For years, researchers have puzzled over why Viking descendents abandoned Greenland in the late 15th century.
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Global news with a spatial perspective: Interesting, current supplemental materials for geography students and teachers. http://geographyeducation.org
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Seth Dixon
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As the climate began to cool the diet of the Greenland settlers changed dramatically. Originally their diets consisted of about 20-30% seafood, but as farming became nearly impossible on this increasingly marginal land, it jumped up to about 80%. The economic livelihood of the settlements was in danger and the solution lay in a cultural transition, but one that they didn't want to make. "They saw themselves as farmers and ranchers rather than fishermen and hunters...[and were] worried about the increasing loss of their Scandinavian identity." In essence they abandoned Greenland in part because they chose not abandon their Viking heritage to embrace a culture that would have be more like that of the Inuits. Cultural factors may have mattered more than economic limitations.
Tags: Greenland, folk culture, historical.
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Seth Dixon's insight:
Map lovers wanting to customize your phone cover, this is for you. Read the full blog post here from maps.com. Delete the scoop?
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"The WomanStats Project is the most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of women in the world. The Project facilitates understanding the linkage between the situation of women and the security of nation-states. We comb the extant literature and conduct expert interviews to find qualitative and quantitative information on over 310 indicators of women's status in 174 countries. Our Database expands daily, and access to it is free of charge. Click here if you are a new to the project."
Seth Dixon's insight:
I have linked to the WomanStats Project in the past because their global datasets and maps are perfect for get students to explore a potential topic that might be of interest to them. I'm resharing this now because they have recently updated their maps page to include 28 statistical measures to indicate the status of women around the world (including this one on the gendered discrepancy of access to secondary education). The WomanStats Project provides important data and maps regarding issues of gender, access and equity with a spatial perspective. Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's insight:
The Network of Alliances for Geography Education is sponsored by the National Geographic Society; these alliances are tremendous local resources. I am working with the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance and hope that everyone in the United States and Canada can connect with your local alliance and support it. Click here to find your local Alliance. Delete the scoop?
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Welcome, Metafilter visitors! How can you map a sphere unto the plane? well you can't if you want to keep size, shape and proportions. Here are the alternatives... Learn more about the different projections.
Seth Dixon's insight:
We are accustomed to spatial distortion in maps; when we see that same distortion on a picture, it gives us an alternative perspective on the level of spatial distortion that we see on maps. The Azimuthal projections (circular) are my favorite for this photographic project. Tags: mapping, cartography, perspective, map. 
Ann-Laure Liéval's curator insight,
March 24, 7:55 AM
Des cartes pour comprendre le monde...une initiative photographique pour comprendre les projections. Delete the scoop?
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Blue countries are more welcoming, red countries less. Where does yours rank?
Seth Dixon's insight:
The World Economic Forum compiled a report on global tourism and part of that was an estimation of the attitude of each countries' population toward foreign visitors--this map is a visualization of that data. Why would some particular countries be more or less welcoming? What surprises you about this map? Tags: tourism. 
Brianna Simao's comment,
April 30, 10:26 PM
I’m not surprised the United States was placed in the middle of the scale. The greatly different opinions people have regarding immigration is what keeps us in the middle. Many people do have problems with foreigners because they feel displaced and cheated on what they get from their country, almost as if the new comers are getting special treatment. I wasn’t surprised that China is one of the least welcoming because they are trying to control their population and they have such a strong culture they don’t want anyone coming in and changing it. But you also have to think about what perspective this is in, is this poll on the feelings towards temporary visitors, a permanent stay, or all foreigners in general?
