Vacation Field Work for Pupils

Abstract

A Magic Carpet Trip to Learning Geography provides successful hands on, student-tested activities for teaching elementary school students about continents and oceans. From the introductory “Magic Carpet” poem to the finale, Geography Pizza, students are activiely involved in learning: (1) why our earth is the “Blue Planet”; (2) the continent names, shapes, and locations; (3) about continental drift. In the article an evaluation tool is discussed that can be used to assess the growth of geography awareness in the classroom. Through the use of poetry, music, games, science, math, cooking, and student writing, geogrpahy comes alive in the elementary classroom.     

Are Distinctions between “Environmental Sociology” and “Natural Resource Sociology” Real – and Important? Reactions to Qin et al.’s Seeing the Forest for the Trees

Abstract

The bibliometric analysis presented by Qin et al. provides useful evidence regarding debates into whether there are meaningful distinctions between “environmental sociology” and “natural resource sociology.” This commentary focuses on selected aspects of their findings, and offers thoughts about the implications of distinctions between and apparently increased divergence of these sub-fields.     

Man and his Exvironnent in Germany

Abstract

The American city is almost universally described as being made up of a series of zones decreasing in age and density outward from the center. The most popular model for generalizing about the structure and organization of the American city remains the concentric zone model in which the nature of each ring is more specifically denned. The purpose of this paper is to discuss some reasons for the “popularly perceived zonation” of the American city as opposed to, say, the European city, through a study of cultural attitudes toward the architectural environment. More specifically, the urban housetype and attitudes toward the urban housetype are used to illustrate the concentric zone model and to shed some light on such “zonal” concepts as the “inner city” and “suburban ring.” In addition, the increasingly negative attitude of Americans toward central cities is explored and related to some major urban problems and American landscape tastes. It is hoped that students will be encouraged to discuss aspects of the “alternate future” presented for the American urban landscape.     

The Strange Case of the Missing Female Geographer∗

“It is not our desire to change needle and thread in women's hands into astrolabes and globes; neither do we consider it necessary that a woman should retreat to a room papered with maps and ornamented with globes ‥. Their high moral standards allow them, in our view, to possess wide knowledge of geography, on condition that they do not attempt, through use of terms too coarse for a lady, to appear too eager a group of geographers. I am certainly willing to let them use such words as climate, zones, and so forth; but I do not want them to scare me stiff quoting longitude and latitude at me. Let them speak as much as they want about what they read in travelers'tales, and I will listen with pleasure ‥. But I certainly do not want to see the day when a woman's knowledge of the earth equals that of men!'”(1)     

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING,WASHINGTON, D. C. June 8-9, 1973

Abstract

I argue that scientific disciplines are esteemed, supported, and patronized largely to the degree to which they are perceived as providing a “return” on invested societal resources. This “return” takes the form of scholarly products that help answer deep human questions or otherwise materially benefit members of the society whose resources they are. Such a view implies that disciplines exist in a “market” in which members compete for these limited resources by delivering products seen as valuable. In such a market, disciplinary relevance and survival are ultimately tied to decisions individual scholars practicing within the disciplines make about which research they pursue, the greater the perceived “return” the better for the long-term health of the discipline.     

Fire In The Management Of Vegetation

Abstract

Fire, either natural or man-caused, has influenced the pattern of vegetation in numerous areas over the earth. Factors that contribute to potential damage to either the vegetation and/or environment are examined. Since the extent of damage varies, a fire can be destructive or useful. The use of “prescribed” fire in land management accomplishes several desired objectives, one of which is the perpetuation of certain fire-climax vegetation types, such as pines and some grasses. In those pine-forested areas where fire is regularly used in management, a related benefit is the reduction of hazardous natural fuels, which results in fewer catastrophic wildfires. Air pollution due to forest burning is also considered.     

The empty shell of the planetary: re-rooting the urban in the experience of the urbanites

ABSTRACT

This paper offers reflections on a body of work that has been produced under the label of “planetary urbanization”. This term has its roots in speculative work by French writer Henri Lefebvre in the late 1960s and early 1970s and has recently been popularized by a new generation of critical urban theorists. In this commentary, I propose that Lefebvre’s idea of planetary urbanization (and the aligned concepts “complete urbanization” and “urban society”) offer a way to think productively about post-capitalist possibilities. Making reference to early writings by Marx and Engels about communism and the end of human pre-history, I argue that planetary urbanization presents a terrain for liberation from the constraints of capitalist histories. Given that this terrain is currently defined by the domains of neoliberalism and climate change a new politics is necessary to unlock the possibilities of urban society.     

