...Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel Why do some nations have so much material wealth while so many others have so little? This was the question Jared Diamond posed in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel. After identifying a point in time when all societies were roughly equal (over 13,000 years ago), Diamond identified the key variables that allowed some societies to develop highly complex, material-rich societies, while others developed at much slower rates. Guns, Germs, and Steel uncovers how Europeans came to dominate every other group on the planet by virtue of their access to what Diamond terms the “Agents of Conquest”: Guns, Germs, and Steel. Jared Diamond’s journey of discovery began on the island of Papua, New Guinea. There, in 1974, a local named Yali asked Diamond a deceptively simple question: "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo (material goods), but we black people had little cargo (material goods) of our own?" Diamond realized that Yali's question penetrated the heart of a great mystery of human history -- the roots of global inequality. Why were Europeans the ones with all the cargo? Why had they taken over so much of the world, instead of the native people of New Guinea? How did Europeans end up with what Diamond terms the Agents of Conquest: Guns, Germs and Steel? It was these agents of conquest that allowed 168 Spanish conquistadors to defeat an Imperial Inca army of 80,000 in 1532, and set a pattern of European conquest...
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...Sciences Anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology are all sub-disciplines within liberal arts. Each of these disciplines contributes to our understanding of the physical and intellectual world. Anthropology contributes to our understanding of human behavior and biology. Economics helps us to make rational decisions about resources while geography explains the earth and its natural phenomenon. History is important because aids in our understanding of the world, and how it has transformed. Studying political science helps us to understand who gets what, when, and how. Psychology is important because it explains the mind and brain and their relationship to our lives. And, the study of sociology increases our understanding of how to develop good societies. Although each of these disciplines are important, based on opinion, they can be ranked in importance. I would rank them in order by political science, history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and geography. In my opinion, political science, or the study of politics, is the most important social science because all other sciences involve a political process. The political process or politics is simply who gets what, when, and how. Political science is particularly interested in the study of governments’ power and authority, citizens, justice, wealth and resources, and relationships with other governments. It is easy to see how each of the other social sciences...
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...1) Modern astronomy basically begins with the re-emergence of the heliocentric view of the universe by Copernicus. Who were the four other major contributors to the development of modern astronomy after Copernicus? Explain what those contributions were. Finally, why did it take so long for the geocentric view of the universe to be overthrown and what does that tell us about scientific research and our society, even today? Copernicus release his theory of the heliocentric view while he was on his death bed. Primary reason for this was because of the Catholic’s church control on society at the time and the effects it would have on religious society stating that the earth was not the center of the universe. After Copernicus released his theory, other key astronomers that supported and advanced Capernicus’ theory included Galileo, Keppler, Brahe, and Newton. Galileo Galilei, a contributed to astronomy and physics, advanced the use of the telescope towards use in astronomy. because of his invention, and ability to view the planets and starts, he identified four of Jupiters moons, and the phases of Venus which directly supported Copernicus’ theory, that earth, like the other planets, revolved around the sun, and moons, revolved around their planets. Tyco Brahe, an astronomer, under the support of King Frederick the II, established an observatory on the Danish island of Hveen. The establishment of this observatory was critical for the next 20 years in establishing observations...
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...that high quality institution have positive effect on economic growth and therefore on income in a long and short runs. In order to prove it we are going to find out what economic institutions are, why they are matte, what are the reasons behind different institutions in different countries and finally support it with historical facts. 1 Links between economic growth and economic institution What are institutions? The term “Economic institutions” can be defined in mach different way and have multiple meanings. On the one hand North (1990, p.3 ) defines institutions in a general wide way as “ the rules of the game in a society, or more formally, are the humanly devised constants that shape human interaction… In consequence they structure incentives in human exchange, whether political, social, or economic”. Hadgson (2004, p. 655) explains economic institutions as “ durable systems of established and embedded social rules that...
