1. Basic Geographical Concepts
1st Unit of the AP Curriculum!!

2. Ways Geographers Gather Info.
1. Remote Sensing
Pictures taken from above Earth’s crust (usually in satellites)
A. GPS (Global Positioning System)
Precise location
Navigation primary purpose
Surveillance?
Used in GIS
B. GIS (Geographic Information System)
Super-accurate maps w/ diff. layers
Used to study relationships b/t diff. data sets
Google Earth
Under Surveillance, discuss the competing national interests of protecting individual rights and maintaining a safe and secure country

3. Another GIS

4. ARC View GIS Food and Environment Atlas:
ArcGIS from ESRI, Featured Maps:

5. Ways to Collect Data cont.
2. Field Studies/Case studies
3. Census Data
Taken every 10 yrs. in U.S.
Capital Intensive – $6.5 billion
Uses
Reallocate House of Rep. #s
Federal funding amounts
Statistical information
Problems:
Corruption
Undercounting of homeless
People who move can be counted twice or not at all

6. Surveys 4. Surveys: Assume that it is biased! Types of bias
Questions to ask:
Who paid for the survey?
Who was surveyed and who wasn’t?
How many were surveyed? +/- 3% accuracy
How was the question phrased?
Types of bias
Under-coverage
Non-response bias
Leading questions
Eco Footprint Survey

7. Places in Geography Name = toponymy Location
Variety of sources for naming places…
Mianus, CT; Hooker Point, FL; Slickpoo, ID; Suckerville, ME; Hell, MI, TruthorConsequences, NM; Monkey’s Eyebrow, KY; Phuket, Thailand; Intercourse, PA
Location
Absolute location
latitude/longitude
Benefits of GPS
NEVER changes (in your life time)
Relative location
Location determined by what is closest around you
Demonstrates focal points of the people
Constantly changing
Site vs. Situation of place
Site (New Orleans below sea level)
Situation (New Orleans on the mouth of the Mississippi and Gulf of Mexico)

8. Regions What makes each place different? Types of regions
Cultural landscape =
Combo of physical environment & human influences on earth (built environment.) Sauer
What features in the cultural landscape are the same in almost every major urban area?
Types of regions
Formal (uniform region/homogeneous region)
Functional (nodal region)
Vernacular (cognitive region/perceptual region)
Mental maps  demonstrate “activity space”
How is your 24 hour day/7 day week different from the other gender?
Mental Map of your house….., community (mall, house, school)

10. Scale Small scale vs. large scale
Global scale vs. local scale (Globalization vs. Glocalization)
Scale is VERY important to geographers
Globalization
ideas, values, beliefs, cultural traits are becoming increasingly shared throughout the world as interconnectedness increases
Local diversity
There are differences that are maintained around the world between places/cultural groups no matter how much globalization spreads
These forces often compete throughout the world
Pop culture vs. Islam
English lang vs. minority languages
Global organization (U.N.) vs. individual countries (U.S.)
VERY important theme throughout the course

11. Globalization and Glocalization Bangalore, India

12. Culture MANY definitions Cultural hierarchy:
The way a particular group of people live, what they practice in death, what they believe, what they value, how they dress…
Cultural hierarchy:
Cultural trait (most specific)
Culture complex
Culture system
Culture region
Cultural realm (least specific)
Cultural hearth – origin of a particular cultural trait
How does culture spread???

13. Acculturation Acculturation
Dominant culture forces traits on subjected peoples
Dominant culture will take on traits of weaker culture
Spanish/Aztecs
Europeans/Africans
Wife domesticating her Husband.

14. Assimilation Distinct cultures become indistinct
“3rd Generation Rule” (non-religious)
Ex. Jeans are EVERYWHERE
Ex. African business men dressing in suit and tie
Ex. Can you pick out which people in the U.S. came from which European countries i.e Ireland? Italy? Germany?
Handshakes in Asia or business cards?

15. Sequent Occupance
Several different cultural groups have occupied that territory so you will see different layers in modern culture
Several cultural landscapes evident
Ex. Romans  Arabs  Spanish in Spain
(Aqueducts  Mosques  Plaza Mayór)
Baptist Churches with
Star of David stained glass
windows in Harlem, NY

16. Mt. Olive Baptist Church
Harlem, NY
New Hope Baptist Church
Washington Heights, NY

17. How do I understand Diffusion?

18. Spatial Interaction
Movement of people, ideas, commodities within and among areas
Examples?
Truck hauling goods
International telephone calls
Immigration into the US

19. Expansion Relocation Two Types of Diffusion Stays strong in the core
Gets weaker in the core

20. Expansion Diffusion EXPANSION DIFFUSION
Spread of an innovation/idea … in such a way that the # of those influenced grows continuously larger, resulting in an expanding area of adoption.
(de Blij/Murphy – 7th ed., page R-20)

21. Expansion Diffusion
This occurs when an idea or trait spreads from one place to another.

22. Kinds of Expansion Diffusion
Hierarchal Diffusion – spread of an idea through an established structure usually from people or areas of power down to other people or areas
Urban areas to other urban areas and then spread to surrounding areas
Rap music
High-end fashion trends
Wealthy people to middle class to lower class
Any technological invention

23. This is a map of the diffusion of _______?

24. Expansion Diffusion
Contagious Diffusion – spread of an idea/trait/concept through a group of people or an area equally without regard to social class, economic position or position of power.
Flu epidemic
Gossip in school??
Your book says information on the web is Contagious… do you agree???

