Anthony Hoare

Widening participation through admissions policy – a British case study of school and university performance

It has been widely claimed that UK students from relatively disadvantaged backgrounds but nevertheless having the potential to benefit from a degree programme are being denied higher education places because of their relatively poor paper qualifications. As a consequence, the claim continues, students from independent schools have an advantage in the competition for such places. Universities have responded to such claims, and incentives from the government to do so, by introducing widening participation programmes, but very little research has been done which explores whether students from disadvantaged backgrounds who are admitted to elite universities perform as well as their counterparts with better entry qualifications. Using a large data set from one university, this article explores performance by students at A‐level and their first and final university years. Students from independent schools performed better at A‐level than those from state schools, but not at their university examinations, other things being equal.

Industrial linkages and the dual economy: the case of Northern Ireland

Hoare A. G. (1978) Industrial linkages and the dual economy: the case of Northern Ireland, Reg. Studies 12, 167–180. Despite a large number of recent research papers, the study of industrial linkages is still deficient in two respects: in recognising the heterogeneity of linkage (especially input linkage) flows, and in examining the perceptual dimension of linkages, which, in turn, can take a number of forms. A sample of engineering and metal-working firms in Northern Ireland provides data to examine these further, and to consider their relationships to industrial growth and organisation. The nationality of firms seems particularly important in accounting for variations in the results, and this aspect is examined in more detail. Finally, some regional implications are considered.

Teaching against the grain: multi‐disciplinary teamwork effectively delivers a successful undergraduate unit in sustainable development

A team‐taught interdisciplinary undergraduate unit in Sustainable Development has been developed and run over the past two years at the University of Bristol. This has been a unique initiative for this university to take. As in most other research‐intensive higher education institutions, teaching generally follows rather traditional disciplinary conventions, operating within departmental bounds. The initiative was unusual – and indeed ambitious – enough to gain the Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement (HEEPI) Green Gown Award in teaching for 2007 (HEEPI is a project supported by the Higher Education Founding Council for England; http://www.heepi.org.uk/green_gown_awards.htm). There are both challenges and pleasures in designing and delivering a team‐taught unit in a traditional university setting. This experience is outlined and evaluated here, giving consideration to both the practical and the more fundamentally philosophical issues encountered in the process.

Bristol and the saga of Royal Portbury: a case study in local politics and Municipal enterprise

Abstract Local authorities have become more and more involved in local economic initiatives over the last decade, in response to economic restructuring and rising unemployment in their local areas. The analysis of local initiatives and their impacts opens up an important field in political geography. This paper examines in detail the economic and political problems surrounding a major example of municipal economic enterprise—Bristols attempt to establish a new port-industrial complex at Portbury on the Severn estuary. The attempt extends over more than two decades, and the analysis illustrates both the changing nature of the project and the perils of a type of municipal enterprise which is subject to rapidly fluctuating international forces.

Scale Economies in Academic Excellence: An Exploratory Analysis of the United Kingdom's 1992 Research Selectivity Exercise.

Taken in aggregate, bigger university departments did disproportionately well in the 1992 U.K. Higher Education Research Selectivity Exercise (RSE). A number of reasons are reviewed whereby such an ‘economies of scale’ effect might apply both in general and with respect to the RSE. A methodology is developed whereby the RSE performance of the UKs universities across academic units can be attributed to ‘size’ and ‘non size’ components, the relative importance of which are then calculated for each of the ‘old’ universities, paying attention to their independent designations as ‘research’ and ‘teaching’ institutions. Possible implications for academic planning by universities are drawn out.

Alternative energies: alternative geographies?:

At first glance, Progress ill Humall Geography appears the least appropriate journal for any article on energy. Geographical studies of energy have been anything but progressive. One recent American comment that ’energy sources and uses have not been pervasively studied within geography’ (Haack, 1977, 9) certainly applies to British geography too. A count of research interests of British economic geographers shows an almost total absence of interest in energy (Table 1).

Bias in University Enrolments: A Regional Analysis

HOARE A. (1991) Bias in university enrolments: a regional analysis, Reg. Studies 25, 459–470. The relative proportions of independent and state school pupils in the undergraduate intake of British universities varies appreciably. The general issue of ‘bias’ in university enrolments is discussed followed by a regional analysis of the particular case of its categorization in terms of previous school background. This considers how much regional variation arises at the initial stage of application rather than the subsequent conversion of applications into enrolments. At each stage the effect of the different geographies of state and independent schools is assessed against other factors that may contribute to enrolment bias. University regions vary not just in their extent of such bias but also in how it comes about. Some practical implications follow, given current funding changes in higher education nationally. HOARE A. (1991) Le prejuge dans les inscriptions universitaires: une analyse regionale, Reg. Studi...

Dividing the pork barrel: Britain's enterprise zone experience

Abstract The British governments second crop of enterprise zones (EZs), announced in the autumn of 1982, proves a suitable example of government resource allocation against which to assess, in a British context, the ‘pork barrel’ model derived from the political experience of the United States. After some introductory comments on this model, on types of pork barrelling that may result, and on the reasons for the suitability of EZs as a testing ground, a series of analyses are presented to examine whether the pork barrel model accords with the selection of successful EZs from the much larger pool of localities that applied for EZ status, and whether this discrimination between successful and unsuccessful applicants was of any significance in the General Election of June 1983.

Book review essay: Energy resources in the North Sea: Chapman, K. 1976: North Sea oil and gas. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. 240 pp. £6.50

the organization of material in that, for instance, the concepts of route learning and place learning could perhaps have been introduced earlier and better integrated with the case studies of chapter five and with the discussion of state and process location. At a more fundamental level, sceptics may see some of the criticisms outlined above as ammunition for attack on the grounds that this book embodies geography of an unscientific and almost ’popular’ rather than academic character, or that it is a refuge for the innumerate. I hope, however, that its merits will also be considered. This is an intrinsically interesting and thought-provoking book. It serves as a reminder that geography, urban planning and architecture which are based on ’objective’ indices of efficiency alone are likely to produce unsatisfactory living environments. It also emphasizes the fact that the man-made environment is not merely a ’spatial machine’ in which individuals move around in order to fulfil economic functions, but that it has a meaning and value which is none the less valid for being unquantif~able..

Hunting for votes: the geography of free votes and electoral advantage in the British House of Commons

Abstract When viewed in an international context some democratic political systems bestow more individual freedom on elected representatives than others over how they vote, for instance that of the United States compared to the United Kingdom. However, occasional opportunities arise for ‘free votes’ even in the British House of Commons and the paper considers the case study of that on the banning of hunting in 1992. The paper outlines the nature of the geography and politics of public opinion on the hunting issue and relates this to the free-voting patterns of MPs from opposing parties and constituencies of differing electoral marginality, as well as to the outcome of the closely-following General Election. On balance, Conservative MPs in marginal seats who voted in favour of a ban on hunting gained no subsequent advantage in retaining their seats over those who did not. This generates some points for final discussion.