zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA Student Quality, Preparation, and Training British students possess a deeper and broader knowledge of geography than their counter-
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The Professional Geographer
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The Operational Geography of Great Britain
Martin J Pasqualetti a
a MARTIN J PASQUALETTI is Professor of Geography at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 In addition to his interest in British geography, he specializes in the spatial relationships between energy and the environment, particularly energy and land use Current work has concentrated on nuclear power plant decommissioning
Online Publication Date: 01 August 1992
To cite this Article Pasqualetti, Martin J.(1992)'The Operational Geography of Great Britain',The Professional Geographer,44:3,296 — 307
To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1111/j.0033-0124.1992.00296.x
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0033-0124.1992.00296.x
This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes Any substantial or
systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or
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The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly
or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
Trang 2The Operational Geography of Great Britain* zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
student quality, preparation, and training; professional work environment; publications and productivity; conve-
niences and facilities; and employment T h e goal of operational geography is to provide the basis for blending the
strengths of different systems of geography which have much to offer one another This article uses personal
experiences and survey data to examine the strengths and weaknesses in Britain as compared to the United States
It finds that Britain has strong national support, a greater emphasis on geographic education, high-quality but
narrowly trained undergraduates, and a productive academic faculty T h e United States enjoys a more effective
graduate curriculum, better funding, and more opportunity for personal advancement Key Words: Britain,
education, operational geography
t Columbia University in 1956 John Kirt-
A1 and Wright recognized the debt Ameri-
can geography owes its “academic grand-
fathers” in Great Britain (Wright 1966) Since
then, there has been a growing number of
British-trained geographers coming to the
United States, sprinkled in our “better depart-
ments,” publishing widely, even outcompeting
us for research funds at the National Science
Foundation (Abler 1989) The trend contin-
ues As Abler notes, “the ‘Redcoats’ are still
coming .” zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
But what are these geographers leaving?
What is the professional life of a geographer
like in Great Britain, and how does it differ
from what we are accustomed to in the United
States? The answers to these and related ques-
tions can help us better understand why Brit-
ish geographers come here, what they bring
along, how American geography is connected
to geography in Britain, and what we Ameri-
can geographers may wish to do to adjust our
own approach to the discipline Because no
other discipline receives, explains, integrates,
and reflects such a wide assortment of nation-
specific information, a country’s approach to
geography can also offer a particularly clear
window on national traits Some might call
such an approach the “practice of geography,”
or “geography in the trenches.” I call it “oper-
ational geography.”
Operational geography is one of the five
components of the larger “national geography”
of a country The other four are zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAdescription, in
the form of descriptive literature through
which many first become acquainted with a country; explanation, in the sense of answering
scholarly questions; phitctsqphy, in the context of
the underpinnings of the discipline; and appli- cation, through which scholarly efforts and
training manifest themselves within a society
We are familiar with these other four elements for most countries Operational geography, on the other hand, has received little attention In view of the accomplishments, activity, visibil- ity, and recognition of British geographers,‘
however, it is time to examine the operational geography of our “academic grandfathers” in Great Britain
Study Design
This paper expands on the country series pub- lished periodically in The Professional Geographer
(e.g., Drdos 1991; Forheringham 1984; Haigh
1985), adding subjective personal impressions similar to the approach Marcus (1987) took in explaining geography in New Zealand Going
a step further, it also adds the results of a questionnaire The questionnaire was mailed
to people trained in Great Britain yet working
in the United States, as listed in the 1987
Directory of the Association o f American Geogra- phws Most hold university appointments and
represent a cross-section of migration to the United States over the past 20 years
The survey questionnaire had two parts
The first part asked for normative replies to questions about student quality and curricu- lum and geography training and its results, as
*Thanks are due to Ronald Johnston, Andreu Kirby Rex M‘alford, and two anonymous reviewers far helpful suggestions on earlier drafts
of this paper
Professional Gcographer, 44(3) 1992, pages zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA296-307 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA0 Copyright 1992 by Association of American Geographers
Initial suhmission, August, 1991; revised submission November 1991; final acceptance January zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA1 9 9 2
Trang 3Operational Geography zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAof Great Britain 297 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
well as research and academic life zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAIn order to
provide a framework for the replies, I placed
questions in a comparative context with oper-
ational geography in the United States It was
this context which suggested that the use of
opinions from British expatriates would be
particularly appropriate and insightful In
