Migratory Patterns and Settlement Experiences of African Australians of Refugee Background in Murray Bridge,South Australia

In the past decade Australian immigration policy has emphasised settlement of refugees/humanitarian entrants in rural and regional locations, in preference to metropolitan areas. The settlement outcomes of a case study of African humanitarian entrants of South Sudanese background in Murray Bridge, a regional centre in South Australia, are examined. These participants were self-settled secondary movers from metropolitan Adelaide. The factors which attracted them were centred on employment. Settlement outcomes for Murray Bridge respondents were better than their urban counterparts, in terms of both housing and employment outcomes. However, some later left Murray Bridge because of a lack of opportunities for tertiary education. The results highlight issues of sustainability of settlement and retention, in regional centres in Australia, and of the fluidity of attraction and retention factors and therefore settlement in regional centres.     

(Re)presenting disaster vulnerability in New Zealand school geography

This article focuses on the representation of disaster vulnerability, using the 2010 Haiti earthquake to problematise recent changes in secondary school curriculum and assessment. Drawing upon media perspectives of the Haiti earthquake, the article contrasts a traditional and relational teaching approach to the concept of disaster vulnerability. The article concludes that teachers need to draw upon a wider range of geographical paradigms in order to move students towards critical engagement with societal issues, a key aim of the social science learning area in the New Zealand Curriculum.     

Working in a Landscape of Recession and Expansion: Academic Jobs in Geography in the United States, 1990–2011

The recent economic recession brought much university hiring to a standstill in the United States. Geography, in spite of strong prerecession growth, was no exception. Without a sense of how the academic geography job market has changed over the past decades, however, it is difficult to assess any recession-related decline or the relative strength of any recovery. This article presents an analysis of academic job postings in the field of geography from 1990 through 2011. Using data aggregated from the AAG Newsletter, which acts as an informal clearinghouse for most academic openings for geographers at four-year colleges and universities in the United States, we assess changes in the overall magnitude in numbers of academic job openings, with the particular goal of placing the recession-based paucity of openings within its broader historical context. Our results indicate that, indeed, the recession led to a very sharp decline in advertisements, but compared to previous recessions, the recovery appears to have occurred very quickly. Open-rank and temporary/non-tenure-track positions appear to have been fairly robust to the poor economic conditions, whereas assistant professor openings were particularly hard hit.     

Geospatial Thinking and Spatial Ability: An Empirical Examination of Knowledge and Reasoning in Geographical Science

This study examined the relationships between geospatial thinking and spatial ability, focusing on knowledge and reasoning about fundamental concepts in geospatial science. Scores on a geospatial thinking test had low correlations with each other, compared to high correlations among scores on spatial ability tests, and the degrees of relationship between geospatial thinking and spatial ability depended on the type of geospatial thinking. Expert geospatial scientists did not outperform students on spatial ability tests, suggesting that expertise in geospatial science might not simply be explained by superiority in spatial ability. The results point to the necessity of targeted instruction for geospatial learning.     

Geographic EducationResearch and the Changing Institutional Structure of American Education

Professional geographers are paying increasing attention to the development of a research agenda concerning geographic education. In doing so, it is essential that geographers pay close attention to fundamental changes in the structure of education itself. Traditional educational methods and procedures associated with industrial society are being replaced by new and innovative modes of education that are linked to post-industrial social organization. This article explores the implications of these changes for understanding the teaching and learning of geography in the future.     

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AAG MEMBERSHIP IN 1982

A survey of members of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) in 1982 indicated that most were males, from middle class backgrounds, had attended public universities, held academic jobs, and had been born and educated in states bordering the Great Lakes plus California and Massachusetts. Information on characteristics and trends outlined in the study should be of value to the leadership of the AAG in making decisions relative to the future of the organization and the discipline.     

A Manifesto on Mobile Computing in Geographic Education*

Abstract

Mobile, location-aware computing technology is widely available. In this article we sketch out a manifesto on mobile computing in geographic education (MoGeo) for consideration and debate within the geographic community. At the core of our argument is the idea that emerging mobile computing technologies will allow teachers to bring the classroom and pedagogic materials into the field, and that the resulting in situ educational experience will enhance learning by contextualizing the complex and abstract concepts that we teach. We provide a set of key principles that can guide the development of field experiences for students using these new technologies.     

《建筑工程测量》课程改革的探索与实践

根据高职土建类建筑工程专业的人才培养目标 ,结合测量新技术和人才市场的需求 ,提出了《建筑工程测量》课程改革与建设的办法与措施 ,符合教学认知规律 ,利于改进教学效果和提高教学质量。     

电子商务发展、人才需求趋势及人才培养模式分析

电子商务在跌宕起伏中保持发展，电子商务的内涵日益丰富，电子商务人才需求问题日显突出。根据目前实际中表现出对电子商务人才需求的现象，分析电子商务人才分布和类型，提出电子商务人才培养方向、培养模式和课程调整的设想或建议。