Ch. 1 Key Issue 4
Scale--From local to global
Deep Thought
• Write a reaction to this quote regarding
environment and development. Be prepared
to share.
• "The enervating monotonous climates of
much of the tropical zone, together with the
abundant and easily obtained food supply,
produce a lazy and indolent people,
indisposed to labour for hire and therefore in
the past subjected to coercion culminating in
slavery" (Austin Miller, Climatology, 1947)
Scale
• Local: Neighborhoods, cities-Geographers notice uniqueness
• Global: geographers notice broad
patterns
• “Think and act both global and local”
Globalization
• Shrinks the world so
that global can feel local
• Example: year round
produce in grocery
stores
• Transnational
corporations
• What changes in
infrastructure allow for
transnationals?
Problems of Globalization
• What is one difficulty with globalization
we can never overcome?
– Time zones
• The “race to the bottom”
• Factories in lesser developed countries
Pros and Cons of
Globalization
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Loss of local diversity
Religion and language
Increase in Television channels
Human geography studies problems
resulting from tension between
globalization and local diversity
Areas of endangered
languages
Endangered Languages
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Tuvan--Russia--235,000
Aka--India--2,000
Seri--Mexico--1,000
Wintu--California--less than 10
Euchee--Oklahoma--4
Dominant Languages
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Chinese*--1,213,000,000
Spanish--329,000,000
English--328,000,000
Arabic*--221,000,000
Hindi-- 182,000,000
Bengali-- 181,000,000
Portuguese-- 178,000,000
Russian--144,000,000
Japanese-- 122,000,000
German--90,000,000
World Wide Coca Cola
Consumption
• http://www.chicagotribune.com/business
/ct-biz-mcdonalds-food-around-theworld,0,5168632.photogallery
Distribution and Density
• Distribution--The arrangement of a
feature in space
• Density--Frequency something occurs
Density
• Arithmetic density--total number of
objects in an area
• Belgium=900 people/mile
• China=355 people/mile
• Large population doesn’t necessarily
equal high density
Density
• Does high population density affect
poverty?
• --Not necessarily
• Netherlands- 1040/mile
• Mali- 29/mile
Other ways to measure
density
• Physiological density- number of
people/unit of area suitable for
agriculture
• Agricultural density- number of
farmers/unit area of farmland
Concentration
• Concentration: the extent of a feature’s
spread over space
• Clustered vs Dispersed
• Describes changes in distribution
• Concentration does not equal density
• Examples: Neighborhoods, baseball
teams
Density and Distribution
Top Plan has a
lower density
than middle plan
(24 houses/82
acres vs 32
houses/82 acres
Middle and
lower plans
have the
same density
but
distribution is
more
clustered in
lower plan
US Baseball Teams 1952
US Baseball Teams 2007
Density (# of
Teams) Increased,
Less clustered,
more dispersed
Pattern
• Linear
• Grid
• Land Ordinance of 1785
What Type of Map? What
Type of Pattern?
Where is this? Why type of
Pattern?
Where is this? What type of
Pattern?
Where is this? What type of
Pattern?
Austin:
1 dot=25 people
Yellow=Hispanic
Green=Asian
Blue=Black
Red=White
Diffusion
• An Orange Activity
• Diffusion is the process by which a
characteristic spreads from one place to
another over time.
• Hearth: The place from which an
innovation originates
BARRIERS TO
DIFFUSION
• TIME and DISTANCE DECAY – farther
from the source & the more time it takes, the less likely
innovation adopted
• CULTURAL BARRIERS – some practices,
ideas, innovations are not acceptable/adoptable in a
particular culture – e.g. pork, alcohol, contraceptives…
• PHYSICAL BARRIERS – physical barriers on
the surface may prohibit/inhibit adoption
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
Two Types of Diffusion
• Expansion
• Relocation
Expansion Diffusion
• EXPANSION DIFFUSION
– Spread of an innovation/idea through
a population in an area in such a way
that the # of those influenced grows
continuously larger, resulting in an
expanding area of dissemination.
(de Blij/Murphy – 7th ed., page R-20)
Kinds of Expansion
Diffusion
• Hierarchical Diffusion – spread of an
idea through an established structure
usually from people or areas of power
down to other people or areas
Examples of
Hierarchical Diffusion
• iPhones (as do most new technologies)
diffused hierarchically. iPhones, though
cheaper, may still be too expensive for most
consumers to buy; therefore diffusing
hierarchically
• Fashion trends tend to diffuse from URBAN
to URBAN area
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.
Examples of
Contagious Diffusion
• Disease – such as colds and flu
• Religion – spread of Islam
• Silly Bands – why did these not
spread more hierarchically?
Which is a diagram of Contagious &
Hierarchical Diffusion
Human Geography, deBlij & Murphy, 7th ed. Page 28
• ‘A’ is a diagram of
contagious diffusion.
Notice virtually all
‘adopt.’
• ‘B’ is a diagram of
hierarchical
diffusion. Notice
the leapfrogging
over some areas.
Expansion Diffusion
• Stimulus Diffusion – the spread of an
underlying principle even though the
characteristic itself does not spread.
» 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
An example of Stimulus
Diffusion
• McDonald’s spread to
India; however, Indian
Hindus do not eat beef.
Indian McDonald’s
serve veggie burgers,
which is culturally
acceptable. The idea
(McDonald’s burgers)
was acceptable, but
not in its original form –
hence stimulus
diffusion.
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.
(de Blij/Murphy – 7th ed., page R-26)
Relocation Diffusion
• This occurs when the people migrate
and take their cultural attributes with
them.
Relocation and Expansion –
In Review
Human Geography, Fellmann, Getis & Getis, 8th ed. Page 55
• ‘A’ is relocation
diffusion as the
person goes.
• ‘B’ is expansion
diffusion as the
idea/trait moves or
transports.
Migrant Diffusion (a form of
Relocation Diffusion)
• Migrant Diffusion is when an
innovation originates and enjoys
strong, but brief, adoption in a place.
The innovation may travel long
distances (& be thriving), but could be
extinct back at the hearth
• Influenza (the flu) in China will reach
the U.S., but the epidemic could be
over in China by the time it takes hold
in the U.S.
One more look…Wal-Mart as
both contagious and reverse
hierarchical diffusion – WHY?
Human Geography, Fellmann, Getis & Getis, 8th Ed. Page 57
Random Thoughts on
Diffusion
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Expansion Diffusion
Contagious
Does not need have a specific pre-existing structure for transmission
Disease contagion is a prime example
Don’t forget the orange scent spreading around the room
Hierarchical
requires a pre-established structure to channel the flow ie 'chain of
command' or network of power
Relocation Diffusion
Movement of people and things
Europeans moved to the Americas and brought their culture with them