
location of a place or region in relation to other places
or regions.
spatial
perspective -
a
geographical perspective pertaining to space on Earth's
surface.
supranational
-
a
venture involving three or more national states - political,
economic, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared
objectives. The European Union is one such organization.**
tectonic
plates -
sections
of Earth's rigid crust that move as distinct units on a
plastic-like mantle on which they rest. As many as twenty
different plates have been identified, but only seven are
considered to be major (e.g., Eurasian Plate and the South
American Plate).
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Workshop
2
maquiladora
-
modern
industrial plants in Mexico's northern (U.S.) border zone.
These foreign-owned factories assemble imported components
and/or raw materials, and then export finished manufactures,
mainly to the United States. Most import duties are minimized,
bringing jobs to Mexico and the advantages of low wage
rates to the foreign entrepreneurs.**
microclimate
-
a
small, localized climate area within a larger climate region,
which has significantly different atmospheric elements.
Microclimates can be caused by human intervention or by
local landform configurations (e.g., "heat islands" in central
city's areas of high skyscrapers or sheltered south-facing
slopes of hills).
migration
-
the
act or process of people moving from one place to another
with the intent of staying at the destination permanently
or for a relatively long period of time.
push
factors -
in
migration theory, the social, political, economic, and environmental
forces that drive people from their previous location to
search for new ones.
pull
factors -
in
migration theory, the social, political, economic, and
environmental attractions of new areas that draw people
away from their previous location.
Pyroclastic
Flow -
rock
material thrown from a volcano at high speeds during an
eruption.
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Workshop
3
Arcview
-
GIS
software program.
Central
Business District (CBD) -
a
central area typically containing an intense concentration
of office and retail activities.***
edge
cities -
full-fledged
employment subcenters far from the central city.**
ESRI
-
GIS
software Developer, http://www.esri.com/
gentrification
-
the
process in urban areas of upper- or middle-class families
moving back into a zone in transition, which often surrounds
the central business district of a city.
geographic
realm -
the
basic spatial unit in our world regionalization scheme.
Each realm is defined in terms of a synthesis of its total
human geography - a composite of its leading cultural, economic,
historical, political, and appropriate environmental features.****
inner-city
-
the
usually older, central part of a city, especially when characterized
by crowded neighborhoods in which low-income, often minority
groups predominate.**
nonrenewable
resource -
a
finite resource that cannot be replaced once it is used
(e.g., petroleum, minerals).
rural
area -
an
area outside urban concentrations.
suburb
-
a
subsidiary urban area surrounding and connected to the central
city. Many are exclusively residential; others have their
own commercial centers or shopping malls.
urbanization
-
a
process in which there is an increase in the percentage
of people living/working in urban places as compared to
rural places.
urban
morphology -
The
shape and structure of an urban area.*
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Workshop
4
overpopulation
-
a
situation in which the existing population is too large
to be adequately supported by available resources at current
levels of consumption. This should not be confused with
dense population.
salinization
-
the
process by which high salinity soils are formed in arid
areas where evaporation rates are high.
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Workshop
5
apartheid
-
literallly,
"apartness." The Afrikaans term given to South
Africa's policies of racial separation, and the highly
segregated socio-geographical patterns they have produced.**
choropleth
map -
shows
differences between areas by using colors or shading to
represent distinct categories of qualities (such as vegetation
type) or quantities (such as the percentage graduating from
high school, population density, or birthrate).
diffusion
-
the
spread of people, ideas, technology, and products among
places.
extensification
-
using
land less efficiently.
mortality
rate/crude death rate -
the
total number of deaths in a year for every 1000 people in
a population.
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Workshop
7
devolution
-
the
process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political
strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central
government.*****
nationalism
-
a
sense of national consciousness and loyalty exalting one
nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on
the promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to
those of other nations. ("Nationalism is the desire
for independence to support and promote a common culture."
-Susan Hardwick)
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Workshop
8
ARGWorld
-
multimedia
curricula software.
globalization
-
an
increase in trade and capital flows across national boundaries.
watershed
-
the
drainage area of a river and its tributaries.
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* http://griots.tripod.com/scu/urban_structure.html
** de Blij, H.J. Human Geography: Culture, Society, and Space.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1996.
*** http://www.geographic.org/glossary.html#C
**** The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
***** http://www.cepr.net/GlobalPrimer.html
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