Jess Pitrone's comment,
May 5, 5:25 PM
A lot of things about these rankings of countries that are least welcoming to foreigners surprised me, while others seemed blatantly obvious. It’s no surprise to me that countries like Iceland and New Zealand are among the most welcoming, they’re both in the middle of no where and no one ever visits them. I’m sure they jump at the chance for someone to visit! What did surprise me, however, was that the United States wasn’t less welcoming. I thought for sure we’d be in the red. The way Americans treats foreigners is appalling, no matter where their from (because we’ll probably mistake them from being from somewhere else that we don’t like), or if they’re here to visit or to live. Although we expect to be treated the exact opposite in any other country, and would prefer to be waited on and catered to. It’s very interesting to me that Mexico is more welcoming then the U.S., which is ironic, because we generally don’t welcome them.
Thomas D's comment,
May 6, 10:29 AM
I think this map of least and most welcoming countries to tourist is very interesting. I look at this through the American point of view and see that countries like Russia, Iran and Pakistan who are among the least welcoming states. These are all countries that we have had conflicts with throughout our countries history. I also find it interesting that the United States is such a neutral country towards tourism. A country that was based off of immigrants is no longer so welcoming to outsiders coming to our country. This could be due to the recent terrorist acts that have taken place within the United States in the past 15 years. Also just by looking at the map in a broader sense most of the countries that are unwelcoming are located in western Europe and Asia rather than anywhere else in the world.
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Seth Dixon's insight:
This classic image is paired with some other great maps and videos that help put the true size of the United States into perspective. Tags: perspective, map. 
Mary Patrick Schoettinger's curator insight,
March 18, 10:30 AM
Great map tools for kids and adults to get a better understanding of relative size of US vs the world. 
Heather Ramsey's curator insight,
March 18, 2:05 PM
This site has lots of great examples of size comparisons between the United States and other coutnries/continents around the world. Which one is the most surprising to you? Why do you think you had a different idea of the size of the place that surprised you? Delete the scoop?
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International Women's Day: political rights around the world mapped
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is late for International Women's Day, but it is never a wrong time to analyze the spatial and temporal patterns of the expansion of women's political rights. This interactive map is excellent for seeing these few metrics, but a more expanded dataset with maps concerning gender (in)equality in the world and the status of women is WomanStats. Tags: gender, mapping, statistics, political. 
Nancy Watson's curator insight,
March 15, 5:19 PM
The UN Millenium Goals include gender equity and gender empowerment. The goals are set to be achieved by 2015. Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's insight:
This fabulous collection of African maps from 1535-1897 represents an historical geographic vision of both Africa and colonial visions of an imagined Africa. I chose this particular map to display because it beautifully highlights the Mountains of Kong. For generations, European cartographers erroneously believed that this long mountain range extended north of the West African coast and across the continent. Currently this map collection is at Plymouth State, NH, but much of it is archive online here. Tags: Africa, cartography, colonialism, map. 
ADEN Africa's curator insight,
March 5, 12:43 PM
An interesting historical perspective on the geography of the African continent.
Mary Patrick Schoettinger's curator insight,
March 11, 10:07 AM
Love seeing the change over time. Especially on a continent we often know so little about. Delete the scoop?
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In a surprising move, President Obama proposed during the State of the Union address to increasing the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This made many people ask the question "how many countries have minimum wages?" Nearly all countries in the world have a minimum wage or a partial minimum wage. Delete the scoop?
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The happiest city in America is Napa, California -- and the saddest all swear too much.
Seth Dixon's insight:
Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Utah, Vermont--congratulations on being the happiest states according to a Twitter metric. Louisiana, I'm just sad typing that you are the saddest of all states. Delete the scoop?
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A while back, I posted in the forums asking for people to help me find a YA book for every single state in the US.
Seth Dixon's insight:
While I can't vouch for all of these books (I read more children's literature than Young Adult), I absolutely love the idea of this project. This is a great way to make geography a cross curricular activity, especially for an English class or just for fun. Scroll down on the right side of this image to see all the books/states on the list. The geographic content of some of these books are minimal, but that's not the worst thing that can happen if more students are reading. What books are at the top of your reading list? 
SchoolandUniversity's comment,
February 16, 2:17 AM
The United States of YA. Hey guys! This isn't an official challenge, but I really wanted to do it.
