GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION

“For the first time, scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have documented migratory movements of bird populations spanning the entire year for 118 species throughout the Western Hemisphere. The study finds broad similarity in the routes used by specific groups of species—vividly demonstrated by animated maps showing patterns of movement across the annual cycle. The results of these analyses were published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.“

Source: www.allaboutbirds.org

“For the first time, scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology have documented migratory movements of bird populations spanning the entire year for 118 species throughout the Western Hemisphere. The study finds broad similarity in the routes used by specific groups of species—vividly demonstrated by animated maps showing patterns of movement across the annual cycle. The results of these analyses were published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B.“

Source: www.allaboutbirds.org

Nearly 50 years ago, Jack Dangermond started digital mapping pioneer Esri, and its work made Google Maps and Google Earth possible.

Source: www.forbes.com

This is a nice article on the beginnings of ESRI and Jack Dangermond’s impact on digital mapping. 

Tags: GIS, ESRI, mapping, cartography, geospatial.

“Women are the backbone of the development of rural and national economies. They comprise 43% of the world’s agricultural labor force, which rises to 70% in some countries. In Africa, 80% of the agricultural production comes from small farmers, who are mostly rural women. Women comprise the largest percentage of the workforce in the agricultural sector, but do not have access and control over all land and productive resources. Realizing the importance of rural women in agriculture is an important aspect of gender relations. In many countries, the role of women in agriculture is considered just to be a ‘help’ and not an important economic contribution to agricultural production. Giving support to rural women is a way of breaking the vicious cycle that leads to rural poverty and to the expansion of slums in the cities, where the poor get poorer. Development strategies should consider rural women as the epicenter, paying special attention to their social skills both within and without agriculture sector.”

Source: www.wfo-oma.com

While rural women play a substantial role in agriculture around the world, it is often not in positions of ownership, regional influence, and agency.  This is an article discussing how empowering rural women in the agricultural sector by changed the cultural and economic institutions that shape their work can truly change the world we live in.  

Tags: gender in agriculture, development, gender, agriculture, labor. 

Genetically modified foods are often regarded as “unnatural” and approached with distrust. Commentator Tania Lombrozo considers the psychology behind these reactions.

Why do so many people oppose genetically modified organisms, or GMOs? According to a new paper forthcoming in the journal Trends in Plant Science, it’s because opposition to GMOs taps into deep cognitive biases. These biases conspire to make arguments against GMOs intuitive and compelling, whether or not they’re backed by strong evidence.

The authors of the paper — a mix of philosophers and biologists — turn to research in the cognitive sciences to shed light on the mismatch between the public’s perception of GMOs (which is fairly negative, especially in Europe) and the state of the evidence about their safety (which is fairly positive).

Tags: GMOs, technology, agriculture.

Source: www.npr.org

“Sharyn Alfonsi goes to the top of the world to report on scientists trying to get to the bottom of climate change and sea level rise by studying one of the largest glaciers in the Arctic Circle.”

Source: www.cbsnews.com

The 13 minute video clip from the show “60 Minutes” is a good introduction to the importance and difficulty of studying glacial melt, climate change, and the impacts of a receding ice sheet.  

Tags: physical, erosion, climate change, Greenland.

The average person’s geography skills are fairly poor beyond their region. Test your knowledge of the countries at HowStuffWorks.

Source: adventure.howstuffworks.com

The questions are more “recall” than “higher order thinking” questions, but this batch of 30 questions is still a fun break from the regular routine. 

Tags: trivia, games.

Around the world, student activists are demanding that building and statutes commemorating historically figures whose legacies are now seen as morally dubious.

A new wave of international student activism has targeted names, mascots, statues and other symbols of historical figures at colleges and universities. Activists argue that the symbols should be removed as offensive reminders of hatred and violence. Many school officials acknowledge the historical complexities, but they argue that a better approach would be to teach students about the morally questionable acts of the past. Still others defend the symbols as harmless traditions.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Everyone who was been on a road trip with me knows I love monuments and statues.  As markers of memory, history, and place, monuments both reflect regional identity and are simultaneouly used to reshape how we think about communal identities.  Consequently, they can be hotly contested or be seen as a great unifying symbol.  This article has some great examples from the news about how identity and heritage are being recontructed with some controversial monuments. 

• Jefferson Davis at UTexas
• Brown U and Slave Trade
• Harvard and ‘Veritas’
• Amherst and its namesake
• John Calhoun and Clemson/Yale
• Cecil Rhodes at Oxford and Cape Town

Tags: historical, monuments, landscape.

Game while you learn. It’s FUN!

Source: play.google.com