Textbook Errors in the Application of the Kelvin Temperature Scale

Abstract

The units of the Kelvin temperature scale (with an upper case K for the proper noun “Kelvin”) are incorrectly introduced in most undergraduate introductory physical geography textbooks. The internationally recognized unit of the Kelvin temperature scale is the kelvin (lower case k), abbreviated to K (upper case). However, many introductory physical geography textbooks incorrectly use units of “Kelvin,” “degrees Kelvin,” or “^oK.” The errors detract from the prestige of physical geography as a natural science discipline.     

The Spatial Dialectics of Modernity and Retail Affect at Abasto Shopping,Buenos Aires,Argentina

Abstract

The paper is about the political life of a building: the Abasto. Located in what was called the “most porteño” neighborhood in the first part of the 20th century (“porteño” is someone from central Buenos Aires) when it functioned as the city's main food market, the Abasto became a massive shopping mall in 1998 amid rapid neoliberal restructuring. This paper charts the political life of this building in two steps. First, by drawing on theories of socio-spatial dialectics, this paper charts the history of the Abasto as an urban object in a wider political landscape of porteño modernity. Second, by incorporating recent theories of affect and presenting findings from field work carried out at the mall in 2010 and 2011, this paper develops a framework for understanding the politics of consumption in a “post-neoliberal” urban landscape.     

中国地理科学进展与展望——与美国地理学战略方向的比较(英文)

Understanding the Changing Planet: Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences(UCP),published by the National Research Council(USA),and its comments in The Professional Geographer propose that uppercase and plural "Geographical Sciences"(GS) is the strategic direction for geography in the next decade for better understanding of our rapidly changing planet. According to these comments,UCP valued technologies and tools excessively("task"),and did not pay much attention to methodology("discipline"). Actually,both"task" and "discipline" are geographical wings,especially in the time of "big science".Enlightenment from UCP and its comments is the strategic direction that should be balanced between "task" and "discipline",GS should be a three-dimensional construct of a disciplinary system,methodology,and technologies and tools,and this system should be scientific humanism based on scientific spirit and directed by humanism. During the last 60 years,Chinese geographers devoted themselves to GS,including practice and theory. Obviously progress and outlook are proposed as interdisciplinary GS,Earth Surface Sciences(ESS) and Geographical Construction(GC). The disciplinary system of GS is very complex,and is composed of such human knowledge domains as sciences,technologies,engineering,and philosophy. The main mission is to research the open,complex,and macro earth system(not only scientifically,but also humanistically),and one significant methodology is "comprehensive integration of qualitative and quantitative means"(CIQQM). At the same time,another changing direction in Chinese geography is Human-Economic Geography(HEG).     

Towards a Regionally Balanced Geographic Education Beyond Geography Class

Abstract

This contribution to the “Comments” section first introduces a metric designed to estimate the amount of attention given to different countries of the world in academia using Internet “term paper mills”. This metric is used to introduce a call for the incorporation of more geographic education regarding peripheral areas of the world into the broader college curriculum. Even as geography courses struggle to incorporate knowledge of many peripheral parts of the world, the rest of the university experience is continuing to reflect perceived “national interests.”     

Shrinking ‘Smart’?: Urban Redevelopment and Shrinkage in Youngstown,Ohio

Abstract

This article analyzes the impact of the much-heralded Youngstown 2010 Plan and the enacting of a program of “controlled” or “managed” shrinkage. It is argued that while the program of redevelopment has had an impact on Youngstown and its national image, it represents an exclusionary project that has centered on redeveloping downtown areas and neglected many city neighborhoods which continue to experience high levels of unemployment, vacancy, and crime. The analysis is situated in relation to the contemporary literature on “shrinking cities.” Youngstown's experience raises critical questions regarding the nature of the challenges facing shrinking cities, the constraints on actions available to them due to state and federal funding, and the coherence of the concept of “smart shrinkage.”     

