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There are 8 major English dialect areas in North America, presented on the map. These are shown in blue, each with its number, on the map and in the Dialect Description Chart below, and are also outlined with blue lines on the map. The many subdialects are shown in red on the map and in the chart, and are outlined with red lines on the map. All of these are listed in the margins of the map as well. Via Seth Dixon Delete the scoop?
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You may have heard that the highest-paid employee in each state is usually the football coach at the largest state school. This is actually a gross mischaracterization: Sometimes it is the basketball coach. Via Seth Dixon, Mary Rack Delete the scoop?
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"Private girls' schools are now allowed to hold sports activities in accordance with the rules of Shariah, or Islamic law. Students must adhere to 'decent dress' codes and Saudi women teachers will be given priority in supervising the activities, according to the Education Ministry's requirements. The decision makes sports once again a stage for the push to improve women's rights, nearly a year after two Saudi female athletes made an unprecedented appearance at the Olympics." This news comes at a time when Saudi Arabia has allowed women to ride bikes (sort of).
Tags: Saudi Arabia, culture, gender, religion, Middle East. Via Seth Dixon, Emma Lafleur 
Emma Lafleur's curator insight,
May 7, 4:56 PM
It will take a long time for Saudi women to have full rights, but this is a step in the right direction. Delete the scoop?
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Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah's journey to the NFL, beginning as a walk-on to the Brigham Young University football team from Accra, Ghana, who had never played foot... Via Seth Dixon 
Michael Miller's comment,
April 26, 8:23 AM
Seth, I don't know if you have ever picked up Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers", but it addresses some of these topics. It is a great and quick read!
Mike Busarello's comment,
April 26, 9:52 AM
I am an long time Eagles fan and cannot believe they passed on him.
Seth Dixon's comment,
April 26, 7:36 PM
I have (and forgot that's where the nugget of the 'hockey' idea came from). I just wish I had those cool glasses! Poor Eagles, Ziggy is ultimate high risk/high reward pick.
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The Chinese government says its so-called "one-child policy" has succeeded in reining in its population. But more than three decades after the policy's imple... Via Natalie K Jensen, Seth Dixon 
Sallyann Griffin's curator insight,
April 2, 5:14 AM
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. 
Jessica Martel's curator insight,
April 29, 2:44 PM
"women hold up half the skye" I like that haha. Anyways, the gender imbalance in china is rediculas. Hopefully be trying to forsce the women are equal thought this will in a generation or so fix itself. This way, there will also be less abortions per family. Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's curator insight,
March 27, 11:20 AM
This tremendous set of resources is the result of a partnership between The Choices Program (housed at Brown University) and National Geographic Education. This link takes you to a portal with lesson plans, videos, maps, student worksheets, etc. These are some of the materials that form the core of the Choices Program Summer Institute that focuses on the United States' involvement in Afghanistan. Tags: Afghanistan, political, culture, Central Asia, National Geographic. 
Sam Capron's curator insight,
March 27, 9:28 PM
This is an article that contains videos and other bits of information on Afghanistan and the surrounding area. It has info on the Geography, culture, and politics of Afghanistan as well as colored maps!
One of the most interesting elements that I discovered in this article is information regarding the Wakhan Corridor, a region I had previously not heard of. Basically it is the small sliver of land in northern Afghanistan. This land barrier was created to ensure that British controlled India, and Russia. It just shows you in a perfect example the huge impact that Europe has had on the Middle East, politically, economically, and geographically. Delete the scoop?
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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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MOUNT GERIZIM, West Bank (AP) — The Samaritans, a rapidly dwindling sect dating to biblical times, have opened their insular community to brides imported from eastern Europe in a desperate quest to preserve their ancient culture. Via Seth Dixon
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
March 18, 10:39 AM
Some folk cultures, such as the Samaritans, have historically intermarried and have been plagued by genetic diseases. Recently, they have turned to global solutions to their local demographic woes. "Five young women from Russia and Ukraine have moved to this hilltop village in recent years to marry local men, breathing new life into the community." Tags: folk culture, gender, population, Russia, religion, culture, Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's curator insight,
March 9, 10:11 PM
I've seen other "Where the Hell is Matt" videos and this recent one is building on that tradition. These videos show some fantastic international icons and people around the world. Simultaneously, this video show the unique cultural elements seen around the world while showing the essential beauty of our common humanity. Who wouldn't want to go to all the places that Matt has been? Tags: geo-inspiration, worldwide, folk culture. Delete the scoop?
