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GE GRAPHIA

Vol. IX Issue. 3

November – December 2016

TAKING GEOGRAPHY AHEAD

Newsletter Published by Department of Geography Parvatibai Chowgule College, (Autonomous) Margao– Goa

Another successful edition of
“GEOGRAPHIZE” 2016

Award for ‘Best Research Paper’

Geographize’ is a unique geography event in the state of Goa, where the students from different colleges compete in various geographical events. Geographize is a one-of-a kind state competition which achieved new heights when it became a National Event in 2014. This competition enables students to showcase their geographical skills through various events. It aims at testing the geographical knowledge among the students of various colleges across the country.
The Department of Geography and Research Center hosted its fifth intercollegiate event “Geographize” on 2nd September 2016. This mega-event witnessed fourteen teams, viz ten colleges from Goa and four from Maharashtra, competing for the title. St. Xaviers’ College, Mapusa, Goa emerged winners, while Gogate-Jogalekar College, Ratnagiri, were the Runners-Up for Geographize 2016. A total number of 250 students participated in this event.

Winners, St. Xaviers’ College, Mapusa, Goa

Content Inside
Paper Presentations by students Pg.3
Workshops attended by faculty & students Pg.3
PGDGIS students selected at IGenesys Pg.3
Faculty invited as resource person Pg.4

Page 1

Kiran Naik and Radhika Pandey presenting Paper

Dr. Nandkumar Sawant (Principal and Associate Professor), Ms. Radhika Pandey and Mr. Kiran Prakash Naik (Assistant Professors), jointly won the ‘Best Paper Award’ for their paper titled “Trends in Agriculture Pattern: A Spatio-Temporal Review of Agriculture Pattern in Goa (2001 – 2010) presented at the National Conference on “Soil Management and Sustainable Agricultural Development” organized by Department of Geography, Hon. Shri. Annasaheb Dange Arts, Commerce and Science College, Hatkanangale, Kolhapur on 7th & 8th October 2016.

One Day Workshop organized for Third Year students

As a part of Memorandum of Understanding One-Day Workshop on “Techniques and Approaches: Principles of Geomorphology” was organized by the Department for students of TYBA Geography on 6th October 2016. 58 students from various colleges of Goa, attended this workshop. The workshop focused on the theme and all the topics related to the subject was covered. This basically was to help the students understand the subject better. Along with this an intensive training was given of how to write answers for the exam. The response from the students were good.

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EDITORIAL
Is India ready to tackle any natural disaster?

NEWS
Powerful earthquake hits New Zealand

India, a land of infinite variety boasts of varied physical features, climatic conditions, art, culture and people. Its vastness and diversity has intrigued man for centuries. It has grown from an impoverished to a developed nation. Today we possess high-end technology, world class infrastructure and complex scientific knowledge. However, India a geologically unstable piece of land that is continuously in motion building the “Great Himalayas”, will be able to suffice a sudden ecological catastrophe like that of an earthquake in Italy, Nepal and New Zealand?
Well, the discipline of geography with its remote sensing and GIS approach can pull off this task effectively. The northern plains of India and the thickly populated sub-Himalayan states face the maximum threat of a sudden tremor as they lie in the vulnerable high risk zone. Hence, gathering maximum data of this area based on the previous quakes and preparing a simulation model to overcome future damage is the need of the hour. Apparently, series of earthquakes, droughts, landslides have claimed thousands of lives in India. Natural disasters are unpredictable but preparedness and hazard zone mapping can prove really helpful for timely evacuation and mitigation. Inevitably, nations around the world have faced the ferocity of nature for years together. Perhaps being prepared for the same and intelligently tackling the problem may save lives and damage to property.
Every year death tolls related to floods, cyclones, storm surge are high as swiftly flowing rivers, and long coastline marks the landscape of India. Therefore the state government in association with the central government should identify these risk zones and prepare the locals for a disaster of great magnitude. Certain short term and long term measures like building disaster resistant structures, improvement in educational curricula, supporting research and development, organizing training in pre and post disaster measures may reduce the scale of future loss.
“Preparedness is the only way we can combat a natural disaster”.—John Quinlan
Adrian Ferro

A powerful earthquake measuring 7.8 magnitude hit the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island early Monday, causing tsunami waves and killing at least two people, officials said. Hours later, another strong quake measuring 6.4 magnitude struck the same region, northeast of Christchurch, around the small town of Hanmer Springs, according to Geoscience Australia. Geoscience Australia said the 6.4-magnitude earthquake was one of three large aftershocks that measured between 5.1 and 6.4 magnitude. The first earthquake struck about 50 miles southwest of Kaikoura and 50 miles north of Christchurch.
Dan Jaksa, a duty officer from Geoscience Australia, said that if the small townships north of Christchurch did not have earthquake-resistant buildings, “it is going to be tough.” In 2011, an earthquake measuring 6.3 magnitude devastated Christchurch and killed 185 people. The earthquake on 14th November was about 40 to 50 times as large as the one in 2011, Mr. Jaksa said. New Zealand’s North Island and the northern part of its South Island are on the Pacific plate, which is moving west, while the Australian plate is largely moving north. “This is the zone where the Pacific plate goes underneath the Australian plate,” Mr. Jaksa said.

