Chapter 4 – People and Place
NOTES:
What makes us similar to some
people in the world but different from most others?
Culture
Culture is the total
knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors shared by and passed on by the members of a
specific group.
Culture involves the
following factors:
-
food and shelter
-
- religion
-
- relationships
to family and others
-
language
-
educations
-
security/protection
-
political and
social organization
-
creative
expression
Society is a group that
shares a geographic region, a sense of identity and a culture.
Ethnic groups is used to
refer to a group that shares a language, customs, and common heritage.
Language is one of the most
important aspects of culture because it allows the people within a culture to
communicate with each other.
Language established cultural
identity.
There are between 3000 and
6500 languages spoken in the world today.
Versions of a language are
called dialect. Dialect reflects
changes in speech patterns related to a specific group or region.
Region – consists of a belief
in a supernatural power or powers
Major Religions include
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
Populations – The World
Population is current over 7 Billion people.
90 % of the world’s
population lives in the Northern Hemisphere.
One in four people in the world lives in East Asia, and one of every two
people lives in either East Asia or South Asia.
Cities with more than 10
million people are called megacities. By
2010 there were at least 25 megacities.
Tokyo, the largest city in the world, has more than 35 million
inhabitants.
Population Density – refers
to the average number of people who live in a measurable area.
What is the population
density of Skagway?
Political Geography –
Government units of the world can be described in either political or
geographical terms.
State – is an independent
unit that occupies a specific territory
(often the term country is used to mean state)
Nation refers to a group of
people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of
unity.
When a nation and a state
occupy the same territory – that territory is called a “Nation-State”
It is possible for a nation
not to have a territory – stateless nations include the Palestinians, the
Kurds, and the Basques.
Types of Governments:
Democracy – citizens hold
political power, either directly or through elected representatives
Monarchy – a ruling family
headed by a king or queen holds political power
Dictatorship – An individual
or group holds complete political power
Communism – in this
government and economic system, nearly all political power and means of
production are head by the government in the name of the people
Boundaries between countries
can either be Natural (lakes, rivers, mountains) or Artificial (example 49 N
latitude line that separates U.S. from Canada)
An economy consists of the
production and exchange of goods and services among a group of people. Economies operate on a local, regional,
national and international level.
Types of economic systems:
Command Economy – production
of goods and services is determined by a central government
Market Economy – Production
of goods and services is determined by the demand from consumers.
Mixed Economy – a combination
of command and market economics provides goods and services so that all people
will benefit.
Traditional Economy – goods
and services are traded without exchanging money (“barter”)
