...Themes and Traditions of Geography Jennifer Friedrichsen Geography 100 4/20/2012 Dr. Siri Nimal Wickramaratne Themes and Traditions of Geography “Geography is the science that studies the relationships among natural systems, geographic areas, society, culture activities, and the independence of all of these over space.” (Christopherson, 2010, p. 4) Over time there have been two attempts that have influenced the basic understanding of geographic information, which allows us to gain additional and improved knowledge as well as appreciation for environmental changes and the different cultures around the world. These attempts are The Four Traditions of Geography and The Five Themes of Geography. Four Traditions of Pattison The four traditions consist of the spatial tradition, area tradition, man-land tradition and earth science tradition. Spatial Tradition is an “academic tradition in modern Geography that investigates geographic phenomena from a strictly spatial perspective” (Pidwirny, 2006). Spatial Tradition focuses on the mapping, positioning, direction, and distance, the characteristics of the form and movement related to these aspects or the distribution of phenomena. Area Studies Tradition is “an academic tradition in modern Geography that investigates an area on the Earth from a geographic perspective at either the local, regional, or global scale” (Pidwirny, 2006). This is the descriptions of different areas or regions. The nature of these...
Words: 900 - Pages: 4
...Perspectives July 16, 2014 University of Phoenix Cross-Cultural Perspectives McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain restaurant in the world. Ray Kroc founded the franchise in 1955 in California. The company pride itself on their tasty hamburgers and delicious french-fries. McDonald’s is also known for its quick service and its drive through. The company went from one restaurant location, to locations in different states, to a global corporation. McDonald’s continue to thrive on providing meals at a low-cost to customers. McDonald’s have more than 30,000 restaurant locations in more than 100 countries around the world. McDonald’s makes billions of dollars each year but they still issues in the global sector (McDonald’s, 2011). McDonald’s established their first restaurant in Japan in 1971 (McDonald’s, 2011). This establishment brought about some issues because of the cultural differences. Some of the issues are food preparation, food organization, and food delivery. Even though McDonald’s way of doing business contradicted with the Japanese ethics, and traditions, through compromise, and social responsibility they have managed to minimize their differences. Besides McDonald’s other businesses have expanded globally such as, auto companies like Ford Motor Company. However, their approach was different in comparison to McDonald’s. McDonald’s Cultural Issues in Japan: Food organization The Japanese are known for preparing home cooked meals. Besides home cooked...
Words: 1178 - Pages: 5
...Perspectives Cross-Cultural Perspectives 2 McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain restaurant in the world. Ray Kroc founded the franchise in 1955 in California. McDonald’s server millions of customers daily. The company pride itself on their tasty hamburgers and delicious french-fries. McDonald’s is also known for its quick service and its drive through. The company went from one restaurant location, to locations in different states, to a global corporation. McDonald’s continue to thrive on providing meals at a low cost to customers. McDonald’s have more than 30,000 restaurant locations in more than 100 countries around the world. McDonald’s makes billions of dollars each year but they still issues in the global sector (McDonald’s, 2011). McDonald’s established their first restaurant in Japan in 1971 (McDonald’s, 2011). This establishment brought about some issues because of the cultural differences. Some of the issues are food preparation, food organization, and food delivery. Even though McDonald’s way of doing business contradicted with the Japanese ethics, and traditions, through compromise, and social responsibility they have managed to minimized there differences. Besides McDonald’s other businesses have expanded globally such as auto companies like Ford Motor Company. However, their approach was different in comparison to McDonald’s. McDonald’s Cultural Issues in Japan: Food organization The Japanese are known for preparing home cooked meals. Besides home cooked...
Words: 1207 - Pages: 5
...greatly on how you define the two terms. Faith is trust in something, such as belief in the word of God. It is shaped by traditions and several other factors. Reason is a statement that explains a belief or serves as the justification for a particular action. I believe that the two are interrelated. Reason needs faith in the sense that faith is believing in something and reason is the idea(s) that back up the particular belief. Without faith there would be no need for reason. However, faith does not necessarily need reason. For example, biblical faith does not use reason to support unseen beliefs. Followers just trust and have faith in the idea. All ideas require reasons to explain them and faith will come as a result of trusting in the evidence. There are many different factors that have effects on the relationship between faith and reason, such as location, tradition, religion, and ideology. Location plays a significant role in the connection between the two ideas. When looking at different locations, vast changes can be apparent like differing religions, cultures, and personal beliefs. These changes have an effect on faith and the reasons people use to support what they believe to be true. Both tradition and culture are another factor in how faith and reason are interpreted. Faith is shaped by traditions. Cultural beliefs and traditions have a major impact on a person’s views and what they choose to believe in and hold as true because people tend to take on...
