American Geography and Geographers


Book Description

The rise of American geography as a distinctive science in the United States straddles the 19th and 20th centuries, extending from the post-Civil war period to 1970. American Geography and Geographers: Toward Geographic Science is the first book to thoroughly and richly explicate this history. Its author, Geoffrey J. Martin, the foremost historian on the subject and official archivist of the Association of American Geographers, amassed a wealth of primary sources from archives worldwide, which enable him to chart the evolution of American geography with unprecedented detail and context. From the initial influence of the German school to the emergence of Geography as a unique discipline in American universities and thereafter, Martin clarifies the what, how and when of each advancement. Expansive discussion of the arguments made, controversies ignited and research voyages move hand in hand with the principals who originated and animated them: Davis, Jefferson, Huntington, Bowman, Johnson, Sauer, Hartshorne, and many more. From their grasp of local, regional, global and cultural phenomena, geographers also played pivotal roles in world historical events, including the two world wars and their treaties, as the US became the dominant global power. American Geography and Geographers: Toward Geographical Science is a conclusive study of the birth and maturation of the science. It will be of interest to geographers, teachers and students of geography, and all those compelled by the story of American Geography and those who founded and developed it.




Rediscovering Geography


Book Description

As political, economic, and environmental issues increasingly spread across the globe, the science of geography is being rediscovered by scientists, policymakers, and educators alike. Geography has been made a core subject in U.S. schools, and scientists from a variety of disciplines are using analytical tools originally developed by geographers. Rediscovering Geography presents a broad overview of geography's renewed importance in a changing world. Through discussions and highlighted case studies, this book illustrates geography's impact on international trade, environmental change, population growth, information infrastructure, the condition of cities, the spread of AIDS, and much more. The committee examines some of the more significant tools for data collection, storage, analysis, and display, with examples of major contributions made by geographers. Rediscovering Geography provides a blueprint for the future of the discipline, recommending how to strengthen its intellectual and institutional foundation and meet the demand for geographic expertise among professionals and the public.




Springer Handbook of Geographic Information


Book Description

Computer science provides a powerful tool that was virtually unknown three generations ago. Some of the classical fields of knowledge are geodesy (surveying), cartography, and geography. Electronics have revolutionized geodetic methods. Cartography has faced the dominance of the computer that results in simplified cartographic products. All three fields make use of basic components such as the Internet and databases. The Springer Handbook of Geographic Information is organized in three parts, Basics, Geographic Information and Applications. Some parts of the basics belong to the larger field of computer science. However, the reader gets a comprehensive view on geographic information because the topics selected from computer science have a close relation to geographic information. The Springer Handbook of Geographic Information is written for scientists at universities and industry as well as advanced and PhD students.




Travels into Print


Book Description

In eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, books of travel and exploration were much more than simply the printed experiences of intrepid authors. They were works of both artistry and industry—products of the complex, and often contested, relationships between authors and editors, publishers and printers. These books captivated the reading public and played a vital role in creating new geographical truths. In an age of global wonder and of expanding empires, there was no publisher more renowned for its travel books than the House of John Murray. Drawing on detailed examination of the John Murray Archive of manuscripts, images, and the firm’s correspondence with its many authors—a list that included such illustrious explorers and scientists as Charles Darwin and Charles Lyell, and literary giants like Jane Austen, Lord Byron, and Sir Walter Scott—Travels into Print considers how journeys of exploration became published accounts and how travelers sought to demonstrate the faithfulness of their written testimony and to secure their personal credibility. This fascinating study in historical geography and book history takes modern readers on a journey into the nature of exploration, the production of authority in published travel narratives, and the creation of geographical authorship—a journey bound together by the unifying force of a world-leading publisher.




Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing


Book Description

The science of taking measurements using photographs is called photogrammetry and it complements the discipline of remote sensing. This book attempts to assist those with a goal of delving into the field of photogrammetry and remote sensing by covering photogrammetric methods and their applications in diverse fields such as architecture, engineering, geology, meteorology, etc. From theories to research to practical applications, case studies related to all contemporary topics of relevance to this field have been included in this book. It is highly recommended for students, academicians and researchers of this field.




The SAGE Handbook of Geographical Knowledge


Book Description

Broad in scope and edited by two massive names in geography, this is a critical exploration of how the field has emerged and fared over the course of its modern institutionalization.




A Student′s Introduction to Geographical Thought


Book Description

This ism-busting text is an enormously accessible account of the key philosophical and theoretical ideas that have informed geographical research. It makes abstract ideas explicit and clearly connects it with real practices of geographical research and knowledge. Written with flair and passion, A Student′s Introduction to Geographical Thought: Explains the key ideas: scientific realism, anti-realism and idealism / positivism / critical rationalism / Marxism and critical realism/ social constructionism and feminism / phenomenology and post-phenomenology / postmodernism and post-structuralism / complexity / moral philosophy. Uses examples that address both physical geography and human geography. Use a familiar and real-world example - ‘the beach’ - as an entry point to basic questions of philosophy, returning to this to illustrate and to explain the links between philosophy, theory, and methodology. All chapters end with summaries and sources of further reading, a glossary explaining key terms, exercises with commentaries, and web resources of key articles from the journals Progress in Human Geography and Progress in Physical Geography. A Student′s Introduction to Geographical Thought is a completely accessible student A-Z of theory and practice for both human and physical geography.




The Geographical Sciences During 1986—2015


Book Description

In four chapters and an introduction, this book systematically helps readers understand the development of the Geographical Sciences both in China and in the world during the past 30 years. Through data analysis of methodologies including CiteSpace, TDA, qualitative analysis, questionnaires, data mining and mathematical statistics, the book explains the evolution of research topics and their driving factors in the Geographical Sciences and its four branches, namely Physical Geography, Human Geography, Geographical Information Science and Environmental Geography. It also identifies the role of the Geographical Sciences in the analysis of strategic issues such as global change and terrestrial ecosystems, terrestrial water cycle and water resources, land change, global cryosphere evolution and land surface processes on the Tibetan Plateau, economic globalization and local responses, regional sustainable development, remote sensing modelling and parameter inversion, spatial analysis and simulation, and tempo-spatial processes and modelling of environmental pollutants. It then discusses research development and inadequacy of Chinese Geographical Sciences in the above-mentioned topics, as well as in the fields including Geomorphology and Quaternary environmental change, Ecohydrology, ecosystem services, the urbanization process and mechanism, medical and health geography, international rivers and transboundary environment and resources, detection and attribution of changes in land surface sensitive components, and uncertainty of spatial information and spatial analysis. It shows that the NSFC has driven the development in all these topics and fields. In addition, the book summarises trends of the Geographical Sciences in China and the research level in major countries of the world through an overview of geographical education in colleges and universities, the analysis of publications, citations and author networks of SCI/SSCI and CSCD indexed articles, and the description of Sino-USA, Sino-UK and Sino-German cooperation. This book serves as an important reference to anyone interested in geographical sciences and related fields.




Geography


Book Description

Ever since humans sketched primitive maps in the dirt, the quest to understand our surroundings has been fundamental to our survival. Studying geography revealed that the earth was round, showed our ancestors where to plant crops, and helped them appreciate the diversity of the planet. Today, the world is changing at an unprecedented pace, as a result of rising sea levels, deforestation, species extinction, rapid urbanization, and mass migration. Modern technologies have brought people from across the globe into contact with each other, with enormous political and cultural consequences. As a subject concerned with how people, environments, and places are organized and interconnected, geography provides a critical window into where things happen, why they happen where they do, and how geographical context influences environmental processes and human affairs. These perspectives make the study of geography more relevant than ever, yet it remains little understood. In this engrossing book, Alexander B. Murphy explains why geography is so important to the current moment.