Follow the Criteria in file ‘essay’ and Please refer to the Assignments that I provided in the essay. 1,500 words.?ASSIGNMENT1.docxAssignment2.docxAssignment3.docxessay.docx

Geography Assignment #1

Wenqing Zhao

Dec 16th 2020.

Question1:

1: Location: Location is explained as being either relative or absolute. A specific location has a specified set of both latitude and longitude based on the cartesian coordinate grid. For example, the absolute location of Vancouver with regards to the global Geodetic coordinate system is 49.250N and 123.10W, the former being the latitude while the latter is the longitude.

2: Place: This term describes an area with a boundary that has been determined with regards to outstanding features to outstanding features most of which define specific roles of the identified region in the local culture. For instance, in Vancouver, there is a street by the name Granville, an area specifically known for being an entertainment spot during the weekends.

3: Space: this term is used to describe an extended surface area or a 3-diamensional area which has been set aside for a specific purpose. For example, the UEL i the west of Vancouver is an area that has been specifically set aside for the 1st national community for the purpose of holding political events.

4: Scale: The term scale is used to describe an extent of a surface or rather a 3D area that has been set aside for a specific purpose. This type of standard measure is based on the time period together with the population based on the encapsulated human geographic research. For example, the standard figure 1:50,000 has been assigned as a scale for the standard world map.

5: Map Projection: This term describes a technique that is used to flatten the earth surface into a plane with the objective of making a map. To make this possible, it requires a systematic transformation of both the longitudes and the latitudes of the identified locations from the surface to the globe into locations on a plane. For instance, Albers Equal Area Conic is identified as as one of the many conic projections.

Question 2:

Differentiate between determinist and possibilist paradigms, and briefly indicate why there has been a shift from one to the other in human geography. 

To begin with, determinist paradigms are based on the concept of determinism where every event inclusive of human actions are assumed as being predetermined. On the other hand, possibility paradigm is based on the idea of possibilism where every individual is in a position to act based on free will. One example of determinist paradigm is the environmental determinism, a concept that is focused on the benefits of the physical environment and the role it plays in the influence on both human and physical landscapes. The latter means that individuals are in the capacity to make entirely different decisions with regards to both physical and environmental factors. With respect to environmental determinism, the characteristics of a specific culture is determined more by the conditions of the surrounding environment rather than the conditions of the social environment. For example, the North American region experiences a seasonal climate, one that allows individuals living in this region to alter their attires based on seasons. On the other hand, individuals living in regions with tropical climates end up wearing the same attires throughout the year because the climate is constant in such regions. According to linguistic determinism, language is the main factor that determines the difference in the way people think, act, say, or know. The hypothesis by Sapir-Whorf points out that people have different experiences of the world owing to their differences in grammatical structures that they often use. Furthermore, genetic determinism is based on the concept that, the existence of variance in the genetic nature of human beings plays a major role in the uniqueness of the behavior, desires, and beliefs of every person. Similarly, the nature of a person can be predicted base d on their genetic sequence that has been inherited from their forefathers. Therefore, determinists have come to a conclusion that the cause-and-effect relationship enables individuals to predict the behavior and mindsets of other individuals for different causes or reasons. Lastly, possibilism is considered t be a cultural landscape which emphasizes on complete exclusion of factors related to the physical environment in all human matters, an idea that depict the ideal that almost every decision-making aspect is basically contributed by a person’s choices, one that afterward creates a wide range of possible outcomes. Owing to this, every person has the power to make their own decisions or choices with regards to their social, physical, mental, and preferred choices. Noteworthy, every choice that is made by a person is a reflection of their state of mind and should barely, if not, be influenced by the existing external factors.

Question 3:

A: Environmental or Physical Determinism: “Man is a product of the earth’s surface. This means not merely that he is a child of the earth…but that the earth has mothered him, fed him, set him tasks, confronted him with difficulties…and at the same time whispered hints for their solution.”

The physical or environmental determinism is based on the idea that the current existing race of human’s dependent upon eh external elements. This approach suggests that the human nature is predetermined by the surface of the earth. It means that the external environment exhibits primary control over humanity because decisions made by humans are determined by the external environment.

B: Possibilism: “Even though the desert region does not naturally produce enough water for humans and domesticated livestock, people have used technology and created ways to pipe water to dry areas.”

