Problems

Web Page Questions:

Answer the following questions using the web pages listed in the question.

1. International Organization for Migration - http://www.iom.int/

a. How many member nations are there in the International Organization for Migration?

b. What is the mission of the IOM?

 

Problems:

1. Climatic, geologic and other conditions make certain places on the earth more susceptible to specific natural hazards such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, severe cold/snow and floods. The identification of hazard prone areas is an important task of geographers.

a. The following map contains the locations of major metropolitan areas in the United States. By referring to material in this and other chapters (particularly Chapters 3 and 4), identify those regions that are constantly at risk of experiencing each of the major natural hazards listed below. Use a shading or color scheme to differentiate the hazard prone regions.

b. For each of the major hazards, list those metropolitan areas that are at risk with respect to them.

c. If these regions and urban areas are in such danger from recurrent natural hazards, why do large numbers of people continue to locate in them?

 

2. The mental maps we carry around in our heads play an important role in how we interact with our daily environment. In the space provided draw from memory the campus of your college or university. Do this without referring to a campus map. Include as many of the buildings and other features as possible, such as plazas, pathways, boundaries, streets, and open spaces. Once you have completed your "mental map", compare it with an "official" campus map and ask yourself the following questions:

1. How "accurate" is your map compared to the official one? __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What features have you emphasized by making them larger than they actually are? __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why have you emphasized the features that you did, such as certain buildings, pathways, boundaries and nodes? __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________
4. How accurately have you estimated the distances between locations on your map, and why do they not conform to actual distances? __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Insurance rates for natural hazards are based on the likelihood of something happening or not happening. Insurance companies are also engaged in studying ways to prevent bad things from happening, and by extension, a claim from being filed. These companies work with governmental officials and also conduct their own education campaigns. What role would a geographer plan in an insurance company think-tank?
2. Mary and Frank regularly take a 2.5 hour drive to Atlantic City, NJ yet have not visited well-liked relatives one hour away, citing the reason "Its is too far to travel". How would you explain this spatial interaction or lack thereof?
3. Discuss the erroneous statement "The shape of a valley will not influence people's use of it."
4. Select six places with 3 different and 3 similar psychological appeals located within the same time-distance relationship to your school but in different directions. Ask a variety of people whether or not they would frequent each place. Map their responses and analyze their answers.
5. Assume you work for a real estate company. You need to find a site for a family of five to buy or rent a house. Both parents have jobs (one full-time and one part time) in different parts of the metropolitan area and the three children, ranging in age from 10 to 18, have a variety of extra-curricula activities and rely on mass transit. How would you conduct a spatial search of the area within a 50-mile radius of the full-time wage earner's work site?