Transportation—Part V

Abstract

This article presents a case study that highlights the benefits and limitations of Web-based video in lab sections of The Geographer’s Craft, an upper-level undergraduate course in which students apply digital geographic methods. Over three years (2010–2013), the authors experimented with different teaching strategies utilizing Web-based video for lab lectures and software demonstrations. This article presents three different approaches for its application, from inside and outside the classroom, to a ”flipped classroom” setting. The authors argue that Web-based video is a valuable tool for teaching digital geographic research methods and techniques while allowing for greater focus on theory and application.     

Validation of the effects of temperature simulated by multi-model ensemble and prediction of mean temperature changes for the next three decades in China

Using series of daily average temperature observations over the period of 1961–1999 of 701 meteorological stations in China, and simulated results of 20 global climate models (such as BCCR_BCM2.0, CGCM3T47) during the same period as the observation, we validate and analyze the simulated results of the models by using three factor statistical method, achieve the results of multi- model ensemble, test and verify the results of multi-model ensemble by using the observation data during the period of 1991–1999. Finally, we analyze changes of the annual mean temperature result of multi-mode ensemble prediction for the period of 2011–2040 under the emission scenarios A2, A1B and B1. Analyzed results show that: (1) Global climate models can reproduce Chinese regional spatial distribution of annual mean temperature, especially in low latitudes and eastern China. (2) With the factor of the trend of annual mean temperature changes in reference period, there is an obvious bias between the model and the observation. (3) Testing the result of multi-model ensemble during the period of 1991–1999, we can simulate the trend of temperature increase. Compared to observation, the result of different weighing multi-model ensemble prediction is better than the same weighing ensemble. (4) For the period of 2011–2040, the growth of the annual mean temperature in China, which results from multi-mode ensemble prediction, is above 1 °C. In the spatial distribution of annual mean temperature, under the emission scenarios of A2, A1B and B1, the trend of growth in South China region is the smallest, the increment is less than or equals to 0.8 °C; the trends in the northwestern region and south of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are the largest, the increment is more than 1 °C.     

Freshwater geographies: Experimenting with knowing and doing geography differently

The fair and effective governance of freshwater is an increasingly prominent issue in New Zealand. Emerging from a complex of cultural, economic and biophysical narratives, freshwater geographies are multiple, varied and increasingly acknowledged as worthy of interdisciplinary scrutiny. In this commentary, we reflect on a series of generative spaces that we – as group of postgraduate geographers (plus supporting staff) – created to engage with the multiplicity of freshwater meanings both within and beyond the academy. Through this evolving epistemic‐political project, we significantly reframed our own understandings about what freshwater ‘is’ and how it ought to be governed. By pursuing a deeper understanding of how the world gets made, we expand our ability to know and make it differently.     

Popular Culture,Geopolitics, and Identity

Abstract

This study aims to theoretically investigate the notion of critical thinking for a more just understanding of self and “others” in global geographical learning. It focuses on the kinds of injustice in the world which are driven by our relationships with “others.” By drawing on the literature of critical education, philosophy of education, and geography education, this study reveals how universal notions of criticality tend to easily undermine those perceived as global others and may highlight, in deficit mode, their perceived differences. Instead, the study presents the imperative of deconstructive thinking for a more just world. The article concludes by proposing a teaching strategy for alternative criticality which strives for justice in school geography.     

Colorado’s Millennial Generation: Youth Perceptions and Experiences of Nature

Abstract

This study uses survey and focus group methods to explore attitudes toward and experiences of nature among millennial-aged students in northern Colorado. First, results confirm that young people possess a strong interest in the outdoors yet time, transportation, and new technologies hamper their ability to visit public lands and outdoor spaces. Second, respondents experience nature in ways more mediated by new technologies such as cell phones and nature DVDs. Third, citizen science and active learning show promise as techniques for returning young people to the outdoors. The challenge lies in teaching young people to reimagine the outdoors not as elsewhere or out there but as a backyard geographic space.     

Field Trips as Valuable Learning Experiences in Geography Courses

Abstract

Field trips have been acknowledged as valuable learning experiences in geography. This article uses Kolb’s (1984) experiential learning model to discuss how students learn and how field trips can help enhance learning. Using Kolb’s experiential learning theory as a guide in the design of field trips helps ensure that field trips contribute to internalizing relevant geographical theory and concepts. Three types of field trips are presented: an informal survey of a neighborhood, a more formal scavenger hunt, and a virtual field trip using Google Earth.

Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.

—Kolb (1984)     

The Challenges and Rewards of Introducing Field Trips Into a Large Introductory Geography Class

Fieldwork is an essential component of undergraduate geographic education, but with growing enrollment and limited resources few first-year instructors incorporate this activity in their courses. This article reports on the challenges of incorporating fieldwork into a large first-year course and the strategies adopted to respond to these challenges and the achieved learning benefits. Field trips were created to cater to approximately 120 students directly engaged in field activities, with each student submitting an individual written report. Through the field activities, students developed a better understanding of geography, a stronger class community, and a more positive relationship with instructional staff.     

