The course will provide basic training in the use of Global Positioning Systems. It will include instruction in the use of GPS field units, creation and use of data dictionaries, preplanning fieldwork, and post processing of field data. Agricultural Systems and Global Food Production. This course concentrates on the geographic study of various agricultural systems and emphasizes how social, cultural and economic behavior and the physical environment influences global food production. Thematic cartography introduces each student to basic cartographic theory and computer mapping techniques.
Emphasis is placed on using maps for spatial analysis and geographic research.
Using computer mapping software, students examine basic concepts of thematic map development, elementary cartometrics, map evaluation and map publication. Introduction to Cultural Geography. The course themes are human culture, cultural variations over the face of the earth and how these variations are related to selected global issues. Topics covered include world demographics, world religions and languages, patterns of human migration, political systems and human conflict, agricultural systems and impact on the physical world. Study of the characteristics, quality, geometry and physical properties of aerial photographs.