order to judge whether there have been notice-
able changes over the past two decades, I asked
for responses for 1970, 1980, and 1990 The
second part of the questionnaire posed several
open-ended, comparative questions Replies
were often detailed, strongly corroborating im-
pressions I accumulated from the literature,
interviews, and personal experiences.*
These steps were carried out between 1984
and 1990, a period which included a working
stay in Britain of one year, followed two years
later by another working stay of six months I
taught American students studying abroad and
British students studying in-country I lec-
tured at a dozen universities and polytechnics,
plus several a encies such as the Department
of Education Two other visits of shorter du-
ration were used to carry out additional library
research and supplementary interviews These
activities were concentrated in an area
bounded by Sheffield, the English Channel,
Norwich, and Swansea B zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Britain‘s Operational Geography
Operational geography usually has six parts:
domestic context; student quality, preparation,
and training; professional work environment;
publications and productivity; conveniences,
and facilities; and employment patterns zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Table 1 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAGeographic Literacy
Domestic Context
Britain’s strong tradition in geography is quickly apparent, especially to a visiting geog- rapher from the United States There is high public interest in outdoor activities like gar- dening, biking, camping, and walking For- eign affairs and travel are two of the most popular topics of conversation Abundant and well-organized collections of regional fiction line shelves even in small bookshops Many television programs focus abroad, and there is
a strong international perspective in the news media There is an almost universally keen interest, appreciation, and availability of the most basic of geographer tools-maps
The broad British familiarity with the dis- cipline of geography results partly from histor- ical ties to exploration and colonization, when geographical information served the successful operation and expansion of the British Empire
Over the years, this historical cornerstone be- came integrated into the cultural milieu of the country through a well-developed program of geographical education Such an emphasis on
geography as an education fundamental is par- ticularly apparent to an American because of its comparative absence in the United States (Pabst 1987) The data in Table 1 indicate that the respondents viewed geography as being a
more essential component of a general educa- tion in Britain than in the United States, and that geographic literacy was much higher in Britain However, this superiority appears to have eroded over the past 20 years
Another indication of some slippage in geo- graphic knowledge in Great Britain is apparent
in a standardized international world-map quiz conducted by the Gallup Organization for the
Response Category (%)
1 2 3 4 5 Year
In which country is geography perceived to be an essential 44 56 0 0 0 1990
component of a good general education? 71 29 0 0 0 1980
81 19 0 0 0 1970 Which country has higher “geographic literacy” among the 41 32 26 0 0 1990
general population? 61 21 18 0 0 1980
59 22 19 0 0 1970
Cutegories:
1 -Much more in Britain
2 -More in Britain
3 - About the same in United States and Britain
4 - More in United States
5 -Much more in United States
Trang 4298 Volume zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA44, Number 3 , August 1992 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
National Geographic Society (Grosvenor
1988; Leslie 1988) The poll zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAcontacted 10,820
adults in Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Mex-
ico, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United
States, and West Germany For the overall
population, the United States and United
Kingdom were near the bottom of the ranks
For all adults tested, the United States scored
8.6 correct answers compared to 8.5 for the
United Kingdom (out of a possible 16) In the
18-24 age group, the most usual age for those
in higher education, however, the United
Kingdom scored a more respectable 9.0 com-
pared to the United States’ figure of 6.9 (As a
comparison, Sweden registered 1 1.6 for all
adults and 11.9 for 18-24 year-olds.) zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Student Quality, Preparation, and Training
British students possess a deeper and broader
knowledge of geography than their counter-
parts in the United States, partly because they
live in a society where geography is a more
familiar component in formal and informal ed-
ucation This tendency is strongly reflected in
responses to my questions, and it has stayed
virtually the same over the past two decades
(Table 2 ) Thankfully, we are now attempting
some remedial action in the United States, as
reflected most notably in the effort by the Na-
tional Geographic Society to increase geo-
graphic literacy at the national and state levels
(Salter 1987)
In addition to the survey responses, replies
to the open-ended questions concerning stu-
dent quality also mentioned the higher order Table 2 Student Quality and PreDaration zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
of preparation in Britain For example, virtu- ally all respondents felt that British geography students are superior to those in the United States The predominant response was that British college-level students are much better prepared and better in terms of overall educa- tion: “one doesn’t have to start from ‘basic’
geographic knowledge” when teaching these students
How is this apparent superiority of British students explained? There are two reasons, preparation and experience in thinking criti- cally: “At the B.A level, the United King- dom-trained student is far superior to hidher United States counterpart largely because of superior high-school training”; “[there is] a
firmer pre-college foundation which includes muchlmost of the freshman zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA work done at
United States universities As a result much more can be attempted at the undergraduate level in United Kingdom institutions.”