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...Unit-I Economic Geography Economics: Economics is the social science which studies optimum utilization of scarce resources. It basically studies economic activities, markets, allocation, money, capital, competition, resources, development, growth, welfare, well-being, poverty, deliberate, purposeful, rational, optimal, efficient, and many more. We can also define the economics as "Economics is the study of purposeful human activities in pursuit of satisfying individual or collective wants" "Economics is the study of principles governing the allocation of scarce means among competing ends" Geography: When we think of Geography, we often use the following words or concepts: location, site, place, access, spatial, regional, distance, separation, proximity, speed, mobility, transportation, resources, communication, agglomeration etc. Economic Geography: What are the major factors that explain the recent growth of the Chinese economy and the relative decline of the United States economy? What explains persistent poverty in pockets of global cities such as New York, London and Tokyo, and what prompted the emergence of vast urban slums in Calcutta? What are the impacts of globalization on people’s jobs and livelihoods in different parts of the world? Explaining the causes and consequences of uneven development within and between regions is a central concern for economic geographers. The discipline’s goal has long been to offer multi-faceted explanations for economic...
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...ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY Y U K O A O YA M A J A M E S T. M U R P H Y SUSAN HANSON KEY CONCEPTS IN key concepts in economic geography The Key Concepts in Human Geography series is intended to provide a set of companion texts for the core fields of the discipline. To date, students and academics have been relatively poorly served with regards to detailed discussions of the key concepts that geographers use to think about and understand the world. Dictionary entries are usually terse and restricted in their depth of explanation. Student textbooks tend to provide broad overviews of particular topics or the philosophy of Human Geography, but rarely provide a detailed overview of particular concepts, their premises, development over time and empirical use. Research monographs most often focus on particular issues and a limited number of concepts at a very advanced level, so do not offer an expansive and accessible overview of the variety of concepts in use within a subdiscipline. The Key Concepts in Human Geography series seeks to fill this gap, providing detailed description and discussion of the concepts that are at the heart of theoretical and empirical research in contemporary Human Geography. Each book consists of an introductory chapter that outlines the major conceptual developments over time along with approximately twenty-five entries on the core concepts that constitute the theoretical toolkit of geographers working within a specific subdiscipline. Each entry provides...
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...connections. 2. What is the defining component of globalization? Explain. The defining component of globalization centers on the increasing interconnectedness and interdependence between places around the world through social, cultural, economic, political, and technological change. Such changes inevitably alter the human experience of place and space and leads to shifts of thinking from one population to the next. Over time, cultures begin to overlap and influence each other and this influence plays immense roles in the development of independent nations’ political and economic systems as well as the well being of their people. Lecture 2 3. Define “chorology” and the importance of a “chorological view” to Geography. Chorology is defined as “the study of regions and spaces”. The modern discipline can be traced back to 18th century philosophers: Immanuel Kant believed all knowledge could be divided into either geography (classifying things according to space) or history (classifying things according to time). Geography was seen at first only in terms of exploration as an instrument of colonialism and imperialism. The goal of a “chorological view” is to have a comprehensive understanding of characteristics of spaces and regions. Therefore chorology can be considered as a specialization within geography that allows us to describe spaces and regions through the observation of their particular traits. 4. Explain Ratzel’s concept of Lebensraum. Ratzel was...
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...Examiners’ Report June 2013 GCE Geography 6GE03 01 Edexcel and BTEC Qualifications Edexcel and BTEC qualifications come from Pearson, the UK’s largest awarding body. We provide a wide range of qualifications including academic, vocational, occupational and specific programmes for employers. For further information visit our qualifications websites at www.edexcel.com or www.btec.co.uk. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us using the details on our contact us page at www.edexcel.com/contactus. Giving you insight to inform next steps ResultsPlus is Pearson’s free online service giving instant and detailed analysis of your students’ exam results. • See students’ scores for every exam question. • Understand how your students’ performance compares with class and national averages. • Identify potential topics, skills and types of question where students may need to develop their learning further. For more information on ResultsPlus, or to log in, visit www.edexcel.com/resultsplus. Your exams officer will be able to set up your ResultsPlus account in minutes via Edexcel Online. Pearson: helping people progress, everywhere Pearson aspires to be the world’s leading learning company. Our aim is to help everyone progress in their lives through education. We believe in every kind of learning, for all kinds of people, wherever they are in the world. We’ve been involved in education for over 150 years, and by working across 70 countries, in 100 languages, we have built an international...