Lori Johnson's comment,
February 16, 9:49 AM
My favorites on the list: Under the Blood Red Sun, Deadline, The Fault in our Stars, and Dairy Queen.
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Alejandro Restrepo's comment,
February 13, 6:25 PM
The difference in incomes in this city is astronomical. Literally from one neighborhood to the next you can notice the difference.
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A showcase of creative experiments programmed in JavaScript, HTML5, and WebGL
Seth Dixon's insight:
Pictured above is a still image of an interactive digital globe with population density data with colored bar graphs to symbolize the data. This is a great open-source platform for geographic data visualization. There are not many data layers currently, but possibly there will be more in the future (best viewed in Google Chrome). Tags: population, demographics, unit 2 population, visualization, mapping. 
IGO's curator insight,
January 30, 5:12 AM
"Pictured above is a still image of an interactive digital globe with population density data with colored bar graphs to symbolize the data. This is a great open-source platform for geographic data visualization. There are not many data layers currently, but possibly there will be more in the future (best viewed in Google Chrome)." Delete the scoop?
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Facebook intern Paul Butler has created a detailed map of the world by mapping connections between people using the social network living in different cities.
Seth Dixon's insight:
The disconnected portions of the this map tell us as much about the world we live in as the highly illuminated ones. Might this be a version of the "Black Marble" image that would reasonate more with today's teenagers? For the methods behind the creation of this map as well as a high resolution version of the map, see this post. Tags: social media, map, visualization. 
Louis Culotta's curator insight,
April 27, 11:39 AM
This is very cool...just like the internet map you posted. I have a seperate facebook page just to communicate back and forth to my friend nd his family in New Zealand in real time for free. 
Thomas C. Thompson's curator insight,
April 27, 8:25 PM
This is a picture of our world and the real way that we are connected in real time from Facebook. It's amazing! Share this everywhere! Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's insight:
This London Easter Egg/Globe is fantastic. To those that celebrate it, Happy Easter! Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's insight:
Rhode Island is one of five states in which the number of people getting help from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-formerly known as 'food stamps') has more than doubled since 2008. In 2012, 16 percent of its residents received aid from the program. Read the related article. The article details how Woonsocket's economy is impacted by these monthly fluctuations is disposable income. Why is Rhode Island one of that states with a doubling participation in this program? What other spatial patterns to you see? 
Dias Vidia's curator insight,
April 2, 2:05 AM
http://redgage.com/photos/macb/postage-us-liberty-of-all-15-c.html Delete the scoop?
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You are looking at, more or less, a portrait of the internet over an average 24 hours in 2012—higher usage in yellows and reds; lower in greens and blues—created by an anonymous researcher for the "Internet Census 2012" project.
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is a stunning animated graphic the represents internet usage. The temporal dynamics of map make it especially mesmerizing. 
Zakary Pereira's comment,
April 30, 5:02 PM
Whoa. This is awesome. Never before had I seen internet usage across the globe before. I wasn’t too surprised by the map its showing. Obviously the United States and Europe would have the highest internet traffic of the world although I was quite surprised to see such massive internet activity in Central America, near Panama and Costa Rica. This data was collected illegally and it was interesting how they did it. It was a bot who hacked into Linux computers with no password (really…) or a default password (still really…) and then tracked their IPv4 address to see their activity. It was a non-threatening bot and they created a readme file on each computer that explained what it was doing however it was still an invasion of privacy and no matter how cool the map came out I cannot agree with their methods of obtaining this information. What interested me at first about this was activity in the Middle East. You can see a lot of activity in Turkey and around the Nile in Egypt, but other than that the rest of the region is fairly dim. It is unfortunate that is so because of how it could help people there, just look at the Arab Spring.
Kevin Cournoyer's comment,
May 1, 12:51 AM
I found this collection of data very interesting. It reveals a number of different things about the internet across the world and the intensity of its usage.