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"Mr Füzes had voiced support for the Székler people, a group of ethnic Hungarians who live in Transylvania, after two Romanian counties banned the display of the Székler flag (pictured above with men in hussar uniform) on public buildings. Zsolt Nemeth, Hungary’s state secretary for foreign affairs, described the ban as an act of “symbolic aggression” and called for local councils in Hungary to show solidarity by flying the Székler flag from town halls. The Hungarian government then raised the Székler flag above Parliament, further enraging Bucharest..." Via Seth Dixon 
Conor McCloskey's comment,
April 30, 10:26 AM
The past is the past. Or is it? The past seems to mean more to the people of Hungary and Romania these days. The Treaty of Trianon of 1920 sectioned the region of Transylvania from Romania to Hungary. For the ethnic Hungarians living in Transylvania, this posed quite the issue. For many people around the world, the homeland does not always match up with geopolitical boundaries of the country that they live in. While this identity crisis causes conflict for many groups of people all over the world, in Hungary the fight to regain greater-Hungary continues today.
This article also poses interesting questions of voting and citizenship. The Hungarian government granted citizenship beyond its borders, and jurisdiction, to ethnic Hungarians in Romania. What does this say about those Hungarians in Romania? Does it bring Hungary any closer to regaining the borders of the once Greater Hungary? Regardless of the questions of citizenship, such public and federal efforts to expand their borders and regain their ethnic population and homeland is doing more then turning heads. Look to this region for future conflict because the failure of geopolitical nations to represent ethnic homelands rarely ends peacefully. 
John Peterson's comment,
April 30, 10:37 AM
This article helps to illustrate tensions that can be caused by seemingly simple acts within a society that is home to two conflicting groups. While flags do not have any actual influence or power in society, they are a source of emotion, and pride in ones nation and heritage. Because of the emotion that is tied with flags, it can be a very tense situation when the use of these flags is banned, or if these flags are taken down or destroyed. It is amazing how something so simple as a flag can bring about so much anger, and be the source of such bad blood and violence between different nations or ethnic groups. In the example given, there has been conflict for years, which was recently fueled even more over the use of a flag. While the act of displaying a flag is simply a display of loyalty, the actions of the Romanian government against this practice shows how although it is not a violent act, it can lead to very hostile actions and interactions.
Zakary Pereira's comment,
April 30, 4:12 PM
This article got me thinking. The tensions between Hungary and Romania seem trivial to me. The Romanians are the right ones in my opinion and the act of displaying the Székler flag about the Hungarian Parliament was plainly a theoretical middle finger to Romania. The more than a million Hungarians living in present day Romania relates to our unit on culture and nations/states. There is a Hungarian nation of people in Romania that the Hungarian government has now granted rights to, again purposely antagonizing Romania, and Romania is rightfully concerned of their dual-loyalty. Overall, the situation is taken way out of proportion by Hungary and what former piece of an empire wants that flag flown in their country. In Ireland do you see the Union Jack… that’d be a no.
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For years, researchers have puzzled over why Viking descendents abandoned Greenland in the late 15th century. Via Seth Dixon 
James Good's comment,
April 19, 6:33 PM
It would make sense that the Vikings abandoned Greenland because they felt isolated from their mother country. There must have been a strong Scandanavian folk culture that the people of Greenland valued enough to make such a drastic movement. It is very likely that the people of Greenland cherished their home land and its culture. This culture was probably more exciting to them then the dismal life in the far north.
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.
Conor McCloskey's comment,
April 30, 10:25 AM
Humans have been exploring our planet for thousands of years. Settlements are established, and deemed successful or unsuccessful. The successful ones are still around today, however the unsuccessful one’s usually fall to the wayside and are forgotten. Many things can make a colony of human exploration unsuccessful, much like Viking colonies in Greenland. These colonies were abandoned and archeologists have search for the reasons why. Questions of the fertility of the land and available animals to hunt have been reasons that archeologists use to explain the colonial abandonment.
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.
Zakary Pereira's comment,
April 30, 5:11 PM
Of course they left, who would want to be basically stranded on Greenland away from any other civilization? Not me for sure. Plus, the lack of supplied they were receiving and tools it would have been near impossible to live and thrive in Greenland. They were also losing their identity; they were thinking of themselves more as farmers and ranchers rather than fishermen and hunters, their original identity as Scandinavians. Nonetheless it was imperative that they leave and head home because the colony in Greenland surely would have run dry and died out. If not for the overkilling of seals for food or the bone-chilling winters, I might theorize that they might stay in Greenland however that is not how history unfolded and it doesn’t surprise me that they left. Like James said, once their trade had virtually ceased, the outpost in Greenland was useless because they could be just living back home where you weren’t in extreme weather conditions and living off of seal meat.
