Term
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Definition
If similarities are apparent, we may conclude that spatial regularities exist within an area that geographers call a region.
Real World Example: The United States can be separated into agricultural or economical groups in which an area is different to another. |
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Term
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Definition
The organization of earth's surface into distinct areas that are viewed as different from other areas.
Real World Example: The United States has many different categories of regions. (Standard Federal Regions, Time Zone Regions, Agricultural Regions, etc.) |
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Term
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Definition
Sometimes called uniform regions, a formal region is an area that has striking similarities in terms of one or a few physical or cultural features.
A good example is a formal political region created when a government draws imaginary lines (that may follow natural features like rivers) around an area, calling it a "state," or a "province." One state or province, then, becomes distinct from another. Formal regions may also be defined by cultural characteristics, such as language or religion. |
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Term
| Functional Regions/Nodal Regions |
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Definition
Functional regions are areas organized around cores, or nodes. Visually, the space can be seen as having interdependent parts that all operate together and connect, but with a center that directs the movements and characteristics of non-central parts.
For example, the New York MA is a functional region that covers parts of several states. It is linked by commuting patterns, trade flows, television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, travel for recreation and entertainment. Other functional regions include shopping regions centered on malls or supermarkets, area served by branch banks, and ports and their hinterlands. |
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Term
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Definition
The core area has distinct characteristics that lessen in intensity as one travels into the periphery.
Real World Example: The 'core' consists of Europe (excluding Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus) , the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Israel. Within this region is where most of the positive characteristics of globalization typically occur: transnational links, modern development (i.e. higher wages, access to healthcare, adequate food/water/shelter), scientific innovation, and increasing economic prosperity. |
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Term
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Definition
The periphery are those countries that are not reaping the benefits of global wealth and globalization.
Real World Example: The 'periphery' consists of the countries in the rest of the world: Africa, South America, Asia (excluding Japan and South Korea), and Russia and many of its neighbors. |
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Term
| Perceptual Region/Vernacular Regions |
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Definition
| (Definition and Real World Example are included in the paragraph below.) Perceptual regions are not as rigorously structured as formal and functional regions. Instead, they are places that people believe to exist as a part of their cultural identity. They reflect feelings and images more than any objective reality, such as physical features, formal political boundaries, or economic centers. For example, despite the fact that the Korean peninsula is divided into two formal regions (North Korea and South Korea), the people of the area have a long history of cultural identity as "Koreans" with a common language and similar customs that distinguish them from the nearby regions of "Japan." |
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Term
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Definition
The expansion of economic, political, and cultural activities to the point that they reach and have impact on many areas of the world.
Real World Example(s): McDonald's in Japan, Pizza Hut in India... |
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Term
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Definition
| (Definition and Real World Example are included in the paragraph below.) Geographers use the term space-time compression to describe the changes that rapid connections among places and regions have bought. Distant places are brought much closer not only through faster transportation and communication, but through new technologies -- such as televisions and computers -- that bring images from those places into our homes, businesses, and schools. |
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Term
| Multi-national corporation |
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Definition
Economic globalization is apparent through the proliferation of multi-national corporations that have centers of operation in many parts of the globe.
Well-known examples are Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and the Disney Corporation. |
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Term
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Definition
| (Definition and Real World Example are included in the paragraph below.) A GIS (geographic information system) is a computer that captures, stores, analyzes, and displays data. GIS measures the position of an object on earth and stores it in a computer along with countless other specific measurements. The geographer may manipulate this data to combine them into an image or a map that is more accurate than anything drawn by hand. Each type of information may be stored in a layer, and then layers may be combined to present the overall image. For example, one layer may show soil composition, another may show forest cover, any yet another road system in an area. |
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Term
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Definition
A GPS (global positioning system) uses a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers to determine precise absolute locations on earth. Remote-sensing satellites orbiting the earth scan the surface, and then transmit digital images to receiving stations on earth.
Real World Example: GPS is used to navigate airplanes and ships, and more recently, it is used in automobiles to guide drivers as they try to reach their destinations. |
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Term
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Definition
One of the biggest employers of geographers in the United States is the U.S. Census Bureau. Every ten years since 1790, the U.S. government has collected information about the country's inhabitants and compiled a census report.
Real World Example: In modern day census forms are mailed to millions of homes in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. |
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