New Developments in Geographic Education

Abstract

An important landmark event in the history of aerial photography in the United States occurred in the 1980s. The entire conterminous 48 state area was photographed for the first time at two uniform scales and in two emulsions. A second cycle of coverage of the same area was begun in 1987 and will be completed in 1992. These photographs are a valuable resource in all fields of geography because they are linked to the U.S. Geological Survey 7.5-minute series of quadrangles. They also will display all parts of the conterminous U.S. at two recent periods of time, thereby facilitating change detection analysis studies. Color infrared and black-and-white prints on paper are available and will be useful for stereoscopic examination as well as standard measurements and interpretation. The use of diapositives and color transparencies in readily available projection devices is described and a classroom example of their use is portrayed. Sources for these photographs and ordering procedures are indicated.     

CLIMATIC CONTROL OF SOIL ACIDITY

A curve-fit model of the relationship between soil pH (A horizon) and climate forms the basis of a map of predicted pH for the conterminous United States. This map was produced with the aid of a large climatic data base, a computer mapping program and subroutines to map modeled values of soil pH. Patterns of pH follow well-recognized patterns of climate, although the pH of 7 line deviates greatly from Marbut's line dividing pedalfers from pedocals. The overall accuracy of the map and model was checked using a validation data set. Geographic patterns of pH are realistic, although land use, topography, and parent material may cause local variations about the predicted mean for a given region. Several apparently anamolous map patterns were also checked but found to be accurate. Prediction of the detailed pattern of pH will require variables in addition to climate.     

Women,Politics, Elections,and Citizenship

Abstract

Significantly more women than men are registered voters in the United States, and a higher proportion of women voters actually cast ballots on election day. Yet the 106th Congress (1999-2001) includes only 56 women members, 12% of the total membership of the House and Senate. Likewise, women hold only 22% of the total seats in state legislatures. The purpose of this article is to examine this paradox. It first examines the history of the women's movement in the United States. It then turns to an evaluation of women's progress in gaining elected office. Finally it considers three primary obstacles to women gaining equitable representation: solidarity among women, political culture, and the single-member district system now employed in the United States.     

The Fundamental and the Incidental in Geography

Abstract

An increased use of artistic literature as a resource in both teaching and research is evident in geography. With the growing interest of some scholars in the behavioral aspects of geography, traditional resources are being supplemented with more humanistic, subjective information sources. In historical geography, for example, literature is a particularly suitable resource for studies of man's role in past geographies and of human perception of past environments.¹ Specialists in regional geography and area studies also have shown a growing appreciation of such sources.² A parallel and related development has occurred in geographic education. In many different courses, but particularly in those dealing with regions, literature has become a recommended resource. The purposes of this paper are (1) to review the relevance of the novel as a resource for geographers and (2) to suggest that a current novel, Centennial, by James A. Michener,³ particularly warrants consideration for use in courses on the historical geography of the United States.     

The Journal of Geography

Abstract

Recent immigration has been an important factor in the growth and distribution of the United States population. The rising number of immigrants has accounted for up to one-fifth of the annual population growth and they have gone to the already populous urban centers and states. Immigrants must be recognized as an increasingly important element of the urban and population geography of the United States.     

Centerville/Centreville: An Exercise in Mental Mapping

Abstract

The lesson involves having students find the location of 38 Center-villes that are located throughout the United States.     

“Is there a bubble to burst?”-college students’ spatial perception of campus and the city,a case study of rhodes college in memphis,TN

ABSTRACT

This paper builds on the study of student geography by critically examining college students’ perceived space of a university campus and the surrounding urban space. Rhodes College is a liberal arts college situated in the city of Memphis. As a campus with a majority white population located in a predominately black city, Rhodes College exists within but often separate from the city. It serves as a perfect case study to investigate how the college students build relationships with the environment within and beyond the campus. By using mental mapping and focus groups, this research unpacks four spatialities that shape college students’ perception of the urban space: (in)activity space, (im)mobility, boundaries, and center. This research demonstrates that student geography can be gendered, classed and racialized. The perceived space is socially constructed, and is reinforced by the lived and material space. Finally, this paper provides implications to facilitate deeper connections between students, the campus, and the city.     

