1. The document summarizes the philosophical basis and themes of geography as a discipline. It discusses how geography involves the descriptive and explanatory analysis of spatial differences on Earth's surface. 2. Key aspects of geography's philosophical foundation include being goal-oriented, descriptive through quantitative analysis of spatial and cartographic data, and providing geographical explanations. 3. The document outlines five major themes that geographers use to conceptualize the field: areal differentiation, landscape, man-environment interactions, and spatial distribution. Geography entwines physical and social sciences to understand human life and civilization across different regions.

1. Online Special Lecture
on
Geography and its Contemporary Ambience
by
Prof. Dr. Ashis Sarkar, M.Sc, W.B.S.E.S.
Former Professor and Head: Department of Geography,
Presidency College/University & Chandernagore College
Currently, Managing Editor and Publisher, Indian Journal of Spatial Science
(https://www.indiansss.org)
Organized
by
The Department of Geography
Cooch Behar College, West Bengal
Dated: 18 September 2020 Time : 4.00 PM
Platform: Google Meet
Registration Link: https://forms.gle/xxdURLape4hJvJ8i9

2. Geography in Real World —
1. It helps to avoid the errors of other people and countries and to profit from their
good ideas (Aristotle 384–322 BC).
2. It helps to keep our principles of living with nature alive ….compare them to
those in other countries (Aurelius 121–180).
3. It teaches us to put things in perspective amid earthquakes, volcanism, floods
and wars (Montaigne 1533–1592).
4. It’s the job of a geographer to be exact, truthful and unbiased about time,
deeds, and
a) witness for the past,
b) examples and counsel for the present and
c) warning for the future (Cervantes 1547–1616).
5. It helps to judge our own customs and actions better by examining those of
others living in different situations...to travel to another place and time by
listening to people describing their time and country (Descartes 1596–1650).
6. It advances man’s knowledge…. man makes continual progress through trial-
and-error….helps to learn the universal principles of human nature by them
in different kinds of situations and circumstances (Pascal 1623–1662).

3. 7. Mankind are so much the same, in all times and places… the use of
geography is to understand, live and exist in our current world ….. we must
trade, understand and exist with others (Hume 1711–1776).
8. It helps to insure order in society by having an informed and educated people
and in order to remove prejudices and increase understanding (Adam Smith
1723–1790).
Thus, Geography takes us to different land and people with different
cultures. It’s fascinating and has 5 fundamental themes —
Location: position on the earth’s surface
Place: physical and human characteristics
Relationships within places: man – environment
Movement: human interaction on the earth
Regions: how they form and change
Earth – in relation to – Man: Physical Geography
Man – in relation to – Earth: Human Geography
The Choice is Yours!!

4. The term “Geography” is used to —
…."describe or picture or write about the Earth": Eratosthenes (276–194 BC).
But, mere names of places...are not geography... It has higher aims
than this: it seeks —
(1) to classify phenomena,
(2) to compare,
(3) to generalize,
(4) to ascend from effects to causes, and in doing so,
(5) to trace out the laws of nature and to mark their influences upon man.
This is simply 'a logical description of the world’: Hence, Geography is a
Science—
- a thing not of mere names, but
- of argument and reason,
- of cause and effect: William Hughes (1863)

5. The domain of ‘physical geography’ embraces the domains of earth science ──
(geotectonics, geomorphology), atmospheric science (climatology) and life science (soil geography,
plant geography, environmental geography) .
The core principles of these are based on rigid hypotheses, theories and universal laws of physics,
chemistry, and mathematics.
The domain of ‘human geography’. It entwines the domains of ──
economics (economic geography: activity, spatial pattern, spatial structure and organization,
trade and commerce, transport, etc), philosophy (evolution of thoughts), sociology
(social/cultural geography including health, recreation, education) and demography (population
geography).
The core principles of these are based on hypotheses and theories mechanistically applied from other
scientific disciplines (methodology organized by the eminent professors like, R. Bachi, C. A. M.
King, R. J. Chorley, P. Haggett, L. J. King, S. Gregory, J. P. Cole, P. J. Taylor, D. Ebdon, D. F.
Morrison, A. N. Strahler, L. Zobler, and many more).
Today, we proudly call geography a science… a discipline almost 2200+ years old, but it
seriously suffers from the absence of the ‘Universal Laws’ and that is why the IVY League
of Universities across the World shut down their Geography Department in the late 1950s:
No Law – No Science – No Research – No Funding.
It shook the whole academic World. The ‘Quantitative Revolution’ began in order to regain its
status by an all-out effort to build the ‘universal theories and laws of geography’.

