Critical literacy and the geography classroom: Including gender and feminist perspectives

Abstract: Teaching secondary school geography students about different perspectives on the way knowledge is produced can be challenging. The forms of critical thinking that are prompted by interrogating the ways in which knowledge are produced equips students with intellectual tools for independent learning; an attribute which is a key feature of successful learners. This article provides an overview of the ways in which gender/feminist perspectives have been generated over time; how the teaching of these perspectives has been included in one New Zealand school, as well as suggesting useful resources.     

Rapidly installed temporary gauging for hurricane waves and surge,and application to Hurricane Gustav

Hurricanes can produce extreme nearshore waves and surge, but permanent gauging stations are often much sparser than is desired. This paper describes the rationale behind and outline for rapidly installed temporary coastal gauges, and presents results during Hurricane Gustav (2008). Within 48 h prior to landfall, twenty self-recording pressure gauges were deployed in depths of 1.4–23 m over more than 700 km of coastline, using helicopters to cover the large distances. Results showed a complex picture that was strongly dependent on location. East of the Mississippi Delta, open coast waves were large, and surge reached 3.8 m NAVD88 in marshes. West of the delta but near landfall, waves and surge were generally smaller as the river levees blocked flow from East to West. West of landfall, both waves and surge were very small and the most prominent feature was a water level drawdown that reached 1.5 m. Wave spectra varied strongly depending both on location and time from landfall.     

作为复杂适应系统的农业文化遗产：复杂性的挑战

本文首先阐述了农业系统的复杂性,并对农业系统所面对不确定性,以及外部系统的冲击和压力而形成的动态性进行了分析,提出“复杂适应性系统理论”为研究活态的农业系统,尤其为研究中国的全球重要农业文化遗产（GIAHS）提供了可能,而这些农业文化遗产系统（或其中某些部分）对于研究抵抗力和自我良性管理具有重要的意义.本文认为当前研究中的相关方法将会对整个系统的认识产生新的见解,同时避免把系统分解为各组分进行微观研究再重新还原成整体的研究思路.本文通过综述与GIAHS相关的方法并将旅游引入农村系统（作为一种扰动）,认为可以创造新的方法来认识农村发展干预措施对古老景观的影响,特别是分布在中国农村的许多景观.     

Pathways,motivations and challenges: contemporary Tuvaluan migration to New Zealand

The global climate change literature suggests that at some point in the future it is possible that low-lying areas may be drowned due to rising sea levels, and a number of Pacific Ocean states could be particularly vulnerable. It is increasingly evident that the emerging scenario of environmental change has compounded more established push–pull factors leading to migration, and has provided a new imperative for migration decision-making. By interrogating the proposition that there is a clear distinction between the policy categories of ‘migrants’ and ‘refugees,’ we examine a hitherto un-defined group of Tuvaluan migrants whose movement is in response to environmental change and possible climate change effects. The paper examines Tuvaluan migration to New Zealand through various immigration schemes for permanent residency, with an emphasis on the International/Humanitarian stream.     

New Zealand geography: Sharpening the focus,raising the profile

Geography seems to be in good hands in New Zealand's schools and universities, but we cannot afford to be complacent. What are the key priorities for further strengthening geography in New Zealand in the years ahead? The New Zealand Geographical Society has to play a crucial role by helping to bring together geographers in the different sectors, as well as in promoting New Zealand geography internationally, and raising its profile in the media. Most of all, we need to demonstrate the vibrancy, significance and relevance of geography to the wider community.     

An analytical solution for rainfall infiltration into an unsaturated infinite slope and its application to slope stability analysis

Surficial slope failures in residual soils are common in tropical and subtropical regions as a result of rainfall infiltration. This study develops an analytical solution for simulating rainfall infiltration into an infinite unsaturated soil slope. The analytical solution is based on the general partial differential equation for water flow through unsaturated soils. It can accept soil–water characteristic curve and unsaturated permeability function of the exponential form into account. Numerical simulations are conducted to verify the assumptions of the analytical solution and demonstrate that the proposed analytical solution is acceptable for the coarse soils with low air entry values. The pore‐water pressure (pwp) distributions obtained from the analytical solution can be incorporated into a limit equilibrium method to do infinite slope stability analysis for a rain‐induced shallow slip. The analysis method takes into account the influence of the water content change on unit weight and hence on factor of safety. A series of analytical parametric analyses have been performed using the developed model. The analyses indicate that when the residual soil slope, consisting of a completely decomposed granite layer underlain by a less permeable layer, is subjected to a continuous heavy rainfall, the loss of negative pwp and the reduction in factor of safety were found to be most significant for the shallow soil layer and during the first 12 h. The antecedent and subsequent rainfall intensity, depth of a less permeable layer and slope angle all have a significant influence on the pwp response and hence the slope stability. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interactive Visualization to Advance Earthquake Simulation

The geological sciences are challenged to manage and interpret increasing volumes of data as observations and simulations increase in size and complexity. For example, simulations of earthquake-related processes typically generate complex, time-varying data sets in two or more dimensions. To facilitate interpretation and analysis of these data sets, evaluate the underlying models, and to drive future calculations, we have developed methods of interactive visualization with a special focus on using immersive virtual reality (VR) environments to interact with models of Earth’s surface and interior. Virtual mapping tools allow virtual “field studies” in inaccessible regions. Interactive tools allow us to manipulate shapes in order to construct models of geological features for geodynamic models, while feature extraction tools support quantitative measurement of structures that emerge from numerical simulation or field observations, thereby enabling us to improve our interpretation of the dynamical processes that drive earthquakes. VR has traditionally been used primarily as a presentation tool, albeit with active navigation through data. Reaping the full intellectual benefits of immersive VR as a tool for scientific analysis requires building on the method’s strengths, that is, using both 3D perception and interaction with observed or simulated data. This approach also takes advantage of the specialized skills of geological scientists who are trained to interpret, the often limited, geological and geophysical data available from field observations.     

Beyond peasant deforestation: environment and development in rural Jamaica

Jamaica is experiencing one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, with severe environmental consequences attendant to the loss of its forests. It is also plagued by high levels of poverty, particularly in rural areas. As throughout much of the tropics, impoverished peasant farmers are blamed as the primary agents in Jamaica's forest colonisation. Employing a case study in the Blue Mountains, this paper explores the discord that exists between forest conservation and the development priorities of poor farmers, arguing that this unsustainable dichotomy can only be understood by acknowledging the political economy which constrains peasant agriculture.     

Who moves into, out of and within London?

Summary Eight variables from the 1991 Census 2% Sample of Anonymised Records are used to classify Greater London's population into ten socio-demographic groups. This provides the basis for examining differences between 'types of people' in the extent to which they changed address in the year before the Census and whether they moved into, out of or within London.