Words: 504 - Pages: 3
...Jackson, show us that some of the violence can be brought on by people simply following blindly. Whether we look at the past or the present, these two short stories, show us the mob mentality can be very dangerous. The long dead tradition of “The Lottery” tells of the town people forgetting most of the different parts of the tradition because it takes too long, or is not feasible. The one part they never forgot was the violent murder of one of their own people because of an old tradition that sacrifices a scapegoat each year. In “The Destructors”, a grand home still standing in a war-torn England would never have been torn down by a gang of teens if they weren’t following blindly, the one person leading the group, and succumbing to peer pressure. This shows that all it takes is a single person, or an old tradition that can convince a group to commit unnecessary violence. Greene’s book “The Destructors”, and Jacksons “The Lottery”, both show pointless acts of violence brought on by an individual that has people following them or a group of people following a long dead tradition. These acts of senseless violence could have been avoided if the majority of the people in the two stories wouldn’t have followed blindly to keep old traditions alive, or succumbing to peer pressure in an act to be accepted or be cool. In “The Destructors”, the boys in the Wormsley Commons Gang followed Blackie and Trevor fully and ended up participating in the destruction of an innocent man’s...
Words: 997 - Pages: 4
...Homi Bhabha and His “The Location of Culture” Homi Bhabha, who was born in 1949 in Mumbai, India, is the Anne F. Rothenberg Professor of English and American Literature and Language. He is also the Director of the Humanist Center at Harvard University. As one of the most important figure in contemporary post-colonial studies, he has coined many neologisms and key concepts, such as hybridity, mimicry, difference, and ambivalence. These concepts describe ways in which the colonized people have resisted the power of the colonizers. As David Huddart claimed in his book, because “its histories and cultures constantly intrude on the present”(Huddart,2006:1), being considering the present situation, for example, violently proclaimed cultural difference is combined paradoxically; the globalization has complexly interconnected networks, colonialism could not be understood as something only existed in the past. When people attempts to understand it, Homi Bhabha suggests that transformation of the understanding of cross-cultural relations is demanded. Some Honi Bhabha’s writing on, for example, colonialism, race, identity and difference, are collected into the volume The Location of Culture. This essay will focus on several issues that Bhabha has mentioned in his book. At the very beginning of the introduction of The Location of Culture, Bhabha says “It is the trope of our times to locate the question of culture in the realm of the beyond” (Bhabha, 1994:1). So, what does beyond...
Words: 1994 - Pages: 8
...Raven Scott Dr. Craig Smith ENG 108 Thursday 2nd May, 2016 Reflections on Location in Patricia Glinton Meicholas's An Evening in Guanima and Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men. Oral tradition dates back to the beginning of time, this tradition includes folktales, myths, legends, songs, riddles and any other form of verbal communication. Different aspects of the tradition has been used in various ways, including for entertainment, education, providing histories, or to bring awareness to societal ills. While each country/society have their own oral traditions and folktales, there are those folktales that are shared by several different communities. However, even though different communities may share the same stories, inevitably, those stories will be changed based on the specific community’s culture, language , history and geographical location. The effects of location and history on the folktales within the community can be seen very clearly in the texts An Evening in Guanima by Patricia Glinton Meicholas, and Mules and Men by Zora Neal Hurston, respectively. ***You need a very strong thesis here*** In “Talkin Ol' Story: A Brief Survey of the Oral tradition in the Bahamas”, Patricia Glinton Meicholas describes the Bahamian ol' story as existing “in a dream time landscape where human beings exhibit a fluid morphology…”(Meicholas 10). Much of Bahamian oral tradition , like that of the African Americans, has been influenced by what has come before, during and after the trans...
