Geography
Geographical Skills
Geographical skills refer to the abilities and techniques used to study, analyze, and interpret the Earth's features and phenomena. These skills include map reading, spatial analysis, data interpretation, and fieldwork. Geographers use these skills to understand the relationships between human societies and the natural environment, as well as to address complex geographical issues and challenges.
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6 Key excerpts on "Geographical Skills"
eBook - PDF- Patrick Wiegand(Author)
- 1998(Publication Date)
- Continuum(Publisher)
CHAPTER 2 Geographical Skills Pupils should demonstrate their ability to use skills to support work for the other attainment targets in geography, and in particular: (i) the use of maps; and (ii) fieldwork techniques. (Attainment Target 1, Department of Education and Science, Geography in the National Curriculum (England) HMSO, March 1991, p. 3.) What skills and competencies are needed in order to be a 'young geographer'? There are of course general intellectual and communication skills which are common to many subjects in the curriculum and it is often difficult to separate these from curriculum content for the purposes of assessment. Some of these more general abilities (such as being able to extract relevant information from secondary sources like books, videos and other people's experiences) were included in the early drafts of the National Curriculum for geography. By the time the statutory orders were published, however, the Secretary of State had reduced Geographical Skills to those involving maps, photographs and fieldwork. In fact, references to fieldwork in the statutory orders remain fairly implicit, probably because any explicit reference would highlight the resource implications. This chapter therefore concentrates on skills in relation to maps and photographs.
eBook - PDF- Joseph P. Stoltman(Author)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
The next task was to determine why those abilities give a person with a background in geography an advan- tage in relation to professions in the 21st century. In an era in which the use of technology is the norm in developed countries, such as the United States, students in nearly all disciplines acquire computer skills and knowl- edge of various technologies. For example, students enroll in geographic information systems (GIS) courses regard- less of their chosen major. The use of GIS and remote sensing techniques, familiarity with different types of geotechnologies, and knowledge of geospatial data sources are valuable skills for a potential employer. Geospatial technologies have become such a widespread workplace requirement that "the U.S. Department of Labor identified geotechnology as one of the three most important emerg- ing fields, along with nanotechnology and biotechnology" (Gewin, 2004, p. 376). In this high growth industry, oppor- tunities abound. The Department of Labor explained that "increasing demand for readily available, consistent, accu- rate, complete and current geographic information and the widespread availability and use of advanced technologies offer great opportunities for people with many different talents and backgrounds" (U. S. Department of Labor, 2010, "Geospatial Technology"). Geographic information systems and other geospatial technologies carry the imprint of geography both in their names and in their intended uses. However, geospatial tech- nologies have an increasingly wide range of applications, and they are used by other disciplines and professional workers and for solving numerous types of problems and guiding the establishment of public policies. They are not used exclusively by geographers, but often the professional geographer is the most knowledgeable person on a team assigned to study a proposal and respond with a report and recommendations.
eBook - PDF- Jorge Rocha, Patrícia Abrantes, Jorge Rocha, Patrícia Abrantes(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- IntechOpen(Publisher)
1 Section 1 Geographic Information Systems and Science 3 Chapter 1 Introductory Chapter: Geographic Information Systems and Science Cláudia M. Viana, Patrícia Abrantes and Jorge Rocha 1. Introduction Information science can be defined as the science that investigates the properties and behavior of information, the forces that govern its flow, and the means of pro-cessing it. The process includes the origin, dissemination, collection, organization, storage, retrieval, interpretation, and use of information. Although this view is not consensual, one can state that there are several information sciences and they can be separated into two groups. The first group (e.g., librarianship, journalism, and communication) mainly studies the transfer of information and the second group (e.g., philosophy, sociology, and cognitive sciences, in general) focuses preferably on certain aspects of information transfer. Nonetheless, it is not easy to think of a science in which at least one of its study objects does not consider the geographic space. However, it is evident that some areas today have appropriated the geographical information more than others have. Assuming that data (geographic or not) is a construction of the knowledge within a certain political, economic, and spatiotemporal context, then the question is how it is possible to set apart the geographical, or in a more broad sense the spatial, context of these data? Spatial knowledge has long been critically important both in the development of human activities and in the understanding of how humankind interacts with space. The possibility of knowing the geographical location of a phenomenon, to establish relationships with other elements of the territory, to identify spatial patterns, or to make decisions based on their geographical examples of how spatial information and knowledge have over the years a preponderant role in social, political, and economic development.
