He became Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in , a year that also marked the 40th anniversary of his still unfolding career as a Wiley author.
Muller has published widely in the fields of urban and economic geography, specializing in suburbanization processes and the changing structure of the American metropolis. He is Honorary Editor of the journal, Urban Geography, which he served as co-editor from to He also served jointly as Book Review Editor for both journals of the American Association of Geographers from to He has co-authored every edition of Regions since as well as multiple editions of other textbooks in world regional, physical, economic, and urban geography.
Michael Shin is an Associate Professor with research interests in geographic information systems GIS , political geography, globalization and Italy. In keeping with contemporary pedagogical fashions, the author organized the text, "with the backward course design model in mind and the content of each chapter was structured around these learning objectives.
Because of this backward design focus, the length of each chapter is considerably shorter than most traditional textbooks. The intention is for the instructor to supplement the text with problems, case studies, and news articles and to use the text as a springboard for discussing deeper issues.
Several of the maps include details that are, quite frankly, impossible to decipher. Page 99, for example, shows something about population, but? This is okay, as long as the on-line zoom function is available and doesn't distort, but many of the maps would be useless if printed out. It would also be helpful to include the names of countries on many of the maps rather than just their shaded-in shapes.
Most students will not know, for example, that Eritrea is being referenced on pg. The text is quite culturally sensitive and inoffensive. Here, the author goes out of her way to err on what some readers may feel is an overly "political correct" way.
The author feels that the Middle East is an "awkward" lexical choice as it is "privileges the European perspective," which it certainly does. The challenge here, though, then involves a series of other discursive gymnastics to get to "North Africa and Southwest Asia," which, paradoxically, carry their own Eurocentric baggage. Is it really necessary to spend words to get there? This is an issue that geographers go back and forth on, but the point is that the author certainly takes care to be sensitive.
Rather than present students with a broad, novice-level introduction to geography, emphasizing places and vocabulary terms, this text approaches geography as experts understand the discipline, focusing on connections and an in-depth understanding of core themes.
This thematic approach, informed by pedagogical research, provides students with an introduction to thinking geographically. In addition, while chapters are designed to stand alone and be rearranged or eliminated at the instructor's discretion, the theme of globalization and inequality unites all of the regions discussed. This core focus enables students to draw connections between regions and to better understand the interconnectedness of our world.
Furthermore, the focus on both globalization and inequality helps demonstrate the real-world application of the concepts discussed. Colonialism, for instance, rather than a historical relict, becomes a force that has shaped geography and informs social justice. This thematic approach is also intended to facilitate active learning and would be suitable for a flipped or team-based learning-style course since it more easily integrates case studies and higher-order thinking than the traditional model.
Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives. This text was written with the backward course design model in mind and the content of each chapter was structured around these learning objectives. The chapters are written in an accessible style, often addressing the student directly, and the author's voice has intentionally tried to remain present in the text. Following the Washington Post's gender-inclusive style guide, the singular they is intentionally used throughout the text.
Rhetorical questions are also used to help students reflect on concepts and to encourage them to dig deeper and consider concepts from different perspectives. Caitlin Finlayson earned a Ph. She is a broadly trained Human Geographer specializing in Cultural Geography. She is a member of the Association of American Geographers.
Content Accuracy rating: 4 The content is accurate, clear, well-written, and easy to read. Clarity rating: 4 The language is appropriate and inclusive to most lower-level students. Consistency rating: 4 Each chapter in the book follows the same format. Modularity rating: 5 The chapter Middle and South America is divided into several sections. Interface rating: 4 Images could be smaller.
Grammatical Errors rating: 4 No major grammatical errors were found. Cultural Relevance rating: 3 The textbook is culturally sensitive. Content Accuracy rating: 4 Each chapter provides sufficient detail and generalized perspectives that are not overtly biased. Clarity rating: 5 The book does an excellent job of succinctly providing background and introducing complex concepts. Consistency rating: 5 The text is consistent without being overly routinized. Modularity rating: 4 The chapters are well organized.
Interface rating: 4 I like that bolded concepts can be clicked and defined without navigating away from the main text. Grammatical Errors rating: 5 While I have not read every page carefully, it appears to be well edited and written. Cultural Relevance rating: 5 The text offers diverse perspectives and celebrates multiculturalism.
Comments Very nice online textbook and the best open-source book I've found for World Geography. Content Accuracy rating: 5 I have not found any glaring errors. Clarity rating: 5 Very clear, and the addition of highlighted vocabulary terms that can be clicked on for definition is a real plus when dealing with the issue of the lack of common vocabulary among students.
Consistency rating: 5 Very consistent throughout. Modularity rating: 5 Chapter broken into logical sections. Interface rating: 4 Everything looks good, but the term search function seems a bit clunky and doesn't always give the desired outcome. Grammatical Errors rating: 5 No grammatical errors I have seen. The reading level is accessible but not simplistic.
Cultural Relevance rating: 5 Finlayson takes great pains to approach issues of exploitation and equity throughout. Comments The book is certainly brief, but gives a more than adequate foundation for my course. Content Accuracy rating: 4 There are no biases. Fairly accurate discussion. Clarity rating: 4 very clear, terminology is adequately explained Consistency rating: 4 good consistency Modularity rating: 4 Each chapter is organized with subheadings.
