On geography as science

The paper attempts a preliminary exploration of some of the issues raised if we choose to account geography a “science”. The inherent equivocation of the notion of “science” is first examined, and the methodological implications are emphasised, leading into a brief consideration of inductivism and deductivism; it is concluded that deductivism, despite some valid questions which hang over it, represents the more secure methodological framework, and some of the implications of this conclusion for geographical study in general are explored. The importance of deductivism in physical geography is then considered, and the special problems of human geography are also examined, notably the significance of human volition and of value judgments in social, economic and cultural geography. The methodological implications of human perception are also reviewed. Regional geography is then briefly evaluated, and the possibilities of applying techniques of systems analysis to its problems are developed, viewing these techniques as a special phase of scientific method. Some issues relating to the notion of causality are then raised, with special reference to the crucial distinctions between the notion of causality in natural science and the related concept in historical study, and, by extension, in certain aspects of geography also. The paper concludes with a brief evaluation of the quantitative movement in geography, paying particular attention to the role of mathematics in science in general and in geography in particular.     

Analysis in geography

Instructions concerning factor analysis, complex analysis, system analysis, trend analysis and sensitive analysis are given. Their validity for geographical investigations and research work with integrated spatial approach is discussed. Objective are calculations and abstract results; the demarcation of areas based on homogeneous data remain subjective because of the continuum of spatial elements. Nevertheless, the fundamental finding maintains, the space-time continuum on Earth's surface can be investigated—as has been demonstrated—by several analysing methods.     

Contemporary British geography

The late 50s and 60s witnessed a great surge of interest in applying scientific methods in geography, resulting in a new rigour of approach, an emphasis on quantitative analyses and the introduction of mathematical techniques. Partly as a reaction the behavioural approach attracted renewed interest in the 1960s. Although the problems of bridging the gap between individual behaviour and geographical generalisations remain, considerable insights have been gained by perception studies. The most recent reaction is a concern with social problems, often engaging geographers in methodological dilemmas of political involvement. These are not mutually exclusive with sequential phases necessarily suggesting progression, but outbursts of interest on continuing different philosophical approaches.     

The future of geography

This paper is an attempt to assess the current state and future prospects of Geography especially but not only in Britain. It is quasi-polemical and should be read in that spirit. The paper looks first at the notable successes of physical and human geography. It then considers how these successes are being buttressed by current events taking place in the world. Next, the paper considers the main problems that beset geography. Finally, however, the paper ends on another positive note by considering some of the exciting new developments that are now taking place in the discipline which will allow it to relate to more of the many worlds that make up geography's vocation.     

The Influence of American geography on Korean geography

Korean modern geography emerged from the dark age of unfortunate Japanese colonial rule after liberation in 1945, and has grown rapidly since the 1960s. Modern geographical theories and methodologies were introduced to Korea by the Korean geographers who received PhD degrees in the United States and returned home to teach at universities in Korea, especially in the 1970s and early 1980s. American geography has influenced the progress of the modern geography in Korea in various ways — education systems, curricula for college students, training graduate students — and research methodologies in Korean geography during the last half-century have been directly and indirectly influenced by American geography. The influence has had, however, both positive and negative effects in the development of Korean geography. There is a tendency in recent years to reinterpret Western theories and concepts in the Korean context, considering distinctive regional and cultural characteristics.     

Models in geography revisited

Agent based models (ABMs) have many applications, and illustrate a rapidly developing field of enquiry, spanning both the physical-mathematical and human-social sciences. ABMs are seen as most appropriate in situations where decisions or actions are distributed around particular locations, and in which structure is viewed as emergent from the interaction between individuals. ABMs may be used either as representational devices, to reproduce the patterns observed or desired in the system of interest, or as foundational tools contributing to the development of social or economic theory. The role and status of models and modelling is itself an instantiation of a wider debate concerning representation and explanation. Today, a case can be made that the nature of explanation and the use of scientific interpretation reflect much less definite and exclusive positions and permit more diverse approaches than hitherto. The underlying proposition of this commentary is, therefore, that the time is right for a positive application of ABMs within the discipline of geography, and for a rediscovery and reappraisal of the richness and depth of insight in the model-building enterprise more generally. First, the context for ABM development and application is set with reference to the agency-structure debate. Second, some aspects of the heritage of models in geography is presented, based upon reviews of two benchmark publications bearing that title. Next, some of the most significant characteristics, uses, potentials and limitations of ABMs, are reviewed. Finally, some constructive ways forward are suggested, as informed by theory and method from the interpretative social sciences.     

