European Journal of Geography - EJG

06/07/2025

🔔📣📢📖 EJG PAPER ALERT! [Vol.16(2)]
▶️Position, Transportation, and Resources: Japan's Potential and Strategic Choices Under Analytical Geopolitics
▶️ by PNuno Morgado & Takashi Hosoda (Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary | University of Defense, Brno, Czech Republic)
▶️ https://www.eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/812

📗📖✏️ Abstract: Japan is a very poor country in terms of natural and mineral resources. Consequently, it remains heavily dependent on maritime transportation. Japan’s proximity to a competing China, the ever-strengthening Sino-Russian partnership, and an aggressive North Korea constitute a hostile regional environment. This article offers an in-depth analysis of Japan’s capabilities (i.e., potential), predominantly demonstrating the weaknesses of the country. We argue that the flaws associated with Japan’s potential can be explained by both (i) geomisguided Japanese geopolitical agents, and (ii) the Japanese pacifist strategic culture. We deductively apply the model of analytical geopolitics. Our findings are that Japanese geopolitical agents are “geomisguided” as they have pursued policies of insufficient stockpiling and disregarded Japan’s dependence on the sea lanes of communication. Furthermore, Japanese public opinion does not sufficiently grasp the current threats Japan faces, and this fact limits the capacities of Japanese geopolitical agents. The paper addresses a gap in the literature by applying an innovative methodological analytical approach.
📣 Research Highlights:
▶️ Japan is heavily dependent on maritime transportation, and the number of Japanese-flagged vessels is insufficient.
▶️ Japanese maritime currents have a military impact concerning floating mines.
▶️ Postwar Japanese pacifism clashes with security imperatives and encourages weaknesses in Japan’s potential.

04/07/2025

🔔📣📢📖 EJG PAPER ALERT! [Vol.16(2)]
▶️ Identification of Potential Paleoislands in the Mediterranean Sea During the Last Glacial Cycle
▶️ by Pablo Fraile Jurado & Juan Carlos Mejías-García (Universidad de Sevilla, Spain)
▶️ https://www.eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/872

📗📖✏️ Abstract: The Last Glacial Period (LGP) significantly altered sea levels and landscapes across the globe, with the Mediterranean Sea being no exception. During this period, fluctuating sea levels exposed numerous landmasses, some of which may have served as critical habitats for plants, animals, and even human populations. This study aims to identify and analyze the potential paleo-islands that were emerged in the Mediterranean Sea during the LGP (115,000 – 6,500 BP). Using high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) and bathymetric data, we reconstruct the Mediterranean’s paleogeography, focusing on the periods of maximum sea-level regression. A novel methodological approach was applied to determine the duration and extent of these paleo-islands, while filtering out uncertainties related to their size and elevation. Results show the existence of hundreds of potential paleo-islands, including larger landmasses that significantly expanded during this period. This research highlights the critical role these islands played in biogeographical processes, such as species migration and dispersal, and possibly in the migration patterns of early humans. Future work will focus on refining the data with localized sea-level curves and incorporating sedimentary and erosion processes into the analysis, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the Mediterranean’s geomorphological evolution

📣 Research Highlights:
▶️Sea-level fluctuations during the LGP significantly altered Mediterranean landmasses.
▶️Identification of paleo-islands in the Mediterranean during the Last Glacial Period.

11/06/2025

📣 EJG: 2024 CiteScore Announced!

We're thrilled to share that the European Journal of Geography has achieved its highest CiteScore in a decade! 🌍

📈 2024 CiteScore: 1.8 (up from 1.4 in 2023 and 1.2 in 2022)
📆 2025 Temporal CiteScore (June): 2.4 – and steadily rising!
🔗 https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21100301417?origin=resultslist

This continued growth reflects the increasing recognition of EJG as a hub for high-quality, open-access research across geographic disciplines.

🏅 Current Scopus Rankings:
🔹 Q1 – Cultural Studies
🔹 Q2 – Urban Studies & Demography
🔹 Q3 – Geography, Planning & Development – one of the most competitive fields in the social sciences

This progress is made possible by our brilliant authors, dedicated reviewers, committed editorial team, engaged readers, and our publisher, the European Association of Geographers (EUROGEO).

🙏 Thank you for helping EJG grow as a leading platform for European and global geographical research.

