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.     

The Promise for Geomorphic Discovery in the South

Abstract

Until recently a neglected region, renown for limited exposures, the southern United States is becoming an area of geomorphic discovery. This article presents an overview of current geomorphic research in this region, suggesting that despite past problems, academic geographers have made significant contributions to the geomorphology of the South in recent years. Research topics published on the region are highly varied, with some spatial bias as well as topical bias toward fluvial systems. Yet because of the limited historical work, much is unknown about these unique landscapes and their susceptibility to natural and human disturbances, and much benefit is to be gained from both applied and theoretical study of them.     

Geography in the International Baccalaureate

Abstract

The International Baccalaureate Organiz-ation (IBO) is doing much to promote the teaching of geography in schools. Since its establishment in 1968 to provide a common curriculum and university entrance credential for children of a geographically mobile international com-munity, it has evolved and now includes schools in national systems all over the world. As part of the curriculum group Individuals and Societies, geography is the-matic in organization, human in focus, and comprehensive in coverage. The geo-graphy syllabus can prove challenging to both teachers and students. Workshops are provided in each region to introduce new teachers to the assessment standards and practices of the IBO.     

Spatial Concentration in Australian Regional Development,Exogenous Shocks and Regional Demographic Outcomes: a South Australian case study

ABSTRACT

As a tribute to the massive contribution of our friend and colleague Graeme Hugo to the population and settlement geography of Australian rural areas, this paper presents a longitudinal study from his home State. It forms part of a wider study of the long-term demographic relationships between Australia’s rapidly growing regional cities and their surrounding functional regions. Of particular interest is the question of what effect the accelerating concentration of population and economic activity into a given regional city will have for the longer term demographic sustainability of its functional region as a whole. Taking the case of Port Lincoln, regional capital of most of South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, it examines the nature of change in the functional region over the period 1947–2011, and investigates the forces feeding, and partly counteracting, the population concentration process, informed by concepts of evolutionary economic geography. In particular it traces the demographic impact (particularly differential migration and ageing trends) of exogenous shocks to the region’s essentially primary productive economic base during the period of major change from 1981 to 2011.     

The Recent Evolution of Canadian Inventive Enterprises

While inventive activity is necessary for industrial economies to progress, little is known about the types of enterprises inventing in Canada. The present study examines a typology of Canadian inventive enterprises at the national, subnational, and urban levels and the types of inventions developed in these areas from 1975 to 1989. Canadian patent and industrial directory information shows that Canada's largest enterprises are the most inventive, followed by small and then medium-sized enterprises. Although Canadian enterprises used teams of inventors to develop a considerably larger share of their inventions by 1989, they became discernably more inventive in only one industry after 1981 while concentrating on many process inventions between 1975 and 1989. Geographically, Canada's two largest cities and its core region were adversely affected by the declining inventiveness of this nation's large and foreign-owned enterprises during the 1980s. With respect to Canada's periphery, many of the characteristics typical of Canadian inventive enterprises were not readily apparent in this region, which had a more specialized inventive base than did the core.     

The Asian Economic “Flu”: A Geography of Crisis

This paper examines the recent economic turmoil in East Asia which has been linked to the convulsive nature of global capital movements. East Asia, once the site of rapid capital accumulation, lost its economic momentum beginning in July 1997 with a series of currency devaluations, culminating in a net outflow of private capital within a year. International capital's ability to disembed the region, however, has been highly uneven over space. That China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan are far more territorially resilient while others like Indonesia, Thailand, and South Korea initiated major political changes suggests that the geography of crisis is far more complex than is currently presented.     

Educational Environments: the Use of Media in the Classroom

Abstract

. This paper reviews some traditional classroom practices with their origins in Medieval educational systems, and contrasts this with the daily environment of the average student in North America today. Various supplementary multimedia techniques are discussed, particularly in relation to classroom and community use.     

Delmarva Coastal Bays Map Contest for Fourth Graders

Abstract

This map contest is an exercise in geographic education for fourth grade students. It is sponsored by a grassroots, nonprofit environmental organization to raise the awareness and appreciation of students to the special features of their home region. The maps illustrate some aspect of the living resources or history of the region. As a case study of the map contest, this paper describes its design, publicity, appeal to teachers, judging of entries, and role of volunteers. It considers the research on map skills among young students and ways in which the contest supports geographic education.     

The importance of Swedish–Norwegian border residents’ perspectives for bottom-up cross-border planning strategies

ABSTRACT

There is political interest in Sweden’s proximity to Norway, which is reflected in the regional policy focusing on developing business needs. As such, proximity at the regional level is simply expected to generate economic growth. The authors propose a holistic approach to spatial planning in a Swedish–Norwegian border region in place of the simplistic economic perspective. The aim of the article is to highlight the importance of adopting a bottom-up cross-border planning perspective that is based on the perceptions of the border region residents by showing that the proximity of Norway is important to communities in Värmland Province, on the border with Norway, in a different way from how regional authorities and policymakers perceive it. The authors used a qualitative method in their study. They found that residents were more interested in the individual, social, and cultural opportunities of the border, while authorities stressed traditional growth strategies. In conclusion, the authors recommend that policymakers should implement a bottom-up cross-border planning strategy (CBPS) in Värmland that includes the residents’ perspective, as a reinforcement of place-based policy approaches.     

“Not Only … But Also”: Quantitative and Critical Geography

Urban governments frequently compete with each other in their efforts to attract new business enterprises that would contribute needed jobs and tax revenues. The results of this competition, however, often depend upon the bargaining resources available to the adversaries. The rivalry between South Bend and an adjacent municipal jurisdiction for a Sears department store provides an example of how differing resources may influence the outcome of such competition and how in general the process is biased toward suburban locations.     