In a particularly provocative reply, one re- spondent explained the British advantage in terms of an educational system which has “a
more open political environment (British un- dergraduates have not been brainwashed).”
This seems to imply that American students are given less encouragement to think for themselves than their British counterparts
Other related responses identified similar strengths by stressing the British emphasis on
“critical thinking,” “in-depth knowledge,” and essay-form examinations
Many respondents thought that the higher standards, goals, and expectations set for uni-
Response Category (%)
1 2 3 4 5 Year university work? 93 7 0 0 0 1980
Which country provides the better geographic training in pre- 82 15 3 0 0 1990
92 8 0 0 0 1970
100 0 0 0 0 1980 expected to be more advanced in geographic training and
knowledge? 100 0 0 0 0 1970
61 33 6 0 0 1990
In which country are the entering geography graduate
64 32 4 0 0 1980 students expected to have more advanced geographic
0 0 1970
In which country is the general university curriculum tuned to 3 0 6 55 36 1990
a more remedial level of instruction? 4 0 4 54 38 1980
4 0 13 50 33 1970
Categories:
In which country are the entering undergraduate students 91 9 0 0 0 1990
knowledge? 71 25 4
I -Much more in Britain
2 - More in Britain
3 - About the same in United States and Britain
4 - More in United States
- Mucb
Trang 5Operational Geography zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA of Great Britain zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA 299 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
versity students in Britain were linked to what
many call Britain’s “national geography curric-
ulum.” Although such a curriculum is not in
place in the rigid way the phrase implies, there
is far greater uniformity of training and testing
in geography in Britain than is usually found
in the United States Virtually everyone con-
sidered British-type consistency a good idea,
many calling it an “excellent” approach Sev-
eral thought the United States should adopt a
similar approach, whatever the difficulties
with individual state autonomy
In addition to the higher intellectual level of
classroom discussions and lectures, student
quality also influences university mechanics
For example, British faculty customarily as-
sign long reading lists instead of the less zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAchal-
lenging system of summary textbooks we tend
to use
There are other differences as well For ex-
ample, students are accustomed to greater for-
mality and social distance between themselves
and the faculty, less time devoted to formal
lectures, greater use of tutorials, and an exter-
nal, more uniformly rigorous system of class
examinations All this presupposes a better
prepared student population capable of assum-
ing greater personal responsibility for their
own education
There are at least two strong indications that
the superiority of British geography students
will be maintained for at least the next several
years First, the gap between students in the
two countries appears to be defined very
strongly; and second, to a far greater extent
than in the United States, Britain has been
focusing attention on strengthening its geogra-
phy training even more (Boardman 1987;
Naish et al 1987; Rawling et al 1988; Walford
1989a, 1989b; Walford and Williams 1986)
If we were to consider all these preparations
and expectations, what would they mean in
the actual training of undergraduate and grad-
uate students? What would an American stu-
dent expect to encounter upon enrolling in an
undergraduate geography program in Britain?
