The midterm exam will consist
of three types of questions.
1. Short answer questions
2. Problem questions
3. Essay questions
The short answer questions will likely ask you to define and/or apply terms and concepts we have covered in class. To review for this portion of the test you should study the outlines posed on the web site and your notes and make sure you understand the various terms we’ve used. Be sure to study terms that are especially new to you.
Problem questions will likely resemble the homework/in class exercises that I’ve given you in class. You should know the equation for the gravity model, the Beta Index, etc. I don’t expect you to remember the equation for figuring out accessibility, but I expect you to be able to interpret a network graph using a connectivity matrix. The best way to learn these is not necessarily to just memorize them (though that will help) but to also understand the logic behind them. You can do this by making up and working through your own problems. I might also ask you to interpret a diagram (supply and demand curves, fishing resource model, etc. ) like those found in the text or that we highlighted in class.
The essay questions will either ask you to explain a particular model or theory or explain an example in terms of the concepts and theories we have discussed in class. The key to getting a good grade on the essay questions is to answer the question completely and fully. You should write an essay. This means that your answer should include an argument and should have a basic structure. The best essays will answer the question right away and will then elaborate on the initial answer. The essay should be long enough to adequately answer the question.
Sources for figuring out what to study: At the end of each class outline on the website is a list of concepts etc. that you were expected to understand before coming to class. I’ve reproduced them below. You should make sure that you understand these concepts. I have not covered all of these in class, but my expectation is that you have done the reading and have gained some understanding of them. The outlines themselves also provide good clues about what to study. Sometimes I’ve introduced concepts and theories not discussed in your text. Of course you can also come see me for help with reviewing.
Finally, be aware that I may ask you to apply some concepts or theories we’ve discussed in class to interpret a situation that we have not discussed in class. The idea behind this is that if you know the concepts and theories well you should be able to successfully answer the question.
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the following concepts: Social process, spatial structure, spatial scale, spatial interaction, homo economicus, First/Third World, Globalization, Transnational/Multinational Corporation (TNC/MNC), Foreign Direct Investment, transmaterialization.
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the following concepts: capitalism, command economy, traditional economy, political economy, opportunity cost, GIS, Factors of Location (Labor, human capital, land, fixed capital, liquid capital, managerial and Technical Skills)
- Make sure you have a basic understanding of the following concepts: feudalism, market, commodity, barter, uneven spatial development, nation-state.
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the following themes and concepts: Population distribution and density, doubling time, fertility rate, rate of natural increase, death rate, net migration rate, Malthusian Theory, diminishing marginal returns, overpopulation, positive checks, negative checks, Neo-Malthusianism, Demographic Transition Theory, population pyramid
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the following themes and concepts: Population distribution and density, doubling time, fertility rate, rate of natural increase, death rate, net migration rate, Malthusian Theory, diminishing marginal returns, overpopulation, positive checks, negative checks, Neo-Malthusianism, Demographic Transition Theory, population pyramid, carrying capacity, overpopulation, growth oriented lifestysle, balance oriented lifestyle.
- Come to class with a basic familiarity with the following concepts: Migration, push and pull factors, voluntary vs. involuntary migration, labor migration theory, barriers to migration, consequences of migration, patterns of migration (external/internal).
- Come to class with a basic understanding of how the gravity model works.
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the following concepts: Resources, Reserves, nonrenewable resources, renewable resources, flow resources, stock resources, maximum sustainable yield, conservation
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the concept of cost-space convergence and time-space convergence.
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the following concepts: site, situation, relative space, spatial interaction, distance decay, friction of distance, stage model of network change in underdeveloped countries, cumulative causation.
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the following concepts: transport costs, terminal costs, line-haul costs, Economies of the long haul, Stepped freight rates, Loading and packaging costs curvilinear line-haul costs, elasticity of demand, carrier competition and backhauling, hub and spoke networks.
- Come to class with a basic understanding of the following concepts: telecommunications, end of geography myth, to what extent do telecommunications cause decentralization or decentralization?, teleworking, origins and growth of the Internet, broadband, digital divide, social implications, e-commerce, electronic data interchange.
See the Lecture Outlines online and your notes for additional concepts and ideas that we covered in lecture but that were not covered in your text.
Research Proposal Information
Due the Wednesday Oct11
See the Syllabus
for the Full Assignment
Your research proposal
should include a general research question, identify the concepts and
theories that you think will be relevant for your analysis and a statement
about the sources of data that you plan to employ in answering your
research question.
