Deck 9: Transportation and Communications

Question 1

Up until the 19th Century,what was the most advanced form of transportation?

A) canals
B) horse-carts
C) ox-carts
D) foot travel
E) dirt roads

Answer 1

A

Question 2

With what historical period did the most active period of canal-building coincide?

A) the end of the Bronze Age
B) the Civil War Era
C) just before World War I
D) the middle of the Renaissance
E) the beginning of the Industrial Revolution

Answer 2

E

Question 3

What event or phenomenon first stimulated road improvements?

A) the invention of asphalt
B) widespread demonstrations against mud roads in the U.S.
C) the Federal Interstate Highway Funding Act
D) the first inter-city business enterprise
E) the automobile

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Time-space convergence is defined as

A) the reduction in the cost of travel and travel time among places.
B) friction of distance.
C) distance decay.
D) the reduction in the travel costs between places as a result of transport improvements.
E) none of the above

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of cost-space convergence?

A) Jules Verne wrote a book entitled "Around the World in 80 Days," in the late 1800s; today Landsat satellites can orbit the earth once in only 99 minutes.
B) Travel from Edinburgh to London dropped from 2,000 minutes by stagecoach to 800 minutes by steam locomotive.
C) The number of people traveling by air increased dramatically after deregulation resulted in lower airfares.
D) A proposed bullet train in California, which will average over 200 miles per hour, will travel from Los Angeles to San Francisco in just over two hours, beating the 5 hours it currently takes to drive.
E) all of the above

Question 6

What are the effects of improvements in transportation?

A) promote spatial interaction
B) stimulates specialization
C) increases land and labor productivity
D) promotes more efficient use of capital
E) all of the above

Question 7

What transportation technologies were tied together by container-handling facilities?

A) railroads and ships
B) trucks and railroads
C) trucks and ships
D) airlines and ships
E) railroads and airlines

Question 8

In which of the following cities would walking account for the smallest number of trips?

A) Kinshasa, Congo
B) Denver, Colorado
C) Bangalore, India
D) Lagos, Nigeria
E) Dhaka, Bangladesh

Question 9

The movement,contact,and linkage between points in space,e.g.,the movement of good,people and information among and within countries and cities is called

A) spatial interaction.
B) producer services.
C) competitive advantage.
D) comparative advantage.
E) none of the above

Question 10

In which of the following countries do 80 percent of the villages lack all-weather roads?

A) Japan
B) France
C) Austria
D) India
E) New Zealand

Question 11

In which of the following cities would the smallest percentage of residents drive to work?

A) New York City
B) London
C) Paris
D) Tokyo
E) Berlin

Question 12

When the road-building boom came to developing countries in the 20th Century,which form of transportation was most negatively impacted?

A) walking
B) horse-carts
C) railroads
D) airlines
E) subways

Question 13

In general,what form of transportation was least expensive in the early days of transportation?

A) motor vehicles
B) railroads
C) water
D) air travel
E) horse-drawn cart

Question 14

The friction of distance is the cost of overcoming space.These costs include all of the following EXCEPT

A) out-of-pocket expenses.
B) cost of a person's time.
C) over-the-road costs of vehicle operation.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 15

During what period were efforts to improve transportation concentrated on expanding the known seas and improving ships?

A) during the Civil War era
B) just before World War I
C) before the Industrial Revolution
D) the middle of the Renaissance
E) just after the Reformation

Question 16

The displacement of absolute space by relative space means that economic development becomes less dependent on ________ and more dependent on ________.

A) relations with nature; social relations across space
B) competitive advantage; comparative advantage
C) situation; site
D) spatial interaction; transportation costs
E) none of the above

Question 17

Which of the following is an example of time-space convergence?

A) Declining cost of telephone calls increased interactions between New York and San Francisco.
B) Travel from Edinburgh to London dropped from 2,000 minutes by stagecoach to 800 minutes by steam locomotive.
C) The number of people traveling by air increased dramatically after deregulation resulted in lower airfares.
D) More people take cruises since this type of tourism has become more affordable.
E) all of the above

Question 18

What is the underlying principle of distance decay?

A) Spatial integration
B) Accessibility index
C) Exchange controls
D) Isotropic surface
E) Friction of distance

Question 19

What invention paved the way for technical advances in transportation at the time of the Industrial Revolution?

A) the wheel
B) the steam engine
C) the gear
D) the harness
E) braking systems

Question 20

Fast and efficient transportation systems allow all of the following EXCEPT

A) the development of natural resources.
B) regional specialization of production.
C) internal trade among regions.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 21

What is a port hinterland?