✍️ Interested in contributing to our success?
Submit your work today ➡️ https://www.eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/index

10/06/2025

🔔📣📢📖 EJG PAPER ALERT! [Vol.16(2)]
▶️ Determining Factors Affecting Acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles using Statistical and Machine Learning Models
▶️ by Uneb Gazder & Eman Algherbal (University of Bahrain, Bahrain | King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia)
▶️ https://www.eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/800

📗📖✏️ Abstract: The aim of this study was to find out the risks and perceptions related to the acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) with regards to different aspects of society. An online survey was used for collection of stated preference data. The data of 465 respondents was deemed suitable for the analysis of this study. Comparison with traditional vehicles and willingness to use had the highest ratings while being tech-savvy had the lowest ratings. Parametric analysis and prediction model were used to analyze the relationships between the willingness to use and participants’ characteristics and opinions. The model was developed using artificial neural network. The results show that gender, age, affinity for technology and comparison with traditional vehicles seem to have a significant impact on the perception of participants. This was shown by the parametric analysis performed at a significance level of 5% and later confirmed by the model. The model showed the highest importance of being tech-savvy with 0.76 index followed by comparison with an index of 0.74. A comparison with a similar study from Saudi Arabia shows that drivers in these countries have a significantly different perception related to AVs.

📣 Research Highlights:
▶️Determination of acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) using various factors.
▶️Statistical analysis and artificial neural networks used.
▶️Results compared with a neighboring country and previous studies.
▶️Providing recommendations to promote AVs and realize their full potential.

10/06/2025

EUROGEO Newsletter: June 2025!

https://mailchi.mp/eurogeography/nl_dec_2023-16557471?e=fcedd889cb&fbclid=IwY2xjawK0rRxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHhpnaoMnexwlORUYv6KbHK59fTdcpvbzB5lsqIlrdB1kJBgPgIWNIXYL8vPs_aem_Nu2BT2nkY6BJQCqiQivzDw

The latest EUROGEO news update with information about events and activities of the European Association of Geographers.

31/05/2025

🔔📣📢📖 EJG PAPER ALERT! [Vol.16(2)]
▶️ Multilingualism as a Learning Resource in Map-Based Geography Lessons
▶️ by Neli Heidari & Johannes Heuzeroth (University of Hamburg | University of Cologne, Germany)
▶️ https://www.eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/844

📗📖✏️ Abstract: Multilingualism, including foreign and heritage language repertoires, is omnipresent in classrooms across educational levels and societies. How-ever, there is a lack of existing geography education approaches that allow students to use their language repertoires as a learning resource to ensure an in-depth understanding and participation. As maps are inherently geographical, and gaining map skills plays a pivotal role in geography education, an explorative qualitative research design was developed concerning a multilingual map-based approach. Upper secondary students (n = 20), six of whom had a heritage language different from the target language, at a high school in North Rhine-Westphalia completed a multilingual task and evaluated it. The results of the qualitative study provide initial evidence of multilingual map-based education settings in geography education. This approach allowed students to use their language repertoires as a learning resource, and learners with differing heritage languages performed equally well as their peers in correctly implementing map-related words in their written texts. However, this approach did not encourage the use of lexically complex map-related words. Students’ perspectives on the approach were included, although they were brief and limited. Still, the responses reflected a range of perceived benefits and challenges. The pedagogical implications of the results for teaching practice are elaborated upon at the end of the paper.

📣 Research Highlights:
▶️Conceptualizing multilingualism as a learning resource in a map-based geography education context.
▶️Innovative qualitative research design regarding integrating multilingualism in geography education.
▶️Pedagogical implications of the present study to empower teachers to integrate multilingualism.

