OCR Geography A Level Notes:
Geographical Debates
Geographical debates: 2
Disease Dilemmas: 2
1. What are the global patterns of disease and can factors be identified that determine
these 2
1.a: Diseases can be classified and their patterns mapped. The spread of diseases is
complex and influenced by a number of factors 2
1.b: There is a relationship between physical factors and the prevalence of disease
which can change over time 5
1.c: Natural hazards can influence the outbreak and spread of disease 6
CASE STUDY - Haiti 6
2. Is there a link between disease and levels of economic development 8
2.a: As countries develop economically the frequency of communicable diseases
decreases, while the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases rises 8
CASE STUDY - India 11
3. How effectively are communicable and noncommunicable diseases dealt with? 14
3.a: Communicable diseases have causes and impacts with mitigation and response
strategies which have varying levels of success 14
CASE STUDY - Ebola in Sierra Leone (2014-2016) 14
3.b: Noncommunicable diseases have causes and impacts with mitigation and
response strategies which have varying levels of success 21
CASE STUDY - Diabetes in USA 21
4. How far can disease be predicted and mitigated against 26
4.a: Increasing global mobility impacts the diffusion of disease and the ability to
respond to it, at a variety of scales 26
CASE STUDY - NGO (IDF, WHO, UNICEF, Red Cross) 26
4.b: Mitigation strategies to combat global pandemics and overcome physical
barriers 29
5. Can disease ever be fully eradicated? 34
5.a: Nature has provided medicines to treat disease for thousands of years 34
CASE STUDY - Rosy Periwinkle 35
CASE STUDY - Opium Poppy 35
5.b: Top down and bottom up strategies that deal with disease risk and eradication 36
CASE STUDY - GlaxoSmithKline 36
,Hazardous Earth: 37
1. What is the evidence for continental drift and plate tectonics 37
1.a: There is a variety of evidence for the theories of continental drift and plate
tectonics 37
1.b: There are distinctive features and processes at plate boundaries 39
2. What are the main hazards generated by volcanic activity 41
2.a: There is a variety of volcanic activity and resultant landforms and landscapes 41
2.b: Volcanic eruptions generate distinctive hazards. 44
3. What are the main hazards generated by seismic activity 45
3.a: There is a variety of earthquake activity and resultant landforms and landscapes
45
3.b: Earthquakes generate distinctive hazards 47
4. What are the implications of living in tectonically active locations 49
4.a: There are a range of impacts people experience as a result of volcanic eruptions
49
CASE STUDY - Mount Ontake, Japan and Merapi, Indonesia 49
4.b: There are a range of impacts people experience as a result of earthquake
activity 53
CASE STUDY Tohoku, Japan and Gorkha, Nepal 53
5. What measures are available to help people cope with living in tectonically active
locations 56
5.a: There are various strategies to manage hazards from volcanic activity 56
CASE STUDY - Indonesia 56
CASE STUDY - Italy 57
5.b: There are various strategies to manage hazards from earthquakes 57
CASE STUDY - Nepal 57
CASE STUDY - Japan 58
5.c: The exposure of people to risks and their ability to cope with tectonic hazards
changes over time 59
,Geographical debates:
Disease Dilemmas:
1. What are the global patterns of disease and can factors be identified that
determine these
1.a: Diseases can be classified and their patterns mapped. The spread of diseases is
complex and influenced by a number of factors
Infectious Diseases - Diseases spread by pathogens (bacteria, parasites and fungi)
Non-Infectious Diseases - Diseases which are not spread from host to host and are caused
by external factors such as lifestyle or genetic inheritance
Contagious Diseases - Infectious diseases that are easily spread through direct or indirect
contact between people. Includes bacterial infections and viral diseases
Non-Contagious Diseases - Diseases that are not spread through contact such as diabetes
and cancer
Communicable Diseases - Infectious disease spread from host to host but does not require
quarantine such as HIV/AIDS and STIs
Zoonotic Diseases - Infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans. 60% of
