The physical geography and geology of Australia

The aim of this paper is to review the availability, development and use of water resources in Scotland. Particular attention is paid to the consequences of recent deficiencies in rainfall and to the changing priorities which have influenced water management strategies through time. The need for a new approach to meet future requirements is outlined.     

Restructuring physical geography

The tripartite division of physical geography into geomorphology, climatology and biogeography is still often quoted, but developments in the last two decades have resulted in restructuring of the discipline. Significant publications by physical geographers now occur dominantly in multidisciplinary rather than in core geography journals. Analysis of the contents of ten journals and of the submissions to the 1996 UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) demonstrate the current pre-eminence of two sub-disciplines: geomorphology with hydrology, and Quaternary environmental change. Complementing research in the sub-disciplines, six trends towards a more integrated physical geography are identified as indicators of restructuring that has already occurred. Three futures are suggested for physical geography. The first, the status quo, is thought to be unlikely. The second, the disappearance of physical geography into other disciplinary areas would leave holistic investigations to other disciplines and so is undesirable. Thus, the third alternative, a renaissance of a more integrated physical geography, provides the most likely future. It is supported by existing integrative trends, provides a natural sequel to reductionist specialization, reflects the strong identity for the geographical approach to the earth and environmental sciences and the spatio-analytical approach integrating deductive and inductive studies, and it focuses on human–environmental interactions that could have implications for geography as a whole.     

The Effectiveness of Internet-based Instruction: An experiment in physical geography

Geographers increasingly use the Internet as an instructional tool in higher education. The effect of Internet-based instruction on learning, however, is essentially unknown. This research involves a matched-pairs experiment that assesses the differences in student performance between a group of students taking an Internet-based lesson in introductory physical geography, and another group learning the same material via traditional classroom methods. Both groups were subject to the same knowledge assessment post-test, and scores were statistically analysed to determine whether one instructional method led to better student performance over the other. Results show that the Internet can be a viable alternative instructional tool compared with traditional classroom methods.     

Mind and nature the physical geography of Alexander Von Humboldt

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Foundations of Climatology. By E. T. Stringer, xiii+586 pp., 194 illustrations. Techniques of Climatology. By E. T. Stringer, xiii+539 pp. 124 illustrations. Both books 10 1/4×7 3/4: W. H. Freeman, Reading, 1972. £6.30.

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

Land, work and resources: an introduction to economic geography. By J. H. Paterson. 15 × 22.75 cms: xiv + 266 pp. 43 maps and diagrams. Edward Arnold, London, 1972. £3.60 (boards), £1.80 (paper).

A Geography of Trade and Development in Malaya. By P. P. Courtenay. 7 1/2 × 5 1/4, xii+286 pp., 28 maps, and 52 tables. Bell's Advanced Economic Geographies, London, 1972. £3.

SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY

Population Geography and the Developing Countries. By John I. Clarke. 8 1/4 × 5 3/4, xiii+282 pp., 43 ilust. Pergamon, Oxford, 1971. £1.75.

Cities and Immigrants. By David Ward, 9 1/4×6 1/4, xv+164 pp., 24 figures, 27 photographs, 17 tables, Bibliography, index. Oxford University Press, London 1971. £3.

REGIONAL

The Greeks how they live and work. By T. R. B. Dicks. 8 3/4 × 5 3/4, 175 pp., 16 illust. David &; Charles. Newton Abbot, 1972. £2.25.

Melanesia: a geographical interpretation of an island world. By H. C. Brookfield with Doreen Hart. 9 1/2×6 1/2, lx+463 pp., 76 figures, 46 tables, 24 plates, indexes. Methuen, London, 1971. £6.25.

Africa and Its Explorers. Edited by Robert I. Rotberg. 9 1/2×6 1/2, 351pp. London, Oxford University Press, 1971. £3.75.

Scandinavia. By B. Fullerton and A. F. Williams. 9×6, xiv+374 pp., 64 maps and diagrams 34 tables. Chatto &; Windus, London, 1972. £3.

EDUCATIONAL

Geography in Secondary Education. By N. J. Graves. 9 3/4 × 7 1/2 125 pp. 41 figs., References. Bibliographies. Geographical Association. Sheffield, 1971. 85p.     

The Training Of Geographers (on the curriculum of a college department of physical geography)

A Leningrad University physical geographer proposes reforms in the curriculum of his department in an effort to focus required courses more clearly on the needs of physical-geography students. He suggests the elimination of teacher-oriented courses since Soviet universities are designed to train research geographers. Although the required courses on Marxism are viewed as essential to the Soviet educational process, separate courses on atheism and on labor legislation strike the author as superfluous. The 300 class-hours thus saved might then be allotted to special-purpose courses with a direct bearing on physical-geography training. Revisions in several courses are suggested, with greater emphasis on seminar work to train students in independent research.     