AIDS to Successful Photography

Abstract

The National Geographic Society's Geography Education Program continues to work on improving geography in the nation's schools. A successful network of geography education Alliances is in place across the United States. These state-based Alliances emphasize grass-roots involvement by teachers and other geography educators. Features of the Geography Education Program include inservice teacher training at Alliance-sponsored summer institutes, institutes held at the Society's headquarters in Washington, and specialized institutes devoted to a specific topic such as technology in education, or water issues. In the near future, the Society's projects include urban outreach, technology training and application, development of preservice programs, and the implementation and dissemination of world-class standards in geography.     

A GIS research agenda

Abstract

This paper is a review of research themes in the field of geographical information systems, as identified from the evidence submitted to the Department of the Environment's Committee of Enquiry into the Handling of Geographic Information (the Chorley Committee) which reported in 1987, the papers and discussions at a workshop on research in GIS held in Edinburgh in 1987 and jointly sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council in the United Kingdom and the National Science Foundation in the United States, and the proceedings of an international symposium on the research agenda for GIS, organized by the Association of American Geographers and held in Washington in 1987. The interpretation of and the emphases given to these themes are, however, the author's own     

The Council at Work

Abstract

Through analysis of census data, these lessons cover geographic concepts dealing with migration and population change in the United States. Students discuss the historical push and pull factors of immigration to the United States. By focusing on the recent influx of Hispanic immigrants, students look at the geographic concepts of assimilation, discrimination, and time-decay. Students also create graphs and maps to examine the recent increase in the United States Hispanic population and geographic patterns of Hispanic settlement.     

Teaching Geographic Field Methods to Cultural Resource Management Technicians

Abstract

There are perhaps 10,000 technicians in the United States who work in the field known as cultural resource management (CRM). The typical field technician possesses a bachelor's degree in anthropology, geography, or a closely allied discipline. The author's experience has been that few CRM field technicians receive adequate undergraduate training in geographic field methods, such as cartography and orienteering, which are considered critical to the demands of CRM studies. This paper assesses a practical on-the-job-training approach not uncommon to the industry and concludes with a recommended curriculum. As a result, educators should recognize this need as an opportunity to offer courses in basic geographic field methods at the college level.     

Qualitative GIS to Relate Perceptions with Behaviors among Fishers on Risky,Rocky Coasts

This article presents an innovative mixed methodology that integrates qualitative geographic information systes (GIS) methods to expand the examination of space in the context of people’s lived experiences and risk. We emphasize the specific ways in which individuals perceive risk by treating risk as relational. Conceptualizing risk as relational challenges traditional assumptions of risk by rejecting that risk is the combination of physical and social elements. Instead, a relational understanding explores the socioenvironmental interactions that are perceived as hazardous, as they emerge in space. Such claims have long animated risk research, but only recently have methodological advances opened opportunities for relational analyses. Using hazardous coasts as the case, we analyze rock fishers’ risk perceptions and whether those perceptions influence their movement. Analytically, we relate rock fishers’ Global Positioning System movement with participant observations, video, semistructured interviews, and sketch maps anchored to questions focusing on spatial understandings of risk. In doing so, fishers’ perceptions of socioenvironmental stimuli are spatially represented, with sketch mapping as a window into the perception–environment interactions that produce risk. This methodology opens new possibilities for understanding human–environment systems that typically overlook how, where, and for how long risky human–environment interactions are perceived in space, if at all. Key Words: qualitative GIS, relational, risk, risk perception, space.     

New Development in Educational Cartography

Abstract

A series of computer-generated maps are presented, illustrating the state-level distribution of major crimes in the United States for the year 1968. The maps are divided into two broad groups—those relating to (a) crimes of violence, and (b) crimes against property. In the violent crime group, distributions are shown for murder, rape, robbery, and assault. The dominance of the South in terms of homicide is particularly striking. Burglary, larceny over fifty dollars, and auto theft are the property crimes represented. Western states, and various highly metropolitan states (such as New York) generally exhibit the highest property crime rates. Summary tables show the states with extreme (high or low) crime rates. States with the lowest rates generally lack large metropolitan nodes, while the converse is true, with California, New York, and Maryland heading the list of states with high rates in multiple crime categories.     