What would an American geography professor
encounter in the British undergraduate class-
room? Undergraduate Training zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAThe first thing an
American geographer is likely to notice about
British undergraduate training is the narrow-
ness of the disciplinary focus Geography stu- dents are expected to concentrate their atten- tion on geography during all three of their undergraduate years, with little time given to anything else, including social life It is, in short, serious business
The sharper focus of British geography pro- grams, however, also has a less attractive side
Intensity and concentration on the discipline has produced a particularly narrow field of vision for students Most geography curricula
do not require much contact with other dis- ciplines, particularly with mathematics, eco- nomics, anthropology, and sociology While some students may receive instruction in these subjects before beginning college-level work, many survey respondents characterized the British system as “much too specialized” and much “less flexible” than programs in the United States
The insularity of geography training ap- peared as well in the survey responses, and its appearance suggested that a broader under- graduate curriculum could produce stronger geographers The survey also supported the view that, although more teaching and better- quality teaching is expected in the United States, the B.A geographer in Britain is actu- ally better trained (Table 3) This situation re- sults both from the emphasis which British schools give geography during compulsory schooling and the more selective entrance re- quirements it maintains for advanced school- ing
One of the clearest distinctions between uni- versity-level geographic education in Britain and the United States is the emphasis British geography places on fieldwork This was strongly reflected in Part Two of the survey
by responses to the question “What are the strengths of British geography training com- pared to the United States.” Fieldwork, espe- cially foreign fieldwork, was mentioned more often than any other single factor This empha- sis has long caught the eye of American geog- raphers more accustomed to its minimal pres- ence in their own country (e.g., Mikesell
197 3) Ironically, fieldwork is not much appar- ent in recent work published by British geog- raphers, and it appears to be giving way to more sedentary efforts
A second difference in the British system, which was noted in the survey in several con-
Trang 6300 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAVolume 44, zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBANumber 3 , August zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA1992
Table 3 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAInstruction and Its ImDacts zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAResponse Category (%)
1 2 3 4 5 Year
7 10 17 43 23 1990
8 13 13 38 29 1980
At comparable types of universities, in which country are the
actual teaching loads higher?
In general which country has higher expectations zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAof
teaching quality?
Which country provides the better geographic training in
university work?
In general, which country has a more demanding curriculum
for the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAB.A.?
Categories:
I - Mucb more in Britain
2 -More in Britain
3 - About the same zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAin United States and Britain
4 - More in United States
5 - Mucb more in United States
texts, is the strong encouragement students
receive to read, write, and evaluate In other
words, undergraduate students are both taught
and are expected to think Such an expectation
is easier to maintain in Britain because of a
smaller range in the abilities of students than
in the United States One of the reasons for
the often disappointing performance of Amer-
ican college students is our long-standing insis-
tence on making a college education available
for everyone; the British system-from cul-
tural expectations to university entrance re-
quirements-is much more selective
Such selectivity produces some pleasant re-
sults For example, undergraduates at Cam-
bridge and the several universities and two
polytechnics where zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAI had the chance to interact
with students, were quite a bright, inquisitive,
and serious lot, and were well-trained within
the field, albeit with little required contact
with other subjects When queried on the
specificity of their training, they claimed they
were familiar with other disciplines from their
pre-university schooling and were ready to
concentrate on the discipline they had chosen
after their A-level exams.4 This appears rea-
sonable on the surface for many subjects, but
it seems less appropriate for geography stu-
dents, at least when considered in its more
traditionally broad configuration
Whatever the drawbacks of Britain’s more
confining undergraduate curriculum, it has a
positive aspect in two of the places it counts
9
3
4
4
16
23
23
46
54
58
9 18 27 36 1970
11 29 43 14 1990
6 29 30 22 1980
11 37 26 22 1970
44 38 0 3 1990
35 35 4 4 1980
46 27 0 4 1970
40 14 0 0 1990
35 12 0 0 1980
31 12 0 0 1970
most, journals and granting agencies T h e British system emphasizes the narrow focus currently favored by journal editors and fund- ing agencies such as NSF, one reason perhaps that manuscripts and proposals written by British-trained geographers d o relatively well
in the review process
Graduate Training Everything continues to
narrow and concurrently loosen in graduate school Whereas undergraduate students struggle along a rigorous and concentrated path to the B.A degree, graduate students in Britain have a comparatively easy time of it, especially in terms of formal instruction T h e program is even less demanding the further one progresses toward the Ph.D (Table 4) So little is expected, in fact, that some respon- dents characterized the relaxed nature of grad- uate education as “scandalous.”
