scholarly journals A Critical and Extensive Review of the Historical Rise and the Contemporary Resurgence of Interest in Positivism in Geography

2021 ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Ekuase Innocent Omobude
Keyword(s):  
Good Alternative ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Urban Land Use ◽  
Ethnic Segregation ◽  
Alternative Mode ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Geographical Research ◽  
Logical Sequence ◽  
Journey To Work ◽  
Subsequent Rise

The positivist methods of explaining geographical phenomena enjoyed prominence and revolutionized the methods of geographical research up to the 1950s where the criticisms were largely that the methods cannot account for any role in human geography and the subsequent rise of humanism as an alternative mode of explanation. These critiques and the introduction of many concepts in humanism inadvertently slowed down the progress in seeking for acceptable scientific methods to explain human experiences in geographical research. These criticisms in the 1980s and 90s reduced the popularity and application of the quantitative methodologies which were powerful research techniques in human geography. Geography by its nature is a dual discipline with one half on physical and the other on human geography. Human geographers have used quantitative methodologies to study a multitude of topics including demographics, migration, housing and settlement patterns and ethnic segregation. Human activities like migration, journey to work, retail capital patronage, have adopted some element of scientific laws and models have been focused on transportation, migration, settlement development, innovation diffusion, population growth and distribution, urban land use etc. The shortcomings of the philosophy of humanism have not provided a good alternative in explaining geographical phenomenon and has over time become the gains of the positivist school of thought. The resurgence in the interest in positivism as a tool for explanation of geographical phenomena bores down from the fact that the humanistic methods is laced with subjectivity, the language of discourse is abstract and difficult to comprehend while the logical sequence of the positivist methods make the approach real and achievable.

scholarly journals Polish geography at the beginning of the new millenium

Geografie ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 314-327
Author(s):  
Jan Łoboda
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Final Part ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Research Issues ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Geographical Research ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Scientific Disciplines ◽  
Modern Geography

The article presents the state of Polish geography at the beginning of the new millennium, including its main research issues, research approaches, preferred scientific methods, the most crucial dilemmas as well as theoretical and methodological issues. Contemporary trends in the development of geography, applications of results of geographical research both in Poland and worldwide and an evaluation of modern geography as compared with other disciplines are also addressed. On this background, the most important weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the contemporary Polish geography, and its position in the global geography are presented. The article also highlights other scientific disciplines, which geography should become most closely linked scientifically with. Main research areas to be preferably developed in the Polish geography are presented in the final part of the paper. The results presented are based on an anonymous survey, conducted in May-September 2001.

scholarly journals Magic at the margins: towards a magical realist human geography

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Laws
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Magical Realism ◽  
Mental Distress ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Research Writing ◽  
Geographical Research ◽  
Mental Health Difficulties ◽  
The Rich

The purpose of this article is to put forward the case for a magically realist human geography, drawing on geographical research into the lives and lifeworlds of people with long-term and disabling mental health difficulties. In the article, I move between extracts from my own ethnographic research with mental health service users and survivors and the equally unusual stories of the literary genre, magical realism, in which I find a framework for addressing what I understand as a narrative paucity in much of mainstream research writing about mental distress. The article reflects upon the strange and sometimes magical qualities of illness and recovery in the context of individuals living with severe and enduring mental health problems and how traditional constructions of ‘evidence’ variously exclude or overlook such experiences. The contributions of the article are both to explore how ‘magic’ might encapsulate certain aspects of living with mental distress and – developing ongoing discussions in the sub-discipline around geographies of enchantment, magic and spirituality – to consider how a magical realist framework for geographical research might do justice to the rich, marvellous and irreducible experiences of everyday life, which are often excluded from conventional evidence bases.

scholarly journals What kind of theory for what kind of human geography?

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Wai-chung Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Human Geography ◽  
Uneven Development ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
Spatial Change ◽  
Geographical Analysis ◽  
Geographical Research ◽  
Epistemological Position

While upholding the analytical relevance of a better distinction of mechanism from process in the geographical analysis of uneven development, the five commentators of my forum paper have raised some critical epistemological issues that provoke three points of clarification in this response. First, I argue for an epistemological position that views theory not only as abstract devices but more importantly as explanation of social–spatial change. I elaborate further on the importance of causal mechanism in such an explanatory kind of theory. Second, I discuss the relevance and usefulness of mid-range theories in geographical research. Finally, this response ends with a return to the bigger picture of the kind of human geography that might benefit from mechanism-based theorizing.

scholarly journals Geographical investigations in the management of the svalbard environment