Possibilism paves way for unexpected advances including new findings all which are structured to promote the well-being of the huma race and to help the human race to effectively deal with the day-to-day problems most of which are brough about by the mental, social, and physical constraints. For instance, communities living in desert regions have problems accessing water. However, they have found solutions for this problem through innovation and the use of existing technology.

C: Cultural Landscape: “ Under the influence of a given culture, itself changing through time, the landscape undergoes development, passing through phases and probably reaching ultimately the end of its cycle of development.”

The term culture described a set of behaviors and ideas that often transform with both time and landscape. Noteworthy, there are ups ad downs throughout the course of a specific culture prior to the prevalence of a new culture. Owing to the latter statement, cultures assume different phases at different points in time as a result creating a representation of different points of timeframe and cultural landscape throughout its development.

D: Cognitive Behaviorism: “The map she drew me provided directions between her school and home, and it was clear from the buildings she drew which stores where the most interesting to her.”

Through cognitive behaviorism, individuals are able to recognize and remember things that seem to be not only noticeable, but appealing to their senses. Based on the statement above, the map was designed with regards to an individual’s cognitive memory rather than basing it on a standardized road signs or directions.

Question 4:

Could geography exist as a discipline without maps? Why or why not? 

Based on my opinion, I do not think that geography could exist as a discipline without the existence of maps. This is owed to the fact that geography is made up of a wide range of knowledge that is based on concrete scientific proofs and philosophical theories. For instance, the classical human geography is based on free will and determinism while on the other hand, the contemporary human geography is based on humanism, empiricism, and positivism. Some of the existing philosophical options including free will and determinism have already established a groundwork, one that can be used to carry out mapping and exploration of the physical landscapes.

Noteworthy, the application of various geographical approaches pave way for geographers to create a comparison and contrast based on the results obtained from different approaches and outcomes. Owing to this, they all came to a rather precise and accurate conclusion based on the different cultural landscapes in different regions across the globe. The latter statement suggests that different ideas and practices come forth and different with regards to different geographical positions that exist across the world. Owing to the existence of globalization, the relative mobility of individuals has increased in an unprecedented rate eventually leading to assimilation and cultural exchange among different people from different backgrounds.

Question Five

On the Prince George image, identify the following features:

1. Lumber yard: It has an elongated shape. Also, there is a cylindrical lining up in a smooth pattern, one that appears like logs along the railway track.

2. Track: From the image, there appears to be cargo containers on both sides of the railway. These containers are comparable to tracks for the railway station.

3. Soccer fields: The soccer field appears in a rectangle shape. As observed from the satellite image, the soccer field appears to be filled with green grass.

4. Industrial area: From the image, the industrial area appears to be three times larger than the normal residential structures. Some of these buildings appear to be L-shaped and others appear to have been painted with white color.

5. Flood zone: The flood zone seems to have a dark color, a part that represent the river overflowing over the vegetation. However, other parts seem to be elevated higher because they are in the middle of the flood zone.

6. Shopping plaza: The building is located amidst the residential area and have a lot cars parking around it, resembling the customers’ parkade for the shopping plaza.

7. Golf course: The contour of the golf field is obvious with numerous golf hole areas located throughout the entire golf course.

8. City park: It is a piece of land resembling a mini forest located strategically in the midst of the residential areas and close to the school and shopping plaza.

9. Greenbelt: It is a piece of untouched land surrounding the urban areas with no buildings on it, sometimes resembling a belt encircle the city.

10. Tennis courts: It is usually next to the soccer field with a piece of long, grey net in the mid of the field, resembling the tennis net.

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Running Head: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY 1

HUMAN GEOGRAPHY 1

ASSIGNMENT #2

WENQING ZHAO

Question1:

The authors identify three different perceptions towards ecologically sustainable forestry and community safety. In a paragraph each, identify and describe each. Why do the perceptions vary? (5 marks)

Because individuals’ perceptions are developed through a synthesis of their innermost beliefs, knowledge, and experiences. This means a person can only be understood by focusing on their personal perspectives. Among the three perceptions that will be discussed include nature as hazard, nature as intrinsically valuable, and nature as instrumentally valuable. Looking at the nature as hazard perspective, it puts emphasis of the undesirable nature of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, or hurricanes. However, this perspective ignores the fact that humans play a major role in triggering the occurrence of natural disasters. However, natural disasters can somehow be controlled through the implementation of disaster management and recovery plans. However, such strategies end up creating uncertainty and fear among people living in areas that are prone to disasters.

