Human Mosaic Chapter 1 Vocab

a grouping of places which possess similarities in their characteristics.

“to describe the earth,” in Greek, and refers to the process of studying spatial patterns of the earth, and documenting similarities and differences between both the environment and cultures of different places.

observes the relationships between people and the places and spaces where they live on scales which range from global to local.

a learned, collective human behavior, instead of innate behaviors. These behaviors can include similarities in speech, ideology, livelihood, technology, and value systems.

includes terrain, climate, natural vegetation, wildlife, variations of soil, and the actual patterns and layout of land and water.

an objective, quantitative, theoretical, model-based, economics oriented type of geography which aims to understand spatial systems and networks through the application of the principles of social science.

an abstraction, or imaginary situation, proposed by geographers to simulate laboratory conditions in order to isolate specific, chosen casual forces for detailed study.

a more subjective, idiographic, humanistic, culturally oriented type of geography that seeks to understand the unique character of regions; it rejects more scientific study of geography as flawed and unknowingly biased.

“love of place,” and was coined in order to describe those who exhibit a strong sense of place and geographers who chose to study such places and peoples.

an area which is relatively homogeneous with regard to one or more cultural traits, such as language, region, or a system of livelihood.

areas where different regions meet and can sometimes overlap, as no two traits have the same spatial distribution.

a formal region can be divided into two sections: one in the middle—the core—where the identified characteristics which define the region are strong, and then other sections further from the middle—the periphery—where these characteristics are weaker and less apparent.

an area that is not necessarily homogeneous, but rather has been made into an organized unit so that it can function politically, socially, or economically all together.

central points within a functional region which serve to coordinate and direct function in the region.

a region that is perceived to exist by its inhabitants, which is based in the collective spatial perception of the population at large, and usually has a popularly accepted nickname.

the relative ability of people, ideas, or things to move freely through space.

the movement of people, ideas, or things from one location outward toward other locations where these items are not initially found.

when the same or a very similar innovation is separately developed at different places by different peoples.

when individuals or groups with a particular idea or practice move from one place to another, and bring an idea or practice to their new home.

when ideas or practices spread throughout a population, so that the areas of occurrence and total number of knowers or users increase in a snowballing process.

a subtype of expansion diffusion where innovations spread between important people or urban centers, and temporarily bypass other people or rural areas (Like sushi!).

a subtype of expansion diffusion where ideas spread in a wavelike matter, such as the way a contagious disease spreads, and moves through spaces without regard for hierarchies.

a specific trait is rejected, but the underlying idea is accepted (like Siberians domesticating reindeer instead of cattle).

as time passes, and an idea spreads farther away from its point of origination, acceptance generally decreases; its impact has been somewhat diminished by modern mass media though.

a somewhat rare instance when an idea reaches an area or people which completely halt diffusion, and allow the idea’s spread to make no further progress.

a barrier which allows some pieces of an innovation to diffuse through even though it weakens and delays the continued spread, and has the power to modify the innovation.

an ongoing set of movements which have no particular center or periphery, and may better describe the movement of ideas in our modern world.

large-scale movement of people between different regions of the world.

groups of people who maintain ties to their homelands even after they migrate, which is very much facilitated by modern technologies.

the linking of all the lands and peoples of the world into a connected system stimulated by capitalistic free markets, where cultural diffusion becomes more rapid, independent states become weaker, and cultural homogenization becomes encouraged.

a numerical indicator as to the stage or level of development in a country, which considers measures of things like life expectancy, literacy, and standards of living.

the inequitable distribution of resources between areas.

a theme of human geography which focuses on how people inhabit the earth, and their relationships with their physical environments.

a study which focuses on the interactions between culture and physical environments.

the belief that the physical environment is the dominant force shaping cultures and that humankind is essentially a passive product of its physical surroundings.

the favored view among geographers in the theme of nature-culture, and refers to the belief that any physical environment can offer the people who live there many possible ways for their culture to develop.

the belief that people make choices based more on what they perceive, or believe their environment to be rather than what it actually physically exists as.

disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts, and pest issues which humans have no control over.

the belief that people are a part of nature, and the habitat which they live in possesses a soul, has nature-spirits, and the people must be careful not to offend; most traditional cultures hold this view.

the belief that people are separate from nature, and have control over it; this view is commonly held by Western peoples.

a term coined by Karen Warren, which implies that because of socialization, women are better ecologists and environmentalists than men.

the part of the landscape which is built by the cultural groups that inhabit a habitat; the cultural landscape can include roads, agricultural fields, cities, houses, parks, gardens, commercial buildings, or anything else created by the people.

landscapes which showcase the values, beliefs, and meanings of a certain culture.

focus on the spatial arrangement of buildings, roads, and other features that people construct when they inhabit an area.

the relative density of landscape elements.

the landscape elements are spread out, and not very dense.

reveal the way people divide land for economic, social, and political uses, because they indicate the uses of particular parcels of land.

Region, Diffusion, Ecology, Interaction, Landscape