UK human geography number 1 in the world

International benchmarking review of UK human geography

International benchmarking review of UK human geography

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) and Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) launched the results of a benchmarking review of human geography this month.

The key conclusions from the report were:

  • UK human geography ranks first in the world. Findings also showed it as an empirically and conceptually innovative, diverse, vibrant discipline that in many areas sets the intellectual agenda
  • The UK publishes more than its share of major disciplinary journals; bibliometric indicators reveal international primacy both in volume and citation impact; and a large number of the seminal publications (books as well as articles) continue to have a UK origin
  • UK human geography is radically interdisciplinary and with the spatial turn in the humanities and social sciences has become an exporter of ideas and faculty to other disciplines
  • There was confidence that research in human geography had substantial impact on policy and practice and would successfully meet the challenges of the current impact agenda

Read the press release

Study Human Geography at Reading

Dr Steve Musson comments on recent high street failures on BBC News

SteveMusson_0680-wDr Steve Musson appeared on the BBC News Channel on Wednesday 16 January 2013, commenting on the recent wave of high street retailers entering administration. His analysis was also reported on BBC News Online, the Daily Mail, This is Money and other online technology sites.

Steve said: “The retail businesses that we have seen going into administration since Christmas have a lot in common – they have large numbers of stores, and have struggled to adapt to changing retail habits. Rents for retail businesses are usually payable quarterly, with many landlords most recently asking for payment on Christmas Day, which is why we often see retail failures coming in clusters.”

Link to BBC News Online story

Read about Steve Musson