infectious diseases are spread from animals such as rabies and leptospirosis
Endemic - Usual prevalence of a disease or infection agent within a population or
geographical area. Example: Chicken Pox seen at a predictable rate in children in the UK
Epidemic - An outbreak of disease that infects many people at a time and spreads through a
population in a restricted geographical area. Example: Ebola in West Africa in 2014
Pandemic - Worldwide spread of a new disease
Heart disease is mainly located in Northern America and widely spread over Eastern Europe,
South America and Asia. It is mostly found in AC’s
HIV/AIDS is mainly located in Southern and Central Africa
, Hägerstrands model of Diffusion:
Expansion:
● Infection spreads out from source in all directions from point of origin
● Expanding disease diffuses outwards into new areas
● The disease often intensifies in the originating area
● Example: COVID-19 from Wuhan, China
○ 6.6 million deaths as of 30/11/22
○ Zoonotic disease that originated in a food market in Wuhan
● Example: H1N1 (Swine Flu) from Mexico
○ 17,000 deaths worldwide (2009)
○ Originated in Pigs from a small region in Central Mexico
Relocation:
● Infection spreads into a new area, leaving behind its origin or source of disease
● Example: Cholera in Haiti
○ Killed 6000 people
○ Brought in by emergency aid workers flown in from Nepal
Hierarchal:
● Infection spreads down through ordered sequence of places
● Usually from largest centres with highest connectivity to smaller, more isolated centres
● Example: HIV/AIDS in USA
○ First appeared in San Francisco and then spread to major cities such as LA and
New York
○ Then spread to smaller cities and into towns
Contagious:
● Infection is spread through direct contact
● Individual hosts carry the disease and pass it on to new contacts
● Strongly influenced by distance with nearby individuals/regions having a much higher
probability of contact then remote ones
● Contagious diseases spread in an outward and multiplying manner
● Early medical geography maps by Jon Snow identified the cluster and source of cholera
outbreak in Broad Street, London in 1852
Geographical Debates
Geographical debates: 2
Disease Dilemmas: 2
1. What are the global patterns of disease and can factors be identified that determine
these 2
1.a: Diseases can be classified and their patterns mapped. The spread of diseases is
complex and influenced by a number of factors 2
1.b: There is a relationship between physical factors and the prevalence of disease
which can change over time 5
1.c: Natural hazards can influence the outbreak and spread of disease 6
CASE STUDY - Haiti 6
2. Is there a link between disease and levels of economic development 8
2.a: As countries develop economically the frequency of communicable diseases
decreases, while the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases rises 8
CASE STUDY - India 11
3. How effectively are communicable and noncommunicable diseases dealt with? 14
3.a: Communicable diseases have causes and impacts with mitigation and response
strategies which have varying levels of success 14
CASE STUDY - Ebola in Sierra Leone (2014-2016) 14
3.b: Noncommunicable diseases have causes and impacts with mitigation and
response strategies which have varying levels of success 21
CASE STUDY - Diabetes in USA 21
4. How far can disease be predicted and mitigated against 26
4.a: Increasing global mobility impacts the diffusion of disease and the ability to
respond to it, at a variety of scales 26
CASE STUDY - NGO (IDF, WHO, UNICEF, Red Cross) 26
4.b: Mitigation strategies to combat global pandemics and overcome physical
barriers 29
5. Can disease ever be fully eradicated? 34
5.a: Nature has provided medicines to treat disease for thousands of years 34
CASE STUDY - Rosy Periwinkle 35
CASE STUDY - Opium Poppy 35
5.b: Top down and bottom up strategies that deal with disease risk and eradication 36
CASE STUDY - GlaxoSmithKline 36
,Hazardous Earth: 37
1. What is the evidence for continental drift and plate tectonics 37
1.a: There is a variety of evidence for the theories of continental drift and plate
tectonics 37
1.b: There are distinctive features and processes at plate boundaries 39
2. What are the main hazards generated by volcanic activity 41
