Skip to main content

Quantitative revolution in Geography

Definition

QR refers to gain in emphasis of the use of mathematical and statistical tools or physical sciences to search for models,laws and theories in geography.
Antecedents
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, many events and developments presented threat to geography as an academic subject.Some of them are:
  • The closing of many geography departments and courses in universities took place, e.g., the abolition of the geography program at Harvard University
  • There was continuing division between human and physical geography – general talk of human geography becoming an autonomous subject.
  • Geography was regarded as overly descriptive and unscientific –it was claimed that there was no explanation of why processes or phenomena occurred.
  • Geography was seen as exclusively educational –there were few if any applications of contemporary geography.
  • Continuing debates regarding what geography is –science, art, humanity or social science–took place.
  • After World War II, technology became increasingly important in society, and as a result, nomothetic-based sciences gained popularity and prominence.
Underlying Philosophy
  1. Empiricism (direct observation, data collection,etc)
  2. Positivism (quantification, processing of data to arrive at conclusion)
  3. Functionalism (system analysis)
  4. Nomothetic (law seeking approach)
Tools
  1. Statistics i.e mean,median ,mode,standard deviation,etc
  2. Mathematics like algebra,geometry,trigonometry,etc.
  3. Economical theories(adam smith,Kant,etc)
  4. Physics (universal law of gravitation,etc)
  5. Cybernetics
  6. Biological sciences (system analysis,etc)
Approaches
  1. Locational Analysis
  2. Spatial Analysis
  3. System Analysis
Stages
Phase 1(1818-1915)
  • Neo classical economics theories  used in model building
  • Van Thunen agricultural model, Weber industrial location theory,Ravenstein’s laws omigration,etc
Phase 2(1915-1955)
  • Model building related to settlement geography
  • Central place theory,primate city,rank size rule,etc
Phase3(1955-76)
  • Phase of quantitative revolution.
  • Great use of quantitative tools in geography in order to develop theories,Laws and models.
  • Almost every element of the discipline of geography was influenced by QR
  • Neil Harvey in physical Sciences,T.Stamp in agricultural geography, Weaver's crop combination method, Chorley & Berry’s system analysis, P.Haggett and Bunge’s locational analysis,etc  were part of this phase.
  • After 1976 it declined. It was also said that geography is cutting their fingers with their own tools.
Phase 4(1976 to present)
  • It’s called phase of critical revolution.
  • Human and welfare geography replaced QR.
Criticism

  • Assumptions during model building considered humans as economic and rational being neglecting its humanistic aspects of emotions,sentiments,beliefs,etc.
  • Geography became a space geometry and central theme of geography describing man-nature relationships lost.
  • Geographical models  lacked universal applicability.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DAVIES,PENCK & KING

Geographical Cycle of Davies William Morris Davies was an american geographer who gave first general theory on landform development.. Davis' most influential scientific contribution was the "geographical cycle",  which he defined in an article,’ The Rivers and Valleys of Pennsylvania ,’ published at the end of 19th century. According to him, uplifted landmass undergoes sequential development or erosion till base level in various stages.This sequential development referred as cycle of erosion. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 1.Cyclic nature of landform evolution. 2 Uniformitarianism:The same physical processes and laws that operate today, operated throughout geologic time, although not necessarily always with the same intensity as now BASIC POSTULATES Upliftment takes place on featureless plain which he modified 10 yrs later to accept it can occur from geosyncline. Upliftment on geological timescale is sudden.In later works, he accepted it to be episodic. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Unveiling the Hidden Wisdom: A Comprehensive Exploration of Kabbalah

  Kabbalah, meaning "wisdom" or "secret," is a mystical tradition within Judaism that explores the deeper, hidden dimensions of God and the universe. It's not a separate religion but rather an esoteric body of knowledge and practices that complements and enriches traditional Jewish scripture and law.  Kabbalah delves into the nature of divinity, the creation of the cosmos, the structure of reality, and the human soul's connection to the divine.  It uses symbolic language, intricate diagrams, and meditative techniques to unlock the secrets of existence and achieve spiritual enlightenment. The Origins and Evolution of Kabbalah: From Ancient Roots to Modern Interpretations The roots of Kabbalah can be traced back to ancient Jewish mysticism, including early interpretations of the Torah and prophetic visions.  However, it was during the 12th and 13th centuries in Southern France and Spain that Kabbalah truly blossomed into a distinct and influential mystical sys...
Post a Comment
Read more

Isostasy

Q. Explain the concept of Isostasy as postulated by Airy and Pratt Isostasy refers to mechanical stability that exist between all the high lying features like mountains and low lying features like ocean basin on fast rotating earth. Sir George Airy’s theory Airy adopted Edward Suess Scheme of earth’s interior structure and assumed that it is made up of three layered structure- Sial,Sima and Nife. Sial is uppermost layer containing crust with density of 2.67 and Sima with density of 3.0.Since, Sima is denser, semi molten and just below sial, sial is floating on sima. REASON FOR ISOSTASY Sial can be imagined to be divided into vertical sections containing mountains,plateaus,plain,ocean basin,etc separately.. Section with higher feature like mountain has deeper root while section with lower feature has shallow root.Though, same density of all the sections . This arrangement is mechanically stable due to principle of flotation. Airy demonstrated this th...
Post a Comment
Read more