6. Waldo R. Tobler (1930 – 2018)
1. an American-Swiss Geographer and Cartographer who participated in Geography's
William Garrison-led Quantitative Revolution of the late 1950s.
2. a 1961 Ph.D. from the University of Washington and also a Member of Royal
Geographical Society, GB.
3. a Scientist in the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA)
using Computers in Geographic Research since the 1960s with an emphasis on
Mathematical Modeling and Graphic Interpretations.
4. Initially, he was at the University of Michigan and then Professor of Geography and
Professor of Statistics at the University of California, SB until his retirement.
5. It was he who formulated both the laws of Geography, popularly known as
a) “Tobler’s First Law of Geography" (TFL, 1970)
b) “Tobler’s Second Law of Geography" (TSL, 1999)
6. He is the inventor of a novel and unusual Map Projections, among which was the 1st
Derivation of the Partial Differential Equations for Area Cartograms.
7. He also invented a method for smooth 2D Mass-preserving Areal Data Redistribution.
8. He also built a global, latitude-longitude oriented, demographic information base with 2nd Order
Resolution.
9. His keen interests relate to ideas in Computational Geography including the analysis of
Geographical Vector Fields and the development of Migration and of Global Trade
Models.
10. In 1999, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award in GIS by ESRI.
11. In 2003, he released an MS Windows-based Freeware, the Flow Mapper that ESRI
incorporated in 2005 version of ArcGIS.

7. Tobler’s 1st Law of Geography (TFL:1970)
“Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things”
1. The TFL lies at the core of spatial autocorrelation statistics, for analyzing correlation
relative to distance or connectivity relationships.
2. As geographers, we are really only interested in a subset of all possible spaces, namely,
geo-spaces (both Euclidean and Non-Euclidean) or those that can meaningfully
represent phenomena on or near the surface of the Earth.
3. There are a wide range of analytical and computational techniques for representing and
analyzing these spaces and are now part of a standard GIS toolkit.
Tobler’s 2nd Law of Geography (TSL:1999)
“The phenomenon external to (a geographic) area of interest affects what goes on in the inside.”
It took almost 1970+276 = 2246 Years for the 1st Law only. After much debate, the TFL
gained popularity since 1990s with the entrenchment of GIS. The TSL came almost after
another 30 years or so. But….unfortunately, these are not included in syllabus.
We are unfortunate that Albert Einstein enrolled to study and pursue “Geography” in
Higher School, but after a short period, he left and took up “Physics” as he felt it much
easier than “Geography”.

8. David W. Harvey (b. 31 October 1935)
A British-born Marxist Economic Geographer. PhD (Cambridge, UK 1961) and a Post-
doc(Uppsala, Sweden 1960–1961).
1. 1961 – 2000: University of Bristol UK, Johns Hopkins University, USA). Halford
Mackinder Professor of Geography, University of Oxford UK. Now the Distinguished
Professor, Department of Anthropology.
2. By the mid-1960s, he followed trends in the social sciences to employ quantitative
methods, contributing to spatial science and positivist theory. His Explanation in
Geography (1969) was a landmark text in the methodology and philosophy of geography,
applying principles drawn from the philosophy of science in general to the field of
geographical knowledge.
3. He then moved on to become concerned with issues of social injustice and the nature of
the capitalist system itself. He conforms to the critique of ‘absolute space’ and
‘exceptionalism in geography’ of the regional-historical tradition that he saw as an
outcome of Kantian synthetic ‘a priori knowledge’.
4. In 1972, in a famous essay on ghetto formation, he argued for the creation of
"revolutionary theory” validated through “revolutionary practice".
5. He was the leader of Marxist geography (Social Justice and the City 1973) and argued that
geography could not remain 'objective' in the face of urban poverty and associated ills.
6. He is the proponent of the idea of the right to the city: capitalism annihilates space to ensure its
own reproduction.