2.a: There is a variety of volcanic activity and resultant landforms and landscapes 41
2.b: Volcanic eruptions generate distinctive hazards. 44
3. What are the main hazards generated by seismic activity 45
3.a: There is a variety of earthquake activity and resultant landforms and landscapes
45
3.b: Earthquakes generate distinctive hazards 47
4. What are the implications of living in tectonically active locations 49
4.a: There are a range of impacts people experience as a result of volcanic eruptions
49
CASE STUDY - Mount Ontake, Japan and Merapi, Indonesia 49
4.b: There are a range of impacts people experience as a result of earthquake
activity 53
CASE STUDY Tohoku, Japan and Gorkha, Nepal 53
5. What measures are available to help people cope with living in tectonically active
locations 56
5.a: There are various strategies to manage hazards from volcanic activity 56
CASE STUDY - Indonesia 56
CASE STUDY - Italy 57
5.b: There are various strategies to manage hazards from earthquakes 57
CASE STUDY - Nepal 57
CASE STUDY - Japan 58
5.c: The exposure of people to risks and their ability to cope with tectonic hazards
changes over time 59
,Geographical debates:
Disease Dilemmas:
1. What are the global patterns of disease and can factors be identified that
determine these
1.a: Diseases can be classified and their patterns mapped. The spread of diseases is
complex and influenced by a number of factors
Infectious Diseases - Diseases spread by pathogens (bacteria, parasites and fungi)
Non-Infectious Diseases - Diseases which are not spread from host to host and are caused
by external factors such as lifestyle or genetic inheritance
Contagious Diseases - Infectious diseases that are easily spread through direct or indirect
contact between people. Includes bacterial infections and viral diseases
Non-Contagious Diseases - Diseases that are not spread through contact such as diabetes
and cancer
Communicable Diseases - Infectious disease spread from host to host but does not require
quarantine such as HIV/AIDS and STIs
Zoonotic Diseases - Infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans. 60% of
infectious diseases are spread from animals such as rabies and leptospirosis
Endemic - Usual prevalence of a disease or infection agent within a population or
geographical area. Example: Chicken Pox seen at a predictable rate in children in the UK
Epidemic - An outbreak of disease that infects many people at a time and spreads through a
population in a restricted geographical area. Example: Ebola in West Africa in 2014
Pandemic - Worldwide spread of a new disease
Heart disease is mainly located in Northern America and widely spread over Eastern Europe,
South America and Asia. It is mostly found in AC’s
HIV/AIDS is mainly located in Southern and Central Africa
, Hägerstrands model of Diffusion:
Expansion:
● Infection spreads out from source in all directions from point of origin
● Expanding disease diffuses outwards into new areas
● The disease often intensifies in the originating area
● Example: COVID-19 from Wuhan, China
○ 6.6 million deaths as of 30/11/22
○ Zoonotic disease that originated in a food market in Wuhan
● Example: H1N1 (Swine Flu) from Mexico
○ 17,000 deaths worldwide (2009)
○ Originated in Pigs from a small region in Central Mexico
Relocation:
● Infection spreads into a new area, leaving behind its origin or source of disease
● Example: Cholera in Haiti
○ Killed 6000 people
○ Brought in by emergency aid workers flown in from Nepal
Hierarchal:
● Infection spreads down through ordered sequence of places
● Usually from largest centres with highest connectivity to smaller, more isolated centres
● Example: HIV/AIDS in USA
○ First appeared in San Francisco and then spread to major cities such as LA and
New York
○ Then spread to smaller cities and into towns
Contagious:
● Infection is spread through direct contact
● Individual hosts carry the disease and pass it on to new contacts
● Strongly influenced by distance with nearby individuals/regions having a much higher
probability of contact then remote ones
● Contagious diseases spread in an outward and multiplying manner
● Early medical geography maps by Jon Snow identified the cluster and source of cholera
outbreak in Broad Street, London in 1852
