Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
being analysed.
• To be able to add the dimension of time as appropriate.
• To be able to place phenomena within a 'model' or 'systems' framework.
• To be able to comprehend and initiate thinking that links the human and physical systems
operating in the landscape.
• To 'read' and 'understand' landscape.
• To be able to use certain techniques, for example:
- to acquire information through fieldwork, map analysis or from remote sensing sources—with
an emphasis on spatial distributions and relationships
- to be able to handle and analyse large data sets, incomplete data sets, spatial data or time-based
data, through quantitative methods using computer technology
- to be equally at home in a literary search among archives and historical records
- to be able to monitor landscape components, and to be able to submit them to further analyses as
appropriate
- to present information with clarity, and especially in map form
- to utilise technological developments such as GIS to assist in gaining a holistic view of the
problem in hand.
• To be able to provide a statement of one's findings which integrates one's own knowledge with
that of allied disciplines.
Source:
after Doornkamp (1982:7)
extremely basic conceptualisation of place, space and environment. At the same time, the
inquisitive nature of geographical research, particularly the interest in human-
environment relationships at a variety of spatial scales, often means that the geographer
pursues a holistic perspective not often found in other disciplines. Yet conveying this to
the new generation of students interested in the business applications of recreation and
tourism requires the geographer not only to sell the value of a synthesising holistic
approach, but also to move forward to meet the new challenge for applied geography in a
new millennium.
Equally, the geographer also has a formidable challenge in convincing colleagues and
researchers in mainstream geography of the validity and intellectual rigour associated
with research in recreation and tourism.
But harnessing this training and the range of skills acquired in order to apply them in a
problemsolving context requires one important prerequisite. According to Doornkamp
(1982:9), this is an ability to see the problem from the point of view of the person who
needs a solution. Having convinced this person of their ability to conceptualise the
problem in their terms, in order to provide a solution three principal factors need to be
considered:
• The research must be framed and reported in a manner which the client requires: it
needs to be as concise and as thorough as possible. It is not to be a thesis or academic
research paper, otherwise the client will simply not recommend or use the organisation
again. This is a principal failing for many academics who are unable to bridge the
industry-academic interface.
• Personal relationships of trust and respect need to be built up in a commercial
environment, often framed around numerous meetings and regular interfacing, and the
