Volume 28, Number 1, September 2014
Exam links
Using this issue for Edexcel AS
and A2 geography
The table below shows the structure of the Edexcel A-level geography course.
AS
Unit 1
6GE01
Global challenges (2
compulsory topics)
Unit 2
Going global
6GE02
Investigating geography
(1 physical and 1 human
option)
A2
Unit 3
World at risk
Either Extreme weather or Crowded coasts
Either Rebranding places or Unequal spaces
6GE03
Energy security
Contested planet
Water conflicts
(6 compulsory topics)
Biodiversity under threat
Superpower geographies
Bridging the development gap
The technological fix?
Unit 4
GE04
Tectonic activity and hazards
Researching geography
Cold environments
(one of 6 options)
Life on the margins
Pollution and human health at risk
The world of cultural diversity
Consuming the rural landscape
Philip Allan Publishers © 2014
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This table shows the relevance of each of the articles and columns in this issue of GEOGRAPHY REVIEW
to the Edexcel specification.
Article
Page
numbers
AS
Forced labour in the UK:
why are migrants so
vulnerable?
2–5
Unit 1 Going global
Question and answer
Health issues
6–9
Measuring avalanches to
manage risk
10–13
Unit 1 World at risk
Geographical skills Using
graphs to visualise data
14–16
Unit 2 All options
Development update
Development and
traditional societies: the
case of the Jarawa
17–19
Centrepiece Why was last
winter so wet and windy?
20–21
The Afghan conflict: causes
and consequences
22–26
Building on the basics
Using hydrographs
27–29
Down under Saving the
Murray-Darling catchment
30–33
Climate change:
communicating the risks
34-37
Unit 1 World at risk
Storm damage and coastal
protection: a case study of
Chesil Cove
38-41
Unit 2 Crowded coasts
The big picture Urban
redevelopment in Havana
42
Unit 1 Going global and
Unit 2 Rebranding places
Philip Allan Publishers © 2014
A2
Unit 4 Pollution and human
health at risk
Unit 3 Bridging the
development gap
Unit 2 Extreme weather
Unit 3 Bridging the
development gap and
Superpower geographies
Unit 2 Extreme weather
Unit 3 Water conflicts
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Forced labour in the UK: why are migrants so
vulnerable?

This article links well with AS Unit 1, Going global — the topic focused on migration and
issues surrounding it.
The article is particularly useful in terms of definitions of different types of migrant, an area which often
causes confusion among candidates. Forced labour, to some degree, straddles the boundary between
illegal and legal migration as it can involve both refused asylum seekers and migrants who have
entered the UK legally – for instance from parts of the EU. It is important that candidates know
definitions of migrant types and the range of conditions migrants work under in detail.
Question and answer Health issues

This Q&A relates to an AQA AS human geography topic.
Although this question is not directly relevant to Edexcel centres, the Q&A could be used by
candidates studying the Researching Geography Unit 4 option Pollution and human health at risk. The
content and themes of the Q&A are relevant to Unit 4. In addition many of the questions relate to datainterpretation skills, which are an important aspect of the research candidates undertake while building
their research portfolio prior to the exam.
Measuring avalanches to manage risk

This article relates to Unit 1 World at Risk, specifically the distribution of mass-movement
hazards.

It may also be useful for candidates studying A2 Unit 4 Cold environments (although the focus
here is not specifically on cold environment hazards.
Avalanches are an unusual hazard. Their hazard profile tends to differ from that of other natural
hazards. They are unusual in that they pose a serious threat in alpine areas in the developed world,
which are often visited by the wealthy. The article outlines the causes of avalanches in detail as well
as how research has led to a better understanding of their dynamics. This is of course crucial in order
to accurately determine the zones at risk from potentially deadly avalanches.
Geographical skills Using graphs

This skills focus is relevant to all Unit 2 options, both human and physical.

It also useful for the Unit 1, 2 and 3 examinations, all of which can involve graph interpretation.
It is surprising how often graphs are either incorrectly drawn (for instance in GCSE Controlled
Assessment, and perhaps in future GCE coursework!), or incorrectly interpreted. The most common
area of difficulty is perhaps whether a graph shows change over time, or simply data from a particular
time. Related to this is the difficulty some candidates have in differentiating between a scattergraph
showing a relationship (with a line of best fit) and a line graph showing change over time. It can be
worthwhile going ‘back to basics’ in the run-up to exams and actually drawing some simple graphs to
reinforce the key points this column raises — perhaps using data relevant to a revision topic being
studied.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2014
3
Development update Development and traditional
societies: the case of the Jarawa

This Development update relates to A2 Unit 3 Contested planet, the Bridging the development
gap topic.
The article could be used in a number of useful ways.
First, it is evident that the 1980s idea of a global ‘north–south divide’ is too simplistic. The Jarawa and
other Andaman tribes are of course in the global South – but so are Shanghai, Argentina and rural
Uganda. The diversity of people living in the global South is so large as to render the whole concept
questionable.
Second, the article raises the difficult issue of whether development is always good. This is a question
that relates directly to the important synoptic themes of Unit 3 (players, actions and futures). Adebate
about who should decide the future of groups of traditional people is a worthwhile classroom activity.
Centrepiece Why was last winter so wet and windy?