Source: http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/12566/production/_91001157_newzealandgisborne464.png

Page 2

Dr. Nandkumar Sawant, Principal and Associate Professor, was invited as a Plenary Speaker at the Interdisciplinary National Seminar on “Quality and Innovations in Higher Education in India: Need, Efforts and Challenges” organized by Vishwa Bharti B.Ed. College, Sikar, Rajasthan, on 10th & 11th September 2016. He spoke on “Student Centric Learning Methodologies: Exploring possibilities and sharing students experiences”. Dr. N.N. Sawant emphasized more on the instructional approaches, academic-support strategies that are intended to address the distinct learning needs, interests, aspirations or cultural backgrounds of individual students and group of students.

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Paper Presentations by students

Three students of MA Geography attended the National Conference on “Gender, Environment and Sustainable Development” organized by Department of Commerce, Shree Mallikarjun College, Canacona, Goa on 23rd & 24th September 2016, and presented papers as follows:
Miss. Siddhi Gaonkar, “Tourism and Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Ponda, Goa”
Miss. Deeksha Naik Talaulikar, “Poverty Eradication and Sustainable Development”
Miss. Apurva Gauns Desai, “Eco-Tourism Challenges and Prospects: A Case Study of Verlem Village, Sanguem Taluka”
These three students shared their views on presentating a research paper at a conference. They say that “ It was a great opportunity to present a paper at a National Conference. It is our Department which determined us to not only present but to also carry out research at this stage.

Workshops Attended by Faculty and Students

14 Students of Postgraduate and Undergraduate Geography, accompanied by Mr. Manoj Pandey, Coordinator, Chowgules Center for Applied and Professional Studies, attended the Portlore 2016: an event on ports, logistics and resources organized by Tefla’s Mumbai at Grand Hyatt, Goa on 24th September 2016. This was a great experience for the students as this gave them the insights of India’s economic growth potential of both existing and of the future.

Page 3

Mr. Adrian Ferro, Assistant Professor and Mr. E. Kiran Kumar, Project Fellow, attended the R-Tool Workshop organized by Department of Computer Science, Parvatibai Chowgule College (Autonomous), Margao, Goa on 29th & 30th September 2016.

Faculty and students at a One Day Workshop at C.E.S. College, Cuncolim, Goa

16 Students of TYBA Geography, accompanied by Mr. Adrian Ferro, Assistant Professor, attended a One-Day Workshop on “Practicals in Climatology and GIS” organized by C.E.S. College, Cuncolim, Goa, on 1st October 2016. The students found the workshop a fruitful one for them.

PGDGIS students selected at IGenesys

The Department of Geography & Research Center congratulates three of its PGDGIS students who have been selected at IGenesys, Mumbai. Vikram Adagale, Ravindra Yedage and Sunil Dethe are the students who have been selected. Genesys is an advanced mapping, survey and geospatial services firm. Its close to 2000 professionals have worked on some of the world's most challenging projects. It has one of the largest LIDAR acquisition and processing capabilities in the world. The firm has an unique blend of understanding the emerging consumer applications around mapping technology. The Department of Geography wishes them all the best in their future endeavours.

Faculty invited as Resource Person

Dr. Nandkumar Sawant, Principal and Associate Professor, was invited as a Speaker at the Workshop on “Assignment Writing” organized by C.E.S. College, Cuncolim, on 16th September 2016. He spoke on how to write a good assignment focusing on the topic.

Dr. Nandkumar Sawant, Principal and Associate Professor, was invited as a Resource Person at the Workshop on Practicals in Climatology and GIS”, organized by C.E.S. College, Cuncolim, on 1st October 2016. He spoke on “How to interpret Aerial Photography” its uses and its application. He also carried out activities for the students to understand the topic and made it easier for them.

Dr. Nandkumar Sawant, Principal and Associate Professor, was invited as Speaker at the National Conference on “Soil Management and Sustainable Agricultural Development” organized by Department of Geography, Hon. Shri. Annasaheb Dange Arts, Commerce and Science College, Hatkanangale, Kolhapur on 7th & 8th October 2016. He spoke on “Agriculture and Climate Changes: Issues and Challenges”

Page 4

Dr. Nandkumar Sawant, Principal and Associate Professor, and Mrs. Anagha Bicholcar, Assistant Professor and Head In-charge, Department of Geography & Research Center, were the Resource Persons at the One-Day Workshop on “Techniques and Approaches to answer Principles of Geomorphology” organized by the Department on 6th October 2016.

Research Assistant

Radhika Pandey, ex-student of Geography, has been selected as a Research Assistant at Goa Institute of Public Administration & Rural Development (GIPARD) Ela, Old-Goa. She will assist in preparing questionnaires & acquiring data for the project.

Tour to Darjeeling and Kolkata

The students of M.A visited Darjeeling and Kolkata. The tour comprised of two parts: one is an interactive session at Darjeeling and sightseeing at Kolkata. The students had an interactive session along with the faculty and students of Department of Geography, Darjeeling Government College, West Bengal on 15th November 2016 based on the theme “Mountain to Ocean” . The students were accompanied by Mr. Vishal Malave, Assistant Professor.

Editorial Team
Teacher-in-Charge & Editor: Mr. Adrian Ferro

DISCLAIMER
The Editorial team is not responsible for the views expressed in the newsletter.