Chapter 1: Introduction: Some background basics

1. Chapter 1: Introduction: Some background basics

2. Geography • Origin of the Discipline • Three Fundamental Questions • Concepts • Two Dimensioned Researches • System of Geography

3. Concept of Geography The studies of the phenomena, processes and patterns of natural environment and the spatial organization of human life as a whole.

4. 3 Fundamental Questions • Where?: Where did/are the phenomenon, processes, patterns happened/happening? • Why there?: Why did/are they happened/happening there? (not at a different/other place?) • How?: How are they in the relationships to those at other places, and affect or are affected by human life and natural environment?  spatial/geographical thinking

5. To answer those questions, we: • Focus in spatial and system analysis • Using concepts, terms, and methods in geography • Understand things are rationally organized on earth’s surface • Spatial patterns  understanding how people live on and shape the earth’s surface

6. Basic Geographic Concepts • Spatial/Space • Location • Direction • Distance • Size and Scale • Place • Region • Spatial Interaction and Analysis

7. Spatial/Space • ‘Spatial’ always carries the ideas of the ways things are distributed, the movement occur, and the processes operate over the whole or a part of the surface of the earth. • Space  ‘Spatial’ forming the concepts: • Geography  spatial science • Places on earth’s surface  spatial behavior of people  spatial relationship • Behavior + relationship maintained  spatial process

8. Location • Absolute Location • Relative Location

9. 1. Absolute Location • being unique to each described place • measuring the distance separating places • finding directions between places on the earth’s surface. • One of systems (also called mathematic location): a positioning system of precise and accepted identification of a place accurately described by reference to its degrees, minutes and seconds of latitude and longitude. • Ex: Vietnam is located at, latitude: 8010’ to 23024’ N • longitude:1020 O9’ to 109030’ E

10. Other precise and accepted system: survey system on regional level. • Depends any other characteristics, it has: • Legal description of place, • Measuring the distance separating places, • Finding directions between places on the earth’s surface. • Ex: • Vietnam University: the 6th site, Linh Trung ward, Thu Duc district, HCMC • HCMC International University: • University of Oxford: University Offices, Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2JD UK • Stanford University: 630 Serra Street, Suite 120, Stanford, CA 94305-6032 723-4291 USA

12. 2. Relative Location • the position of a place in relation to that of other places or activities • It explains spatial interconnection and interdependence • Ex: location of library, cafeteria … to your classroom • In other sense, it tells us that people, things, and places exist in the world of physical and cultural characteristics that differ from place to place • Ex: Vietnam is located in the southeastern extremity of the Indochinese Peninsula, nearby the maritime cross-road of the world

13. Site and Situation 1. Site: • refers to physical and cultural characteristics and attributes of the place itself. • tells us the internal features of that place • Ex: the Mekong Delta is the area which has 9 rivers surrounding 9 provinces. 2. Situation: • refers to the external relations of a place. • is relative location with particular reference to items of significance to the place. • Ex: Danang city is the small plain bounded by the sea in the east and the mountain range in the north and west.

14. Direction • Absolute direction • Based on the cardinal points of North, South, East, and West. • Eg. the rising and setting of the sun for East and West, the sky location of noontime sun and of certain fixed stars for north and south • Relative direction • The directional references are culturally based and locationally variable, despite their reference to cardinal compass points.

15. Distance • Absolute distance • refers to the spatial separation between two points on the earth’s surface • measured by standard unit: miles or kilometers, feet or meters (for more closely spaced points). • Relative distance • Transforms measurements into other units, more meaningful for the space relationship at question. • Miles, kilometers, meters  hours, minutes, monetary system, or psychological transformation (unfamiliar, dangerous/familiar, friendly etc.)

16. Size and Scale • Size • being largeness or smallness of a place • Scale • Map Scale: the relationship btw the size of an area on a map and the actual size of the mapped area on the surface of the earth. • Spatial size concerned or compared • Local, regional, global • Individual, household, community, areal, national, regional, international, global  THINK GLOCAL, ACT LOCAL

17. Place • Places have location, direction, and distance with respect to other places • A place may be large or small  scale is important. • A place has both physical structure and cultural content. • The characteristics of places develop and change over time. • Places interact with other places. • Places may be generalized into regions of similarities and differences

18. Physical and cultural attributes • All places have physical and cultural traits that distinguish them from other places. • Physical attributes: natural landscape • Climate, soil, present or absence of water supply, minerals, etc. • Shape how people live. • Cultural attributes: cultural landscape • People modify the environmental conditions of occupied place. • Human activities leave on places soils, water, vegetation, animal life

19. Interaction among places • Spatial interaction: places interact with other in the comprehensive ways. • Their processes and patterns are described by words ‘accessibility’ and ‘connectivity’ Accessibility: Connectivity:

20. Accessibility:refers to location • Consideration of distance implies assessment of accessibility. • Question: How easy or difficult is it to surmount/overcome the barrier of the time and space separation of places? • Internal place: transport network… • External place: airplane, ship, train, etc.

21. Connectivity:refers to distance Connectivity:refers to distance • A broader concept of accessibility implying all tangible and intangible ways in which places are connected • Tangible: telephone lines, street and road systems, pipelines and sewers, etc. • Intangible: radio and TV broadcasts, telecommunications, etc.

22. Spatial distribution • How things are distributed in place? • The arrangement of things is analyzed by density, dispersion, and pattern. • Density: measure of the number or quantity of anything within a defined unit of area. • Dispersion ≠ Concentration: amount of spread of a phenomenon over an area. • Not tells us ‘how many/how much’ but ‘how far’ things are spread out. • If they are closed together: ‘cluster’ or ‘agglomeration’ • If they are spread out: ‘dispersion’ or ‘scattered’ • Pattern: describes spatial arrangement • Distribution along: linear pattern • Concentrated around: centralized pattern • Unstructured irregular distribution: random pattern.