This Centrepiece relates to AS Unit 2, the Extreme weather option but also to a lesser degree
to Crowded coasts in terms of coastal flood risk.

It also relates to AS Unit 1, World at risk, in terms of the possible impacts of climate change.
By the time candidates read this article they may well have forgotten how wet and windy winter 2013–
14 was, just as they may struggle to remember the very cold winters in 200910. Winter 201314 did not
involve a ‘great gale’ such as we experienced in 1987 or 1990 but it did have a succession of wet and
windy depressions, which brought flooding and misery to many. The jet stream gained unusual
prominence in the media and people in the UK are becoming more familiar with its crucial role in
influencing weather patterns and their associated hazards. Candidates need to know about it too, and
can usefully consider the longer-term impacts of shifts in the average position of the jet stream that
could be one consequence of climate change.
The Afghan conflict: causes and consequences

Conflict is not a specific topic focus in the Edexcel specification, however this article would be
useful background reading or A2 Unit 3 Contested planet candidates.
This is the type of wider reading that candidates aiming for a high grade should be doing. Although it is
not directly relevant to any Edexcel topic it provides some real-world context:

Many Edexcel candidates believe the Afghan conflict is over oil, which is of course not the
case.

The article is useful for outlining the impact of conflict on development, which is sadly all too
common in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa.

It could also be used to consider the roles of the superpowers – the USA today, the USSR in
the past and the roles of Russia and China.

There is also a link to conservation and biodiversity, an area that often suffers badly in conflict
but can understandably be overlooked in the face of human tragedy.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2014
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Building on the basics Using hydrographs

This article relates most closely to AS Unit 2 Extreme weather.
The study of river processes is not part of the Extreme weather specification, but a basic
understanding of hydrographs is useful in terms of understanding the causes of flooding. This is also
true of flood hazard risk for AS Unit 1 World at risk. This article would perhaps best be used as an aide
memoire to work many candidates will have done at GCSE or even KS3. For Unit 2 students, the most
important messages from the article are the idea that a complex interplay of physical and human
factors determine flood risk, and that hydrographs are a useful tool in flood prediction and therefore
flood risk management.
Down under Saving the Murray-Darling catchment

This article updates a case study for Unit 3 Water conflicts.
This is a useful case study as it considers both water quality and water quantity. The Murray-Darling is
well known to many A2 Edexcel geographers, and the article updates the case study by considering
the detail of the 2012 basin plan. Two aspects of the Murray-Darling need to be considered by A2
candidates:

First the cause of the problems facing the basin, i.e. rising water demand.

Second the solutions that will hopefully return the basin to health.
In the exam, questions which focus on one of these areas usually result in candidates providing both
sides of the story regardless!
Climate change: communicating the risks

This article links most closely with AS Unit 1, World at risk and the climate change topic.

However, it has wider relevance for the perception of other risks including tectonic hazards
and health risks. Its focus on resilience as a key concept means it is useful for all A2
candidates.
As the article outlines, communicating the accepted scientific message on climate change to the public
is fraught with difficulty. As the science has become more certain, e.g. IPCC AR4 in 2007 compared to
IPCC AR5 in 2013, the public attitude has tended to become less convinced. Perhaps this is
understandable. Prior to 2008–09 climate change was high on the media agenda, but post global
recession and the disappointment of the 2009 Copenhagen Summit it has slipped back. The article
makes a strong case for a more local approach to communicating the risk of climate change, so
people can understand risks in a more small-scale, personal context. You could use this article to
discuss ways to communicate the risks of climate change, and then broaden the discussion out to
consider risks from other hazards, even health risks.
Philip Allan Publishers © 2014
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Storm damage and coastal protection: a case study
of Chesil Cove

This article links to Unit 2, the Crowded Coasts option.
This case study of Chesil Cove could be used as a comparison with a location students have studied
when carrying out their own fieldwork and research. The photographs are particularly useful as they
show a wide range of engineering responses to coastal management and how these solutions cannot
cope with all that nature can throw at them. This might provide a reality check to a place students have
studied themselves, by showing that hard engineering is not always up to the job — especially when
weather events are very severe, and perhaps in the future with rising sea levels and stormier seas.
The big picture Urban development in Havana
This Big picture shows that urban regeneration does not just happen in developed world countries, it
occurs worldwide. Just as it causes disruption in the UK, so it does elsewhere. The commentary raises
the issues of winners and losers in urban regeneration/restoration — just as it did in communities like
London’s Docklands 30 years ago.
This resource is part of GEOGRAPHY REVIEW, a magazine written for A-level students by subject experts.
To subscribe to the full magazine go to: http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview
Philip Allan Publishers © 2014
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