Transpolitical geography

As political geography searches in desperation for new (theoretical) directions to follow, this paper argues that the category of the ‘political’ has already curved back on itself, attaining the status of the ‘transpolitical’. Hereinafter, politics will never finish replaying its own disappearance as effect. This curvature is itself associated with profound shifts in the experience of history and time, of geography and space, and of the very ideas of theory, politics and events—shifts which continue to fascinate, haunt and transfix political geography in the enigmatic hereafter of the transpolitical. Adopting the motifs of s(ed)uction, transpearing, superficial abysses, and hypertelia (the ‘end of the end’), the paper assesses: the transpolitical figures of anomaly, ecstasy, obesity and obscenity; the irruption of the hyperreal (the more real than the real); the mutation of the political scene of representation into the transpolitical ob-scene of pornogeography; the fatal strategies pursued by the masses in relation to the spectre of the (trans)political; and the challenge of a transfinite universe for conjuring theoretical practice at the end(s) of political geography. Beginning with the transition from the political era—dominated by the transgressive figure of anomie and the emancipatory promise of revolutionary subl(im)ation—to the transpolitical simulacrum—characterized by the errant figure of anomaly and the superficial abyss of potentialization—the paper attempts to animate a transpolitical geography which affirms the s(ed)uction of superficial abysses and instantiates an ethics of the transpearing event.     

Sakmarian geography

The known palaeontological and stratigraphical evidence is used as a basis for the construction of maps of the continents showing the extent of their inundation by the sea in Sakmarian time in the Upper Palaeozoic. In the northern hemisphere apart from India the evidence is sufficiently reliable to give reasonable maps, and the great extent of the inundations suggests that the climate would be considerably modified from that of today; no undoubted Sakmarian glacials occur there. In Southern continents and India, the Gondwana biogeographical province has made correlation with the northern continents controversial, but reasons are given for assuming that Gondwana glacial deposits were at least in part Sakmarian; the resultant maps show that the Gondwana land surfaces were but little reduced in area, and that the main glacials (except for India) lie within a belt between 40 S and 20 S. Present lack of knowledge of Sakmarian conditions in Antarctica makes reconstructions of climatic belts too hazardous for possible use in enunciating or checking hypotheses of continental drift and polar wandering.     

Spatial imaginary and geography: A plea for the geography of representations

After twenty years of work on the geography of representations, how is it still possible to define geography as “the science of space”, ie as direct knowledge of material reality? This conception of the discipline — based on Cartesian precepts of evidence (eg the observer's independent certainty), reductionism (ie a disaggregation into sets of simple elements), causality (ie the presupposition of a linear linkage between cause and effect) and exhaustiveness (ie the certainty that nothing essential has been omitted) — has been thrown into question by the geography of representations' holistic approach. How can our scientific practices be separated from our interior existence with its affective and emotional aspects? Is not scientific action an extension of being? Mustn't the geographer, above and beyond the observation of concrete phenomena, also understand the subtle and complex — at times random and hidden — links which unite human beings and their life-space, be it from the viewpoint of the poet, or of all those who take alternative approaches to geography? What I would like to demonstrate is (1) how in an historically and socially given environment, the individual constructs his own reality in linking together the structural, functional and symbolic; (2) how the representation of the landscape is related to our existential experience; and (3) how the imaginary and the real are connected in each place.     

Doing community geography

Community Geography offers researchers, community groups, and students opportunities to engage in action oriented applied geographical research. Creating and sustaining these research programs can be challenging, programs can involve many partners from both academic and the community, have different goals and purposes, and utilize a variety of methods to perform research. In this paper we offer a framework of three primary overarching principles for implementing CG projects; (1) Who, (2) Why, and (3) How. (1) “Who” describes who is involved in CG, including researchers, community partners, academic institutions, (2) “Why” describes the justifications and benefits of taking this approach. (3) “How” explains how CG borrows methodologies from many disciplines within geography and beyond. Our examples are not exhaustive; rather, they serve as starting points to inspire researchers interested in CG.