Most obviously, perhaps, you can see what areas of the world have the most internet usage, or at least access. The areas of highest use seem to certainly match up with what you would expect: high internet usage and access in first world countries in Europe and in the United States, lower internet usage and access in more impoverished areas such as Africa and the Middle East. The amount of internet usage can also be seen increasing and decreasing as the animation moves from right to left, indicating the twenty four hour cycle of a day and presumably decreased internet usage during the night and increased usage during the day. This animation provides fascinating and valuable information about the internet in a unique geographic context. Economic geography is apparent in the concentration of internet usage, while physical geography is evident in the correlation between what parts of the world are accessing the internet at higher rates and when, in contrast to other parts of the world.
Thomas D's comment,
May 2, 11:32 AM
I find that this article of Internet usage is very interesting and somewhat helpful in understanding the development of countries. You can see from this that over a 24 hour period of time that the entire United States is lit up with a color. When over this 24 hour period there are places on the map that never once do you see a light or you only can see it for a small period of time. I think this goes to show how greatly our society depends on the Internet nowadays. That we basically use the internet or a computer for just about everything at all times of the day. That in some countries they are so underdeveloped that they barely have access to computers. According to this picture Africa is barely lit up and it’s mostly lit up in South Africa which is one of the growing countries in the world. I think this information although gathered illegally is very interesting to look at and see who uses the internet the most.
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Seth Dixon's insight:
The brackets are rarely as "regional" as the names Midwest, West, South and East would suggest; still a map of all the participating teams shows that there a geography to basketball participation. See also this collection of maps visualizing basketball fandom. Also, what about the high schools areas that produce college basketball players? What patterns to you see? Delete the scoop?
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Use a printable outline map that depicts Central America. This is my favorite map to use in classroom activities for Central America. Here is the full list of their (free) printable maps. Delete the scoop?
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Drug Testing Index; A map of the U.S. depicting overall drug test positive rates Delete the scoop?
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Where in the world has 007 been in his 30 movies? If that's a question you've always wanted to know, then this set of maps was made just for you. Delete the scoop?
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"Some prime examples of fascinating maps."
Seth Dixon's insight:
This is a very entertaining collection of maps. Shown above is a map that displays what is on the other side of the Globe (see, it's the Argentinians and Chileans that would "dig a hole to China"). Superimposed on every location is its antipod/antipode (location directly opposite on the other side of the Earth). The journal of radical leftist geography is entitled Antipode, implying that they see the world through a different perspective and plays off of this concept. 
Miguel Ángel Vargas's curator insight,
March 3, 12:03 PM
Mapas poco comunes, poco útiles, aunque curiosos. Delete the scoop?
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Check out this funny map of the most popular baby names by state, only on NickMom.com! Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's insight:
This is is just one perspective on a fantastic cartographic art installation by Claire Fountaine. Watch this flaming video of her lighting her "match map" of France. Tags: art.
SchoolandUniversity's comment,
February 14, 6:10 AM
wow beautiful , nice video and looking so amazing !
http://www.schoolanduniversity.com Delete the scoop?
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In 1900, two-thirds of the world’s Catholics lived in Europe. Today only 20 percent do.
Seth Dixon's insight:
As Europe has become an increasingly secularized set of societies, the demographic based of the Catholic Church has shifted south. However, the power structure has not migrated south as the European cardinals still are a majority (although 2/3 vote necessary to elect the next pope). Tags: Christianity, culture, diffusion, religion. Delete the scoop?
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Once the demand for walrus tusks and seal skins decreased, there was really no need for the Vikings to stay in Greenland anyways. If they did not want to become farmers and take advantage of the potential farming land that Greenland had to offer, then there would be no benefit to staying there anyway.
The push and pull factors of ancient Viking life are apparent through their migratory patterns. There are many possible reasons for the Vikings to have left this colony though archeologists are struggling to find just one. Food source seems to be a major reason why other colonies were abandoned, though seal meat does not seem to be at a shortage in this area. Ancient reason of migrating is similar to modern ones, however they are also very different. Globalization has changed the way humans live, the interconnectedness of the world has made living in places that could support life in ancient times possible.