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...[Type the company name] | German regions “Oldenburg (Kreisfreie Stadt)” and “Wesermarsch” | Examination paper | | [Type the author name] | 5/23/2012 | Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. The performance of the regions. 4 3. Location factors. 5 4. Theoretical explanation. 7 5. The future development. 8 6. Bibliography 9 1. Introduction The paper consist comparison of information about the two regions in Germany - the Eurostat NUTS3 regions DE943 Oldenburg (Oldenburg), Kreisfreie Stadt and DE94G Wesermarsch. Making an overview of the performances, local factors, theoretical explanation and the future development of both of the regions I’m comparing them between each other and with Germany as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to understand the regions ability to develop, the importance of their business structure and to explain the situation in each of the regions. 2. The performance of the regions. Based on the enclosed data, compare the performance of the two regions with each other and with the whole country. The following pages show the analysis and the performances, answering the questions that were given by using the Excel data that is provided. The information in the Excel sheet about the population provides data considering the growth of the population for the whole country, as well as for the regions that this paper is about. By the enclosed data we can see that in Oldenburg there is increase in the population...
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...issues is the lack of the arts within the academic system. They focus today is typically how to take an exam. For example, Florida focuses so much on the FCAT that they typically focus only on English and Math. High Schools keep using this “Teaching to the Test “technique, which only teaches students how to prepare for the FCAT and this narrows the curriculum a lot. This issue leads to the question, “Is the Geography and Math knowledge of an American student as good as European student?” Every year a test is given to every student in High School. This test has basic questions about Geography and it measures the level of every student within their grade. Back in 2010 after collecting back the test from students and grading it, the National Assessment of Education Progress publicized that only a 25% of American schoolchildren passed the test and that only a 20% of 12th graders passed. This is probably one the saddest news America had to deal with when speaking of education. After the news was published to the public, Daniel Edelson, vice president for education with the National Geographic Society, explained in an interview with the Education Writers Association that he was "disappointed" with the results, but not surprised. "We're just not doing a good job educating people with geography," he said, he also admitted that the Department of Education never gave importance to Geography and that they never created a solid program to be taught in High Schools. The problem about...
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...system; 3) Therefore, all the less developed countries are integrated into the world capitalist system. 4) Developed world is responsible for the underdevelopment of third world 5) It is the integration with the world capitalist economy that makes these countries poor. 6) Marxist theory can help us to understand this process of underdevelopment Here, three theories are introduced under theories of underdevelopment. Dependency theory (Gunder Frank) 1966 The most interesting aspect of this theory is that it is a view from the periphery. Major argument of dependency theory Underdevelopment is a historical process; not a condition intrinsic to LDCs The dominant and the dependent countries form into a world capitalist system. Underdevelopment is caused by the functioning of this world capitalist system Development somewhere requires underdevelopment somewhere else (deve. and under development is two sides of the same coin “Development of underdevelopment” thesis. Condition of LDCs is not an issue of lacking internal dynamics (inertia, climate, misfortune etc,) but it is a reflection of the way they are incorporated into the world capitalist system Prepared by Dr. Nalani Hennayake, Department of Geography, University of Peradeniya October, 2010 Town and Country Planning Moratuwa University Introduction to Political Economy Semester 3 Level 200 This incorporation formed: a metropolis (core) -Satellite (periphery) relationship This relationship occurs at different scales This relationship...