9. 7. Limits to Capital (1982) furthers the radical geographical analysis of capitalism, he
expanded and innovated Marxist theory with respect to the functioning of money and
finance, and the ‘spatial moment’ in the unfolding of capitalist crisis formation.
8. The Condition of Postmodernity (1989) is a materialist critique of postmodern ideas and
arguments, suggesting these actually emerge from contradictions within capitalism
itself.
9. Justice, Nature and the Geography of Difference (1996) focuses on social and environmental
justice.
10. Space of Hope (2000) has a utopian theme and indulges in speculative thinking about
how an alternative world might look.
11. Paris, Capital of Modernity (2003) is undoubtedly his most elaborated historical-
geographical work, a blistering critique of the onset of US military action since 2001.
12. In The New Imperialism (2003) he argues that the ‘War in Iraq’ allows US Neo-
conservatives to divert attention from the ‘failures of capitalism’ at home.
13. A Brief History of Neoliberalism (2005) provides an historical examination of the theory
and divergent practices of neoliberalism since the mid-1970s. It conceptualises the
neoliberalised global political economy as a system that benefits few at the expense of
many, and which has resulted in the (re)creation of class distinction through what
Harvey calls “accumulation by dispossession".
14. In 2007, Harvey was listed as the 18th most-cited author of books in the humanities and
social sciences in that year.

10. 15. The Enigma of Capital (2010) takes a long view of the contemporary economic
crisis. He explains how capitalism came to dominate the world and why it
resulted in the financial crisis. He describes that the essence of capitalism is its
amorality and lawlessness and to talk of a regulated, ethical capitalism is to
make a fundamental error.
16. He was a visitor as a Miliband Fellow at the London School of Economics in
the late 1990s.
17. In 1996, he delivered the Ellen Churchill Semple Lecture at UK Geography.
18. Currently, he is acting Advisory Professor at Tongji University in Shanghai.
19. He is widely recognized as a foundational scholar in urban geography. His
books have been widely translated. He holds honorary doctorates from
Roskilde (Denmark), Buenos Aires (Argentina), the Faculty of Social Sciences at Uppsala
University (Sweden), Ohio State University (USA), Lund University (Sweden),
the University of the Republic (Uruguay) and the University of Kent (UK).
20. He has received the Anders Retzius Gold Medal of the Swedish Society for
Anthropology and Geography, the Patron’s medal of the Royal Geographical Society
and the Vautrin Lud International Prize in Geography (France).
21. He was made a fellow of the British Academy in 1998, and was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007. He is a member of the Interim
Committee for the emerging International Organization for a Participatory Society.

11. Trevor Paglen (b. 1974): Experimental Geography
1. A new breed of researcher for the UCB: He takes a wildly experimental approach to
study the strategic and practical boundaries of contested public / private space.
2. His peers call him an Underground Geographer, an all-round Academic Outlaw armed with a
telescope, a GPS device, some light-field military listening equipment, a car trunk full of cameras
and maps, and one hideously nondescript corporate infiltration suit.
3. He is an Intervention Artist, and Investigative Journalist, a Prison-Abolition Activist, a Punk
Rocker and Total Sound Head, a 3rd Degree Master in the Art of Panoptic Trespass.
His Publications:
1. Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA's Rendition Flights, (with A.C. Thompson), Melville
House, 2006. ISBN 1 933633 09 3
2. I Could Tell You but Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me, Melville House, 2007
(Black Projects meant for Top-secret US Programs). ISBN 1 933633 32 8
3. Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon’s Secret World, Dutton Adult,
2009. ISBN 97 811 01011 49 2
4. Experimental Geography: Radical Approaches to Landscape, Cartography, and Urbanism (with N.
Thompson, and J. Kastner), Melville House, 2009.
5. Invisible: Covert Operations and Classified Landscapes (with R. Solnit),Aperture Foundation
Incorporated, 2010, ISBN 97 815 97111 30 0
6. The Last Pictures: University of California Press. 2012. ISBN 97 805 20275 00 3

12. Philosophical Basis
“ … measure, measure and measure the differences of the differences of the differences ” is one Galilean
doctrine; it summarises well the mathematical-philosophical base of the discipline of
geography. The most comprehensible definition is – “…. deals with the description and
explanation of the areal differentiation of the earth's surface ”.
1. The first part concerns: how one should study phenomena; It includes the cognitive
description and explanation (cognitive = coherent, rational and realistic, description =
analysis of inter-connection within the geographical objects/events, explanation =
necessity of such inter-connections). Thus, it refers to the methods of geography.
2. The second part concerns: what one should study; It identifies a domain of objects and
events defining the operations of description and explanation. Thus, it concerns the
goals or substantive objectives of geographical studies.
3. Hence, lies the philosophical foundation of the geographical analysis, i.e., it is
1. goal-oriented and object-specific
2. descriptive, numerical-analytical (statistical, morphometric, cause-and-effect, evolutionary,
functional-and-ecological and system),
3. spatial and cartographic analysis of geographical data, its presentation and geographical
explanation.
4. Therefore methods come first based on certain philosophical principles/ideas of
geography.
5. It can be viewed multilaterally — as an activity, a process and an organized attempt at
communicable understanding.

