News Notes

Abstract

Santa Claus and His Elves: by Mauri Kunnas, New York: Harmony House, 1981. 48 pp., and illus. $7.95 cloth.

Anno's Journey: by Mitsumasa Anno, New York: Philomee Books, 1983.50 pp., and illus. $10.95 cloth.

The Sea People: by Jörg Müller and Jörg Steiner, New York: Schocken Books, 1982.36 pp., and illus. $14.95 cloth.

The Lorax: by Dr. Seuss, New York: Random House, 1971. 62 pp., and illus. $5.95 cloth.

Continents in Collision: by Russell Miller, Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983. Planet Earth series, edited by Russell Miller and the editors of Time-Life Books. 169 pp., illus., photos, maps, biblio., and index. $14.95 cloth.

South America 2d ed.: by Arthur Morris, Totowa, NJ: Barnes &; Noble, 1982. xii and 276 pp., figs., graphs, tables, photos, maps, biblio., glossary, and index. $17.50 paper.

The Navajo Atlas: Environments, Resources, People, and History of the Diné Bikeyah: by James M. Goodman, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1982. x and 109 pp., illus., maps, photos, refs., and index. $22.50 cloth.

The Geography of Multinationals: by Michael Taylor and Nigel Thrift, eds., New York: St. Martin's Press, 1982.338 pp., figs., graphs, tables, refs., and indexes. $35.00 cloth.     

A Landscape Guide in Environmental Education

Abstract

The interpretation of landscapes is an important way to learn about geography in environmental education. A Landscape Guide to the Bachelor Reserve applies geographic/historical and biological/ecological perspectives to the interpretation of ten landscape scenes along a three-mile walking tour. For each scene, the guide describes the environmental setting, the composition and structure of the vegetation, and the history of human influences. Questionnaire and field assessments document a well-received interpretive tool, and the need to guide participants across land transitions and interpret land use history clearly. Landscape guides can be used in school/community land labs and contribute to holistic learning and multidisci-plinary exercises in formal and informal environmental education programs.     

Using Information Technologies for Interactive Learning

Abstract

Experiences in designing, offering, and evaluating joint senior undergraduate course assignments in resource and environmental management on two different occasions, which connected students in two universities in British Columbia and Ontario, are documented. The shared assignments provided students with experience in group work and consensual decision making, and allowed them to use a mix of information technologies (e-mail, chat rooms, the Web, video conferencing). The undergraduate students rated very highly the experience with information technology but found some aspects of a collaborative learning approach to be challenging. The course was less successful than had been anticipated in highlighting different regional perceptions and perspectives regarding resource and environmental problems and solutions. Clarification of objectives and expectations, more attention to allocation of time, and consideration of computer access and assistance would improve the effectiveness of the courses.     

Wireless Mapping,GIS, and Learning about the Digital Divide: A Classroom Experience

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe a capstone course in undergraduate student geographical research in which GIS and other geospatial tools were used to teach undergraduate students basic geographical principles. The course uses the “cooperative learning” pedagogical approach to address one of a number of client-supplied research projects, chosen on the basis of logistical difficulty, time, student ability, and project importance. In the connection of primary data with existing data, students confronted a number of important research issues such as mapping ethics, database design and management, time management, group dynamics, and research limitations.     

Field Work in the Classroom

To make sense of spatial data, information and concepts strong geographic literacy skills are a prerequisite, yet existing studies suggest a global decline in these skills. Current geographic tools predominantly focus on mapping tasks that do not necessarily lead to an understanding of the broader geographic relevance of location. This article argues that in order to improve geographic literacy exercises should test an understanding of location and employ techniques to correct deficiencies. To support this argument this study offers evidence on the effectiveness of online quizzes in improving geographic literacy skills of first-year undergraduate geography students.     

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.     

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.     

Book Review and Doctoral Theses

The article discusses the importance of services as agents of internationalisation. Services are seen as dynamic agents of change, and services and commodities are considered composite in production processes. Modes of entering the global scene such as trade in services, foreign direct investment, forming of alliances, franchising and intrafirm trade are focused on, and limits to globalisation are highlighted. Some services, particularly advanced business services, more easily fall prey to institutional and cultural constraints than others. Empirically, Norway is analysed as an arena of international services against the background of its historical tradition particularly in shipping and affiliated activities. Recently, however, manufacturing has gained in importance, mainly in exports and to a lesser extent in imports, due to the petroleum economy. This appears to indicate that export of services has lost momentum over time. The development profile in shipping is highly negative. The negative picture changes somewhat when not only the trade balance, but also investment abroad is considered. In this respect, services have grown in relative importance, notably in the financial sector and in telecommunications. When juxtaposing outgoing and incoming investments, petroleum-related services have gained an increased export and investment surplus in recent years, from a balance in the mid-1990s.     

After the 1997 financial crisis in Bangkok: The behaviour and implications of a new cohort of street vendors

After the 1997 financial crisis, many retrenched workers preferred not to return to provincial homes but remained in Bangkok to establish informal retail businesses in branded and other consumer products. In contrast to traditional street vendors, who specialized in food items primarily catering for low‐income customers, and focused on high volume, these ‘new generation’ street vendors also adopted more formal business practices. Given their greater sophistication and better education, we hypothesized that they would be more organized advocates of vendors' rights and thus more prone to conflicts with municipal authorities. Based on interviews, however, we found that new generation vendors are adaptive to location and business strategy, and prefer a low profile in dealing with officialdom. By contrast, traditional vendors remained more tied to particular spaces, are more likely to stand up for their rights to use public space and, because they expect more from government, are more prone to conflicts with municipal authorities. Our findings relate to ongoing discussion on the rights and needs of street vendors to access urban public space and the responsibilities of authorities to meet and provide for these informal sector livelihoods that make up a significant share of the national economy in Thailand, as elsewhere in the global South.     

玛纳斯河流域人工绿洲扩张对社会经济和生态环境的影响分析

 利用2007—2009年的实地调查资料,结合1958—2006年的5期遥感影像解译数据,从干旱区内陆河流域典型绿洲的演变进程出发,分析了新中国成立以来近60 a玛纳斯河流域人工绿洲快速扩张的影响,强调了保持绿洲适宜规模的重要性,并从可持续发展的角度探讨了绿洲今后发展的方向。主要结论为:①近60 a玛纳斯河流域耕地和绿洲分别以107.756 km2·a-1和122.401 km2·a-1的速度迅速增长,二者扩张的方向基本一致;②绿洲的快速扩张对社会经济产生一定推动作用的同时,也带来了一系列的环境问题。如地表水利用率超过90%,地下水过度开采并以0.5~1 m·a-1的速度下降,水质污染增加,防护林大量死亡,森林破坏严重,草地从1958年到2006年减少4 316.39 km2,土地荒漠化威胁严重等;③从可持续发展的角度看,控制绿洲规模,适度开采地下水,转变产业结构,建立生态补偿机制等是今后本区发展的关键。