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| environmental determinism |
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| The simplistic belief that human events can be explained entirely as the result of the effects of the physical environment. |
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| Relates to the study or discovery of particular scientific facts and processes, as distinct from general laws. Idiographic science focuses on the observation, classification and description of facts and processes. |
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| Relates to the study or discovery of general laws. Nomothetic science focusses on supporting a hypothesis by disproving the alternative(s). |
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| A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline |
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| A research method focussed on the 'quality' of data rather than the 'quantity.' Qualitative studies are not objective. |
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| The (often derogatory) practice of analysing and describing a complex phenomenon in terms of its fundamental constituents (component parts). |
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| An area with definable characteristics (or uniformity), but not always fixed boundaries. |
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| The division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects, or the state of being so divided. For example, some consider there to be a dualism between people and nature. |
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| A holistic view proposed by James Lovelock that likens the Earth to a living organism with the ability to regulate its own critical functions, such as climate, through interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. |
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| An anti-gaian hypothesis, which states that all multicellular life (grouped as one superorganism) is suicidal; in this view, microbial-triggered mass extinctions are attempts to return the Earth to the microbial dominated state it has been in for the most of its history. |
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| An artistic and intellectual movement originating in Europe in the late 18th century and characterized by a heightened interest in nature, emphasis on the individual's expression of emotion and imagination, departure from the attitudes and forms of classicism, and rebellion against established social rules and conventions |
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| refers to a location's distinctive atmosphere or spirit of place |
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| phenomenological approach |
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A philosophy or method of inquiry based on the premise that reality consists of objects and events as they are perceived or understood in human consciousness
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| Space given meaning; a space regarded as personal (or of some significance) by one or more people. |
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| The inability to attribute features of a given area to that area alone. A sense of anonymity. |
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defining oneself in terms of a given piece of land; four major components contribute to a sense of place
toponymic--related to naming places
narrative--involving personal or groupstories or legends
experiential--associated with dependence and survival
numinous--spiritual |
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| social constructionist approach |
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| Focuses on how place is constructed or destroyed as a result of general social conditions (e.g. capitalism, sexism, colonialism). |
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| The unique, distinctive and cherished aspects of a place |
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| Facts and statistics collected for reference or analysis. Spatial data is data about the location, attributes and relationships among features in space. |
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| Refined data used to convey ideas (or concepts). |
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| Where something is; location can be defined absolutely or relatively. |
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| An assesment of the reliability of values assigned to features in the dataset in relation to their true, 'real world' values. |
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| (Geographic Information System) A system used to store, organise, analyse, and display geographic information. |
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| (Global Position System) A navigation tool consisting of a fleet of satellites orbiting Earth, broadcasting time codes, and a portable receiver, that can receive those codes and determine its location by triangulation of timed signals. |
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| A relatively small area defined in a given space. |
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| a physical point in a raster image or the smallest controllable element of a picture represented on the screen |
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| A plane figure bounded by a closed path composed of non-intersecting lines connected by vertices |
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| An assessment of the closeness of the location of spatial objects in the dataset in relation to their true position on the Earth's surface. |
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| Exactness of measurement or description. |
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| The acquisition of data without direct influence or interference in the location being studied. |
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| The size of the smallest feature which can be displayed, recognised, or described, often referred to as pixel size |
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| A relatively large area defined in a given space. |
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| An object detection system that uses the timed reflection of emitted electromagnetic radiation to determine range and bearing of targeted objects. |
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| A satellite mounted system that is capable of detecting spectral reflectance across many small bands over a continuous spectral range. (high spectral resolution) |
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| A satellite mounted system that is capable of detecting spectral reflectance at specific frequenciesof the EM spectrum. (med/low spectral resolution) |
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| Determining the geometric properties of objects using photographs |
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| A tool used to measure height over distances less than 50m |
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| terrestrial laser scanner |
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| a tool used to collect a 'point cloud' of 3-D data. |
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| An optical instrument consisting of a small mounted telescope rotatable in horizontal and vertical planes, used to measure angles in surveying |
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| A tool used to measure angles and distances, evolved from the theodolite. |
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