A) the docks at a port
B) the area served by a port
C) an administrative jurisdiction of the port authorities
D) the retail part of a port
E) the portion of a port where container ships are loaded

Question 22

Your textbook states,"Although the regime for shipping is dominated by firms,the market is inherently unfair." How is it unfair?

A) It favors multinational corporations.
B) It favors less developed countries.
C) It favors newly industrializing countries.
D) It favors developed countries.
E) It favors small local firms.

Question 23

The geography of production and trade has changed the global pattern of container ports.Which of the following are characteristic of these changes?

A) The world's largest ports are in Hong Kong and Singapore.
B) The largest U.S. ports are on the east coast.
C) New York City remains the highest U.S. port in trade volume.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 24

Truck carriers have low terminal costs largely because

A) the price of gasoline fluctuates frequently.
B) relative to other carriers they are less flexible.
C) they do not have to pay for provision and maintenance of roads.
D) they cannot compete in the global commodity traffic.
E) none of the above

Question 25

How has deregulation affected the average airline passenger?

A) Passengers must take off their shoes before passing through security.
B) Liquids are now limited to very small amounts carried in a clear zip-lock bag.
C) Every passenger must present a photo ID.
D) Most direct flights have been reduced, so passengers may have a stopover in another city.
E) Deregulation has had no effects.

Question 26

The international regime for shipping is dominated by

A) large corporations.
B) small, short-hop providers.
C) multi-national corporations.
D) international partners.
E) nation-states.

Question 27

During what period did transportation policy shift to deregulation and privatization?

A) It was never regulated.
B) 1930s
C) 1950s
D) 1970s
E) It is still regulated

Question 28

All of the following are results of transport innovations EXCEPT

A) decentralization of manufacturing processes in industrialized countries.
B) decentralization of manufacturing processes in industrialized countries from suburbs toward major cities.
C) decentralization of manufacturing processes in industrialized countries from central regions to more peripheral ones.
D) relocation of MNCs based in industrialized countries to to free trade zones in the 3rd world.
E) reduction in circulation costs.

Question 29

The fundamental principle governing international aviation is

A) states have sovereign control over their own air space.
B) an international treaty of the United Nations.
C) provide air service at the lowest possible price.
D) develop the quickest air service possible.
E) the Kyoto Protocol.

Question 30

Regulation of airlines and railroad carriers has been criticized for all of the following EXCEPT

A) it created inefficiency.
B) it limited competition.
C) it raised prices to consumers.
D) it only occurred in developing countries.
E) it minimized benefits to consumers.

Question 31

The reduction of government controls of economic activity within a country is called

A) privatization.
B) regulation.
C) deregulation.
D) competitive advantage.
E) raising efficiency.

Question 32

Based on the differences in terminal and line-haul costs,which form of transportation is preferred over short distances?

A) trucks
B) air
C) water
D) rail
E) There is no difference.

Question 33

What accounts for the largest proportion of travel by households?

A) vacation travel
B) shopping trips
C) family visits
D) journey-to-work
E) chauffeuring children (to school, lessons, sports, etc.)

Question 34

The improvements brought on by containerization include all of the following EXCEPT

A) newly designed cellular vessels have much faster turnaround time in port.
B) interface between water and land transportation has expanded.
C) the economy and scale of rail transportation has been enhance by new container trains.
D) logistics of ocean-going freight has greatly improved.
E) container security has been greatly enhanced.

Question 35

Based on the differences in terminal and line-haul costs,which form of transportation is preferred over long distances?

A) trucks
B) air
C) water
D) rail
E) There is not difference

Question 36

A maglev is/does all of the following EXCEPT

A) a magnetically elevated train.
B) cruises on a cushion of air at high speeds on a detached right-of-way.
C) state of the future in ground transportation systems.
D) produces little or no air pollution.
E) four times as efficient as automobiles.

Question 37

In the late 20th Century,how have the number of vehicle miles traveled (VMT)compared to the population trends in the U.S.?

A) VMT decreased at the same rate as population.
B) VMT decreased while the population increased.
C) VMT increased at a slower rate than population.
D) VMT increased that the same rate as population.
E) VMT increased at a much faster rate.

Question 38

What factors account for the increasing level of personal mobility in the United States?

A) overall increased performance in the national economy
B) increasing growth of cities and their spread over the surrounding countryside through low-density exurban expansion
C) the changing role of women in the work force
D) A and B above
E) A, B, and C above

Question 39

All of the following are results of U.S.airline deregulation EXCEPT

A) the number of direct flights have been reduced.
B) fares have been reduced.
C) the most efficient companies have survived.
D) the hub and spoke network has increased costs.
E) 90% of passengers use discounted tickets.

