ABSTRACT
Geographers have adapted with alacrity to the new computer technology and are employing it in many ways. They have developed Geographic Information Systems and related, automated spatial data systems. Early schools of geography in many countries at the end of the nineteenth century were characterized by their search for the "uniqueness" of places and regions and often by environmental determinism. The evolution of geography as a discipline has been greatly influenced by the regional diversity of natural, economic, social, and cultural phenomena which has been studied by geographers in various countries. Although an integrative or holistic emphasis prevails in the answers, there is still some evidence of geographic specialization. Geographic schools in many other countries also have much to offer the world scientific community. The chapter sows that a conventional conclusion regarding the variety of views that Soviet and American geographers have on contemporary geography and its social relevance is premature.
