Quaestiones Geographicae vol. 37 (1), 2018
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Item Review of Polish contribution to snow cover research (1880–2017)(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-03) Falarz, Małgorzata; Nowosad, Marek; Bednorz, Ewa; Rasmus, SirpaThe purpose of this article is to present the development of multifaceted research on snow cover conducted by Polish researchers in various parts of the world since the end of the 19th century up to the modern times. The paper describes Polish studies on physical and chemical properties of snow cover, its long-term changes, relationships between snow cover and climate, impact of snow cover on environmental conditions and human activity. This work is also an attempt to show the contribution of Polish snow-related research to the international achievements in this fields.Item Coastal dunes of the Baltic Sea shores: a review(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-03) Łabuz, Tomasz Arkadiusz; Grunewald, Ralf; Bobykina, Valentina; Chubarenko, Boris; Česnulevičius, Algimantas; Bautrėnas, Artūras; Morkūnaitė, Regina; Tõnisson, HannesThe article summarises results of studies conducted along the Baltic Sea sandy coasts by scientists involved in coastal dune research, and presents an attempt to describe the types and distribution of dune coasts. The Baltic Sea coasts feature lower and higher foredunes. The lowland behind the coastal dune belt is covered by wandering or stabilised inland dunes – transgressive forms, mainly parabolic or barchans. The source of sediment for dune development includes fluvioglacial sands from eroded coasts, river-discharged sand, and older eroded dunes. Due to the ongoing erosion and coastal retreat, many dunes have been eroded, and some are withdrawing onto the adjacent land. There are visible differences between the south-eastern, western, and northern parts of the Baltic Sea coast with respect to dune development. The entire southern and eastern coast abounds in sand, so the coastal dunes are large, formerly or currently wandering formations. The only shifting dunes are found at the Polish and the Russian–Lithuanian coasts on the Łebsko Lake Sandbar as well as on the Vistula and Curonian Spits. The very diverse shoreline of the south-western coast experiences a scarcity of larger sandy formations. Substantial parts of the Baltic Sea sandy coasts have been eroded or transformed by humans. The northern part of the Baltic Sea coast features mainly narrow and low sandy coasts (e.g. in Estonia). Further north, sandy dunes are virtually absent.Item New ways to learn geography – challenges of the 21st century(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-03) Markuszewska, Iwona; Tanskanen, Minna; Subirós, Josep VilaThe aim of the article is to get a closer overview of the non-instructional methods of the teaching-learning process of geography. To achieve this goal, the results of the international project Borderland: Border Landscapes Across Europe (undertaken in 2012 and 2013, within the framework of LLP-Erasmus Programme) was presented. Special attention was paid on the innovative approach to learning methods, namely learning by doing (LBD) that was experienced in a multinational environment during the project’s implementation.Item Level of academic and didactic competencies among students as a measure to evaluate geographical education and preparation of students for the demands of the modern labour marke(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-03) Cichoń, Małgorzata; Piotrowska, IwonaYoung people, regardless of their social environment, place of residence or work, are looking for values and key competencies that enable achieving goals in life. Therefore, an appropriate education system is important, which in the conditions of changing reality will meet these requirements effectively. The contemporary employer is interested in four groups of key competencies, such as intellectual, professional, personal and interpersonal. Geography is a field with great potential for the development of various competencies. In this context, questions about adjusting geographical education to the expectations of employers are justified. Therefore, the aim of the study is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the current development of competencies and qualifications at the geography speciality of the Faculty of Geographical and Geological Sciences, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. The reference points included a report on research carried out among 200 employers in 2012, as well as surveys among students graduating from master‘s studies on the assessment of the level of their competencies and qualifications. It was determined that the strength of the current geographical education at the faculty is to prepare mainly specialists with broad general and professional knowledge, and high self-esteem in terms of cooperation in the group and communication. The area of development for the geographical education are intellectual competencies, above all independent thinking and prioritising. The last year geography students fall out the most in terms of personal competencies. The authors suggest building students‘ awareness because, as the above results show, they are not fully aware of what expectations they may face in the labour market. It is worth modifying the study program so as to put more emphasis on soft competencies and support the development of various forms of extra activities of students. Attention was also paid to the importance of didactic competencies, which on the one hand raise the self-esteem of students, and on the other, increase the chance of finding a good job. An interesting aspect of the research is the wide spectrum of professions in which students work. This reflects their diverse skills, including