The second on the list is nature as instrumentally valuable, a perspective where nature is regarded as being a beneficial entity. The environment we live in has a number of economic benefits such as living in a forest filled land for the purpose of obtaining timber and firewood. Also, people can migrate from a densely forested region so they can pave way for urban development or for reasons tied to cultural identity. In most cases, individuals who end up developing emotional ties are the ones who consider the environment to have potential benefits.

The third perspective is nature as intrinsically, one that explains that nature holds more than just economic and societal gain. Noteworthy, this perspective is not only limited to the ideologies that are held by environmental activists. People who hold this opinion tend to feel they have a moral responsibility to protect the environment. Those holding this view often disagree with disaster mitigation organizations with regards to human interruption and disruption of the natural environment. (Goemans & Ballamingi, 2012)

The authors describe an evolution of geographic thought around human perception of natural hazards that accounts for our changing ideas about society’s vulnerability. Briefly outline the key points in this discussion. Which approach in Module 5 evaluates human adjustment to the natural environment? (5 marks)

Prior to the mid-twentieth century, scholars were of the assumption that humans could have a complete control over the natural forces. This perception contributed to false sense of confidence regarding being safe from natural forces that lead to natural hazards. This false sense of confidence contributed to a lot of communities living in regions that are prone to natural hazards. However, behavioral analysts later came to the conclusion that individuals and communities could prevent becoming victims of natural disasters if they subdue to environmental forces. As years went by, the perception that people had regarding disaster vulnerability took a different shape. This perception started to base more on researching how economic, social, and political forces contribute to natural hazards. An example of this is where research on socioeconomic standing has led to the conclusion that populations that are economically stable have the potential to reduce the occurrence of natural disasters in areas that are prone to disasters. Therefore, the evaluative approach has been adopted to explain how individuals have gradually adjusted to the natural environment.

If your job was to plan urban-rural-natural land use in Kelowna and the surrounding areas, how do you think your understanding of these different perceptions would help you in developing different approaches with which to educate people on fire risk and management? Identify and briefly discuss three ways that you could educate people (keeping in mind their different perceptions) on what they can do to protect their property and community from wildfire. Your answer should be approximately 500 words (two double-spaced pages). (10 marks)

In the event of the development of a new land-se initiative, it would be necessary to consider the level of education among the members of the community in the identified region. It is important to have a clear understanding of the beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions of the population within the region. Doing this enables the planners to have a clear view of possible problems which might arise from the population. Furthermore, understanding the beliefs of the community will help the developers to come up with a tailor-made educational activity such as seminars, developing a custom website, and conducting frequent local field tours.

First, it is easy to reach out to a considerably large population through holding information seminars within the identified region. such seminars should be conducted in public areas such as community park or the local town hall. These seminars would create a platform where the community can communicate their issues and grievances. Prior to planning and holding such seminars, the involved organization should start by recruiting qualified environmental scientists who will educate the community on how to protect themselves and their properties from wildfire. Doing this will be a move that will invoke the powerful psychological principle of authority which points out that, experts within a specific field tend to create a view that they are more credible by those with lesser knowledge on a specific field of expertise, therefore, having a greater level of influence on the community members (Cialdini, 2007). For the seminars to be effective, there should also be land-use planners and managers will develop structured presentations to inform and provide recommendations to the community regarding the issue at hand.

Secondly, I would educate people on how to protect themselves and their properties from wildfires by developing an educational website. Noteworthy, having a website plays a very important role in educating the masses considering that the information is available on the website any time. Also, individuals can access information on the website at the comfort of their home. This strategy will ensure that a lot of individuals get access to the intended information including those who fail to attend the seminars. It is important to ensure that the website has a user-friendly interface so users can easily brows through to access statistics, rules that relate to the local environment, including the history, and possibilities of the occurrence of wildfires within the identified region. furthermore, the website should be designed to have an interactive section where community members can inquire and ask questions regarding prevention and management of wild fires.

