THE URGENCY OF TEACHING HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF GEOGRAPHY

The majority of American and Canadian geography faculty members and departments do not view a course on the history and philosophy of geography as necessary for undergraduate majors. This attitude poses serious risks. A course of this type should be required in order to confront students with intellectual challenges, to develop within them a sense of professional self-awareness and self-identity, and to reduce any confusion they may experience as a result of paradigmatic change.     

Trapping of airborne dust by mosses in the Negev Desert,Israel

Airborne silt and clay containing calcium carbonate, quartz, clays, marine nannoplankton, and aquatic diatoms are trapped among stems of mosses in the Negev Highlands Desert. The mosses were studied in an area with 70 mm mean annual rainfall. They grow over the particles covering them and trap additional dust as it comes, resulting in the accumulation of loess sediments. The mosses protect the accumulated soil from erosion by wind or water. Remnants of the moss leaves and stems were found at a depth of 15 mm and more. No particles or minerals typical to basalt were found in the moss-trapped soil. The function of cushiony mosses may be used to explain the processes of loess trapping and protection in larger areas in moister areas such as the Northern Negev. Microscopic fossils in the dust may be used as guides to the origin of the (aeolian) sediments.     

A spatial-humanistic perspective of innovation diffusion processes

This article undertakes a critique of positivist spatial diffusion theory, and then considers the validity of the humanistic approach. It argues that both philosophies are necessary and can be made complementary. An example is provided by the analysis of the adoption of industry in Israeli kibbutzim.