Midterm Quiz

(May 7, 2002)


Total Time: 30 Minutes (=30 Points + Bonus)

PART I: Select 3 out of 5 (5 Minutes each = 15 Minutes or Points)
Define AND explain (the analytical significance of) the following concepts:

I am happy to say that the results of this vocabulary part of the test are incredibly improved when compared with quiz#2. Most members have understood the notion that the terms and conceptual meanings of terms simply have to come first before we can use the terminology to facilitate more sophistiacted discourses. While this emphasis has to decline now, the need to understand terms will not go away...

  1. Critical Isodapane (A. Weber) Stutz, pp.354f.; your Class Notes & Glossary

  2. Intervening Opportunities (E.L.Ullman) Your class notes and Glossary

  3. Spatial structure Class notes and Class Framework; Your task was to combine your understanding of the concepts of "structure" and "space".

  4. Non-Linear (Curvilinear) Transport (Line-Haul) Costs Your class notes and Stutz, p.167

  5. Backward Linkage(s) (=type of vertical inter-industry linkages) Class notes & Glossary


PART II: Select 1 [ONE] out of four topics for a "Mini-Essay" (15 Minutes or Points)

The ability to write well and construct logical arguments no doubt helps the writing of essay-type statements in this class. Some members still have to learn how to respond to a conceptual topic in a way which combines relatively general introductions and conclusions with sufficient depth somewhere in the middle... and all that in 15 minutes. If you have not done so yet, please review my suggestions on How to Approach and Write Essay-Type Statements under Examination Conditions.

What is important for those of you with essay points less than what you are hoping for as a final grade, is to practice (and practice and practice) and make (at least) many outlines of (better: actually write a few) statements on topics which you find in the Old Test Pages or which you formulate yourself!

  1. Explain how the Engel's Law can be related to changes in the sectoral composition of total employment (often called "three-sector hypothesis") as well as to the changes within sectors. Correct terminology: primary, secondary and tertiary sector employment
    NOT: 1st, 2nd and 3rd

    Engel's Law DOES NOT suggest that poor and rich folks spend the same amounts on food!

    This questions included "and changes within sectors" which suggests that the Engel's Law has also something to say about a shift between employment categories WITHIN the primary, secondary or tertiary sectors.

  2. Based on your reading of the text (Stutz, in Chapter 8, readings for 3rd week), discuss the suggested role of technological and organizational innovation for long-term economic development patterns and the occurrence of "waves". see Stutz pp.384ff.

  3. Our three prime economic "space-differentiating forces" (frictions of distance, activities' dependence on land and agglomeration economies) are not influencing location patterns independently, in other words, the extent to which one of them can be influential will depend on the strength of the others. Explain and discuss. Again, your class notes should be the best source of materials for reviewing this essay, since we cited these forces frequently as examples for "independent" or explanatory variables in the explanation of dependent variables of location and spatial distribution.

    I could not believe my eyes when I saw that some (too many!) still misdefined "agglomeration economies". Help! What do I have to do... ? Jump up and down? Smash the projector? Not surprisingly, these members (who simply must know something I don't) had great difficulties responding to the topic. Do we need more evidence for the importance of understanding the 207 terminology?

    The expression: "these forces work together" is a beginning but does not quite do it all, since it does not sufficiently refer to the interdependencies and trade-offs (substitutions) between the three sets of forces.

  4. On the basis of what you remember/know about the class outline and the class "framework", explain the rationale or conceptual basis for the progression of (Geog 207) content during the (entire) quarter. This topic does NOT ask you to list topics which have been covered in class or to account for 'class logistics' of Geography 207. Instead, it wants to give you an opportunity to share your understanding of the conceptual basis of the class outline and the "framework" (which we had referred to numerous times in class). Your class notes should be full of details!


BONUS:

(1 point each, three points max)

There are a couple of messages here, including that the "real world" and a quantitative appreciation of the economy and economic development are important for Geography 207 -- in spite of its heavy emphasis on concepts, theory, explanation and critical thinking. Thus, it is highly recommended to monitor the business section of your favorite daily paper -- or, better yet, read Business Week or Wall Street Journal.

Another message is that, while we are emphasizing concepts and ideas, intellectual ideas are often closely identified with original contributors, and there is nothing wrong with being able to "drop a few names" in this or other disciplines (and not just at cocktail parties).

  1. Who was Nikolai Kondratiev?
  2. Who is Alan Greenspan? Chairman, Federal Reserve Board/Bank
  3. What is the most recent unemployment rate for either Washington State or the Seattle/Puget Sound Region? (which?)
  4. PI Article, May 6, 2002

  5. What is (approximately) the most recent U.S. GDP (Gross Domestic Product)? (How many zeros?)
    • http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/newsrel/gdp102a.htm Current-dollar GDP (annual) = 10.4 trillion or 10 with 12 zeros

      Current-dollar GDP -- the market value of the nation's output of goods and services -- increased (estimate!) 6.7 percent, or $168.0 billion, in the first quarter (2002) to a(n annual) level of $10,431.3 billion.


If you decide to resubmit any of your answers on paper, please do so in typewritten form. You can resubmit online or on paper; the earlier the better! If you submit online, please create a new "sub-subdirectory" (within your 207 subdirectory) named by the last three digits of your student number. Call the file "quiz3.html" and let me know by Email. DO NOT send the corrections by Email. Thanks.