3.2.2.3 Meaning and representation
How places may be represented in a variety of different forms, such as advertising copy, tourist agency material and local art exhibitions in diverse media (eg film, photography, art, story, song, etc), that often give contrasting images to that presented formally or statistically, such as cartography and census data.

3.2.2.2.2 Quantitative and qualitative skills

• Students must engage with a range of quantitative and qualitative approaches across the theme as a whole.
• Quantitative data, including the use of geospatial data, must be used to investigate and present place characteristics, particular weight must be given to qualitative approaches involved in representing place, and to analysing critically the impacts of different media on place meanings and perceptions.
• The use of different types of data should allow the development of critical perspectives on the data categories and approaches.

Learning outcomes
This lesson will help students to understand:

• The difference between qualitative and quantitative sources of geographical information.
• What considerations must be made regarding reliability when using qualitative sources.
• What are the common qualitative sources of information used in presenting place characteristics and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Suggested timing
1 hour

3.2.2.2.2 Meaning and representation
The importance of the meanings and representations attached to places by people with a particular focus on peoples lived experience of place in the past and at present:

• How external agencies, including government, corporate bodies and community or local groups make attempts to influence or create specific place-meanings and thereby shape the actions and behaviours of individuals, groups, businesses and institutions.
• How places may be represented in a variety of different forms such as advertising copy, tourist agency material, local art exhibitions in diverse media (eg film, photography, art, story, song etc) that often give contrasting images to that presented formally or statistically such as cartography and census data.

Learning outcomes
This lesson will help students to understand:

• The definitions of meaning, representation and perception of place and how these can relate to each other.
• How media can sometimes skew peoples perception of a place which may be far detached from the lived reality.
• What agents of change are and how they manage to change peoples perception of place.

Suggested timing
1 hour

3.2.1.2 Global systems
Issues associated with interdependence including how unequal power relations enable some states to drive global systems to their own advantage and to directly influence geopolitical events, while others are only able to respond or resist in a more constrained way.

Learning outcomes
This lesson will help students to understand:

• what unequal power relations mean in global affairs.
• what ‘hard and ‘soft power is in the context of international relations.
• how countries have exerted significant political and economic power in their international affairs and what the effects of this have been.

Suggested timing
1 hour