Glossary - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 490

Core region Focal point/area of economic and related activities.
Cultural convergence Takes place when lifeways and belief
systems blend in a landscape.
Cyberspace The sphere of information technology .
Cyclone A low-pressure center. Can be associated with cy-
clonic storms having high-velocity winds and copious precip-
itation.
Dalits The name used by India' s untouchables in reference to
themselves. It means “oppressed.”
Dao de Jing ( T (Tao-te-ching) ) Means “classic of the way .” A
topic of philosophy concerned with the Dao , or the way the
universe works.
Dasht Expanses of black pebbles common to Baluchistan,
Pakistan.
Deciduous forests These consist of trees that lose all their
leaves in a cold or dry season.
Decolonization A nation' s process of gaining of its independ-
ence from a colonial power.
Demographic transition model Sequential changes in popu-
lation growth or decline beginning with high births and high
deaths and ending with low births and low deaths.
Deng Xiaoping Ruler of China from 1976 to 1989. A col-
league of Mao Zedong and survivor of the Long March. He
began to open up China to a market economy .
Dependency ratio Ratio of percentage of a population under
15 and over 65 who are considered to be dependent to the
percentage of the remaining people who are considered to be
working.
Dependency theory The idea that core regions can grow only
through exploitation of their dependent peripheries.
Deposition

Dowry Payment in cash and kind by bride' s family to groom' s

family .
Dowry deaths The death of a new bride at the hands of her
husband' s family who are displeased over the size of the
young woman' s dowry and harass or kill her.
Dragon and tiger economies Newly industrializing
economies of East and Southeast Asia.
Dravidians Dark-skinned people of the Indus Civilization in

India.
Drignam Namzha The traditional values and etiquette policy
launched by the king of Bhutan in order to salvage Bhutanese
culture.
Drukpas The Bhote tribe of northern Bhutan, they were orig-
inally from Tibet. They revere the king of Bhutan as their spir-
itual leader.
Drukyul Original name of Bhutan.
Dual economy The economy characterized by the existence
of two levels of economic activity; a formal sector functioning
at a large scale in the realm of national and international
trade, and an informal sector, functioning at a smaller scale at
local levels.
Dutch cultivation (culture) system During the colonial pe-
riod, the Dutch requirement that every Indonesian farm
household allocate one-fifth of its land to the production of a
cash or export crop.
Dwifungsi Means “dual function.” Refers to the Indonesian
army' s dual role of defending the country and promoting eco-
nomic development.
Dynasties In ancient China, periods of rule by one family .
Dynastic cycle The rise and fall of a particular dynasty in
China. A dynasty would begin as virtuous, peaceful, and pro-
ductive but over time would become corrupt, warring, and a
victim of natural disasters, thereby losing the Mandate of
Heaven.
Dzongs Fortified monasteries in Bhutan.
Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Established by
Pakistan, Iran, and T Turkey in 1985. Now includes
Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics.
Economic development zones (EDZs) Part of Deng Xiaop-
ing' s new economic policies. Areas of China designated as
special zones for foreign investment.
Ecumene The inhabited world.
Edo T Traditional name for T Tokyo.
Eightfold Path The Buddhist way to overcome desire and
achieve the ultimate state of nirvana.
Emergents T Trees rising above the rain forest canopy .
Endemic Plants or animals occurring in a given area only .
Endogamy The practice of marrying within one' s caste or jati
(occupation).
Entrepôt

The depositing of material through the process of

erosion.
Deserts Regions receiving less than 10 inches (254 mm) of
precipitation a year.
Developing countries (DCs) Countries that are beginning
the industrialization process. India and Indonesia are
examples.
Dien Bien Phu The battle in 1954 between the Communist
Viet Minh and the French. The French loss effectively ended
their efforts to hold Vietnam.
Diffusion The spatial spread of a phenomenon.
Digital divide Argument that possession and use of electronic
devices such as cell phones occur primarily in rich countries
that are mostly in the Northern Hemisphere.
Dipterocarps T Trees with two-winged seeds that dominate the
upper canopy of the rain forest.
Doab The level and fertile land between the Ganga and
Yamuna rivers. It means “two rivers.” Also, any such land
between two rivers.
Doi Moi Vietnamese word meaning “renovation.” Reform poli-
cies instituted by the Vietnamese Communist Party in 1986.
Domestication The process of learning how to grow plants
and manage animals for food and related products. The in-
vention of agriculture.

A transshipment point, usually a port city such as

Malacca.
Environmental criticality Environmental degradation associ-
ated with socioeconomic deterioration such as the kind that
takes place when forests are destroyed.