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 51-57
Author(s):  
Wiesław Ziaja
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resources ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Nature Protection ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Geographical Research

Abstract The paper concerns specific features of exploration, geographical recognition, exploitation of natural resources, and economy of the archipelago. Development of the Svalbard system of nature protection areas and its impact on the environment and human activity is shown. Both the natural environment and Norwegian national interests are perfectly protected in Svalbard. Classical physico-geographical research was lost in significance to biological investigations (or to environmental science in the aspect of biotic components). Research activity in the human geography of Svalbard has mostly declined.

scholarly journals Sociological methods in human-geographic researches: features of application

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Human Geography ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Sociological Research ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
Subject Field ◽  
Geographical Research ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Branched Structure

Human geography, which is an integral branch of contemporary geographical science, relies on a broad methodological basis, using both the general geographical methodological apparatus and the methodological apparatus of related and related sciences. However, taking into account the specifics of the object-subject field of human geography, it is necessary to improve the methodological apparatus, going beyond the use of methods inherent only in geographical science. The anthropogenic factor becomes dominant in all negative changes in the interaction of the “society-human-nature” system. There is a need to replenish the methodological apparatus of human geography through the use of methods of related sciences, in particular, sociology. Sociological methods operate with large amounts of data and can be applied at various stages of socio-geographical research: at the stage of collecting information, its processing and interpretation. Among Ukrainian scientists, human geographers, for now, the use of sociological methods of collecting and processing information is more ignored, unlike foreign scientists. The use of traditional socio-geographical methods and ignoring the methods of related sciences indicate the need for a thorough review of the methodological and methodological foundations of socio-geographical research. This is required by the complexity of the global processes of socio-economic development of modern civilization as a single global socio-geographic system of the planet. At the stage of collecting socio-geographical information, it is important to use sociological methods of collecting information that are indispensable for the study of those features of geographical systems that are not covered by official statistics, as well as for the study of factors of processes and phenomena at the individual and group levels. Sociological research methods have a branched structure, in which they are distinguished as general scientific and special sociological research methods. Sociological methods of data collection can be used in socio-geographical studies, the choice of which depends on the type of goals, objectives, features of the object of study, the material capabilities of the researcher and the capabilities of the toolkit. Sociological methods for collecting information are divided into 5 main classes: survey, analysis of documents, experiment, observation and testing.

scholarly journals To the methodology of socio-geographical research of the internal displacement of the population

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Methods ◽  
Structural Equations ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Mathematical Methods ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
Geographical Research ◽  
Domestic Literature ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
Traditional Industry

In this article, the author analyzes the approaches and methods of studying migration processes, in particular, forced internal displacement of the population. The analysis of foreign and domestic literature showed that domestic researchers of migration processes use traditional methods and approaches, while foreign scientists use interdisciplinary tools of approaches and methods. For a comprehensive socio-geographical study, it is necessary to combine traditional industry and interdisciplinary methods, which will reveal the real extent of forced internal displacement of the population at the regional and national levels. In addition, the use of this technique will allow conducting qualitative or quantitative studies of migrations, assessing the scale of migration processes, and revealing the structural and dynamic characteristics of migrants. To study the internal population displacement, the author suggests using the following approaches: geographical, systemic, synergetic, informational, historical, demographic, economic, legal, sociological, psychological, individual. The author considers the use of traditional methods of socio-geographical research of migration processes. Of great importance are philosophical and general scientific methods, in particular analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, observation, abstraction, and others. The necessity of using sociological and mathematical-statistical methods is substantiated. In this case, depending on the type of data collected, use qualitative (coding or content analysis) or quantitative (statistical methods: regression, descriptive statistics or modeling of structural equations) methods. The effectiveness of research on migration processes is enhanced by mathematical methods, in particular modeling. The following types of models are used in forecasting migration processes: open or closed models; discrete or continuous models; deterministic or stochastic models. The most effective, in our opinion, is the G. Zipf gravity model, as well as various types of regression models.

A mythical place: A conversation on the earthly aspects of myth

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Essebo
Keyword(s):  
Human Geography ◽  
Geographical Research ◽  
Everyday Practices

The concept of myth is far from foreign to geographical research, yet its definition and use has been both varied and assumed, leaving much of its potential geographically unexplored. Myths – naturalised stories which reflect ideology, alleviate anxiety, and guide everyday practices – instil place with meaning. Following the tradition within human geography of engaging with issues intersecting perception and place, this paper suggests that to further develop the concept of myth in and through human geography may help advance central disciplinary themes centring on issues of naturalisation and transformation of societal beliefs and, by extension, place.

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