13. 1. Geography is also a special science that beautifully entwines the internal philosophies of both
the physical and social sciences to unravel the human drama, the social fabric, dynamics of human
life and civilization on earth to enrich the universe of knowledge.
2. Therefore, it provides a wealth of ideas to theorize about. Geographers normally
organize their thoughts around the following five major themes, each one of which is,
in its own way, capable of providing an operational definition of the nature of
geography (Harvey, 1969). These are ―
a) Areal differentiation theme: the traditional view in which the geographers are
primarily concerned with region construction (Hartshrone, 1939).
b) Landscape theme: the cultural geographers of the Berkeley school carefully
distinguished between the ‘natural’ and the ‘cultural’ landscapes and examined
their inter-relationships (Sauer, 1925; Miller, 1949; James, Jones & Wright, 1954).
c) Man-environment theme: it emphasizes the study of man - environment
interrelationships in the form of environmentalism, possibilism, and probabilism
and so on (Semple, 1911; de la Blache, 1922; Barrows, 1923; Brunhes,1925; Sorre,
1947).
d) Spatial distribution theme: it provides the framework for the study of the structure
and processes underlying a spatial organization of physical features or human
activities in which the questions of when and where is the prime object (Marthe,
1877; Geer, 1923; Watson, 1955; Bunge, 1962).
e) Geometric theme: it views geography as a synthesis and as a combination of the
geometry of an infinite variety of spaces conceived as 2D or 3D data layers of a
geographer’s choice; it has gained tremendous importance with the introduction
of GIS in the current age of ISC (I = information; S = satellite; C = computer).

14. 1. The approach of physical geography is field-based, lab-based, and quantitative, and
is certainly a part of the general system, occupying the interface of geology,
geodesy, physics, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, biology, remote sensing, and cartography.
2. The approach to human geography is dynamic; initially, it was qualitative,
descriptive and simplistic, in which location pattern of human activities was
explained by environmentalism, possibilism or probabilism.
3. Beginning in the 1950s, quantitative revolution (QR) actually took place in
the 1960s. It was probably the 2nd paradigm shift in Geography. The factors
that promoted this were –
a) the availability of geographical data,
b) the pace of change in the geographical phenomena,
c) the technological changes in handling the information and
d) a pervasive belief in the usefulness of science.
More emphasis was then given on the problem of why-man-lives-as-he-does and less
on how he lives.
This involves changes in methods by incorporating ideas from other disciplines.
Geographers began talking of – spatial analysis, inferential techniques, concepts, laws,
models, theories, behaviour, perception, prediction, ecosystem, linkages, matrices, equations,
formulae, and paradigms.
The scientific explanation is given in-terms-of abstract mathematical and
statistical parameters and therefore Quantitative Geographers viewed the
human landscape in terms of set patterns, ordered processes and strict regularities.

15. The effect of QR was:
to emphasize contemporary phenomena that added to the value and worth
of geography.
With roots in the 1970s, the 3rd paradigm shift took place with assumptions and
ideas taken from sociology and psychology in the early 1980s. A new approach,
known variously as humanistic, sociologistic or behaviouralistic developed that ─
a) set human conditions against a real-world background,
b) accepted the complexities of human behaviour and
c) linked them with existing socio-economic and political conditions and
d) recognize the faults of man-made systems and place them in the context of national
and global contexts.
It brought human geography into the mainstream of ─
economic, sociological and political thoughts and human geographers became
involved/concerned evermore with contemporary issues like, pollution, energy crisis,
inequalities of wealth, social justice, global warming, international allegiances, military and
psychological warfare, breakdown of moral values, human contentment, evolution of
political thought, feminism, etc.
Four important ‘fashion changes’ in the prevailing approach took place thereafter:
a) Environmental Science (1980s)
b) ISC (1980s)
c) Geospatial Technology (1990s) and
d) Choroinformatics (2010 onward)

16. Criteria Emphasis in Traditional
Approach
Emphasis in Modern
Approach
Content Physical geography Human / Social geography
Principle Why man lives where-he-
lives
How man lives where-he-
lives
Foundation General criteria of
development
Specific criteria of quality of
life
Scale Local Global
Methods Rigidly static Highly flexible
Cartographic
Base
Analogue Digital format
Explanation Environmentalism Possibilism / Probabilism
Approach Toward more thematic and holistic one
Emphasis On more relevant economic, social, political and
environmental issues
Goal Toward better management, planning, and development of the
human habitat, economy, and society