Words: 1838 - Pages: 8
...geographic grid: The system of mathematically determined latitude and longitude lines used to determine the location of every place on Earth’s surface. spatial relationships: The close association of human and natural phenomena in place and their mutual interdependence and interaction. spatial perspective: The geographic approach that places location at the center of research, analysis, and explanation. Modern geography is best understood as the study of how the physical and cultural attributes of the earth interact to form spatial or regional patterns Modern geography has improved our ability to explain the world by utilizing four traditional areas of study: • 1. the location of physical and cultural features and activities (spatial distributions); • 2. the relationships between people and the lands that support them; • 3. the existence of distinctive areas or regions, including analysis and explanation of how they came to be formed; and • 4. the physical characteristics of the earth, perhaps the oldest of all geographic traditions. patial tradition: A geographic perspective that emphasizes how things are organized in space, especially spatial distributions, associations, and interactions. man-land tradition: A geographic perspective that emphasizes the relationship between people and the physical environment used to support their livelihoods. area studies tradition: A geographic perspective that emphasizes the study of specific regions and an understanding of the...
Words: 1621 - Pages: 7
...Elements of Religious Traditions Your name REL/133 December 13, 2012 Marcial Lopez Elements of Religious Traditions Religion is a way of life founded upon the apprehension of sacredness in existence. Religious rituals are often symbolic reenactments of a religion’s key stories. In the following paragraphs, I will explain how religious traditions describe and encourage the relationships with the divine, sacred time, sacred space or natural world. I will then include examples of various religious traditions. Relationship with the divine Divinity is the power of having attributes and the quality of being divine. In earlier times, divinity was believed to give an explanation as to why natural disasters happened. The divine reasoning for things like hurricanes, eclipses, and even volcano’s erupting were explained. Over time, the same reasoning still is the basis to explain the ways that miracles happen. People believe that divine intervention takes place and reflects the truth of the person’s religion. Being divine is sacred. In my personal experience. Relationship with sacred time Life goes on as time goes on. When it comes to sacred time, the higher power and divinity comes through. Eternity is the sacred time that most religions live by. Time has no sacredness of its own, but rather, is a tool to be redeemed and employed by humans in order to participate and celebrate the eternal. Sacred time can connect members of the same religion together. It brings congregations...
Words: 1044 - Pages: 5
...Religious Traditions and Religious Studies Shawn Wittenberg University of Phoenix World Religious Traditions II REL 134 Roger Baumann April 13, 2014 Religious Traditions and Religious Studies Religious beliefs and customs have been ongoing since the dawn of time yet there are those who always believe different than others or try to say their religion is the only true religion. I look at religion differently than others and for so long there was an agnostic quality to my beliefs yet I have since found religion and having that said this paper will focus on the relationship with the divine, the relationship of sacred time, the relationship with the natural world or that sacred place, and finally the relationship with each other. Why is it that we have one true thing in common amongst the topics it is a relationship status that starts with a belief or custom. Having a relationship is to partner or relate too something or someone. Is that all religion is, a relationship with similar people over a similar belief or custom. What is divine and how would someone have a relationship with the divine? Divine is simply put as pertaining to God or a supreme being or devoted to a god (www.Dictionary.com). So an individual may have a relationship with divine on a daily, weekly, monthly, or annual basis. I myself have relationship with my lord and savior Jesus Christ in the form of Christianity while others may have different god or Supreme Being they follow. Religious customs and...
Words: 1099 - Pages: 5
...person dies a ceremony will be held most likely involving their closest friends, family, or neighbors. It is understood that you live and die, but what funerals provide is a peace that can come with the inescapable end. However has anyone ever really stepped back and examined why we really do these ceremonies or death rituals? If at first we can understand the origins of the traditions, we can then see how different societies go about recognizing different people, and how these practices have been altered over time in our day and age. Funeral practices are as old as the human race itself, and this is made obvious in information found on the Neanderthals from 60,000 B.C. The ritual of a funeral starts when a persons heart stops or breathing ceases classifying them as dead. The time followed after a person is declared dead consists of various treatments of the body, time for disposing of the remains, and a period of mourning for all who knew the person. Neanderthals are considered the first people to perform death rituals/ funeral practices. According to one scholar Max Gluckman the origins of the traditions of funerals started with the Neanderthals and was developed as a way to “secure certain blessings, and provide protection as well as prosperity” (Gluckman pg.25). The Neanderthals had an instinct in their rituals to always handle the deceased body with care. When the time came to burry the body, they were typically put in caves with delicacy and caution. The head of the deceased...