31/05/2025

🔔📣📢📖 EJG PAPER ALERT! [Vol.16(2)]
▶️ Analysis of Written Material-based, Multi-perspective Argumentation in Geography Lessons: A Comparison Between Two Samples From Ecuador and Germany
▶️ by Kimberley Hindmarsh & Alexandra Budke (University of Cologne, Germany)
▶️ https://eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/767

📗📖✏️ Abstract: The ability to argue is an essential prerequisite for participating in social discourse. Argumentation can be used, to form one's own opinion and to weigh up, evaluate and justify different options for taking action. Argumentation skills should be trained in geography classes in particular, as this subject often deals with socially relevant topics such as sustainability, climate protection or resource conflicts, to prepare students for taking part in such debates. A particularity of geography teaching is the use of many different materials (maps, diagrams, illustrations, etc.). The basis for arguments is the information that students gain from these materials. This study focuses on the skills and difficulties students have in writing a material-based, multi-perspective argument about a spatial conflict and compares those skills and difficulties of students from Ecuador (n = 42) and from Germany (n = 17) in terms of their similarities and differences. The students were given eight different materials from which they had to extract information about a spatial conflict and were then given the task of writing an argumentative text on the topic. These students' texts were then analysed using a model of the didactic requirements for a written, material-based, multi-perspective argumentation. The skills and difficulties students had seem to be due to the cognitive demands of the task rather than on the students' respective cultural and educational context as the results show comparable trends in most categories of the model in both countries. The students did not name many actors and rarely positioned them. Most argumentations were not multi-perspective with only a few and rather imprecise arguments that however mostly matched the topic. Only a small amount of information from the materials was used, but mostly correctly and implicitly.

📣 Research Highlights:
▶️Model for didactic requirements for a written, material-based, multi-perspectiveargumentation
▶️International comparison of students' argumentation competences
▶️International comparison of students' difficulties writing an argumentation.

28/05/2025

🌍 We’re excited to welcome Dr. Joana Barros, Lecturer at University College London (UCL), to the European Journal of Geography editorial board!

▶️Joana is a recognised expert in geographic data science and urban geography, with a strong focus on spatial analysis and understanding inequalities in cities. Her work bridges data, theory, and policy, tackling issues like segregation, housing, and access to transport through a lens of equity and justice.

👋 Welcome, Joana — it’s an honour to have you with us!

https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/17362-joana-barros/about

21/05/2025

✨ From 16 to 17 May 2025, the EUROGEO Annual Conference brought together geography academics, researchers, and educators in Skopje, North Macedonia 🇲🇰, for three inspiring days of exchange and collaboration — all hosted by the Institute of Geography at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, Macedonia. On 18 May, participants enjoyed an amazing field trip to Matka Canyon, taking in the stunning lake views, exploring a remarkable cave, and soaking up the region’s rich natural and cultural heritage.

🌍 The European Journal of Geography - EJG , represented by our Associate Editor Dr. Alexandros Bartzokas-Tsiompras, proudly joined a panel with editors from three other society-run journals — the Journal of the Bulgarian Geographical Society (Editor: Dr. Hristina Prodanova), Journal of the Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” SASA (Editors: Dr. Ana Milanović Pešić & Dr. Suzana Lović Obradović), and Geographical Reviews (North Macedonia) (Editor: Dr. Vladimir Zlatanoski). All editors reaffirmed their commitment to open publishing: no author fees, just free, high-quality geography research for all.

💡 Our discussion also tackled major challenges facing scholarly publishing today, from finding reliable reviewers and dealing with journal rankings, to navigating the ethical questions raised by AI and predatory journals. These issues are crucial for maintaining open, rigorous, and trustworthy geography research.

📚 Looking ahead, the next EUROGEO Conference will take place in 2026 at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Tilburg, Netherlands — another fantastic opportunity to connect and share geographical research across Europe and beyond.

21/05/2025

🔔📣📢📖 EJG PAPER ALERT! [Vol.16(2)]
▶️ Bridging Geopolitics and Environmental Issues in Geography Education: Exploratory Teachers’ Insights from France and Israel
▶️ by Tal Yaar-Waisel & Caroline Leininger-Frézal (Oranim College of Education, Kiryat Tiv’on, Israel | Université Paris Cité, Paris, France)
▶️ https://eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/741

📗📖✏️ Abstract: The relationship between environmental issues and politics is underrepresented in geography curricula. This study explores the challenges associated with integrating environmental issues within a political framework in geography education and puts forward a case for their inclusion in teacher development. The present study is predicated on an analysis of the intended and the achieved curricula. A comparative analysis of the curricula, complemented by interviews with a total of 20 teachers, in France and Israel, led to the identification of common barriers. The analysis revealed that both countries' curricula incorporated environmental geopolitics and that the teachers recognised the link between environmental and political decisions. However, they mentioned few local political aspects, and most of them were unfamiliar with this connection from their prior studies. Despite the limited time allocated to the subject, teachers incorporated these topics out of a sense of mission. The paper proposes a model to facilitate the integration of environmental geopolitics into teaching practice.