Internet-Based GIS in an Inductive Learning Environment: A Case Study of Ninth-Grade Geography Students

Abstract

This article reports the results of a qualitative case study that explored the use of Internet-based geographic information systems (IGIS) with ninth-grade geography students. The students worked in teams to examine the geography of Africa using IGIS resources with the instructional goal of developing a presentation on a significant issue facing one region or country. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of IGIS as a tool for integrating geospatial technologies into ninth-grade geography curriculum and instruction within an inductive learning environment. The findings for this study indicate that IGIS can be a successful tool for geography education in an inductive learning environment. Based on qualitative data collected through classroom observations, focus group interviews with students, student work samples, and a teacher journal, two assertions are offered: students perceived expanded freedom as a positive aspect of this IGIS project and IGIS projects such as this can lead to gains in students' cultural awareness and empathy for distant others.     

Teaching Advanced Placement Human Geography

Abstract

The College Board's decision to add human geography to its Advanced Placement (AP) program is an exciting development for teachers at all levels who are concerned about the state of geographical understanding in North America today. Yet as discussed in an earlier edition of this journal (Murphy 1998), the successful implementation of AP human geography is contingent upon meeting formidable pedagogic challenges. These challenges are the product of the discipline's relatively low profile in many high schools (particularly in the United States), the lack of extensive geographical training on the part of most high school teachers, and the scarcity of good geographical reference materials in many classrooms and libraries.     

Defining Appalachia: Public Policy and Regional Dynamics in Appalachia's Low-income Counties, 1965-2000

Abstract

The extant literature on place location learning resolves in varying degrees that place location knowledge (PLK) is deficient in the United States and abroad. This is particularly true for younger school-attending age groups. This study has three main aims: to investigate the validity of that claim in regard to secondary-level students in Dublin by testing their PLK; to assess what characteristics of tested place locations render some sites more visible in students' eyes than others; and to investigate statistically what traits of the respondents shape their PLK. The implications of these findings on geographic education and future research are also discussed.     

American viticultural areas: A problem in regional geography

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine a particular type of formal geographic region—the viticultural region—to promote an understanding of the geographical bases of wine production. The authors have found that the viticultural area is an excellent vehicle for teaching students how geographers construct and analyze regions. Although the wine industry in the United States is concentrated overwhelmingly in California and secondarily in a belt running from New York across Pennsylvania and into Ohio, most of the lower 48 states have at least one officially recognized viticultural area. The following problem has been developed to be used “as is” or to be modified for any state or region in the country. By the end of the problem, students have gained hands-on experience in defining regions, correlating physical geography with human activities, and thinking about the importance of place names and scale.     

The Myth of Location Privacy in the United States: Surveyed Attitude Versus Current Practices

In the United States, legal steps have been taken to protect personal privacy, which is viewed as an individual's fundamental right. Location privacy (i.e., protection of personal and location information), however, has not received equal attention in the legal system. Given the recent popularity of location-based services (e.g., cell phones), it is possible to obtain an individual's location information easily and precisely. An investigation of public perception of privacy in the United States indicated that survey responders (1) were unaware of legal implications of location privacy violation and (2) believed that there should be location privacy protection similar to that provided by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.     

The Demise of the Commercial Banana Industry in West Cameroon

Abstract

In little more than 20 years, the banana industry in West Cameroon rapidly boomed, and just as quickly declined. The banana was selected by officials of the newly created Cameroons Development Corporation in 1946 to be its major money crop, and from 1947 to 1957, the industry's income steadily rose to a high of over $6,000,000 for a year's production. During the next dozen years, production declined to the point where no new plantings are contemplated, and for all intents and purposes, the industry is almost dead. Factors accounting for the demise of this banana industry include: unsuitable climatic conditions; seemingly inevitable blights; loss of Commonwealth preference on exports to the United Kingdom; and foreign competition. Producers of almost all commercial agricultural products in tropical Africa contend with precisely the same risks and/or problems that the Cameroon banana grower faced. As a case study, the Cameroon banana situation reveals that sometimes all risks were poor ones, and therefore changes in land use had to be made, utilizing other, more stable commercial crops.