17. GeoCube
To understand, the mosaic of “Modern
Geography”, lets imagine a Cube with 6
Planes, each representing a Geographer’s
perspective as follows—
1. Exploring our World (Global Issues
Geographers now exploring)
2. Fascinating Earth (Physical Earth
Geographers’ main concern)
3. Living Together (Human Society, Economy
and Development Geographers normally address)
4. Shrinking Planet (Human Exploitation of
Earth as the Geographer’s concern)
5. Useful Geographies (Man’s Activity Space -
measured, monitored, mapped and modeled by
GIS & RS)
6. Earth from all Angles (Regional Complexities
Geographers focus on)
A
B
C
F
ED
C
On each of these Planes
lies a set of 9 Parameters
as follows —

18. A. Exploring our World: Global Issues
1. Species Extinction
2. Deforestation
3. Ozone Hole Formation
4. Climate Change
5. Weather Forecasting
6. Population Growth and Distribution
7. Aging Population
8. Tourism
9. War
B. Fascinating Earth: Physical
Earth
1. Earthquake
2. Tsunami
3. Vulcanism
4. Storms
5. Hurricane
6. Flood
7. Drought
8. Forest Fire
9. Conflicts in Earth Systems

19. C. Living Together
(Human Society, Economy
and Development)
1. Ethnicity
2. Language
3. Literacy and Religion
4. Health
5. Migration
6. Mobility
7. Poverty
8. Economic Development
9. Pollution in Cities
D. Shrinking Planet
(Human Exploitation of our
Earth)
1. Nature : flora and and fauna
2. Minerals
3. Water Resources
4. Land Resources
5. Energy Resources
6. Agriculture (and Industry)
7. Food Resources
8. Housing (and Urbanisation)
9. Waste and Pollution

20. E. Useful Geographies
(Man’s Activity Space)
1. Risk Assessment
2. Transport (Connectivity and Accessibility)
3. Planning and Management
4. Education (and Awareness)
5. GIS (and other GST)
6. Geographic Skills (Location Management)
7. Using Maps (in all possible ways)
8. Facilities Management
9. Resources Management
F. Earth from all Angles
(Regional Complexities)
1. Mountains
2. Deserts
3. Wetlands
4. Large Rivers
5. Oceans and Seas
6. Karst Landscape
7. Polar Region
8. Rural Landscape
9. Urban Landscape

21. The Measurement, Mapping, Monitoring and Modelling of any of these 54 Elements either
individually or in combination or their interrelations form the Core of our beloved discipline
of Geography.
What we just need to comprehend:
A real-time, well-designed depiction of our habitat, economy and society, along with their
interrelations, i.e., MAPs
Cartography: The Art and Science of Map Making
1. Depiction of Earth’s Surface
2. Convenient Reduction through Scale Factor
3. Mathematical Principles of transformation of 3D Surface onto a 2D Plane
4. Orientation through relatively fixed Reference Directions
5. Ground Surveying for —
a) building the GCN: rMap or bMap
b) generating the tBase: Elevation dBase
c) geographical overlaying (GrO): Thematic Data Layers

23. GCN:
Map Projections with innumerable probabilities and combinations of multiple
deformations, requires knowledge base of —
Algebra, Co-ordinate Geometry, Plane
Trigonometry, Spherical Trigonometry,
Geodesy, Field Astronomy, RS & GIS,
Photogrammametry, and Cartography
tBase:
Ground Surveying with Instrumentation
Chain, Compass, Plane Table, Theodolite,
Total Station, GPS, Remote Imaging
GrO:
Raisz’s (1962) 7 fundamental principles —
1)are drawn on a predetermined scale
2)are selective
3)emphasize certain of the selective features
4)are symbolized
5)are generalised
6)are lettered, titled and labelled
7)are related to a system of parallels and meridians
Dent's Ethics in Cartography
1. Always have a straightforward agenda, and
have a defining purpose or goal for each
map.
2. Do not intentionally lie with data.
3. Data should not be discarded simply because
they are contrary to a position held by those
creating a map.
4. Strive for an accurate portrayal of the data.
5. Avoid plagiarizing; report all data sources.
6. Symbolization should not be selected to bias
the interpretation of the map.

