Vol. 38, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2000 - "Regional Geography"

THE MINE FIRE IN CENTRALIA, PENNSYLVANIA

(pp. 3 - 24)

Karen M. Trifonoff

Department of Geography and Geosciences

Bloomsburg University

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

Abstract

In May of 1962 a fire in a waste disposal site near Centralia Borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, quickly spread to an outcrop of the Buck Mountain Coal Bed and continued into an abandoned mine. It is still smoldering and burning today, 38 years later. This paper examines the changes to the physical and human landscapes in this Southern Columbia County area. The purpose of this article is to explore the historical geography of Centralia and to reconstruct the sequence of events that have occurred in order to see how the physical and cultural landscapes have responded to each other.

THE REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY QUEBEC AND ONTARIO: THE RISE AND DECLINE OF HOPS

(pp. 25 - 37)

Dr. Thomas A. Rumney

Professor of Geography

Plattsburgh State University

Plattsburgh, New York

Abstract

During the nineteenth century, the agricultural geography of Canada began to evolve from a subsistent to a commercial format. While wheat was the most important commercial crop, a number of other activities also were tried. One such variety of activity was the cultivation of hops. Restricted by the environments of Quebec and Ontario to the lowlands of the Eastern Townships in Quebec, and along the Great Lakes lowlands, hops became an important crop in areas that were settled and developed by largely British and Yankee settlers and refugees of the American Revolution. Used exclusively for the brewing of beers and ales, hops in southern Canada peaked in the 1870s and then waned as hop groves wore out and new hop growing areas developed in British Columbia. These were also connected to the national market by the transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railroad. By the twentieth century, this regional signature in southern Ontario and southern Quebec was gone. 

CHANGES IN SPECIALIZED CRAFT PRODUCTION IN THE TARASCAN REGION OF MICHOACAN, MEXICO

(pp. 38 - 66)

Dr. Paul Marr

Department of Geography and Earth Science

Shippensburg University 

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

REGIME COLLABORATION ON A REGIONAL BASIS: A FOCUS ON OHIO

(pp. 67 - 90)

Christopher Cusack

Assistant Professor of Geography

Keene State College

Abstract

In an era of global economic mobility and change, numerous regions across the globe are actively collaborating in order to attract and retain business. Success of such regional development often depends on the depth and breadth of interaction of regime members within and between proximate cities. Until now, urban regime analysis as a means for economic development has focused almost entirely on regime actions within individual cities. The author broadens such analysis by examining regime collaboration on a regional basis by comparing the relationship between regime interaction and regional economic development in the northeast and central Ohio. Results from a survey instrument utilized during personal interviews with the regions' political, business, and community leaders indicate that although northeast Ohio has had to endure a difficult restructuring of its economy, such turmoil has fortified collaboration and provided this region with a base for future success.

A HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX FOR PENNSYLVANIA COUNTIES: AN APPLIED REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY

(pp. 91 - 105)

Alison Chisholm Hanham

West Virginia University Extension Service

Robert Q. Hanham

Shawn Banasick

Department of Geography

West Virginia University

Morgantown, West Virginia

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to generate a human development index (HDI) for the counties of Pennsylvania based on the United Nations HDI that has been widely used for nations throughout the world over the past ten years. The underlying rationale for the index is to create a measure of human development that represents a broader conception of development than that of economic growth, the most commonly used yardstick by which the development of a society is gauged. The index is a composite of three indicators; longevity, knowledge, and economic well-being. The results show that there are widespread regional differences in all three indicators. The analysis also indicates that there are significant gaps between human development and economic well-being in many counties. 

PRE-COLLEGIATE GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION IN BANGLADESH

(pp. 106 - 123)

Shahalam M. N. Amin

Department of Geography and Geosciences

Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania

Abstract

Geography education in Grades K-12 has been experiencing reform globally. Knowledge of geographic education in developing countries is lacking in the western world. This paper examines pre-collegiate geography curriculum in Bangladesh. Pre-collegiate education in Bangladesh is divided into three major segments, Primary, Secondary, and Higher Secondary Education. A uniform curriculum is administered by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board, a government organization. Geography education in Bangladesh is quite extensive in nature and intensive in content. Geographic elements and principles are introduced in Grade 3, and subsequently developed in a logical fashion. A continuous infusion of geographic elements and concepts at the pre-collegiate level could be responsible for a seemingly higher geographic literacy in Bangladesh.