T h e impressions of inattention encompass
two characteristics of the British approach to
graduate education that are particularly appar- ent to visiting geographers from the United States T h e most obviolis one is the small amount of formal faculty time spent with grad- uate students T h e British ostensibly assume that students enter graduate school sufficiently advanced to complete their dissertations and theses with little supervision or coursework
This approach has benefits and drawbacks for students Most benefits accrue to intellec- tually mature students, whereas drawbacks ac-
Trang 7Operational Geography zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAof Great Britain zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA 301
Table 4 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAGraduate Instruction and Its Impacts
Response Category (%)
1 2 3 4 5 Year for the zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAM.A 5 14 52 24 5 1980
5 19 48 29 0 1970
In general, which country has a more demanding curriculum 3 3 47 30 3 1990
In general, which country has a more demanding curriculum 3 3 29 39 26 1990
for the Ph D ? 0 0 32 36 32 1980
0 0 32 36 32 1970
Categories:
I -Much more in Britain
2 -More zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAin Britain
3 - About the same in United States and Britain
4 - More in United States zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
5 -Much more in United States zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
cumulate within that cohort still needing guid-
ance, a group that by definition of the term
“student” we should expect to be larger than
the first, As one respondent put it, “relatively
few mature students can profit from the lib-
erty.”
In the open-ended portion of the survey,
respondents were asked to identify the princi-
pal deficiencies in the British approach to ge-
ography curriculum and training Several
questioned whether graduate training in Brit-
ain might be an “oxymoron.” Others simply
called it “over-loose.’’ There is a belief that
“formal requirements are completed with the
bachelor’s degree.” As with the reliance of the
undergraduate programs on pre-university
work, graduate programs rely on undergradu-
ate training to prepare students adequately for
advanced work This “building-block” ap-
proach is in the general nature of British edu-
cation programs, but it is least appropriate in
geography
How does this system compare specifically
with that of the United States? Respondents
thought the strengths in the United States are
found in its more systematic and comprehen-
sive structure, greater exposure to coursework
and seminars, and practice in writing ad-
vanced-level papers There was an almost uni-
versal feeling that the graduate student in the
United States simply has better resources, ad-
vice, and support
One way to reduce or eliminate the per-
ceived deficiencies in the British system is, as
one person suggested, to inject it with “more
structure and more diversification, perhaps re-
quiring an additional year to get a Ph.D.”
Such changes could result from “more lectures
and seminars at the grad-level,” “more training and attention,” and more coursework on “the- ory and methods.”
The small attention graduate students re- ceive is not surprising because there has never been much of a tradition of graduate training
in Britain This lack of attention may be more harmful to geography students than others be- cause the proper development of geographers tends to require a longer intellectual gestation
The weighting between an independent ap- proach and a suffocating approach should properly depend upon the student; however, respondents universally believed that the aver- age level of attention should be increased The consensus is that some adjustment in British graduate training is long overdue
Professional Work Environment
The work environment in Great Britain is par- ticularly well suited for geographic research
One of its most welcome traits is its less fre- netic pace The appeal of this pace surfaced quickly in response to an open-ended survey question about which traits of a British aca- demic geographer’s life were most appealing
The most common response was that it was more “relaxed” and had “less political pres- sures.”
The fact that British graduate students are much more on their own than in the United States (and the fact that the British undergrad- uate faculty have “lower teaching loads and smaller classes”), frees more time for faculty research and publication Thus, the most stressful aspects of the American system are minimized in Britain: there is “less pressure to
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publish” and “pull in sponsored research,” and
more time to do it
Several respondents suggested that fewer
classroom contact hours under the British sys-
tem is manifest in the “considerable collegial-
ity” and “day to day opportunity to meet with
colleagues in social situations.” Such relations,
as one person reported, “seemed quite harmo-
nious even in bad times.” Apart from a some-
what formalized tendency for morning coffee
and afternoon tea, I did not witness an over
abundance of this collegiality personally, but I
did notice more professional discussions
amongst colleagues than is apparent in the
United States These tendencies contrast with
the increasing American trcnd, in part pushed
by peer-driven paranoia, to retreat behind
closed doors away from colleagues and stu-
dents, supposedly to devote more time to sat-
isfying tightening demands for publication
Outside the office environment, one of the
happy advantages of working in Britain is the
near absence of the need to justify and explain
what geography “is” or what a geographer
“does.” This contrasts to a less salubrious sit-
uation in the United States, where several uni-
versities have closed their geography depart-
ments for want of a proper sense of
disciplinary worth from administrators
pressed to shave budgets
T h e perception of disciplinary good health
was revealed in responses to a question about
the most appealing aspect in Britain’s working
environment A strong majority of respon-
dents mentioned the generally respectful tone
for the discipline within the country’s social
and cultural fabric; for example, “the ‘man-in-
the-street’ still understands geography and re-
spects it much more than in the United
States.” Accordingly, British geographers bear
little of the defensive demeanor of their Amer-
ican colleagues
If professional life is so appealing in Britain,
why, then, have many left? What d o such
expatriate British geographers prefer about
working in the United States? There were
three general categories of response T h e first
category stressed the appealing American life-
style Overall, the responses conveyed a feel-
ing that the United States simply offered a
more comfortable, better compensated, and
satisfying professional and personal existence
Many respondents said they liked its
“efficiency and comfort,” its “social environ- ment,” its “greater opportunities,” and its greater potential for “more advancement both within a department and between universi- ties ” zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
T h e second category focused on internal de- partmental matters Several respondents felt United States geography departments were less hierarchical For example, they stressed the fact that in America they were allowed
“more voice in hiringhenure decisions,” had
“more opportunity for leadership,” and that there was “less emphasis on seniority” and
“elitist peer pressure.” Addressing the same point, many noted that United States depart- ments “are run more democratically” and are
“less parochial than the United Kingdom.”
