Week6 Fundamentals of population: Location, Distribution, and Density

Part1 Discussion materials (Fundamentals of population: Location, Distribution, and Density)

The study of population is termed demography. The focus of the field of population geography is on the spatial aspects of demography. Demographic problems and issues vary not only from region to region and country to country, but also within countries. Our spatial inquiry leads to some penetrating insights into demographic predicaments.

• Key issues in population geography
• Elements of population geography:
  (1) population and space
  (2) population distribution and density
• Major population concentartions

EXERCISE: Download the Urban and Regional Statistics of Taiwan(2009). Describe how demographic indicators were used in this repot.
http://www.cepd.gov.tw/encontent/m1.aspx?sNo=0001452


Part2 Human development Reports

The first Human Development Report in 1990 opened with the simply stated premise that has guided all subsequent Reports: “People are the real wealth of a nation.” With its wealth of empirical data and innovative approach to measuring development, the Human Development Report had a profound impact on development thinking around the world. Featuring the Human Development Index, every report presents agenda-setting data and analysis and calls international attentions to issues and policy options that put people at the center of strategies to meet the challenges of development.

website:http://hdr.undp.org/en/humandev/

A presentation for UNDP Human Development Report 2005 in English and some other languages. Human Development Trends was produced in 2005.

website: http://www.gapminder.org/downloads/human-development-trends-2005/

Part3 TED TALKS: Hans Rosling's new insights on poverty

Week4 World Population Data Sheet

Part1 2010 World Population Data Sheet
Many countries are facing a shrinking pool of their working-age populations, often considered to be ages 15 to 64, to support the population ages 65+, jeopardizing pension guarantees and long-term health care programs for the elderly.The Population Reference Bureau's 2010 World Population Data Sheet and its summary report offer detailed information on 19 population, health, and environment indicators for more than 200 countries. Let’s talk about these indicators among Asia-pacific regions. (Download the data sheet)

http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2010/2010wpds.aspx
EXERCISE: Reviewing the data sheet and compare the indicators between Taiwan and Vietnam.


Part2 Population Data Sheet and Social Explore
Social Explorer provides easy access to demographic information about the United States from 1790 to the present. It is a “contemporary tool” for describing the change of population in US.
http://www.socialexplorer.com/pub/home/home.aspx

Part3 The best stats you've ever seen
You've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called "developing world."

Week3 Thinking Geographically(2)

Part1 How do geographicers Describe where things are?

• Map:Cartographers make especially important decosions in creating a map-scale and porjection.
• Conteporary tools: GIS, Remote Sensing, GPS.
  Global forces, Local Impacts—> Computer mapping services (ex. Google map)

Part 2 Understanding the Conteporary tools

1.What is GIS?

2.What is GPS?

Week2 Thinking Geographically(1)

Part1 Key issues in Human Geography
Key issue : Why is each point on earth unique?

• Place: Unique location of a feature
• Region: Areas of unique characteristics
  1.Cultural landscape
  2.Spatial association
  3.Regional intergration of culture
  4.Cultural Ecology: integrating culture and environment

Key issues : Why are Different Places Similar?

• Scale: from local to global
• Space: Distribution features
• Connection between places

PART2 Historical Maps~David Rumsey Map Collection Database and Blog
The historical map collection has over 26,000 maps and images online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North American and South American maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of the World,Europe,Asia, and Africa are also represented.

EXERCISE: Find a historical map of Viernam in 19 century and identify the historical place names.