eBook - PDF- Andrew J. Milson, Marsha Alibrandi(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Information Age Publishing(Publisher)
We conclude with preliminary observations from an ongoing NSF-funded program, Advancing Geospatial Skills in Science and Social Studies. Spe-cial attention will be given to observed relationships between teachers’ understanding and use of specific strategies to enhance students’ spatial thinking abilities and the use of GST, particularly GIS, Internet GIS (IGIS), and remote sensing. WHAT IS SPATIAL THINKING? Spatial thinking is defined as the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind to use concepts of space (such as distance, orientation, distribution, and asso-ciation), tools of representation (such as maps, graphs, and diagrams), and processes of reasoning (such as cognitive strategies to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making) to structure problems, find answers, and express solutions to these problems (NRC, 2006). It is a collection of cogni-tive skills that allows individuals to use space to model the world, real and imagined, in powerful ways. Spatial thinking permits students to compre-hend relationships and structures in multiple ways and to remember them, 252 S.W. BEDNARZ and R.S. BEDNARZ through a range of representations, in both static and dynamic forms. To paraphrase the National Geography Standards, spatial thinking can be framed through two questions: what do students know (about space and tools of representation) and what can they do (processes of reasoning) with what they know? Spatial thinking has traditionally been a subject of interest among cogni-tive scientists, psychologists, and behavioral geographers. Researchers have found that spatial thinking expertise develops in specific disciplines and that its transfer from one area to another is not automatic. Research has also confirmed that spatial thinking develops uniquely in individuals. Most importantly, however, are the findings that spatial thinking can, and should, be learned by all (NRC, 2006).
eBook - PDF- Malcolm McInerney, Susan Caldis, Stephen Cranby, John Butler, Alaric Maude, Susanne Jones, Michael Patrick Law, Rebecca Nicholas(Authors)
- 2022(Publication Date)
- Cambridge University Press(Publisher)
Reading and interpreting maps Use six-figure grid references and scales, interpret contour patterns and use key to identify features on topographic 154 PART 2 Geographical Skills Table 5.5 (cont.) Skill Explanation maps to locate/identify/interpret locations, distances and routes. Locate features of the fieldwork site. Navigate from one fieldwork site to another. Making observations Noting features, people’s activities, processes taking place or observer’s thoughts about what they are seeing. Data recorded as notes, tallies, sketches, etc. Complete worksheets recording observations of environmental impact, land use, pedestrian footfall, sensory mapping, traffic counts, wave analysis, etc. Taking photographs Cameras and phones used to record images of places, physical or cultural features of the fieldwork site for later processing and analysis. Collect photographic records in the field of coastal erosion, bushfire regrowth, urban development and change. Investigating quadrats Survey a defined area in detail, record characteristics enabling comparison and analysis between sites in contrasting areas, or intervals along a transect. Scale can vary from centimetres to metres for vegetation characteristics (e.g. number, type and density) to tens of metres for human characteristics (e.g. density use of a park). Completing record sheets Use of worksheets using pre-set questions, tables, matrices, etc. enables consistent and reliable data collection. Both quantitative and qualitative data can be gathered. Worksheets could cover building decay survey; measuring longshore drift; pollution assessment (e.g. air quality, water); residential housing survey; or weather characteristics. Completing a site analysis Worksheet detailing a set of criteria (observations, questions, tasks – often based on curriculum requirements) about specific site(s), enabling comparison and analysis later.
- Malcolm Williams, W Paul Vogt, Malcolm Williams, W Paul Vogt, Author(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
442 21 Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Analysis E l i z a b e t h G r i f f i t h s Over the past two decades, the notion that ‘space matters’ has gained popularity in social science scholarship across a broad array of disciplines. This is due in part to increased access to geographically-referenced data and the introduction of user-friendly Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software packages enabling manageable and efficient computerized desktop mapping. While quantitative geographers were at the forefront in employing GIS to capture, analyze, illus-trate, and model geographic data beginning in the 1980s, the idea that geography matters was gaining a foothold in other social sciences as well – disciplines tra-ditionally less focused on explicitly conceptualizing and modeling geographic space. Scholars in anthropology, political science, public health, sociology, social work, and urban planning, among other disciplines, now rely upon GIS technol-ogy and spatial analytic techniques as both methodological and theoretical tools for investigating and understanding the social world (Berry and Baybeck, 2005; Downey, 2003; Entwisle et al., 1997; Kwan, 2007; McLafferty and Grady, 2005; Nyerges and Green, 2000; Queralt and Witte, 1998). The National Center for Geographic Information Analysis (NCGIA) defines GIS as ‘a system of hardware, software, and procedures designed to support the capture, management, manipulation, analysis, modeling, and display of spatially referenced data for solving complex planning and management problems’ (Heikkila, 1998: 351). This definition, like the ones endorsed by other scholars and organizations (ESRI, 1990; Levine and Landis, 1989; Marble, 1990), tends
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