East and Southeast Asia

Terms	Definitions
chang jiang	the longest river in Asia, flowing about 3,400 miles from central China to the Yellow Sea, also known as the Yangzi River
huang he river	river with deadly floods, in northern china, 3,395 miles long, carries loess, often call Yellow River
mekong river	A major river that runs from southern China through Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.
gobi desert	located in north central China. 2nd largest desert in the world. extreme temperature. very dry and infertile. sand is called loess.
plateau of tibet	world's highest plateau north of the Himalayas/sometimes called the Roof of the World
three gorges dam	A dam being built over the Yangtze river, 607' high by 1.4 miles wide, which will be completed in 2009. It will be the world's biggest dam.
38th parallel	line of latitude that separated North and South Korea
buddhism	the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth
daoism	philosophical system developed by of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events
shintoism	Religion located in Japan and related to Buddhism. Shintoism focuses particularly on nature and ancestor worship.
communism	an economic system in which the central government directs all major economic decisions
socialism	(also called mixed economy) an economic system in which the factors of production are owned by the public and operate for the welfare of all.
command economy	a system in which the central government makes all economic decisions (also called communistic economy)
great leap forward	economic and social plan used in China from 1958 to 1961 which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern industrial society.
Transportation in Japan	mass transit/ public transportation (why no cars?)
housing in Japan	upward development and multipurpose furniture (why/)
land use in Japan	use of landfill for building purposes and subterranean development (why?)
health in Japan	masks used during outbreaks of viruses to contain spread (why?)
one child policy	official policy launched by China in 1979 to induce married couples to have only one child in an effort to control population growth
social aspects of "one child policy"	affected family size, ratio to amles and females
political aspects of "one child policy"	government regulates family planning
economic aspects of "one child policy"	by slowing growth government can focus on building infrastructure and strengthening economy
fertility rate?	the ratio of live births in an area to the population of that area
why does Japan have a lower fertility rate?	higher level of development; women have high education level
social aspects of Japan's fertility rate	younger generation embracing moder views on family versus old generation's view of large families
political aspects of Japan's fertility rate	should the government encourage younger generations to start building families?
economic aspects of Japan's fertility rate	growing elderly population needs to be supported by the younger population, not enough workers to replace shrinking workforce
westernization	assimilation of Western culture
globalization	The trend toward increased cultural and economic connectedness between people, businesses, and organizations throughout the world.
ASEAN	The Association for the Southeast Asian Nations formed in 1967 to promote the prosperity and political stability of its member nations. Currently Brunei, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are members. Other countries in the region participate as "observer" members.
Asian Tigers	Collective name for South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore-nations that became economic powers in the 1970s and 1980s. (p. 861)
economic tigers	South Korea, Taiwan, Hong kong, Singapore/ Rapid economic growth between the 1960's-90's Cheap labor, agressive exports & investment in technology
totalitarian	characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control
market economy	an economy that relies chiefly on market forces to allocate goods and resources and to determine prices (alos called free enterprise)
capitalism	an economic system based on private ownership of capital
LDC	a country at the lowest stage of economic development; standard of living and literacy levels low; Least Developed Country
NIC	Newly Industrialized Country; manufactureing is the main economic activity
MDC	(More Developed Country) also known as a relatively developed country, a country that has progressed relatively far along a continuum of development.
doubling time	the time required for a population to double in size
famine	a severe shortage of food (as through crop failure) resulting in violent hunger and starvation and death
rate of natural increase	population growth rate
zero population growth	when the birth rate equals the death rate