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...Chapter 1 - Geography Matters: Definitions: * Human geography the study of the spatial organization of human activity and of people’s relationships with their environments * Cartography: the body of practical and theoretical knowledge about making distinctive visual representations of Earth’s surface in the form of maps * Map projection: a systematic rendering on a flat surface of the geographic coordinates of the features found on Earth’s surface * Ethnocentrism: the attitude that a persona’s own race and culture are superior to those of others * Imperialism: the extension of the power of a nation through direct/indirect control of the economic and political life of other territories * Masculinism: the assumption that the world is and should be shaped mainly by men for men * environmental determinism: a doctrine holding that human activities are controlled by the environment * globalization: the increasing interconnectedness of different parts of the world through common processes of economic, environmental political and cultural change * ecumene: the total habitable area of a country. Sine it depends on the prevailing technology, the available ecumene varies over time. Canada’s ecumene is so much less than its total area. * Geodemographic research: investigation using census data and commercial data (i.e. sales data and property records) about populations of small districts to create profiles of those populations for market research ...
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...SSC1 - General Education Social Science Course of Study Theories and Methods What is the role of science and the scientific method in the social sciences? The purpose of the social sciences is to study systematically all aspects of the human condition and of human behavior, using a methodology borrowed from the physical sciences wherever possible. This insistence on systematic and methodical study is what distinguishes the social sciences from philosophy, art, and literature, which also comment and reflect on all facets of the human condition. In fact, insights into the nature of human behavior and the characteristics of societies have been expressed by artists, poets, and philosophers since time immemorial. How do the social sciences differ from natural and physical science? Competencies covered by this subject 113.1.1 - Social Science Theory and Methodology Scientific Method in Social Science To prepare for further study in this domain, you will want to familiarize yourself with ways in which the scientific method is applied in the social sciences. Keep in mind the crucial comparison between social and natural science. Consider the following questions: What is the scientific method? Scientific Method for Sociology An area of inquiry is a scientific discipline if its investigators use the scientific method, which is a systematic approach to researching questions and problems through objective and accurate observation, collection and analysis of data, direct experimentation...
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...QSN : POVERTY IS A CAUSE OF INDIVIDUAL DEFICIENCIES.DISCUSS Poverty in its most general sense is the lack of necessities. Basic food, shelter, medical care, and safety are generally thought necessary based on shared values of human dignity. Some societies focus on individual failures and deficiencies to explain the occurrence and patterns of poverty. Personal characteristics such as laziness or lack of ability are seen as the primary causes of poverty. The poor are blamed for being poor and solutions to poverty are assumed to lie within their individual control. But this approach fails to acknowledge that poverty is not random. The likelihood of poverty varies sharply depending on age, gender, family structure, health, education, economic conditions and where you live. In other words, it is not the poor choices and ‘bad’ behaviour of individuals that lead to poverty, but structural failings which stack the odds against certain people and make it difficult for them to escape deprivation or reach their full potential. In other words however individual deficiencies may lead to poverty but only to a lesser extent since they are many more factors that may lead to poverty which include cultural belief systems, geographical disparities, and economic, political and social distortions or discrimination. These are some of the factors that lead to poverty which will be expanded in the essay below. Failure in life may be due to some inborn deficiencies such as physical or mental handicap...
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...South Carolina Social Studies Academic Standards Mick Zais, Ph.D. State Superintendent of Education South Carolina Department of Education Columbia, South Carolina State Board Approved Document – August 18, 2011 Contents Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iii Introduction .....................................................................................................................................1 Social Studies Standards Page Format .............................................................................................5 Grade-Level Standards for Social Studies Grades K–3 Kindergarten. Foundations of Social Studies: Children as Citizens ...............................................7 Grade 1. Foundations of Social Studies: Families........................................................................12 Grade 2. Foundations of Social Studies: Communities ................................................................17 Grade 3. South Carolina Studies ..................................................................................................22 Grades 4–5 Grade 4. United States Studies to 1865 ........................................................................................29 Grade 5. United States Studies: 1865 to the Present ....................................................................36 Grades 6–8 Grade 6. Early Cultures to 1600...
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