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Abstract: There is now an extensive literature on therapeutic landscapes, those settings and places that can contribute to wellbeing and good health. Less attention has been paid to the therapeutic qualities of the act of moving from one place to another. The recent emergence of a significant mobilities ’turn’ in social science is welcome, but this has as yet had relatively little to say about the consequences of mobility for health and wellbeing. This paper maps the relations between one form of mobility – walking – and wellbeing and health. Such relations may be theorised as ‘therapeutic mobilities’, a concept that sits comfortably alongside that of therapeutic landscapes. I explore three elements of such relations: activity; connection; and context. Although only one form of mobility is considered, the notion of therapeutic mobilities can be extended to other forms of travel. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We seek to map and describe variation in geographic access to the set of 189 specialist adult inpatient hospices in England and Wales. Using almost 35,000 small Census areas (Local Super Output Areas: LSOAs) as our units of analysis, the locations of hospices, and estimated drive times from LSOAs to hospices we construct an accessibility ‘score’ for each LSOA, for England and Wales as a whole. Data on cancer mortality are used as a proxy for the ‘demand’ for hospice care and we then identify that subset of small areas in which accessibility (service supply) is relatively poor yet the potential ‘demand’ for hospice services is above average. That subset is then filtered according to the deprivation score for each LSOA, in order to identify those LSOAs which are also above average in terms of deprivation. While urban areas are relatively well served, large parts of England and Wales have poor access to hospices, and there is a risk that the needs of those living in relatively deprived areas may be unmet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The interest of social scientists in complexity theory has developed rapidly in recent years. Here, I consider briefly the primary characteristics of complexity theory, with particular emphasis given to relations and networks, non-linearity, emergence, and hybrids. I assess the `added value' compared with other, existing perspectives that emphasise relationality and connectedness. I also consider the philosophical underpinnings of complexity theory and its reliance on metaphor. As a vehicle for moving away from reductionist accounts, complexity theory potentially has much to say to those interested in research on health inequalities, spatial diffusion, emerging and resurgent infections, and risk. These and other applications in health geography that have invoked complexity theory are examined in the paper. Finally, I consider some of the missing elements in complexity theory and argue that while it is refreshing to see a fruitful line of theoretical debate in health geography, we need good empirical work to illuminate it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable research effort has been devoted to describing and explaining, at a variety of spatial scales, geographical inequalities in health outcomes within the developed world. Following Bourdieu, we argue that structures of the social world may be revealed in different kinds of ‘social’ space. We outline the relational thinking that underlies these ideas. We then ‘map’, using correspondence analysis (on which Bourdieu himself drew), the structure of social space according to the differential availability of some forms of capital, across four study areas in north-west England. We use logistic regression analysis to explain variation in psychological morbidity (GHQ-score) and then portray the significant predictors of morbidity using multiple correspondence analysis. The area of residence of the survey respondents is used to associate them with particular locations in these social spaces. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background Relatively little work of a detailed geographical nature has been undertaken on the distribution of place of death. In particular, given evidence that most cancer patients would prefer to die at home there is a need to examine the extent to which this preference is met differentially from place to place. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Determines whether area-level population change, deprivation and variations in deprivation affect individual-level self-reported limiting long-term illness in Great Britain. Estimation of individual-level incidence of long-term illness; Determination of area-level migration rates; Measures used in the geographical allocation of resources.

Examines the issues surrounding an individual's exposure to potential environmental risk factors which can be implication in the etiology of a disease. Estimation of relative risk for motor neurone disease in Finland; Openshaw's geographical analysis machine; Kernel estimation as a visualization tool.

Examines the geography of survival after surgery for colo-rectal cancer in southern England. Prognosis of the disease; Geographical and socio-economic factors and survival; Area deprivation; Distance between resident and treatment center.

Determines whether variability in deprivation at small area level, and population stability, influence standardized morbidity ratios in England and Wales. Positive relationship between age-standardized limiting, long-term illness and deprivation; Inefficiency of resource allocation based simply on measures of deprivation.

Despite the growing interest of geographers in the sociology of science, no work has been done on the structure analysis of a community of geographers engaged in a particular research specialty. The paper sketches the set-theoretic foundations for such work and reviews the literature on research specialties. Particular attention is focused upon the descriptions of social and cognitive structures yielded from citation analysis. Citations are used to explore the structure of one research specialty, spatial diffusion modeling, this is accomplished using multidimensional scaling (MDS) and Q-analysis. The graphical description yielded by MDS does not prove illuminating, but the algebraic, structural description provided by Q-analysis, whereby both citing and cited papers are considered, offers a more useful interpretation. Q-analysis is suggested as a natural language in which to investigate further the structure and dynamics of research specialties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suggests ways in helping students select topics for undergraduate dissertation in geography. Importance of dissertations; Institutional requirements and constraints in topic selection; Criteria in judging a range of possible topics and topics to avoid; Strategies in searching for a topic.