S.P.I.C.E.S.S.

Interconnections

S.P.I.C.E.S.S - Interconnection

S.P.I.C.E.S.S.- acronym –

“A word formed from the first letters of other words.”

SPICES Scale

Environment

Change

Interconnection

Space

Place

====== The spatial level at which a geographical inquiry takes

place – personal, local, regional, nation or global.

A specific place on Earth and all the things, both animate and inanimate, that are there.

The dynamic nature of all process on Earth, whether slow or fast, small or large.

The relationship between all things, both animate and inanimate, and all processes, both natural and human.

The way things are arranged on the Earth’s surface.

A part of the Earth’s surface that is identified and given meaning by people.

S = Sustainability The ongoing capacity of Earth to maintain all life.

Interconnection

The relationship between all things, both animate and inanimate, and all processes, both natural and human.

The concept of INTERCONNECTION emphasises that no object of geographical study can be viewed in “I S O L A T I O N”.

It is about the ways that GEOGRAPHICAL PHENOMENA are connected to each other through:

• environmental processes, • the movement of people, • flows of trade and investment, • the purchase of goods and services, • cultural influences, • the exchange of ideas and information, • political power and international agreements.

Interconnections can be: • complex, • reciprocal or (reciprocal: bearing on or binding each of two parties equally)• interdependent, and (interdependent: dependent on each other)• have a strong influence on the characteristics of places.

An understanding of the significance of INTERCONNECTION leads to holistic thinking and helps students to see the various aspects of Geography as connected rather than separate bodies of knowledge.

Australian Curriculum: Geography GlossaryInte

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Environmental Processes: Atmospheric Deposition ProcessesAtmospheric Deposition is the pollution of water caused by air pollution. In the atmosphere, water particles mix with carbon dioxide sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, this forms a weak acid.

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UCLA: Institute of the Environment and Sustainability

The Movement of People‘Migration’ - the movement of people from one place to another. There is internal migration and international migration. Push and Pull Factors involved.

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Syria: Numbers and Locations of People Fleeing Internal Violence

Flows of Trade and Investment“The Gulf’s push into Africa is broadening, by sector and geographical location. Gulf companies are placing more attention on new and unfamiliar markets in east, west and southern Africa.

From telecommunications and private equity in West Africa to energy projects in South Africa and Mozambique, investment flows are diversifying, concentrated in small to medium deals. The GCC’s geographical proximity to the continent and its good air links are helping to grow trade, and Gulf investors are seeking both equity and direct investment opportunities, although the surge of investor interest has made for a crowded field.”

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The Economist: GCC Trade and Investment Flows

The Purchase of Goods and ServicesGoods and services are the outcome of human efforts to meet the wants and needs of people.

A GOOD is something that you can use or consume, like food or CDs or books or a car or clothes. You buy a good with the idea that you will use it either just once or over and over again.

A SERVICE is something that someone does for you like give you a haircut or fix you dinner provide you with utilities (power, water, gas) or even tutor you. You don’t get something ‘solid’ but you do get something that you need.

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The Economist: GCC Trade and Investment Flows

Cultural Geography: Culture Differences“CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY is one of the two major branches of geography (versus physical geography) and is often called HUMAN GEOGRAPHY. Physical geography encompasses the geographic tradition known as the Earth Sciences Tradition.

CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY is the study of the many cultural aspects found throughout the world and how they relate to the spaces and places where they originate and then travel as people continually move across various areas.”

Cultural landscapes are also important because they link culture to the physical environments in which people live. This is vital because it can either limit or nurture the development of various aspects of culture. For instance, people living in a rural area are often more culturally tied to the natural environment around them than those living in a large metropolitan area.”

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An Overview of Cultural Geography

Physical Geography includes:• Rocks and Minerals• Landforms• Soils• Animals• Plants• Water• Atmosphere• Rivers and other Water Bodies• Environment• Climate and Weather• Oceans

Human Geography includes:• Population• Settlements• Economic Activities• Transportation• Recreational Activities• Religion• Political Systems• Social Traditions• Human Migration• Agricultural Systems• Urban Systems

Cyber Geography: The Exchange of Ideas and Information (Cyber Culture)“Cyber Geography is defined as ‘the study of geospatial nature of computer communications networks, particularly the Internet, the World Wide Web and other electronic ‘places’ that exist behind our computer screens, popularly referred to as CYBERSPACE.

Cyber Geography encompasses a wide range of ‘Geographical Phenomena’ from the study of the physical infrastructure, traffic flows, the demographics of the new cyberspace communities, to the perception and visualisation of these new digital spaces.”

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Web Cartography - Page 16 - Google Books Result

Globalization: Political Power and International Agreements (Geopolitics)Geopolitics:from Greek γῆ ge "earth, land" and πολιτική politikē "politics") is the study of the effects of geography (human and physical) on international politics and international relations.