T h e third category of response centered on workday atmosphere T h e most common re- mark was that the academic world in the United States was “more flexible and infor- mal.” Perhaps as a reaction to the greater indi- vidual opportunities here, respondents re- ported that U.S geographers are “more mutually supportive (compared to Britain which is more ‘cut-throat’).’’ Ironically, the very civility which Americans usually find characteristic of British academe was often termed “suffocating” and “stuffy ” Respon- dents mentioned that geography in the United States is practiced within a more open environ- ment, with “more energy and dynamism to try new things ”
Perhaps the most commonly stated differ- ence between the work environment in the two countries is the lower salaries in Britain and the greater amount of research money in the United States Respondents noted, in particu- lar, the connection between “financial reward and effort.” In response to the question con- cerning what would improve geography in Britain, better funding was the most common answer, particularly “the restoration of all the cuts that have been made in university since 1979.” T h e quantitative portion of the survey also revealed the opinion that Britain was less supportive of academic research (Table 5 )
Despite the impression of a more congenial and less pressured academic atmosphere in Britain, the flexibility, professional opportuni- ties, informality, greater democracy, and
Trang 9Operational Geography zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAof Great Britain zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA 303
Table 5 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBASupport for Research
ResDonse Cateoorv zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA1%)
1 2 3 4 5 Year Which country is more supportive of academic research, 0 12 29 29 29 1990
0 8 54 12 27 1980
0 27 35 15 23 1970
Categories: I -Much more in Britain zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
2 -More in Britain
3 - Abwt the same in United Stales and Britain
4 - More in United States
5 - Much more in United Statrs zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
higher pay of the United States continues
to exert a strong pull on geographers from
Britain
Publications and Productivity
A central feature of the national geography of
Great Britain is its robust publication activity,
despite the distractions of budgetary con-
straints, impressions of less pressure to pub-
lish, internal job scarcity, and professional im-
mobility During one five-year period, a
faculty of fewer than zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA20 at a leading English
department of geography produced over 30
books, more than 200 articles and almost 150
book chapters No American geography de-
partment I can identify can proportionally
match this record, especially with regard to
books produced Clout (1988) noted this out-
put in his 1988 survey, and it is apparent as
well in Table 6 Also apparent is the emphasis
on quality over quantity, a refreshing relief
from the number-counting which has come to
dominate many internal American academic
appraisals
Table 6 Publication Patterns
What is the source of such fertility? The answer cannot lie in greater commitment, per- sonal creativity, organization, or hard work, for these are traits of productive people every- where It is also not likely that it has much to
do with smaller teaching loads or greater staff support (except, perhaps, a t the levels of Pro- fessor or Reader) Yet there must be some
explanation Do they have more time? Are they better trained? Are British geographers just smarter?
The explanation might be found in the ratio
of geographers to the total number of “slots”
available for publication Could this contribute
to getting published in the United Kingdom?
A definitive answer is elusive, but it is not difficult to show that more space is available in Britain Lee and Evans (1984, 1985) rated American and foreign geography journals on a
5-point scale with zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA5 being excellent, 4 good, 3
adequate, 2 less-than-adequate, and 1 poor In examining their results for journals with “ge- ography” in the title or journals traditionally used heavily by geographers, they noted that
Response Category (%)
1 2 3 4 5 Year
3 0 1990
0 0 1980
0 0 1970
In which country is there more emphasis on publishing 17 28 54
29 19 52 Where IS quality of publication stressed over quantity of
publication?
