World geography Chapter 1 Globalization and World Regions

World geography Chapter 1 Globalization and World Regions 2006/03/01

Different and similar world • If you compared places, you would find… – what the different is. – what the common is. 2006/03/01

People 匈奴 Xiongnu 日耳曼 Germanic 2006/03/01 Roman Emperor, Leo I

Food Chinese food Pasta Pizza Italian Food Japanese English food (Fired!) 2006/03/01 Turkish food (Donser Kebap 沙威瑪)

Landscape Vancouver 2006/03/01 Taipei City

Different and Changing Worlds • Political, economic, and social experience and expectations are rapidly change nowadays. • The physical shape of world isn’t change. • But connecting among people bring places closer as cooperation, competition, and conflict with other peoples become more intense. 2006/03/01

9/11 2006/03/01

9/11 • The 911 event alerted American’s government “You can not dominate another county arbitrarily” • What’s different from Muslims and Americans? Environment Society, Economics, Politics • Oil Economics Political Power Cultural decline, poverty, belief conflict reaction 2006/03/01

4 geographic levels to see Earth • Global – views from spacecraft show the contrasts between continental land areas and ocean waters. • Major World regions – are whole or large parts of continents and are the division used in this text for the regional chapters. • Countries – are the building blocks of major world regions. • Local regions – are parts of countries and the places where many individuals voice their concerns. 2006/03/01

Globalization vs. Localization • Globalization – Globalization is increasing level of interconnections among people throughout the world. – The speed and intensity of globalization, in terms of world trade and the flow of financial investments, increased markedly in the 1990 s. 2006/03/01

Globalization vs. Localization • Localization is both response to and the outcome of globalization. – On the one hand, global exchanges and flows of information, ideas, people, money, and technology move us toward worldwide political solutions, economic exchanges, cultural attitudes, and environmental concerns. – On the other, localization focuses on distinctive identities of places or people in regions, countries, or local areas. 2006/03/01

Facets of Globalization • Increasing connections take place through intensified flows of ideas, goods, and people: – Ideas, technologies, and diseases; – Goods from many place of manufacture; – People migrations for work, political asylum, family consolidation, and long-distance tourism; – The spread of images and message through the media of TV, film, the Internet and print. 2006/03/01

Facets of Localization • Local voice remain loud in our consciousness and ensure that global trends are often far from being fulfilled. – Political nationalism maintains separation countries and of groups within countries. Ex. Basque, Aceh 2006/03/01

Facets of Localization – Despite globalization force, many local customs and practices preserve local identities. Ex. Pop music – Changes and intensification of ideologies, especially religious or political beliefs. Ex. 三民主義 – Religious difference among Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu countries continue to be signification. – Demonstrators resist the visible economic penetration of countries around the world by global media and corporations such as CNN, the Murdoch group, Mc. Donald’s, Starbuck, Toyota, and Nike. 2006/03/01

Figure 1. 3 2006/03/01

Despite of globalization, the World remained diverse • Political activity: Countries Act – 1950 -1991 Cold war – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) vs. Soviet Union – Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) vs. Communist governments – Southern Africa Development Coordination (SADCC) vs. apartheid – UN become a world-wide level arbitrator • Inside vs. Outside 2006/03/01

Economic Activities: Global Trends • The numbers people living on < $1 per day – 900 m (85%)(1820) 1. 4 b (30%)(1980) 1. 2 b (20%)(2000) • In the 1990 s, the uneven spread of expanding global economic activities caused group of countries to enter into or revive regional economic agreements, mainly through trade. – European Union (EU) – North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) – Mercosur (southern South America) – Association of South East Asian Countries – South Africa Development conference • US, the countries of western Europe and Japan Controlled nearly all the investment, production, and consumption of goods. • China, India and Brazil increased their contribution. • Wealthier people vs. Poorer people 2006/03/01

Cultural Activities: Major Regions, Local Voice • One world culture? Did these wiped out the local cultural difference – – Cocacola-ization of eating and drinking habits the spread of Western TV, movies, pop music global markets for some consumer goods Ex. India • Western cultural norms – democracy, individual , and human rights – Materialism, consumerism, and superficial value 2006/03/01