Words: 1018 - Pages: 5
...Effective and efficient management through Cultural Intelligence Training With the widespread application of Globalization, the accelerating driving force of information technology, outstanding advanced new transportation systems, increasing migrated work force seeking greener pasture, limitless academic boundary of intellectual and intelligentsia, working cross borders, brain drain of developing countries towards developed countries, human trafficking, the global communication traffic has progressively extended. In that situation, living in an unfamiliar social environment demands other considerable matters, adaptable behaviour and attitude, heavily depending on cultural intelligence. Development of Cultural Intelligence is relying on the following resources, accompanied with practising and training. (1) For head/ cognitive communication, immediate recognition of dos’ and don’ts of different cultures, including one’s own culture, as well as belief, traditional behaviour, taboo established on them. (2) For body / physical communication, appreciation and acknowledgement on working colleagues and guests with different religious backgrounds and races, as well as foreign countries where one’s businesses are based and operated. Understanding others’ cultures and accepting them willingly after removing and cutting improper ethical limits, promoting communications through significant definition of physical behaviours reflecting the readiness to enter into their social environment...
Words: 989 - Pages: 4
...unifying or similar characteristics can be physical, natural, human, or cultural. Movement Environment Movement refers to the way people, products, information and ideas move from one place to another. This can be local such as how did you get to school today, or it can be global such as how humans get to North America Human-environment interaction looks at the relationships between people and their environment; how people adapt to the environment and how they change it. Location • Absolute: A location can be absolute (specific) as in coordinates of a map using longitude and latitude • Relative: A location can be relative - examples: next door, nearby, a short drive, down the road a ways. Or, it can be in the same general location as another location - example: next to the post office. Language • Important for communication and passing on traditions and beliefs There is some debate about making English the official language of the United States. Customs and Traditions - Rules of behavior (written and unwritten) Arts and Literature - Teach about a culture’s values - Promote cultural pride and unity -Could include technology and entertainment Religion • Monotheism: belief in one god • Polytheism: belief in more than one god Major World Religions • Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism Forms of Government • People form governments to provide for their common needs Types • Democracy: people have...
Words: 351 - Pages: 2
...For this assignment, I chose to focus on Chinese funereal practices for the residents in Chinatown in San Francisco. I chose to examine this culture because the residents of Chinatown exist in a unique community that is a blend of traditional Chinese and Western cultures. As we learned in from Trask and Harmon (2007), we must view cultural practices about death and dying within the context of their individual experiences. Some immigrant cultures can preserve many of their old traditions when assimilating to their new home. For those residents of Chinatown this is exactly the case and when it comes to their funeral practices; there is a beautiful hybrid of traditions where old meets new. In San Francisco’s Chinatown, the funeral is a big...
Words: 321 - Pages: 2
...Every child and group dynamic is unique. Our parties reflect the personalities of everyone attending to ensure a wonderful time for all. We adapt to the situation with grace, energy and structure. Even though each party is different, our format remains primarily the same. Our parties start with the hostess coming to your home or location with a treasure chest filled with costumes and accessories. She starts with a short story. This builds anticipation while setting the scene for the activities ahead. Then the birthday child opens the treasure chest to reveal all the wonderful costumes inside. After everyone has put on their favorite outfit, we do individual pictures and you get a free website with hosted parties. Next we do a variety of theme related games and activities. So far, the story, dress-up, games and activities last about 45 minutes. We break for cake and presents or food and cake or some half hour where you handle the children and the hostess straightens things back up and also hides the clues for the final treasure hunt. The last 15 minutes of the party is a treasure hunt. This is a series of poems that lead the children from location to location and the final destination has their party favors. You can provide the party favors or we offer a discount for hosted parties for our favor sets. Since 1999, Princess and Pirate Parties has been focusing on the birthday child being the center of attention with theme related fun for both boys and girls. At a Princess Party the...
Words: 576 - Pages: 3