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In 1900, two-thirds of the world’s Catholics lived in Europe. Today only 20 percent do. Via Seth Dixon
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
February 12, 1:02 PM
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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Readers Nick and Riela have both written to ask how and when English colonists in America lost their British accents and how American accents came Via Seth Dixon
Jess Pitrone's comment,
April 29, 9:06 PM
I think that language and accents are part of what defines a region. Although it isn’t a physical geographical characteristic, an accent can help you to identify where you are in the world, or within a particular nation. As Americans, we hear British accents as something completely different then our own, but in reality, they aren’t that different. As the article says, even though there are distinct General American accents and the BBC English accent, there are still parts of Great Britain and part of the US that share the rhotic and non-rhotic accents.
Accents are part of the culture that defines a geographical area. I would say that accent can be both a over-arching part of culture, like, for example, the General American accent that defines the whole nation culturally, or a small part of regional culture, like, for example, the specific Boston accent.
John Peterson's comment,
April 30, 10:38 AM
This article brings up an interesting point on how accents within a given language can be hard to determine, and they can change drastically over time for no apparent reason. In colonial times, because most colonial settlers were English, they would obviously have similar accents to those of the British. While this is the case, over time with exposure to their own practices as well as other societies and their accents, they may have begun to slowly form their own accents. While it is obvious that “American” and “British” accents are inherently different, this was not always so. What caused this shift and when did it occur? It is hard to say, especially with how accents have continued to develop even within the classification of American or British accents. It is hard to determine what is a truly American or British accent because of the numerous regional accents that are present in today’s society. As a result, it is even more difficult to determine when the initial change in accents occurred in our past.
Max Krishchuk's comment,
April 30, 10:47 AM
This is a great question because no one has really dwelled on the question. I like that the people talked about the rhotacism aspect of it because I had never known that before. This is very important because that is the exact way that the British and American languages are different. I think that it is very important to understand this subject because it shows the exact way that we speak differently from British people. I like that the people who discussed the question talked about the history that is involved, or the lack of the history that is involved. The people who truly want to study this question have to read books on this subject because it seems like there is not that much information on it. American speech sounds more modern and middle class to me, while the British language sounds like it is for the upper class.
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Scholars Online Videos feature top scholars answering a specific question in his or her field of expertise. These brief and informative videos are designed to supplement the Choices Program curricula. Via Seth Dixon
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
May 13, 12:11 PM
In this Scholar's Online video, Jennifer Fluri briefly answers this question: How has Afghanistan's geography affected its history? This video nicely shows how contested international disputes have geographic dimensions to them. The very borders of Afghanistan were created out of geopolitical maneuverings. Tags: Afghanistan, borders, political, culture, Central Asia, historical, colonialism. 
Cazare Busteni's curator insight,
May 13, 1:56 PM
Luxor Holiday Apartment Prahova Valley Romania http://www.bookingromania.blogspot.ro 
Ann-Laure Liéval's curator insight,
May 14, 5:57 PM
about The Middle East and frontiers: a short video to better understand this country's history. Delete the scoop?
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"Languages spoken by billions of people across Europe and Asia are descended from an ancient tongue uttered in southern Europe at the end of the last ice age, according to research. The claim, by scientists in Britain, points to a common origin for vocabularies as varied as English and Urdu, Japanese and Itelmen, a language spoken along the north-eastern edge of Russia. The ancestral language, spoken at least 15,000 years ago, gave rise to seven more that formed an ancient Eurasiatic 'superfamily', the researchers say. These in turn split into languages now spoken all over Eurasia, from Portugal to Siberia." Delete the scoop?
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Oakland, Calif., was a hub of African-American life on the West Coast. Today, it's one of the most diverse cities in the country. How has that shift affected its culture? Via Seth Dixon
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
May 1, 10:21 AM
The NPR blog Code Switch focuses on issues of race, culture and ethnicity. In this podcast they explore the changing demographics of Oakland due to gentrification and the cultural impact that it has had. In the 80s, African-Americans represented nearly half of Oakland's population, but today is now 34 percent white, 28 percent black, 25 percent Latino and 17 percent Asian. The music scene, night life and sense of communal identity has consequently shifted, and that causes some to yearn for what once was. Tags: neighborhood, gentrification, urban, place, culture, economic. Delete the scoop?
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Here are two shirts are from the Avengers. Both are designed for their children apparel production line, but I don't have to tell you which one is marketed for boys and which one is marketed for girls. Questions to ponder: How (and why) do companies use cultural ideas and values to market their products? How do companies shape cultural ideas and values? What impact do messages like this have on a society's culture? Do seemingly subtle differences is pop cultural products like this matter?
Tags: perspective, culture, gender, popular culture. Via Seth Dixon Delete the scoop?