Comments The chapters are short. I'm not sure how often she updates her materials. Clarity rating: 5 Finlayson writes in a student friendly fashion. Consistency rating: 2 Because she relies on open source mapping, her chapters vary widely in the quality of graphics and even similar topics use maps that don't match. Modularity rating: 4 You could easily slice out one chapter and it could stand alone. Interface rating: 2 You can't click from the table of contents to forward to a chapter or sub-chapter.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5 Finlayson writes at a professional English level. Cultural Relevance rating: 5 Covering a world full of different cultures, Finlayson presents the barest surface so doesn't have a chance to become offensive.
Comments For free, it's acceptable albeit inconsistent and sloppy. Content Accuracy rating: 4 The book appears accurate, but in some instances the descriptions are too concise and miss some information. Clarity rating: 3 The text is accessible, but does not always provide adequate context or explanation of terms, for example, the human development index and European Union. Consistency rating: 3 The regional framework is consistent. Modularity rating: 5 The text is easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections.
Interface rating: 2 The text has many significant interface issues, inconsistent size of fonts and images, which may distract the reader. Grammatical Errors rating: 2 I found many misspelled words and lack of spaces in between words, particularly in the first chapter. Cultural Relevance rating: 5 Cultural context seems appropriate. Comments The book clearly needs a copy editor to proofread and make suggestions about consistency.
Content Accuracy rating: 5 I found no mistakes or errors. Clarity rating: 5 Great writing style that is easy to read and follow. Modularity rating: 4 There are different headings and topics for each chapter, which can be good to avoid repetition and the need to cover every topic in every region, but a little more difficult for modularity. Interface rating: 3 Currently the text is only available in a pdf, with few imbedded functions other than the chapter bookmarks.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5 I found no grammatical issues. Cultural Relevance rating: 5 I found no issues with culturally insensitive content and addresses ethnic groups and diversity in each region.
Comments I really enjoyed reading the text myself, and I used it in my summer class. Content Accuracy rating: 4 The content is mostly accurate and contains the correct information for specific terms. Clarity rating: 5 The book is very well written for an introductory course. Consistency rating: 5 The book is laid out in an easy to follow fashion.
Modularity rating: 5 All of the sections within each chapter allows an instructor to assign specific pages to cover important topics from the table of contents. Though it is understandable the author is trying to condense the information Interface rating: 4 Having the book in a PDF format to download is helpful for students; especially if they have slow or minimal internet access.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5 The book does not contain any grammar errors after reading it several times. Cultural Relevance rating: 5 There are no instances I situated in which the author used insensitive or offensive terms for various cultural groups within our globalized world.
Comments This is an effective textbook and recommend for any World Regional Geography course. Content Accuracy rating: 4 The information appears to be accurate. Clarity rating: 5 Excellent.
Consistency rating: 5 Chapters cover similar basics per region physical geography and settlement, for example and then vary slightly, with some having a section on natural hazards, and others on biogeography, or religious conflict, for example.
Modularity rating: 5 Though the textbook lacks an index, it does have a detailed table of contents that should make it easy to assign specific sections to students. Interface rating: 3 Easy to navigate to sections via the table of contents. Grammatical Errors rating: 5 I found no grammatical errors. It is written in a clear, easy to read manner. Cultural Relevance rating: 4 I did not find the text to be culturally insensitive.
Comments Overall, this is a good textbook for covering many basics of regional geography, with room to supplement. Clarity rating: 5 The book is well-written, and the prose are quite clear. Consistency rating: 5 The textbook presents an interesting view to the study of world regional geography at the undergraduate level, one which is not often take, that of a thematic approach.
Modularity rating: 4 The structure and flow of the text along with its regional organizational schema makes it a great text to model to any world regional geography course. Interface rating: 5 The pdf format for this textbook is great both for the instructor and students.
Grammatical Errors rating: 5 In my reading of the text through multiple times I did not find any grammatical errors that were obvious. Cultural Relevance rating: 5 This textbook is culturally sensitive and providing material that is understood and appreciative of all cultures. Comments This textbook provides an innovative way to teach students the spatial perspective and the importance of studying geography not for memorization of place names and physical features, but to understand how to study the world through the discipline of geography.
Content Accuracy rating: 5 The book's content is accurate, error-free and unbiased. Clarity rating: 5 The book is written is a lucid style, providing adequate context for any specialized terms used. Consistency rating: 5 The text is consistent in terms of terminology and framework. Modularity rating: 3 The author uses a, "thematic approach Answer: False Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: Discuss the basic human and physical geography of Mexico and the effect of the drug wars on regional development.
Answer: True Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: Discuss the basic human and physical geography of Mexico and the effect of the drug wars on regional development. Answer: False Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: Discuss the basic human and physical geography of Mexico and the effect of the drug wars on regional development.
Answer: True Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: Discuss the key characteristics and features of the seven republics of the Central American region. Answer: False Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: Discuss the key characteristics and features of the seven republics of the Central American region.
Answer: True Difficulty: Medium. He has co-authored every edition of Regions since as well as multiple editions of other textbooks in world regional, physical, economic, and urban geography. Michael Shin is an Associate Professor with research interests in geographic information systems GIS , political geography, globalization and Italy. The Team for Success authors are dedicated to ensuring that all of their Accounting titles are accessible to students, current, accurate, and have a consistent voice and pedagogy from introductory accounting to the intermediate level.
Hear from our Authors. Videos bring course content to life On-Location videos, filmed by the author team during their field work, help to immerse the students in a part of the world that they may have never seen before. Adapting to your students.
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