GEOGRAPHY IN THREE WORLDS: HOW POPPER'S SYSTEM CAN HELP ELUCIDATE DICHOTOMIES AND CHANGES IN THE DISCIPLINE∗

Popper's concept of Worlds 1. 2, and 3 is discussed briefly in the light of idealism and materialism and to illustrate the debate about reification and reductionism. Then six types of change in geography are classified as changes in the phenomenal environment (World 1) and in that part of the behavioral environment that constitutes World 3. These changes involve those comparisons within or between “Worlds” that identify future research problems.     

Mnemonics: An aid to geographical learning

Abstract

On both sides of the Atlantic, there is serious concern that children do not know where places are. Many surveys show the extent of this ignorance. The media blame the teachers. Sometimes the cause of this ignorance is alleged to be the lack of geography coursework. Sometimes, more ominously, geography teachers themselves are blamed. Sometimes it is the “wrong sort of geography” that is blamed; it is claimed that pupils learn about shops and houses and do not learn about the world.     

Travel and Traffic in China

Abstract

Models can greatly assist the student to understand important aspects of a complex reality. A simple model, based on empirical data about farm size in Tokugawa, Japan, is here introduced and applied to China. The model makes explicit one of the major lessons East Asian civilization has for regions of the world more recently integrated into “civilization”; that is, that the productive capacity of land, and thus its ability to support people, is finite. The model also provides a useful integrative framework for introduction to the physical aspects of the geography of East Asia.     

Editorial Notes and News

Abstract

The “Harvest of Hope” was an interdisciplinary science/geography project that provided students from two different schools and very diverse backgrounds the opportunity to work in a cooperative community service effort. With teacher coordination from both districts involved in the project, students from an inner-city school and a suburban school planted, tended, and harvested crops on unused school property and donated the food to organizations providing resources to the needy. “Harvest of Hope” was designed to aid the needy of Denver and teach high school students about real-world geography issues. Students also gained knowledge of issues inherent in world agriculture and the group problem-solving process. From a social perspective, inner-city students and suburban students had the opportunity to interact and gain an appreciation for cultural diversity. Most importantly, students learned through this project to think globally, but act on a local level.     

Creating Ghettos: Manipulating Social Space in the Real World and the Classroom

Abstract

Using the ideas of “active space” and proxemics, the article illustrates methods of creating a classroom “ghetto” by the conscious use of space to arouse feelings of dominance or inferiority in participants. Two scenarios are outlined: Majority Dominance of a Minority, and Minority Dominance of the Majority. In both scenarios, the class is divided into two groups and an emotional or intense issue is introduced for discussion; the dominance role is reversed by the conscious manipulation of space.     

Effects of Social Learning on Rural Farmers’ Adaptive Capacity: Empirical Insights from the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

Abstract

Environmental challenges in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta characterized by adverse impacts of climate change, upstream hydropower development and localized dyke expansion present imperatives for rural farmers to “learn to adapt.” However, little is known about how learning contributes to improving their capacity in adapting to these “wicked” problems. This study investigates potential effects of farmers’ learning on their adaptive capacity, utilizing nine focus group discussions, 33 interviews, and a structured survey of 300 farmers. The exploratory factor analysis produced two factors for social learning: (1) learning through social interactions and (2) self-reflection, and one factor for adaptive capacity. The regression results show that the social learning factors have significantly positive effects on adaptive capacity. Farmers with a higher level of social learning are likely to demonstrate higher adaptive capacity. The findings call for policy considerations to promote learning in a broader context of the delta to enhance local capacity.     

Changing Ideas About The Use Of Vegetation As An Indicator Of Soil Quality: Example Of New York And Michigan

Abstract

In Colonial America soil was commonly evaluated by the vegetation it produced: heavy timber and lush undergrowth indicated fertile soil—a thin covering of trees, barrenness. Settlers in the “Genesee Country” of New York developed new understandings about the relationship between soil quality and vegetation. Here was encountered a thinly-timbered landscape which they called “oak openings.” Although at first suspicious of the fertility of this thinly-timbered land, it was found to produce fine wheat crops. Thus, a new concept of landscape appraisal entered the culture of these people — thinly-timbered land may be fertile. By the time the agricultural frontier reached Inner Michigan, the old concepts about soil fertility and vegetation had been largely overturned. There, it was the open land (oak openings and prairie) that attracted the immigrants, not the heavy timber. The typical settlement sequence in Inner Michigan was to take up the prairies first, the oak openings next, and the heavy timber last.