6 34 41 9 9 1990
8 33 33 17 8 1980
12 8 1970
12 32 36
In which country is it more difficult to get published? 0 26 71 3 0 1990
0 21 75 4 0 1980
13 13 65 9 0 1970
Categories:
I - Much more in Britain
2 -More in Britain
3 - About the same in United States and Britain
4 -More in United States
-
Trang 10304 13 British journals were given zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAVolume 44, Number 3 , August zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAa rating over 1992 zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
3.0: Progress in Human Geography, Progress in
Physical Geography, Transactions o f the Institute o f
British Geographers, Journal o f Historical Geogra-
phy, Environment and Planning A , Geographical
Journal, Scottish Geographical Magazine,
of Geography in H@er Education, Geographical
Magazine, and Geographical Research Forum
Ten journals were identified in the United
States (not including proceedings and year-
books): Annals of the Association o f American Ge-
ographers, Geographical Review, Economic Geogra-
phy, Geographical Analysis, The Professional
Geographer, Physical Geography, Urban Geography,
Journal o f Geography, Southeastern Geographer,
and Historical Geography National Geographic is
not included here, although Lee and Evans
listed it, because it rarely publishes the work
of academic geographers If the more recent
additions of Environment and Planning B , Envi-
ronment and Planning C, and Land Use Policy are
included on the British side and Environment
and Planning D (edited in the United States) is
added to the United States side, the numbers
are 16 for Great Britain and 11 for the United
States If we take the memberships of the Associa- zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
tion of American Geographers and the Insti-
tute of British Geographers-6,000 compared
to 1,500-the ratio is one journal for every 600
in the United States and one for every 94 in
Britain, an advantage of 6.4 to 1 for British
geographers Even after we discount a liberal
33% for the number of articles in British jour-
nals by American geographers, we have better
than a 4 to 1 advantage for British geographers
on the availability of principal outlets,’ an ad-
vantage that is likely to increase with new ge-
ography journals appearing with amazing fre-
quency in Britain, while several journals in the
United States are now in financial trouble
In Britain, books are considered to be the
primary place to publish However, respon-
dents thought British publishers were no more
responsive to book ideas than in the United
States There are, nevertheless, some indica-
tions to the contrary No general store in the
United States equals the collections of geogra-
phy books in British bookshops such as
Dillon’s, Blackwell’s, Foyles, and Heffer’s No
American publishers can match the extensive
listing of scholarly geography books of
Britain’s Basil Blackwell or Unwin Hyman As Clout (1988, 5) suggests, “the links between publishing houses and professional geogra- phers remain strong, with the discipline enjoy-
ing the privilege of having a number of geog- raphy graduates who are now commissioning editors.” Conveniences and Facifities zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
There is a greater market for geography pub- lications in Britain, and this must have its ori- gins in the basic national support for the dis- cipline itself Such support provides the geographer with ample conveniences and facil- ities Britain, especially the London area, is particularly attractive for scholarly research
Virtually any place, person, or document in
the counrry is either in London or within a
day’s return journey of the city Part of
London’s unique character stems from its com- bination as national capital and predominant city No city in the United States can match London’s professional and research conve- niences Government agencies, corporate headquarters, book shops, and geographical li- braries such as that of the Royal Geographical Society are all in close proximity In contrast,
a geographer in the United States wishing to consult our premier geographical collection- that of the American Geographical Society- must travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin (where the collection was moved for financial reasons)
Another advantage of London is its function
as a hub of travel for movements east to Eu- rope and west to North America This central location makes it a convenient meeting place
There is no better place to work than London for purposes of gathering research materials, browsing bookstores, consulting government agencies, or having access to field sites Such conveniences of location are part of the opera- tional element of Britain’s geography
Employment Patterns
Geographers tend to find four different types
of work: government, research establishments, the private sector, and educational institutions
The academic sector has reached saturation in Britain, a t least at the university level There
is little opportunity for movement between universities or even within departments Such immobility is particularly notable at the rank
of Professor because common policy more se-