The last way that to educate the community regarding wildfires will be to hold education initiative by holding several field tours of the environment within the identified region. this activity will be conducted by taking members of the local community to the natural environment. Doing this will help the community to understand the environment they are living in, including the possibilities of the occurrence of disasters and how to prevent them from happening. This strategy works better for members of the community who fall under the category of those who hold the idea that nature is intrinsically valuable, and that humans should limit their interaction with the environment for the purpose of protecting it and their properties.

Question 2:

People in Power Can Have Distorted Images/ Mental Maps

In the year 1850, Alexander Von Humboldt who was a photographer pointed out that, for a person to have a vivid understanding of nature, they have to take into account both the objective and the subjective aspects of the phenomena. He went further to suggest that there exist mental processes which determine a person’s viewpoint of reality. Many years later, the idea of Alexander has come to be known as perception. Perception is a term that describes a multi-dimensional construct which draws on the psychological functioning including sensory information processes which are provided by the environment with the aim of creating s mental foundation of the perception. Furthermore, the manner in which a person perceives the environment around them accounts for the subjectivity of their experience. This statement holds the idea that an individual’s cultural and societal factors contribute to their perception of their views. Since it is impossible for two or more people to have the same perceptions or mental images of reality, it becomes impossible for subjective bias to have an influence on the actual views that individuals perceive (Elliot, 2016). Sadly, some of these biases create a cloud around perception, a stance that erroneous judgements and decision making which happen to impact the society. Such happens mostly when individuals who have the power to make decisions have either underlying self-interests or distorted self-perceptions.

Since we are living in a society that is characteristically capitalist, individuals who have a lot of money are the ones who have power and control over the society. Because of this, most of them are surrounded by individuals who are submissive and always agree with their ideas and opinions. When this happens, such people end up with the perception that they are always right and this twists how they perceive reality because they end up believing in self-fulfilling prophecy based on the notion that they are never wrong in anything. Noteworthy, this kind of perceptional twist has a tremendous impact on how people with power and influence end up behaving. When such people start developing self-perception, they start to constantly think that their judgements are always right after which they end up fueling their self-fulfilling prophecies and make decisions based with their instincts instead of basing them on research from scholars and experts. President Donald Trump can be used as a perfect example of how power can distort someone’s mental map. For many years, Trump has been surrounded with individuals who constantly fuel his ego. Bing around such people for a long time made Trump to develop a narcissistic condition, one that made him to start thinking that he is self-righteous and that every decision he makes are right and that the ideas and opinions of other people are not important. For instance, there was a point where Trump suggested that Covid-19 virus (Coronavirus) can be treated by injecting patients with disinfectants. This shows that Trump had reached a point where he disregarded facts from scientific research and sought to find solution through personal instincts. This shows how such an individual can end up making significant environmental decisions, most which could probably lead to far reaching consequences such as global warming, air quality, or environmental pollution. To avoid this from happening, people in such positions should specialize in their area of interest to understand what is required and to avoid unnecessary inconvenience (Elliot, 2016). It is important for individuals regarded as having self-schema to learn more and conduct a lot of scholar researches considering that their inflated self-schema may lead them to believing that they are knowledgeable enough leading them to making bad decisions. the latter can be supported by a statement made by Albert Einstein where he said, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.

Based on the above discussion, individuals with a lot of money often have a lot of power and influence. In fact, such people make bad environmental decisions, some decisions which have drastic effects on the environment. Looking back at the definition of perception, the subjective perception of a person contributes to the interests and values that they hold with them. For instance, a person with a lot of money may invest in a vehicle industry which they will invest in for the purpose of the business’ well-being. When this happens, such people get an inflated opinion of expertise in that area leading to the making of bad decisions. in sum, biased perception is mostly held by politicians in the modern-day society because most of them make political decisions that are in favor of themselves and their fellow politicians.

Question 3:

Region Desirability

Region Knowledge

Question 3. A

What areas are ranked by the entire group as being the four most preferable regions in which to live? (Identify these areas clearly.).

Of the four areas that are ranked as being the most preferred regions to live according to the participants include the following; Oklahoma which had a score of 28 and was ranked as the first, followed by Great Victoria with a score of 28, the third being Kootenays with a score of 36, and lastly, Vancouver Island which had a score of 38.

Looking at the above provided data, it is apparent that the preferences of these individuals were influenced by several patterns. First of all, the four regions happen to have some similarities such as being located near to water bodies, friendly environmental conditions, natural environments, and a number of outdoor activities. Furthermore, the four location happen to have moderate population sizes including moderate cities.