27. The Greek Prof. Athanasios Pallikaris (April 2014) compared a
number of currently used Map Projections in order to “Choosing
Suitable Map Projections for Worldwide Depiction of Electronic Charts in
ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems)” in terms
of —
A. Qualitative Criteria—
a) ability to portray the whole globe in a familiar and pleasant view,
b) visual perception of the relative geographical location between any two
points,
c) visual perception of the spherical / ellipsoidal shape of the earth.
B. Quantitative Criteria—
a) amount and distribution of angle distortion
b) amount and distribution of area distortion
c) orthodromicity factor or loxodromicity factor
The best choice for Global Depiction of ENCs on the ECDIS
Screen is Loximuthal Projection and not Mercator’s, or Robinson’s,
or Miller’s Projection.
But, till now Loximuthal is missing in the “Projection” gallery in the
currently available GIS Softwares…..I am sure very few of us
here has any knowledge of LP.

28. Current Experiences—
The 1984 Perth ICA MEET:
A New Cartography emerged with the dramatic impact of
IT on Traditional Cartography, known variously as —
Computer Cartography, Computer Assisted Cartography,
Digital Cartography, e-Cartography, GIS, Geomatics,
Geovisualisation, GIScience, Geoinformation, Visual
Analytics, Geospatial Information Management, etc
It helped the —
‘extraction, manipulation and visualization’ of ‘real time spatial
data ‘
relating to GCN, tBase and GrO
with the click of a mouse.
Precise Algorithms developed for rMap / bMap using WGS
1984 Datum and UTM Grids with Minimal
Deformation.
Satellite Surveying made mapping the previously
inaccessible areas easy and precise.
Accurate Ground Surveying on Micro Scale is replaced by
TS and DGPS
The 1990s witnessed the dramatic impact of Digital
Technologies on Cartography. It played a great Role in Gulf
War.
Its use exploded in GIS Applications since then.

29. Hence a Modern Cartographer needs to be an
interdisciplinary skilled professional with expertise in ―
Map Projection, Surveying, Geodesy, RS, GIS,
Photogrammetry, Computer Science, Design and Layout,
Symbolisation and Abstraction, Art and Modelling,
Analytical Techniques and Upcoming Technologies.
Naturally, a Cartographer stands in the heart of the
triangle with Technology, Art and Research at its vertices.
Unfortunately, Cartographers with such skills are few
and rare.
But, Experts of Geo-data handling (lacking design skills)
and programmers (lacking a profound understanding of ‘geo’)
are increasing exponentially in number.
The INCA has failed to take the initiative to clarify that
—all these semantics are nothing but the components of
Cartography.
Reasons are: “Lack of dedicated and structured
education in Cartography”
Cartographer
Technology
Art Research

30. Things that we do that are geographic —
1. Choose where to live.
2. Select which way to go to work.
3. Learn where supermarkets, shopping malls, doctors' chamber, hospital, bus
stand, auto stand, sweet shops, bakery, local markets, and local schools are
located.
4. Choose a place to visit on holidays and figure out how to get there.
5. Understand where the events are occurring that are mentioned on the
international and national newscasts.
6. Walk around your neighborhood and return home safely.
7. Understand seasonal weather changes so you can purchase adequate clothing
and plan long trips.
8. Know whether New Delhi is north or south of Agra or Kathmandu.
9. Know where places of recreation can be found.
10. Finding Car in the Parking lot /or the Way to my Hotel in a new City.
11. Booking Reservations for Flight, Trains, AC Volvo, Hotels, Restaurants,
Resorts, and all sorts of Recreations.
12. Estimating where the next Petrol Pump or Hotel will be, while on a Trip.
13. Understanding the Locations of Ethnic / Cultural Restaurants in a city.

31. 15. Appreciating —
(a) why it is difficult to build houses on steep slopes with unstable soils
(b) where do people live and why live there?
Some live in places of frequent floods/hurricanes /tornadoes /fires/earthquakes/ toxic
emissions
In many cities the poor live on some of the most expensive land and consume very little of
it on a per capita basis (producing high population density in inner city areas), while the
rich live on land with less value per unit area and consume much of it on a per capita basis
(producing low suburban population densities).
The result is —
a "density gradient" of population over distance from the city center; simply, a
‘distance – decay’ function in ‘technical language’. It is one of the most powerful
generalizations geographers have ever made about the spatial distribution of
phenomena.
Today, Smart Phones/iPhones have made our life more geography-friendly, using Location-
based Services / Apps like— Google Map, iPhone Map, Amazon, GoogleEarth,
AccuWeather, Windy, etc . Yes. That’s Geography in Action, all over the Globe.
Thus, it requires a formalized knowledge to understand the “core principles of geography”
related to the ‘habitat, economy and society’ of mankind living in a particular setting that
varies with time and space.
In all practicabilty, Geography is the “Science of Location” at all Scale and at all Levels.
To solve the ‘Location Problem’ all required are to overlay and judge ‘sets of Spatial
Information’ in a form we know and call “MAPS”.