25. Diagram of Contagious Diffusion
‘A’ is a diagram of contagious diffusion. Notice virtually all ‘adopt.’
‘B’ is a diagram of hierarchical diffusion. Notice the leapfrogging over some areas.

26. Expansion Diffusion
Stimulus Diffusion – the spread of an underlying principle even though the new groups “remix” your idea OR
Stimulus Diffusion - involves the transfer of an underlying concept or idea, without the specific accompanying traits due to some cultural or other barrier to the movement of the idea

27. Stimulus Diffusion ex. (Michael Ayres)
McDonald’s in India  “Maharaja Mac”
Sesame Street  OVER 30 Countries have adopted principles of this show
Coca Cola and its different tastes around the world
                              

28. Maharajah Mac Bangalore, India, March, 2012
McDonald’s new menu in Thailand.
McDonald’s commercials from a global perspective:

29. The World According to Sesame Street

30. RELOCATION DIFFUSION
Sequential diffusion process in which the items being diffused are transmitted by their carrier agents as they evacuate the old areas and relocate to new ones. The most common form of relocation diffusion involves the spreading of innovations by a migrating population.

31. Relocation Diffusion
This occurs when the people migrate and take their cultural attributes with them.
De Blij pg. 28 vs. Rubenstein pg. 38

32. Relocation and Expansion – In Review
‘A’ is relocation diffusion as the person goes.
‘B’ is expansion diffusion as the idea/trait moves or transports.

33. AIDS and Relocation Diffusion
Some authors suggest AIDS diffuses through relocation diffusion. This is true by the fact that the diffusers “take” the disease with them. However, AIDS is not contracted by everyone in its path. More importantly, the pattern of AIDS diffusion is more classically hierarchal (and therefore expansion).

34. Migrant Diffusion (a form of Relocation Diffusion?)
Idea enjoys strong, (perhaps brief,) adoption in hearth
Idea travels elsewhere (& thrives)
Idea fades out back in the hearth
Ex. Disco in Egypt
Ex. “Baywatch” in Europe
Ex. Communism
Ex. Old cars

35. One more look…Wal-Mart as both ___________ and __________diffusion – WHY?

36. Diffusion of Wal-Mart, Target and Costco What type(s) of diffusion?
Interactive maps of the evolution of retail from Flowing Data:
Wal-Mart:
Target:
Costco:

37. BARRIERS TO DIFFUSION CULTURAL BARRIERS PHYSICAL BARRIERS
Some practices, ideas, innovations are not acceptable/adoptable in a particular culture
Cultural taboos e.g. pork, alcohol, contraceptives
PHYSICAL BARRIERS
Physical barriers on the surface may prohibit/inhibit adoption
Not as relevant today b/c of technology
TIME-DISTANCE DECAY
Farther from the source & the more time it takes, the less likely innovation adopted (more likely the same trait will develop differently)
Technology makes this less important
“Friction of Distance” – Interaction and communication between 2 things declines the further away you get

38. Distance Decay Graph
Learn to think about distance decay in a “spatial” context
Think of distance decay in terms of an ‘x’ and ‘y’ axis

40. Random Thoughts on Diffusion
Expansion Diffusion
Contagious
does not necessarily have a not a specific pre-existing structure for transmission
disease contagion is a prime example
the spread of products from a forest fire(particles/gases/heat) dissipate from the source(the fire) throughout the adjacent atmosphere.
Measurement system - System International (Metric)(meters/grams) has spread from Europe throughout the world except for the US(and a couple small countries) US retains its modification of the British Imperial system of measurement (miles/pounds)
Hierarchical
requires a pre-established structure to channel the flow ie 'chain of command'
International Business hierarchy, National, Regional, Local
Relocation Diffusion
Movement of people and things
Europeans moved to the Americas and brought their culture with them

42. Same bulldozer!!

45. Satellite Orbits! It’s all about TIME!!

46. More examples of Hierarchical Diffusion
AIDS is typically viewed as hierarchical because of its historically distinctive URBAN to URBAN diffusion pattern
“Blackberries” have diffused hierarchically. Blackberries, though becoming cheaper, are too expensive for most consumers to buy; therefore diffusing hierarchically.