     

GIS and quantitative geography

The purpose of this paper is to explore the development of the GIS revolution within the field of geography in the 1980s and 1990s, taking into consideration the influence of external and internal factors on disciplinary change. Geography is rapidly changing by the impact of external factors on geographical research and also as a consequence of economic recession and cutbacks in higher education. Most geography departments in universities have tried to approach this impact by promoting or shifting to human geography as an applied science, and by offering relevant skills through GIS as an approach to contemporary problems. It is concluded that quantitative geography is essential for the further expansion of GIS within geography and also for the survival of geography. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Subject of study in complex physical geography (Landscape geography)

Complex physical geography (landscape geography) is a science of the structure of the natural environment treated as a whole composed of interconnected and interacting components. The research object of complex physical geography is the Earth's surface understood as a three-dimensional layer including lithosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere as well as the biosphere which develops within the former three. Among different terms employed to define the external cover of the earth the best one seems to be epigeosphere (A.G. Isachenko 1965). Landscape as a scientific term is ambiguous and can be well replaced with the term geocomplex. Geocomplex is a relatively closed sector of nature which constitutes a whole due to the processes occuring within it and interdependences of geocomponents of which it is composed (H. Barsch 1968). There are homogeneous (topological) and heterogeneous (chorological) geocomplexes. Every geocomplex is characterized by its structure and manner of functioning. The objective existence of geocomplexes cannot be doubted.     

Beyond geography: The geography of the beyond in ancient Japan

This paper is a review of the literature on the world-view of the ancient cosmography of Japan. It explores the structure of cosmographical space as it was conceived, through archaeological evidence, historical written records and comparative study of primitive religion. It then goes on to examine in some detail the landscape of that world-view, which reflected the actual physiography of Japan, only in mirror-image. It is argued that several aspects of the ancient world-view continue to influence not only some Japanese customs, but also play an underestimated role in determining some important aspects of land use in modern Japan, particularly that associated with mountains and Shint shrines.     

Bringing geography to the community: community-based learning and the geography classroom

Community-based learning is a pedagogical technique designed to bring students out of the classroom and into their communities. Students typically pair with local nonprofit organizations to complete work which ties into their scholarship. Faculty, students, and community members can all benefit from these partnerships, and university-community relations are strengthened by them. These connections deepen the educational experience and improve student success and retention, and build civic engagement skills that benefit the university community and the student’s home community (Strait, Turk, and Nordyke in: JR Strait, K Nordyke (eds), Pedagogy Of Civic Engagement, High-Impact Practices, and e-Service- L Earning, Stylus Publishing, Virginian, 2015; Bednarz in Journal of Geography in Higher Education 32:87–100, 2008; Mohan in Journal of Geography in Higher Education 19:129–142, 1995). Spatial citizenship, while vital to such engagement and to effective community participation, is seldom taught in traditional pedagogy (Kanwischer, Schulze, and Gryl in: Thomas Jekel, Adrijana Car, Josef Strobl, and Gerald Griesebner (eds), Spatial citizenship—dimensions of a curriculum, Wichmann Verlag, Berlin, 2012). Connecting place to pedagogy with spatially-enabled learning helps students investigate complex global concepts at a manageable local scale. Geography is an intrinsic part of scholarship, to varying degrees, and spatial thinking can bring added dimension and value to the educational process (Vogler in: Thomas Jekel, Adrijana Car, Josef Strobl, and Gerald Griesebner (eds), Wichmann Verlag, Berlin, 2012). The intersectionalities which exist within the community, when examined with a spatial lens, are the core of community geography, a praxis-focused method of engaged scholarship (Shannon in Progress in Human Geography, 10.1177/0309132520961468, 2020). Community-based learning is not clearly defined, yet some established models exist. Place-based learning communities move cohorts of students through a curriculum that is centered on local community issues, with the community as both laboratory and lens, and building place attachment (Schweizer, Davis, and Thompson in Environmental Communication 7:42–62, 2013). Service learning, while less clearly defined, typically involves direct work with community organizations, identifying, investigating, and contributing to solutions for local issues (Strait, Turk, and Nordyke in: JR Strait, K Nordyke (eds), Pedagogy Of Civic Engagement, High-Impact Practices, and e-Service- L Earning, Stylus Publishing, Virginian, 2015; Cal Corps Public Service in Designing Community-Based Courses, 1–45, 2015). Built around the concept of place, the added dimension of improved spatial citizenship benefits both community and students. This paper will review community-based learning as practiced through upper-division service learning courses in geography at two universities, and the development of a new course, as methods of engagement with local communities through a spatial lens.