32. That’s Why, right now —
Maps are a Big News and Geography is a most useful
discipline
The Trekkers, Mountaineers, Explorers, Drivers,
Navigators Adventurers, Pilots, ..all they need is a
correct map they can rely on for their purposes.
Hence, the term ‘map’ seems to see its
repeated revival as —
a contemporary, relevant and attractive term
for something contemporary, relevant and
attractive.
Reginald Golledge, 2015: Today geographers
teach and research about concepts that are
relevant to everyday life, thereby enabling us —
a) to understand the things we do on a daily or other
episodic basis,
b) how everyday actions affect the world around us
(e.g. auto pollution contributing to global
warming).
This kind of emphasis —
increases awareness of our personal lives and activities
and their socio-political contexts at scales ranging from
neighborhood to global.

33. Vision 2030
1. information is available anytime and anywhere
2. in its provision and delivery, it is tailored to the user’s context and needs
3. in this, the location is a key selector for which and how information is provided
4. cartographic services are thus widespread and of daily use in a truly ubiquitous manner
5. persons would feel spatially blind without using their map, which enable them to see
a) who or what is near them, get supported and
b) do searches based on the current location
c) collect data on-site accurately and timely
The current mobile technologies have demonstrated their huge potential and changed ―
a) how we work
b) how we live and
c) how we interact

34. Prof Georg Gartner (August 2014)
“Starting as a geographer and cartographer
dealing with details on how to deal with
signs, graphic variables and basically
modelling the syntax of cartographic
language,
I have evolved into becoming interested in
the meaning of this form from a more
semantical perspective and finally end up in
being interested in the enormous power and
potential of the pragmatic dimension of
cartography,
Thus understanding maps not only as a
collection of signs and graphics,
but that those signs carry a specific meaning
for a particular human being or community
in a particular situation, thereby leading to
an immersive way of human
communication.”

35. Geographers analyze spatial processes, functional and structural patterns, as well
as investigate the spatial and temporal dynamics thereof, presenting the results in
analogue and digital maps. They have these key qualifications:
1. the ability to recognize complex interrelationships of the human-environmental system
2. the ability to analyze landscape structures and landscape ecological processes in situ and to
present them appropriately
3. the mastery of relevant qualitative and quantitative methods
4. the ability to combine and adapt methods, as well as develop new methods
5. the ability to process and present spatially referenced data by means of analogous and digital
maps and mode
6. the ability to mobilize expert knowledge, as well as lead and moderate teams of experts.

36. 1. In order to analyse problems and find solutions, geography is endowed with
specific strengths.
2. Only geography is able to offer strategies that reflect the complexity of a
problem area, and take different dimensions into consideration that are
spatially anchored.
3. In a society based on the division of labour that sees the sciences as a further
economic sector and expects scientific graduates to be competitive, it is
important that the specific problem solving competency of geographers is
emphasized.
4. The performance of geography and geographers is the result of the
combination of cognitive and methodological skills, based on an integrative
understanding of empiricism and theory.
5. The well-trained geographer has the following competencies:
a) Cognitive competency
b) Specialised competency
c) Methodological competency
d) Social competency - and the closely associated
e) Communicative competency.

37. Cognitive Competency
Ability to investigate relations in human-environmental-spatial systems as
processes influenced or controlled by human beings.
Specialized Competency
Ability to apply specialized knowledge in an interdisciplinary and coherent
manner to interdisciplinary socio-economic and ecological problems is a further
characteristic of this form of competency.
The methodological competency of geographers has two components:
a specialized part, and
an interdisciplinary part.
a) Ability to recognize and master methods from within his or her field and
related sciences
b) Ability to employ these in an interdisciplinary context.
c) Ability to acquire specialised knowledge by means of modern methods.
d) Ability to employ that knowledge within project or problem situations,
e) Ability to enhance that knowledge by means of deduction and with other
results and methods.