‘The Geopolitics of FoodTHE DOUBLING OF WORLD grain prices since early 2007 has been driven primarily by two factors:

• accelerating growth in demand and • the increasing difficulty of rapidly expanding production.

The result is a world that looks strikingly different from the bountiful global grain economy of the last century. What will the geopolitics of food look like in a new era dominated by scarcity? Even at this early stage, we can see at least the broad outlines of the emerging food economy.On the demand side, farmers now face clear sources of increasing pressure. The first is population growth. Each year the world’s farmers must feed 80 million additional people, nearly all of them in developing countries. Some 3 billion people, meanwhile, are also trying to move up the food chain, consuming more meat, milk, and eggs. As more families in China and elsewhere enter the middle class, they expect to eat better. But as global consumption of grain-intensive livestock products climbs, so does the demand for the extra corn and soybeans needed to feed all that livestock.”

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The New Geopolitics of Food

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Quaternary Period

Cenozoic Era

Pleistocene Epoch Holocene Epoch Anthropocene Epoch

Neogene Period

Paleogene Period ?

Anthropocene EpochThe Age of Man“Anthropocene has become an environmental buzzword ever since the atmospheric chemist and Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen popularized it in 2000. … The IUGS (The International Union of Geological Sciences) convened a group of scholars to decide by 2016 whether to officially declare that the Holocene is over and the Anthropocene has begun.”

Anthropocene: What is the Anthropocene and Are We in It? (Smithsonian.com)

“The Quaternary Period is a geologic time period that encompasses the most recent 2.6 million year – including the present day. This period has involved dramatic changes, which affect food resources and brought about the extinction of may species. The period also saw the rise of a new predator: Man.This Period is part of the Cenozoic Era, the period is usually divided into two epochs:• The Pleistocene Epoch – approx. 2 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago, and• The Holocene Epoch which began about 12,000 years ago.

Quaternary Period: Climate, Animals & Other Facts

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Quaternary Period

Cenozoic Era

Pleistocene Epoch Holocene Epoch Anthropocene Epoch

Neogene Period

Paleogene Period

Anthropocene EpochThe Age of Man

Video: Welcome to the Anthropocene (Click here for the video) “A 3-minute journey through the last 250 years from the start of the Industrial Revolution to today.”

This film opened the UN’s Rio+20 summit, the largest event in the UN’s history.

The following is a transcript (narrated text) of the video:“This is the story of how one species changed a planet.The latest chapter of our story begins in England two hundred and fifty years ago. Fuelled by coal, then oil, several brilliant inventions appeared. They ignited the Industrial Revolution, which spread like wildfire through Europe, North America, Japan then elsewhere.

The great railways, then cars and highways, connected people across the globe. Medical discoveries saved millions of lives. New artificial fertilizers meant we could feed more people. Population rose rapidly. But this was nothing compared with what was to come.

The 1950s marked the beginning of the Great Acceleration. Globalization, marketing, tourism and huge investments helped fuel enormous growth. People swarmed to cities, which became even more powerful engines of creativity.

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In a single lifetime the wellbeing of millions has improved beyond measure. Health, wealth, security, longevity.

Never have so many had so much. Yet one billion are malnourished.

In a single lifetime we have grown into a phenomenal global force. We move more sediment and rock annually than all natural processes, such as erosion and rivers. We manage three quarters of all land outside the ice sheets. Greenhouse gas levels this high have not been seen for over one million years. Temperatures are increasing. We have made a hole in the ozone layer. We are losing biodiversity. Many of the world’s deltas are sinking due to damming, mining and other causes. Sea level is rising. Ocean acidification is a real threat. We are altering Earth’s natural cycles. We have entered the Anthropocene, a new geological epoch dominated by humanity.

This relentless pressure on our planet risks unprecedented destabilization.But our creativity, energy and industry offer hope.

• We have shaped our past. • We are shaping our present. • We can shape our future.

You and I are part of this story. We are the first generation to realize this new responsibility. As the population grows to nine billion, we must find a safe operating space for humanity for the sake of future generations. Welcome to the Anthropocene.”Anth

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The Downward Spiral: Another U.S. Government Sellout: Fracking for Export

• An Overview of Cultural Geography• Anthropocene: Welcome to the Anthropocene• Anthropocene: What is the Anthropocene and Are We in It? (Smithsoni

an.com)• Australian Curriculum: Geography: Glossary• Cybercrime: The Growing Cost• Cybercrime: The Top 20 Countries• Geopolitics: The New Geopolitics of Food• Introduction to Physical Geography• Quaternary Period: Climate, Animals & Other Facts• Syria: Numbers and Locations of People Fleeing Internal Violence• The Downward Spiral: Another U.S. Government Sellout: Fracking for

Export• The Economist: GCC Trade and Investment Flows• UCLA: Institute of the Environment and Sustainability• Video: What is Cultural Geography?• Video: What is Physical Geography?• Web Cartography - Page 16 - Google Books Result

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Assembled: A. Ballas