Professional Geographer » geography http://drjill.net more than mere place names Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:00:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 How Many Continents? http://drjill.net/2011/09/how-many-continents/ http://drjill.net/2011/09/how-many-continents/#comments Sun, 25 Sep 2011 16:29:03 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=1024 How many continents are there? If you grew up in the English-Speaking world you might think that the answer is obvious. But not everyone counts continents the same way. This snappy video tests your notion of just what is a continent…

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/09/how-many-continents/feed/ 0 Love Longitude? ‘Maphead’ Locates Geography Buffs http://drjill.net/2011/09/love-longitude-maphead-locates-geography-buffs/ http://drjill.net/2011/09/love-longitude-maphead-locates-geography-buffs/#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:56:41 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=1007 Do you ever read an atlas for pleasure? If you go to a new city, can you imagine not knowing which way is north? Is it hard for you to imagine life without a map? Then you might be a maphead.

“There’s just something hypnotic about maps.” If you missed it on NPR last night, check out Fresh Air’s Dave Davies interview with trivia buff Ken Jennings about his recently published book “Maphead.” Listen to the full interview – it’s a gem for all of us. I’ve already got folks asking if I’ve read it yet – it is a must on my reading list ;) ! Maphead, a charming, funny, and of course, informational book about the world of maps and the people who love them.

Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks
by Ken Jennings

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/09/love-longitude-maphead-locates-geography-buffs/feed/ 0 Social Geography Of Hair? http://drjill.net/2011/07/social-geography-of-hair/ http://drjill.net/2011/07/social-geography-of-hair/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 23:24:06 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=978 Something new perhaps for you hairy geographers…

Social Geography Of Hair Opens for Downstreet Art / iBerkshires.com – The Berkshires online guide to events, news and Berkshire County community information..

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/07/social-geography-of-hair/feed/ 0 Geospatial Revolution: Episode 4 http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-4/ http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-4/#comments Fri, 06 May 2011 16:09:45 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=963 Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting.

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-4/feed/ 0 Geospatial Revolution: Episode 3 http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-3/ http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-3/#comments Fri, 06 May 2011 16:08:31 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=961 Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting.

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-3/feed/ 0 Geospatial Revolution: Episode 2 http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-2/ http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-2/#comments Fri, 06 May 2011 16:05:41 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=959 Learn more about the Geospatial Revolution Project from Penn State Public Broadcasting.

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/05/geospatial-revolution-episode-2/feed/ 0 7 Billion and Counting http://drjill.net/2011/04/7-billion-and-counting/ http://drjill.net/2011/04/7-billion-and-counting/#comments Thu, 14 Apr 2011 17:18:56 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=920 National Geographic magazine has kicked off a year-long series of articles related to humanity’s remarkable growth spurt, with the first story focusing on the consequences of hitting 7 billion humans later this year and the basics of demography.

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/04/7-billion-and-counting/feed/ 0 Lesson Plan: Creating a Primer on the Arab World – NYTimes.com http://drjill.net/2011/04/lesson-plan-creating-a-primer-on-the-arab-world-nytimes-com/ http://drjill.net/2011/04/lesson-plan-creating-a-primer-on-the-arab-world-nytimes-com/#comments Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:09:17 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=918

Mapping Discord: Creating a Primer on the Arab World
By SARAH KAVANAGH and HOLLY EPSTEIN OJALVO
Overview | Why is there much turmoil in the Arab world right now? What are the key issues facing the nations in that part of the globe? In this lesson, students create an annotated map of the Middle East and North Africa that includes information about five countries in the Arab world and then synthesize what they discover.

 

Lesson Plan: Creating a Primer on the Arab World – NYTimes.com.

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/04/lesson-plan-creating-a-primer-on-the-arab-world-nytimes-com/feed/ 0 Save the Data – Stop Transparency Cutbacks http://drjill.net/2011/04/save-the-data-stop-transparency-cutbacks/ http://drjill.net/2011/04/save-the-data-stop-transparency-cutbacks/#comments Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:32:45 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=897 Some of the most important technology programs that keep Washington accountable are in danger of being eliminated.

Data.gov, USASpending.gov, the IT Dashboard and other federal data transparency and government accountability programs are facing a massive budget cut, despite only being a tiny fraction of the national budget. Help save the data and make sure that Congress doesn’t leave the American people in the dark.

Sunlight Foundation – Stop Transparency Cutbacks.

]]> http://drjill.net/2011/04/save-the-data-stop-transparency-cutbacks/feed/ 0 The Geographic Inequalities of Broadband in Indiana http://drjill.net/2011/04/the-geographic-inequalities-of-broadband-in-indiana/ http://drjill.net/2011/04/the-geographic-inequalities-of-broadband-in-indiana/#comments Tue, 05 Apr 2011 16:26:20 +0000 drjill http://drjill.net/?p=890
Indiana is participating in the National Broadband Program as a multi-year, multi-agency effort to map areas in the state that are currently served by the state’s 170+ broadband providers. The results from this will be integrated into a national broadband availability map, and will provide a solid foundation for future broadband deployment efforts at the state and national level.

“Broadband access supports our economy, attracts businesses, and enables Indiana to be globally competitive.  It improves the quality of life for Hoosiers through better communication and learning,” says Jim Sparks Indiana Geographic Information Officer regarding Indiana’s participation.

The mapping portion of the program intends to identify areas that are underserved and ideally expand access to those areas. Indiana is an active participant in the program, and rightly so – several areas of the state and key demographics are currently underserved. From an user interface perspective, personally I find the national broadband availability maps (different from the IndianaMap) leave something to be desired. I find them generally too technical to communicate much to the average consumer, though they surely are packed with information that will assist at the national program level. Be sure to look at the “Show Gallery” link at the bottom of the page for some nice perspectives (it is easily missed). As a work in progress, it is also worth keeping in mind that the maps may over-represent some areas and under-represent other areas based on individual states’ current participation in the mapping program.

Lest we underestimate the potential impact of the broadband program in Indiana, let us look at the current “state of the state” according to another source, PatchworkNation.org:

Indiana on the Patchwork Nation Broadband MapWow, Indiana really stands out.

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