38. The qualifications relevant for professional geographers focuses on empirical
work using statistics, cartography, remote sensing and GIS:
1. Empirical Work: to implement methods necessary in surveys, such as
recording, census taking, mapping, or in situ interviewing, as well as to be able
to störe the raw data in databases;
2. Statistics: to implement approaches suitable for the processing of spatially
related primary data and official Statistical material (secondary data), as well as
to be able to störe the results in databases;
3. Cartography: to implement techniques suitable for the management and
presentation of localised and spatially differentiated information;
4. Remote Sensing: to implement techniques suitable for the analysis and
interpretation of aerial and satellite images as primary and complementary
sources of information and as means of presenting spatial information;
5. Geographic Information Systems (GIS): to set up and use GIS and related
databases as a means of:
a) presenting and analyzing data according to the principle of information
layers
b) appropriately adjusting results gathered by means of the above
techniques.

39. Social Competency: a behavioural qualification
a) leadership qualities,
b) implementation skills,
c) the ability to intervene and criticize, as well as
d) skills that allow one to act on one's own initiative,
e) to be responsible, creative, innovative, cooperative and a
team player.
Communicative Competency
ability to recognize, comprehend and understand, interpret
and process complicated events intellectually.

40. 1. The world and society now are in a state of intensive ecological, economic
and political change. Hence, lies the ‘problem’ that geography faces today.
2. Within its field, both the frame of observation and the object of
investigation are undergoing continual change. As a result, the objectives set
for geography are somehow different. Said simply - geographers are expected
to be able to do more.
3. Our geography curriculum has been responding to the challenge by adapting
to the new economic framework increasingly defined by politics, the
economy and society. Our education system must:
a) redefine their fields of responsibilities regarding educational quality
b) conduct more basic research aimed at practical implementation (e.g. planning
decisions)
c) concentrate on central fields of specialization, to become aware again of their own
qualities and resources
d) focus on their very own investment capital, i.e. geography's natural market opening.
4. This means:
a) paying attention to integrative approaches
b) encouraging methodological diversity
c) upholding the spatial reference
d) integrating geographical concepts and geographical methodological knowledge into other
fields of study and areas of activity.

41. Geography in Everyday Life
Certainly, we do all practice “geography”. It has helped us to —
a) understand the ‘physical systems’ that affect our everyday life.
b) learn the ‘location of places’ and their ‘physico-cultural characteristics’.
c) understand the ‘geography of the past’ and how it has ‘played important roles’ in the
‘evolution of people, their ideas, places and environments’.
d) develop a ‘mental map’ of our ‘community, country and the world’ in order to understand
the “where” of places and events.
e) explain how the ‘processes of human and physical systems’ have arranged themselves and
also, sometimes changed the surface of the Earth.
f) understand the ‘spatial organization’ of peoples and identify ‘order’ in what appears to be
random.
g) recognize spatial distributions at all ‘scales – local and global’ - in order to understand the
linkages between people and places.
h) be able to make sensible judgements about mattes involving relationships between physical
environment and society.
i) appreciate Earth as the Home of Mankind and provide insight for ‘wise use of natural
resources’ of this planet.
j) understand our ‘global interdependence’ and to become a better ‘global citizen’.

42. Be a Geographer today
just as Man has been from
the Dawn of his Existence.
The geographic perspective is concerned with the significance of place and space
on processes and phenomena.
It essentially motivates such questions as:
1. Why is a particular phenomenon found in some places but not others?
2. What does the spatial distribution of vegetation or homeless people or language traits
tell us about how physical and human processes work?
3. How do phenomena found in the same place influence one another, and how do
phenomena found at different places influence one another?
4. How do processes that operate at one geographic scale affect processes at other scales?
5. What is the importance of location for efforts to effect (or avoid) political, social,
economic, or environmental change?

43. 1. It has made us to lead a ‘smart life’.
2. It has inherently built in us the “lay of the land” of the world’.
3. It has helped us to understand our ‘home’, our ‘neighbourhood’ – its ‘habitat’,
‘landscapes’ and ‘natural resources’.
4. It has helped us to travel smart for vacation / holiday – ‘when’, ‘where’ and
‘how’.
5. We can easily relate the real-time News /Events in terms of “where” in the
World Map.
6. It has helped us to understand the course of ‘history’ better (Ancient,
Medeival, Modern - India / World). We got a better grasp on globalization,
as ‘it’s a small world’ today.
7. Human culture is fundamentally place-based: its cuisine, clothing,
architecture, even social relationships – we do understand it better.
8. It prepares us for the future as well in taking important decisions every day...
from shopping to architecture to politics to business…..

44. Thank You All
Prof Ashis Sarkar
profdrashis@gmail.com, prof_drashis@yahoo.co.uk
editorijss2012@gmail.com, Isss.ijss1996@gmail.com