     

Post-positivist social geography

Although positivist methodology has been used so extensively in social geography, it is non widely recognized that it is inadequate for describing and understanding social processes as a whole because it eschews cultural values. The behavioural reaction recognized this but still used positivist methodology. Methods may reflect scale, a macro-approach demanding a positivist approach, a micro analysis being more qualitative. Applying both to problems of assimilation in an American ethnic group revealed different processes, both necessary for a full understanding.Aggregate methods and generalized models of man go part of the way only. The quantitative/macro approach must be supplemented by the qualitative/micro. A further departure has been a recognition that social geographers must look at society's needs. Involvement in social processes and policy making is accepted by most. Whether the answer is interpreted by a liberal/concensus approach, or by a radical/revolutionary, is for the individual to decide.Finally, as geographers, social geographers cannot ignore the significance of place and region, whose specificity is sometimes critical in our perception of problems and answers.     

The political geography of Australian Federal-State relations

It is difficult, if not impossible, to completely separate political from economic relationships in any political system at any scale; this is no less true for Australia than it is for other countries. Changes in Australian Federal-State political relationships must be viewed in the context of changes in the overall system of international trade, the increasing economic power of the Pacific States and the economic restructuring of the Australian economy. However, explanations of political relationships cannot merely focus on the economic issues; the legal, historical and geographical contexts are also relevant. This paper explores Federal-State relations within the overall framework of a centre-periphery model within which jurisdictional conflicts revolve around Federal Government attempts to maintain power at the centre at the expense of the periphery. It takes the viewpoint that any meaningful discussion of political relationships must encompass aspects of human conflict which take place in particular political-geographical and legal contexts.     

Ocean geography for ocean science

The expanding needs for ocean resources, together with the design and diffusion of new kinds of deep-ocean and coastal management patterns, have changed profoundly in the transition from modern to post-modern society. As a result, the scientific approach to the ocean has also undergone profound changes, which have marked the epistemology of disciplines, their logical backgrounds and methods. This process has been driven by oceanography, which was born in the 19th century and has benefited, first, from the monitoring techniques from surface ships, then from the exploration of the water column and seabed, and finally from the satellite monitoring systems. While that process was evolving, geography has been involved in investigations of marine and coastal uses and the interaction between human communities and the ocean. Since the mid-1980s, and especially because of the inputs of Agenda 21 (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, UNCED, 1992), oceanography has been required to deal also with deep-ocean and coastal management issues. To respond to this need, interaction of oceanography with other disciplines is essential. In this prospect geography has an important role because, on the basis of its heritage, it could contribute to (i) the epistemological discussion of the building up of ocean science, (ii) the analysis of the human communities/ocean ecosystems interaction, and (iii) the design of sustainable development-consistent management patterns. The conceptual background and external epistemology needed by ocean geography to optimise this role are presented and discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The use of minicomputers in geography teaching — Some prognostications

The effects of wide availability of small, cheap, portable minicomputers on geography teaching and on the content of geography syllabuses in higher education are considered. Simulation, visual display, and computer aided instruction are identified as the features of minicomputers that are most likely to affect teaching methods, while the need to appreciate and to use computers will lead to a greater emphasis on training geography students in the skills required. Four simple examples of the use of the minicomputer in geography teaching are given, and the final section of the paper contains some recommendations for future developments.     

Methodological frameworks for the geography of organizations

In this paper, we present three methodological frameworks for the geographic study of organizations. These are situated within three meta-theoretical perspectives in human geography: spatial science, critical realism, and post-structuralism. Each framework offers a different theorization of organizations, and each prompts different research questions that can be used to guide their geographic study. The research questions we offer are general, and are pertinent to all types of organizations. To supplement the methodological contributions of this paper, we suggest how each of these frameworks might inform empirical investigations of Appalshop, a media arts organization located in Whitesburg, Kentucky.     

Firm finances, weather derivatives and geography

This paper considers some intellectual, practical and political dimensions of collaboration between human and physical geographers exploring how firms are using relatively new financial products - weather derivatives - to displace any costs of weather-related uncertainty and risk. The paper defines weather derivatives and indicates how they differ from weather insurance products before considering the geo-political, cultural and economic context for their creation. The paper concludes by reflecting on the challenges of research collaboration across the human-physical geography divide and suggests that while such initiatives may be undermined by a range of institutional and intellectual factors, conversations between physical and human geographers remain and are likely to become increasingly pertinent. The creation of a market in weather derivatives raises a host of urgent political and regulatory questions and the confluence of natural and social knowledges, co-existing within and through the geography academy, provides a constructive and creative basis from which to engage with this new market and wider discourses of uneven economic development and climate change.