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"Ogooglebar. That's Swedish, and means "something you can't find with the use of a search engine." At least, that's what the Language Council of Sweden wanted Ogooglebar to mean--until Google stepped in, fearing that the word had negative connotations for the firm." Via Seth Dixon
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
March 27, 12:26 PM
I am used to the French trying to slow the flow of English words into French, but shocked that Google would join in the fray to slow linguistic change. Words evolve based on cultural shifts and technological changes and the computer industry has especially created new words to describe emerging, new social interactions. I'm certain that the company Google is thrilled that "to google" is the verb of choice to describe the action of searching for online for content. I would have guessed that Google was savvy enough to understand that this "ungoogleable" term is not an indictment on the company, but a new way to define that elusive, mysterious, indefinable quality for a generation that sometimes acts as if everything can be found of Google. Tags: language, culture, technology, google, diffusion. Delete the scoop?
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"Every year, as a result of prenatal sex selection, 1.5 million girls around the world are missing at birth. How do we know these girls are missing if they were never born? Under normal circumstances, about 102 to 107 male babies are born for every 100 female babies born. This is called the sex ratio at birth, or SRB."
Via Seth Dixon
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
March 25, 3:23 PM
How do local cultures create these demographic statistics? How do these demographic statistics impact local cultures? Tags: gender, technology, folk culture, statistics, China, population. Delete the scoop?
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For the most part in American culture, intellectual struggle in school children is seen as an indicator of weakness, while in Eastern cultures it is not only tolerated, it is often used to measure emotional strength. Via Seth Dixon 
E. Erny-Newton's comment,
March 21, 9:43 AM
This is what psychologist Carol Dweck highlights in her research : fixed mindset vs growth mindset ; some people tend to see achievements as based on innate abilities -they have a fixed mindset. Others see them as the fruit of effort and work -they have a growth mindset.Those two groups react very differently to setbacks : fixed minsets will give up, while growth mindsets will see an opportunity to improve.
E. Erny-Newton's comment,
March 21, 9:43 AM
For more on that, see : http://news.stanford.edu/news/2007/february7/dweck-020707.html
E. Erny-Newton's curator insight,
March 21, 9:46 AM
What is described here is what psychologist Carol Dweck highlights in her research : fixed mindset vs growth mindset ; some people tend to see achievements as based on innate abilities -they have a fixed mindset. Others see them as the fruit of effort and work -they have a growth mindset.Those two groups react very differently to setbacks : fixed minsets will give up, while growth mindsets will see an opportunity to improve.For more on that, see http://news.stanford.edu/news/2007/february7/dweck-020707.html ou en français : http://owni.fr/2011/02/07/apprendre-est-un-etat-d%E2%80%99esprit/ Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's curator insight,
March 13, 8:23 AM
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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The Pew U.S. Religious Landscape Study religion map diagrams which religions have the highest populations in each state. Via Seth Dixon
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
March 3, 8:46 PM
The geography of religion, even in an era of secularization, is still a powerful indicator of many patterns of human geography. What is the religious profile of your state? What is the spatial distribution of the religious tradition with which you identify? What explains those spatial patterns? Tags: USA, culture, diffusion, religion, Christianity. Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's curator insight,
February 20, 8:43 AM
Our thoughts shape the words we speak, but the language we speak (and ways we communicate) help shape the way we think. In this TED talk, an economist looks at how the grammatical structure that languages use to speak about the future impacts how the speakers of the language are able to save money for future events. For 5 other examples of how language can impact how we think and perceive the world, see this attached article. 
Veritas Language Solutions - Language News's curator insight,
February 26, 8:32 AM
A valid and inspirational study regarding the way in which the use of a certain grammatical tense, be it future or present, can affect our decision making!
What do you think?
For information about our language services, please visit:http://www.veritaslanguagesolutions.com/language/ 
Anne-Lous van den Ende's curator insight,
May 7, 11:18 AM
Intersting video on how the different languages we speak could affect our way of thinking. Delete the scoop?
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Seth Dixon's curator insight,
February 12, 3:42 PM
Having never lived in the South, I will defer to others on accuracy and quality of this dictionary and sayings, although I have heard this one enough understand this entry: Fixin v. aux. Getting ready to: "I'm fixin to leave." Tags: language, culture, unit 3 culture, USA. Delete the scoop?
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Failure by Belgium's political parties to form a government since elections in June have prompted fears of a split in the tiny European country. Al Jazeera's... Via Seth Dixon
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
February 12, 10:35 AM
This 2007 video is dated, but many of the same issues are still seen today. This video briefly lays out the cultural context for the political divisions between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish populations of Belgium. For a longer video on the topic, see this half hour video. Tags: language, culture, Belgium, unit 4 political, Europe, devolution, unit 3 culture. Delete the scoop?
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This map is incredibly busy, but the best elements of this interactive map are the links to YouTube videos of particular accents and pronunciation examples. It's not winning any cartographic prizes but the links make the map it worth perusing given its rich detail. See also this article about the map from GeoCurrents.
Tags: language, North America.