Question 3.B

Does the pattern of preferences shown by your respondents surprise you? If so, how? Why did the pattern surprise you? If not, why not? Would you have expressed the same preferences? (10 marks).

Personally, I was barely surprised by the pattern of their preferences. I can say that the people I interviewed showed at least three different trends. The first trend is where the majority of them seemed to dislike live in the southern region of British Columbia. This is because they dislike the characteristics of the region’s climatic condition. Another reason why they happen to dislike this region is because of affordability factor. Most of them prefer living in regions with moderate or small cities including those that are still growing. (Pfeffer, 2010)

Noteworthy, the economic status of a region often determines the affordability of housing and the cost of living in general. In my opinion, my participants insisted on the region’s cost of living owing to the fact that most of them are relatively young between the ages of 14 and 37 years. If I happened to be a participant, I would have provided similar results. This is because I am enthusiast of regions with warm weather including those where the cost of living is moderate and affordable. Furthermore, I am still a university student and I am not yet financially stable as I have not yet secured a permanent employment.

Question 3.C

Is there any relationship between the respondents’ preferences for regions and their familiarity with those regions? Use a graphic or tabular way to show if there is such a relationship. (10 marks)

Having interviewed my participants, I can confidently say that their preferences for identified regions are related to their familiarity to those regions. This relationship is utterly evident especially when looking at the data from North and North West. These two regions out to have lower ratings with regards to living preference and preferences. Furthermore, this kind of trend is evident in regions that have been given higher rankings with regards to living conditions.

Furthermore, participants who preferred living in regions as Greater Victoria and Okanagan happened to be familiar with these regions. The only region that stood out is Greater Vancouver as most participants were greatly familiar with the region but ended up giving them low rankings making it a place that is less desirable. This region was highly familiar but with low ranking mostly because of the high cost of living (Cialdini, 2007). To sum this up, there was a positive correlation existing between familiarity and disability with a specific region. Nonetheless, statistical test like the Pearson’s r correlation is required if the relationship is to be considered as statistically relevant. The figure below is a presentation of a visual estimation of the positive correlation that exists between desirability and familiarity of a region after it has been analyzed statistically.

References

Cialdini, R. B. (2007). Influence: the psychology of persuasion: Robert B. Cialdini. New York: Collins.

Elliot, N. (2016). Introduction to Human Geography: People and the Environment [Moodle Module slides]. Retrieved from the Thompson Rivers University GEOG 1191: https://moodle.tru.ca

Goemans, M. & Ballamingie, P. (2012). Forest as hazard, forest as victim: Community perspectives and disaster mitigation in the aftermath of Kelowna's 2003 wildfires. The Canadian Geographer, 57(1) (pp. 56-71). DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0064.2012. 00447.x

Pfeffer, J. (2010). Power: why some people have it–and others don’t. New York, NY: Harper Business.

Jay SteveNateGerrySheila LouEddieBridget BarbTimTotal

Okanagan Valley 125245242128

Greater Victoria 243412323428

Kootenays 312156417636

The Rest of Vancouver Island 454624134538

Greater Vancouver 5313311255846

Kamloops/ Thompson 866587871258

Fraser Valley 778873966970

Sunshine Coast/ Sechelt Peninsula 68776105118775

Central Interior 910991281089387

Peace River District 1091011991110101099

The Northwest 111111101012791111103

The North 1212121211116121212112

Jay SteveNateGerrySheila LouEddieBridget BarbTimTotal

Okanagan Valley 333332333329

Greater Victoria 323333333228

Greater Vancouver 233333333228

Kootenays 333322331225

The Rest of Vancouver Island 223233332225

Kamloops/ Thompson 232221123321

Fraser Valley 222222111318

Sunshine Coast/ Sechelt Peninsula 122222212117

Central Interior 313112112116

Peace River District 111111111210

The Northwest 111111111110

The North 111111111110

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12

Assignment #3

Wenqing Zhao

QUESTION 1:

All living organisms during and after their life cycle relate to the environment in one way or another. The study if this is what is referred to as ecology. It aims at defining the relationship that all living things have with their environment; from humans to animals and lastly to plants. Through studying ecology, the already established connection between animals, humans, plants, and the general environment can be fully comprehended and supported.

It does not end there, it goes beyond to include how these living things adjust to their geographic

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