A Mirror Cracked: Ten Keys to the Landscape of the Calumet Region

Abstract

Southeast Chicago's Calumet region is many things to many people. Home to wetlands and wildlife, mills and millgate communities, landfills and brownfields, it seems to defy easy characterization. This paper argues that it is the jarring juxtaposition of each of these features that best reflects the area. Ten interpretive “keys” -or significant landscape-shaping elements form an interpretive frame.     

Green Laboratories: University Campuses as Sustainability “Exemplars” in the Arabian Peninsula

ABSTRACT

Like many universities in the West, universities across the Arabian Peninsula are increasingly home to various conspicuous sustainability initiatives. This article examines this trend at three of the region’s most prominent projects: NYU-Abu Dhabi in the Emirates, Qatar Foundation’s Education City, and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Based on the textual analysis and informed by fieldwork in these countries since 2012, this article joins interdisciplinary research in political geography, sustainability experimentation, and laboratory studies to understand their iconic campuses not as enclaves, but as “exemplars” of sustainability and renewable energy futures in the region. Tracing their effects beyond their walls, I argue that they have mostly been limited to symbolically injecting sustainability into public discourse. While more substantial shifts toward sustainable development in the region are underway, these have largely stemmed from market forces rather than a new environmental consciousness promoted by these three iconic universities.     

Finding the Southern Part of Cyberspace: Using the Internet to Teach the South

Abstract

This article suggests how teachers can approach the Internet conceptually and use it practically as they teach about the American South. Because of its information, communication, and cultural dimensions, the Internet represents a “place” where students and teachers can appraise the South from multiple, alternative perspectives. The article offers lesson strategies and resources for both on-computer and off-computer classroom settings. By finding the southern part of cyberspace, the authors illustrate that regions can and do have a place in a medium often represented as spaceless and devoid of geographic boundaries.     

Free and open source GIS in South America: political inroads and local advocacy

ABSTRACT

Geographical information systems (GIS) practitioners worldwide enjoy a growing array of free and open source software (FOSS) options. This software has expanded the accessibility of GIS in economically developing countries while fostering local technical expertise. This article reviews FOSS GIS uptake and advocacy in South America, especially how it relates to a climate of political friendliness toward FOSS in the region. The use or absence of FOSS GIS is assessed in public-facing web maps in South America, first at the national government level, and then at the provincial level using Argentina as a country of study. Local technical support groups and software development initiatives surrounding FOSS GIS in South America are then summarized. Finally, three case studies are presented of notable efforts to build FOSS GIS technical communities at the local level: the FOSSGIS Brasil online magazine, the Geoinquietos Argentina professional network, and the FOSS.4GIS.GOV conference in Brazil. A study of the leaders, dynamics, and practices of these groups can inform others in similar circumstances around the world who are trying to promote FOSS GIS adoption, development, skills, and services.     

Guerrilla War and Insurrections: A Classroom Simulation of their Political and Geographic Realities

Abstract

Because of their widespread application and increasing frequency, guerrilla wars seem clearly to have replaced the historic pattern of conflict (fighting) between standing armies. In fact, today national and international politics appear to be divided between strategies based upon the long-range use of nuclear weapons and large national armies, and the use of small force, low cost guerrilla wars. For these reasons, if for no others, it is time to bring the study of guerrilla war into a more explicit role in our teaching and to study and demonstrate those features that are clearly geographic and which we as geographers can analyze and even predict in their impact on the outcome of such conflicts. The following simulation-game is designed to accomplish these objectives.     

Culture,Markets, and Agricultural Production: A Comparative Study of the Investment Patterns of Migrant and Citizen Cocoa Farmers in the Western Region of Ghana

Current agrarian reforms in Ghana, sponsored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, are based on the notion that pricing incentives from markets are the key to agricultural investments. The turnaround in the production of the principal agricultural export, cocoa, seems to vindicate this view. However, this perspective is silent on the question of why many farmers continued to produce cocoa in the period preceding the reforms when prices were at their lowest in the country's history. Based on research on the comparative investment patterns of migrant and citizen cocoa farmers in two districts in the Western region of Ghana, this article suggests a holistic approach to comprehending investments. It indicates that the economic behaviour of cocoa farmers is complexly linked to the politics of land tenure, and cultural expectations and obligations.     

中国西北水资源利用及生态环境安全

1 Introduction In the 21st century, water resources will become the international and strategic resource instead of petroleum (Kang et al., 1994a, b). At present, the freshwater resources crisis all over the world has made people aware that although water…     

Paper-Based GIS: A Practical Answer to the Implementation of GIS Education into Resource-Poor Schools in South Africa

Abstract

Geographical information systems (GIS) were phased into the geography curriculum of South African schools from 2006–2008 as part of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for grades 10–12. Since its introduction, GIS education in schools across the country has been met with a number of challenges including the cost of purchasing the hardware and software required to elucidate the basic concepts of GIS to learners. This article examines the introduction of GIS education in schools in South Africa. The development and distribution of a paper-based GIS educational package for resource-poor schools in the country is also highlighted. Preliminary educator and learner evaluations of the paper-based GIS package are discussed and the broader learning opportunities and benefits associated with flexible teaching mechanisms are examined.     

Integrating Women and Environmental Issues into World Regional Geography

Abstract

Women throughout the world are demonstrating solidarity and activism on behalf of environmental issues. A World Regional Geography course is an appropriate setting for discussing some of the contributions women make to protect the environment. Using case studies that draw upon women's environmental activism in four world cultures, this article presents content information, instructional strategies and instructional resource lists. The four world cultures that provide the backdrop for this discussion are Anglo America, Russia and its neighbors, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.