Civilizations (World Cultures) • Figure 1. 6 2006/03/01

Environmental issues at varied scales • Earth is marked by a variety of natural environments that create differences among regions • Natural environments affects human events at global, world regional, country, and local scales. – world regional, country, or local scales: Prediction of hurricanelike storms, effects of acid rain, and damage from river floods and volcanic eruptions – global scale: global warming, El Nino, the ozone hole over Antarctica, and the destruction of tropical rain forests – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1992), Kyoto, Japan (1997) 2006/03/01

What is geography about? • Geography is study of – where and how human and natural feature and events (political, economic, cultural, and environmental) are distributed on Earth’s surface, – the relationships among them, – how their distributions change over time, – and how those features and relationships affect human lives. 2006/03/01

Subject matter • The tensions among globalization, localization, and the continuing significance of country governments provide a basis changes and move toward either greater interdependence or conflict. • Thus, geographers compare places and assess the interactions among them at different levels of geographic scale. 2006/03/01

Geographic methods • • • Location Place Human/Environment interaction Movement Region 2006/03/01

First, geography is about place • Place might be a – – – Individual place Small town Large city Rural area Another state Another country • Place might be perceived as points on a map or as large area. • However, they all have different relationships to each other in terms of location, direction, distance, and size. 2006/03/01

Latitude and Longitude • Figure 1. 8 2006/03/01

Distance and Direction Meridian and parallel is the basic of time, distance and direction 2006/03/01

Map and Scale Size of Scale Representative Franction (RF) Large Scale 1: 25, 000 or larger Medium Scale 1: 1, 000 to 1: 25, 000 Small Scale 1: 1, 000 or smaller 2006/03/01

Next, geography is about explaining the difference among place • The two basic geographic concepts of place and location are combined in three main approaches to geographic information gathering and explaining – Regional geography • A region is a area of Earth’s surface with similarities within and between defined areas, or regions, of the world. – Spatial analysis – Human-environment relationship 2006/03/01

Regions and Globalization • Regions are defined by – A high degree of uniformity – Limited variability – More-or-less lasting boundaries • Regional boundaries may include physical features, political boundaries, or economic characteristics. 2006/03/01

Region’s dynamic features • Regions are also dynamic geographic entities that have distinctive internal and external flow patterns of such phenomena as people, goods, and ideas. • Nodes are key features of regions, being specific places from which flows begin or through which of a set of nodes may define the boundary of a region. 2006/03/01

Flow feature • Flows within and among – regions include population migrations – information from the media, Internet, or publications – movements of money – technology innovations in manufacturing process, information processing, or new transportation modes – and ideology through political and regions within world regions 2006/03/01

The flows of geographic levels • The dynamic elements of such flows within and among regions affect the prominence – of regions within a countries – of countries within world regions – of world regions within the global system 2006/03/01

The characteristics of flows • The variety of these flows is generated by – path – speed – direction and the different relationship to social structure imposed by governments and other institutions. • Breaks or interruptions in the flows may result in social problem such as – inequities, – injustices, – and underresourced livelihoods at the local level. 2006/03/01

Changes in dynamic regions • • • People create regions Regions shape people’s activities People remake regions Regions interact with other regions Regions are used by those in power 2006/03/01

Major world regions • • • Europe Russia and Neighboring Countries East Asia Southern Asia and South Pacific South Asia North Africa and Southwestern Asia Africa South of the Sahara Latin America North America 2006/03/01

Figure 1. 11 2006/03/01

Development of world regions • • Early history (about 5000 B. C) Settle Farming City-State and Empires (2500 -1000 B. C. ) Trading Empires and “Classical” Civilizations (1000 B. C. - A. D. 600) • Disruptions, Migrations, and Feudalism (A. D. 600 - 1450) • The modern, globalizing world – Explorations and colonies ( around A. D. 1450) – Industrialization (mid-1700 s) – Globalization, Countries, and Protectionism (1450 early 1800 s) 2006/03/01

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