Time and Practice: Learning to Become a Geographer

Abstract

Illustrated Dictionary of Place Names: United States and Canada. By Kelsie B. Harder. New York: Van Nostrand, 1976. Pp. xiv + 631, $18.95.

Middle America: Its Lands and Peoples. 2nd ed. By Robert C. West and John P. Augelli. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976. Pp. xvii + 494, $14.95.

Contemporary Africa: Geography and Change. Edited by C. Gregory Knight and James L. Newman. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1976. Pp. xiv + 546, $14.95.

Atlas of Mexico. By Stanley A. Arbingast et al. 2nd ed. Austin, Tex.: Bureau of Business Research, University of Texas, 1975. Pp. ix + 165, $15.00.

Readings in Social Geography. Edited by Emrys Jones. London: Oxford University Press, 1975. Pp. 328, $18.50 and $6.95.

California: Patterns on the Land. 5th ed. By Robert Durrenberger and Robert Johnson. A California Council for Geographic Education Publication. Palo Alto, Calif.: Mayfield Publishing, 1976. Pp. viii + 134, $6.95.

Studying China in Elementary and Secondary Schools, Studying India in Elementary and Secondary Schools, and Studying Japan in Elementary and Secondary Schools. By Leonard S. Ken-worthy. World Affairs Guides. New York: Teachers College Press, 1975. Pp. 68, iii + 67, and iii + 65, $2.75 each.

World Regional Geography: A Question of Place. By Paul Ward English and James Andrew Miller. Harper &; Row Series in Geography. New York: Harper &; Row, 1977. Pp. xiii + 591, $15.95.

Census Data: Geographic Significance and Classroom Utility. Edited by Borden D. Dent. Tualatin, Oreg.: Geographic and Area Study Publications, 1976. Pp. ix + 277.

The Middle East: A Geographical Study. By Peter Beaumont, Gerald H. Blake, and Malcolm J. Wagstaff. London: John Wiley &; Sons, 1976. Pp. xvii + 572, $25.50 and $14.95.

Man's Economic Environment. By Edgar C. Conklingand Maurice Yeates. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1976. Pp. xi + 308, $11.95.

Applied Climatology: An Introduction. 2nd ed. By John F. Griffiths. New York/London: Oxford University Press, 1976. Pp. xiii + 136, $9.00.

Man and the Environment: Regional Perspectives. Edited by J. H. Holmes. Hawthorn, Victoria: Longman Australia Pty Limited, 1976. Pp. vi + 261, $7.95.

Introduction to Cultural Geography. 5th ed. By Henry M. Kendall, Robert M. Glendinning, Clifford H. MacFadden, and Craig H. MacFadden. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976. Pp. xx + 449, $12.95.

Interpretation of Aerial Photographs. 3rd ed. By Thomas Eugene Avery. Minneapolis, Minn.: Burgess Publishing Company, 1977. Pp. xi + 392, $14.95.

Geography of the U.S.S.R. 3rd ed. By Paul Lydolph. New York: John Wiley &; Sons, 1977. Pp. xi + 495, $18.95.     

Lens on Climate Change: Making Climate Meaningful Through Student-Produced Videos

Learning about climate change is tangible when it addresses impacts that can be observed close to home. In this program, sixty-four diverse middle and high school students produced videos about locally relevant climate change topics. Graduate and undergraduate students provided mentorship. The program engaged students in research and learning about climate change, and sparked their interest in science careers. Evaluation results showed that students were highly motivated by the experience, developed a genuine interest in their science topic, learned about the scientific process, and developed twenty-first century skills. The program provided a unique and authentic approach to science learning and communication.     

Economic Change in Africa

Abstract

The Geographer at Work by Peter Gould Boston: Routledge &; Kegan Paul, 1985. x and 351 pp., figs., photos, maps, and index. $39.95 cloth; $16.95 paper.

Recollections of a Revolution: Geography as Spatial Science by Mark Billinge, Derek Gregory and Ron Martin, eds. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1984. viii and 235 pp., figs., tables, refs., and index. $25.00 cloth.

The Role of Place in Literature by Leonard Lutwack Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1984. viii and 274 pp., refs., and index. $24.95 cloth.

The Essential Landscape: The New Mexico Photographic Survey with Essays by J.B. Jackson. by Steven A. Yates, ed. New Mexico: The University of New Mexico Press, 1985. vii and 147 pp., and photos. $45.00 cloth.

Latin America: Case Studies by Richard G. Boehm and Sent Visser, eds. NCGE Pacesetter Series. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt, 1984. x and 300 pp., figs., tables, photos, maps, apps., refs., and index. $24.95 paper.