The Council at Work: An Open Letter to the Membership

Abstract

Funding for the improvement of geography at the precollegiate level has increased dramatically, both in the amount of money raised and the number of funders making grants. Nevertheless, geography is still not high on the priority list of most funders. Geographic educators must present a stronger case to potential funding agencies. Grant seekers must define geography appropriately, plan for at least the next five years, inventory the resources available to move forward, and be sure to emphasize the present-day relevance of geography' s subject matter. Six essential elements for fund raisers are listed, and a short caution concerning potential conflicts of interest is offered.     

Mentoring: A New Approach to Geography Teacher Preparation

Abstract

Geography teacher preparation is an ongoing problem for the discipline. Changes in certification requirements and federal and state educational policies have diminished the role of colleges and universities in educating teachers. At the same time, geography education reform efforts have resulted in higher standards and an increased quantity of geography in the curriculum, pre-service programs have failed to produce an adequate supply of highly qualified geography teachers. This paper suggests that geographers implement geography mentoring programs to improve the quality of geography instruction in early-career teachers. A model developed for the National Geographic Society is described. The model uses Teacher Consultants as mentors to assist novice teachers at the stage in their development when they are most ready to improve practice: between years two and five of their career.     

Some Suggestions Concerning a Course of Study in Geography

Abstract

Over the next decade or so, the National Assessment for Educational Progress in Geography and the Geographic Education Standards Project promise to give geography a new definition as a school subject. This will challenge the educational community to re-examine how geography is taught and learned across all the grade levels, K-12. If geography is to be perceived as an essential subject in preparing students for citizenship as adults, not only must its image change, but its content and the pedagogy that delivers it must be modified as well. To achieve those ends, new curricular models grounded in cogent and applicable research must develop through partnerships of teachers, teacher educators, learning theorists, and professional geographers.     

The progress of human geography in China under the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China

This paper analyzes the role of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in advancing human geography in China by focusing on five key research areas: land use, urban systems and urban agglomeration, economic globalization, climate change and social and cultural geographies. All NSFC-funded human geography programs related to these five topics from 1986 to 2017 comprise the sample for analysis, and the research topics, content, teams, and peer-reviewed journal publications supported by these programs are investigated. Specifically, this paper analyzes the NSFC’s promotion of the expansion of research topics in response to national developmental needs and the shifting frontiers of human geography research internationally, its enhancement of interdisciplinary research, and its contributions to the assembly of specialized research teams. The paper also reports important progress in Chinese human geography over the past 30 years through the institutional lens of the NSFC, revealing major characteristics and trends in the discipline. The paper concludes by calling for further collaboration between the research community and the NSFC for the development of a locally suitable and globally influential Chinese human geography.     

美国南极科研投入的统计分析及其对我国的启示

近些年来南极科研越来越受到世界各国的重视,作为《南极条约》的发起者和南极条约体系的管理者,美国始终站在南极科学研究前沿,对维护其国际南极事务领导地位有着重要意义。1953—2016年美国国家科学基金资助了7 759个南极科研项目,通过统计分析对项目投入进行以下4个方面的分析:南极项目投入、南极科研各学科投入、科研大项目以及合作机构。研究发现:(1)1953年至今,美国国家科学基金会(NSF)对美国南极科研项目的资助力度和重视力度不断增加,促进了美国南极政策的落实和发展;(2)美国各大科学指导机构出台的前瞻性文件对引领美国南极科考发展方向起到重要作用;(3)NSF充分利用各高等院校和研究机构的资源设施,搭建科研支撑平台,与之展开长期南极科研项目合作;(4)NSF重视科研大项目的开展,这些大项目站在南极科学前沿,引领美国南极科研更好地发展;(5)NSF通过学校、社会、媒体多个渠道开展南极教育,增进群众对南极了解并培养科研人员来维护美国在南极的科考领先地位。上述研究发现为中国南极科研政策制定提供了相应的启示。     

国家自然科学基金推动下的中国人文地理学发展

选取土地利用、城市体系、经济全球化、气候变化、社会文化地理5个研究议题,以1986-2017年所有相关的人文地理学国家自然科学基金资助项目为研究样本,对每个项目的研究主题、研究内容、研究队伍、主要成果进行梳理,分析国家自然科学基金对中国人文地理学发展的推动作用。分析认为,国家自然科学基金在推动中国人文地理学自由开展基础研究、服务国家战略需求,促进学科交叉和方法创新,培育学科新生长点以及培养和壮大专业人才队伍等方面发挥了重要的支持和引导作用。本文同时反映了30年来国家自然科学基金支持下人文地理研究取得的重要进展,有助于了解中国人文地理学学科发展的特征与态势。     

The gendered reconfiguration of low-income urban household space in response to AIDS: Perspectives from Botswana

The study focused on three main actors within low-income urban households in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. These were primary care givers, persons living with AIDS (PLWA) and AIDS orphans. The survey investigated the extent to which the traditional family system was coping with provisioning for its PLWA and AIDS orphans, the level to which the main actors reorganize household space in response to evolving demands, to cater for PLWA and AIDS needs, and the degree to which such spatial reorganization resonates with the gendered utilization of household space. Although the methodology of this case study was mainly participatory, it also relied on documented literature from archival sources and the Internet for its conceptual, theoretical and statistical information. The results suggest that the traditional family system is failing to cope with care provision for the PLWA and AIDS-orphaned children and that adjustments to their increasing presence within the households influence the gendered reconfiguring of household space. The traditional gendered utilization of space is thus being constantly negotiated in response to the requirements of HIV patients and those of HIV/AIDS-orphaned children. The proliferating female HIV/AIDS patient care giving and orphan children guardianship appear to be threatening the central and pivotal position of the father figure within the patriarchal household setting.     

Linking pesticides and human health: A geographic information system (GIS) and Landsat remote sensing method to estimate agricultural pesticide exposure

Accurate pesticide exposure estimation is integral to epidemiologic studies elucidating the role of pesticides in human health. Humans can be exposed to pesticides via residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications (drift). We present an improved geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing method, the Landsat method, to estimate agricultural pesticide exposure through matching pesticide applications to crops classified from temporally concurrent Landsat satellite remote sensing images in California. The image classification method utilizes Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values in a combined maximum likelihood classification and per-field (using segments) approach. Pesticide exposure is estimated according to pesticide-treated crop fields intersecting 500 m buffers around geocoded locations (e.g., residences) in a GIS. Study results demonstrate that the Landsat method can improve GIS-based pesticide exposure estimation by matching more pesticide applications to crops (especially temporary crops) classified using temporally concurrent Landsat images compared to the standard method that relies on infrequently updated land use survey (LUS) crop data. The Landsat method can be used in epidemiologic studies to reconstruct past individual-level exposure to specific pesticides according to where individuals are located.