Constructive comments on D Massey 'Space-time, "science" and the relationship between physical geography and human geography:rsquo;

This paper provides a discussion of Massey's (1999) account of the role of space-time in human and physical geography. Recognizing the relative (but not absolute) paucity of comment from physical geographers on questions of approach and method, the paper seeks to demonstrate three things. First, it casts a history of a narrow part of geomorphology in a similar vein to a part of human geography to demonstrate that it is possible to find strong shared characteristics in the ways in which the two subjects are being approached. This emphasizes the importance of analyses that recognize both space and time in seeking explanation in physical geography and which has important implications for: (i) the nature of laws and processes in geomorphology; and hence (ii) the interpretation of specific landforms and their histories. Second, the paper argues that much of what Massey addresses relates to the closure required to make things amenable to study, something that is characteristic of almost every type of research. This has long been acknowledged in science in general and in physical geography in particular, but is often forgotten. Third, the paper uses this consideration of closure to address the issue of the relational nature of different sorts of space-time models. Following Massey's argument that the sort of space-time model that we adopt needs to be informed by the entities that we study, the paper concludes that some of the space-time models that Massey critiques (e.g. classical Newtonian mechanics) may still be fundamental to what we do, and in no sense necessarily ahistorical.     

The human geography of Lewis

The search for and early exploitation of oil and gas in Scottish waters have occurred over a brief time span. Considerable environmental problems have had to be overcome offshore and large servicing and engineering developments have been established onshore. The latter have generated particular pressures locally on labour supply and on the economic infrastructure of certain regions. The economic potential of oil has raised hopes for Scotland's future prosperity.     

The scope and aims of human geography

Egypt and the Egyptians. By the Rev. J. O. Bevan, M.A., F S.A. London : George Allen and Sons, 1909. Price 5s. net.

With Mulai Hafid at Fez: Behind the Scenes in Morocco. By Lawrence Harris, F.R.G.S. London: Smith, Elder, and Co., 1909. Price 7s. 6d. net.

The Panama Canal and its Makers. By Vaughan Cornish, D.Sc., F.R.G.S. London : T. Fisher Unwin, 1909. Price 5s. net.

Labrador. By Wilfred T. Grenfell, C.M.G., M.D., and others. New York : The Macmillan Company, 1909. Price 10s. net.

Across Papua. By Colonel Kenneth Mackay. London : Witherby and Co., 1909. Price 7s. 6d. net.

Life and Labour in Australia. By E. Waltham. London : H. J. Drane, Limited, 1909. Price 3s. 6d.     

The geography and natural resources of Bolivia

This paper tries to show the main thread of Scottish national identity in the nineteenth century and how Scotland's close connection with the empire did not asuage Scottish desires to retain a national identity. The paper tries to illustrate that the interpretation of the union connection by the Scottish political classes was central to the understanding of Scotland as a nation during the period. Examples are also provided of the way in which the union could be questioned in this century, but this was with the caveat that this would necessarily be limited; for such was the extent to which national identity was played out on an imperial stage. Although Scots never lost sight of their distinctiveness, any extension of the critique of union would have ultimately worked against their ability to confidently display their identity as they did quite successfully in the nineteenth century.     

Knowledge, uncertainty and physical geography: towards the development of methodologies for questioning belief

Although it is widely acknowledged that our understanding of environmental systems cannot be reduced to single predictions and unique explanations, determinism remains a common strategy in physical geography. This paper argues for explicit assessments of uncertainty in environmental data and models as a necessary, although not a sufficient, condition for balancing uncertain scientific arguments against uncertain social, ethical, moral and legal arguments in managing environmental systems. In particular, this paper aims to: (1) demonstrate the importance of assessing uncertainty within a realist research framework; (2) consider the nature of scientific uncertainty as the basis for developing methodologies that question belief; and (3) explore some important aspects of a methodology for evaluating uncertainties in environmental research.     

From the Holiday to the Academy: Implications for physical geography in higher education arising from 'popular' field-based geography in Dorset

The popularity of physical geography at all levels of formal education is declining. This paper argues that a key factor in the decline may be the disparity between geographies studied within formal education and the popular geographies encountered during leisure pursuit. Through the example of the Jurassic Coast Project, an initiative for the interpretation of Dorset's coastal landscape, approaches towards the integration of popular and academic geographies are explored. Drawing explicit links between popular experiences and academic knowledge may benefit physical geography, improving its status amongst public and student audiences, and addressing the concerns that surround its decline within higher education.     

The challenge facing population geography

The current status of the study of population geography is examined, with some reference to the situation in the United Kingdom. The authors note that whereas the volume of studies in this area indicate its healthy growth, the subdiscipline has become increasingly distant from mainstream geography and runs the risk of being absorbed into general demography. The authors suggest that "population geographers, while taking a serious interest in the methods and philosophy of the neighbouring discipline of demography, should look elsewhere to find direction for their subdiscipline."