spatial thinking. Combined with increasing attention paid to the issues related to the natural environment and sustainable development, graduates of geography have a strong position to enter the current labour market. The advantage of geographers is the use of modern technologies. Unfortunately, however, the results of the research presented above, both among Polish students and internationally, indicate insufficient skills in the use of modern technologies by students of geography.Item Editorial(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-03) Kostrzewski, Andrzej; Zwoliński, ZbigniewItem Climate related diseases. Current regional variability and projections to the year 2100(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-03) Błażejczyk, Krzysztof; Baranowski, Jarosław; Błażejczyk, AnnaThe health of individuals and societies depends on different factors including atmospheric conditions which influence humans in direct and indirect ways. The paper presents regional variability of some climate related diseases (CRD) in Poland: salmonellosis intoxications, Lyme boreliosis, skin cancers (morbidity and mortality), influenza, overcooling deaths, as well as respiratory and circulatory mortality. The research consisted of two stages: 1) statistical modelling basing on past data and 2) projections of CRD for three SRES scenarios of climate change (A1B, A2, B1) to the year 2100. Several simple and multiply regression models were found for the relationships between climate variables and CRD. The models were applied to project future levels of CRD. At the end of 21st century we must expect increase in: circulatory mortality, Lyme boreliosis infections and skin cancer morbidity and mortality. There is also projected decrease in: respiratory mortality, overcooling deaths and influenza infections.Item Mapping geosites as gateways to the geotourism management in Central High-Atlas (Morocco)(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-03) Bouzekraoui, Hicham; Barakat, Ahmed; El Youssi, Mohammed; Touhami, Fatima; Mouaddine, Atika; Hafid, Abdellatif; Zwoliński, ZbigniewDemnate commune and High-Tessaout valley are located in the Moroccan central High-Atlas. They have a great and much diversified geological and geomorphological heritage and exceptional landscapes of high mountains. The data obtained from the current work indicate that the studied area present high tourist vocation, in the fact that this territory preserves a large number of geosites linked to many witnesses fossils of extinct animals such dinosaurs footprints, outcropping rock formations of the Precambrian and Mesozoic. Further, it has many remarkable landforms and geosites such as canyons, natural bridge, spectacular waterfalls and scree slopes. The findings support that the area attracts many tourists every year. However, this number remains restricted due to the lack of tools of promotion and mediation of its geoheritage and also due to the low exploitation of the geodiversity. Regarding this situation, geotouristic routes represented on touristic map appear as an essential tool for geotourism promotion and as an efficient means of geosciences popularisation. This paper illustrates three geotouristic routes describing the main geosites in rural areas of Demnate and High-Tessaout valley. These geotourism itineraries can help to explain the high potential interest of the studied areas in geotourism terms.Item Landform recognition in granite mountains in East Asia (Seoraksan, Republic of Korea, and Huangshan and Sanqingshan(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-03) Piotr, Migoń; Kyung-Sik, Woo; Kasprzak, MarekApplied research in geomorphology includes landform analysis and evaluation from a specific perspective of scientific significance and global relevance. In this paper, landform diversity of Seoraksan, Republic of Korea, a UNESCO World Heritage candidate, is compared with geomorphic characteristics of two World Heritage properties in China, Huangshan and Sanqingshan. Seoraksan represents an almost complete mountain geomorphic system of considerable contemporary dynamics, with outstanding scenery and spectacular landforms such as domes, fins, bedrock channels, waterfalls, and inherited block fields. It is argued that Seoraksan contains outstanding scientific and aesthetic values, not present at the Chinese properties, offering scope for successful nomination.Item Analysis and visualisation of lake disappearance process in Iława Lakeland Landscape Park(Wydział Nauk Geograficznych i Geologicznych Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza, 2018-06) Marynowska, Weronika CecyliaLake disappearance as a natural stage of evolution of lakes is an extremely important issue in the landscape and ecosystem research context. Studies of the changes that occur in the lake landscape, characteristic in the northern part of Poland, are aimed at defining the cause and forecasting the results. The possibilities of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used in this paper to analyse and visualise the process of lake disappearance in the Iława Lakeland Landscape Park. GIS technologies which primarily are used for gathering, storing, processing and presenting spatial data have been used to interpret changes in lakes coverage over a period of 100 years. The analysis were based on data bases and cartographic former maps such as hydrographic maps, attribute data and bathymetric plans. The data was gathered by transfer from different geoportals, next vectorised, and then preprocessed. Former maps were rectified. The lake disappearance process was presented in several forms: lake cards, animations and interactive map. Basing on the GIS analysis about lake disappearance in Iława Lakeland Landscape Park it was possible to state that lakes are disappearing in rate of 3.99 ha a–1.