Question 40

The international regime for aviation is dominated by

A) large corporations.
B) small, short-hop providers.
C) multi-national corporations.
D) international partners.
E) nation-states.

Question 41

A common measure of a nation's telecommunications infrastructure is

A) Internet
B) radio
C) Internet connections
D) telephone
E) telegraph

Question 42

The smallest number of Internet users reside in which region (2010)?

A) Asia
B) Africa
C) Oceania
D) Europe
E) Middle East

Question 43

The telegraph was important in the colonization of which U.S.Region?

A) Old Northwest
B) Midwest
C) East
D) South
E) West

Question 44

What is considered to be the first form of telecommunications?

A) telephone
B) telegraph
C) cell phone
D) radio
E) television

Question 45

During the Industrial Revolution,the speed with which people,goods,and information crossed the globe accelerated greatly when animate energy was applied to transportation.

Question 46

Time and space are social constructs.

Question 47

The most common form of telecommunications used by businesses and households is

A) Internet
B) radio
C) Internet connections
D) telephone
E) telegraph

Question 48

Perishable,high-value,or urgently needed shipments are sent by air freight.

Question 49

Railroads and highways that penetrate the interior from ports along the ocean are called tap routes.

Question 50

Landline telephones per 100 people is lowest in which region?

A) North America
B) South America
C) Europe
D) Africa
E) Australia/Pacific

Question 51

In India,80 percent of the villages lack all-weather roads.

Question 52

In which of the following places would satellites be preferred over fiber optic lines?

A) Washington, D.C.
B) Edinburgh, Scotland
C) Moscow, Russia
D) Tokyo, Japan
E) Yaak, Montana

Question 53

What morally ambiguous service is available on the Internet?

A) gambling
B) distance education
C) e-mail
D) eBay
E) travel reservations and ticketing

Question 54

The proposition "telecommunications means the end of geography" is false because

A) telecommunications are a poor substitute for face-to-face interaction.
B) administrative functions of businesses still continue to cluster in cities.
C) it has allowed the decentralization of routine functions.
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 55

Social and spatial differences in internet access are due largely to

A) poverty.
B) density, reliability and affordability of telephone systems.
C) differentials in accessing the skills, equipment and software necessary.
D) all of the above
E) B and C only

Question 56

The principle of underlying distance decay is friction of distance.

Question 57

Improvements in transportation promote spatial interaction.

Question 58

For which of the following transactions are telecommunications most well-suited?

A) distance education
B) telecommuting
C) business meetings
D) transmission of standardized data
E) Internet dating

Question 59

Which of the following countries is hardest hit by the "digital divide"?

A) Canada
B) Nigeria
C) Italy
D) Japan
E) Australia

Question 60

The work performed via electronic lines of communication,including internet,either at home or via telework centers is called

A) e-commerce.
B) e-business.
C) EDI (electronic data exchange).
D) teleworking.
E) all of the above

Question 61

The basis of global telecommunications industry lies in one technology - satellites.

Question 62

The telegraph is considered to be the first form of telecommunications.

Question 63

The reduction of government controls of economic activity within a country is called privatization.

Question 64

Hub-and-spoke networks were created by airlines in order to increase direct flights.

Question 65

Wireless technologies have enable more developed countries to "leap-frog."

Question 66

New York City remains the largest U.S.port in terms of trade volume.

Question 67

The largest proportion of travel by households is related to shopping trips.

Question 68

The "digital divide" hits more developed countries the hardest.

Question 69

Your text states that internet censorship is worst in North Korea.

Question 70

Railroad carriers have lower terminal costs than truck carriers.

Question 71

The fundamental principle governing international aviation is that States have sovereign control over their own air space.

Question 72

Based on the differences in terminal and line-haul costs,water is preferred over long distances.

Question 73

Internet penetration rates are generally low in Europe.

Question 74

Multi-national corporations dominate the international regime for aviation.

Question 75

Overall,satellite systems have maintained their primacy over fiber-optic systems.

Question 76

A port hinterland is the area served by a port.

Question 77

Telecommunications mean the end of geography.

Question 78

Transportation policy in the U.S.shifted to deregulation and privatization in the 1950s.

Question 79

Transport costs that must be paid regardless of the distance involved are line-haul costs.

Question 80

Based on the differences in terminal and line-haul costs,rail is preferred over short distances.