📣 Research Highlights:
▶️Teachers interviewed in France and Israel recognised links between the environment and politics.
▶️There is no consensus on how to include these topics in the curriculum.
▶️Israeli teachers discussed global politics more openly than French teachers.
▶️French teachers focused on local issues, avoiding political aspects.
▶️All the teachers required better training in geopolitics for effective teaching.
▶️A theoretical model that would enable teachers to teach environmental geopolitics is proposed.

11/05/2025

🔔📣📢📖 EJG PAPER ALERT! [Vol.16(2)]
▶️ Utilisation of Concept Maps in Geography Education Research: A Systematic Review
▶️ by Vanda Pivarníková (Masaryk University, Czech Republic)
▶️ https://eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/816

📗📖✏️ Abstract: Concept maps are graphical representations of students’ knowledge and understanding, used for the development of meaningful learning. In geographical education, they can support the visualisation of processes among Earth systems and the development of systems thinking. This systematic review examines 40 empirical studies (2003–2023), written in English and found in the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The aim of the literature review was to analyse and categorise the most common uses of concept maps in geography education research, focusing on the research, interaction and applica-tion issues of concept maps in relation to geography and the students creating them. The results show that concept maps were predominantly used as an assessment tool to reveal conceptual changes post-intervention. The most frequently mapped topic was climate change and other human–environment interactions. Concept maps were primarily used to study general pedagogical problems, less to explicitly research geographical education. This review highlights the role of concept maps in geography education, and their potential and limitations in efficient implementation.

📣 Research Highlights:
▶️Cultural Mapping illuminates the emotional, social, and historical dimensions of coastal landscapes, enhancing sustainability efforts.
▶️Cultural Mapping fosters community collaboration, amplifying local knowledge to inform policies and decision-making in coastal regions.
▶️Integrating diverse cultural narratives through Cultural Mapping enables a holistic approach to coastal development, bridging scientific and local perspectives.

01/05/2025

🔔📣📢📖 EJG PAPER ALERT! [Vol.16(2)]
▶️ Cultural Mapping and the Sustainability of Coastalscapes: A Conceptual Approach
▶️ by Daniel Oliveira, Zara Teixeira & Mônica Mesquita (NOVA University Lisbon | University of Évora, Portugal)
▶️ https://eurogeojournal.eu/index.php/egj/article/view/774

📗📖✏️ Abstract: Coastal regions, plentiful in ecological and economic value, have long been hubs for human settlement, recreation, and tourism. However, the growing threats of global climate change and urbanisation are endangering the sustainability of these vital coastalscapes. With nearly two-thirds of the global population living in coastal areas, there is an urgent need for innovative management strategies. This paper explores the critical role of local spatial knowledge, incorporating diverse cultural aspects such as memories, experiences, and oral traditions, to address the challenges confronting these regions. Cultural Mapping (CM) is introduced as a dynamic methodology – transcultural and transdisciplinary – facilitating creative representations of coastalscapes and serving as a vital tool for understanding the complex, reciprocal relationships between people, more-than-human entities, and places. CM reveals the deep-rooted connections that shape coastal communities’ identities and sustainability practices by documenting intangible cultural resources and capturing the emotional and sensory dimensions of coastal environments. Drawing on the pioneering work of Pam Hall (2013) and incorporating insights from an in-depth scholarly literature review, this paper underscores the potential of CM to transform both research practices and policymaking. It offers a new lens for sustainability in coastal regions, paving the way for future studies and innovative, community-driven management strategies that engage a diversity of knowledge systems in addressing pressing environmental challenges.

📣 Research Highlights:
▶️Cultural Mapping illuminates the emotional, social, and historical dimensions of coastal landscapes, enhancing sustainability efforts.
▶️Cultural Mapping fosters community collaboration, amplifying local knowledge to inform policies and decision-making in coastal regions.
▶️Integrating diverse cultural narratives through Cultural Mapping enables a holistic approach to coastal development, bridging scientific and local perspectives.