Brian Chalkley

Olympic Games: Catalyst of urban change

The Olympic Games have emerged as a significant catalyst of urban change and can act as a key instrument of urban policy for their host cities. This paper reviews the effect of the Games on the built environment of the various cities which have acted as hosts in the modern Olympic period (1896–1996) and assesses the preparations now being made for the Games in Sydney in the year 2000. The review indicates that the Games have been increasingly used as a trigger for a wide range of urban improvements, although there have been considerable variations in the scale of infrastructural investment and in the public-private sector mix.

Mega‐sporting events in urban and regional policy: a history of the Winter Olympics

‘Mega‐events’, such as the Olympic Games, have emerged as an important tool of urban and regional renewal through their ability to justify redevelopment and enhancement, attract inward investment, promote tourism and create new images for host cities. This paper complements previous research into the urban effects of the Summer Games by focusing on the infrastructural legacy of hosting the Winter Games, 1924–2002. The discussion concentrates upon the growing intensity of the intra‐urban competition to host the event and identifies four phases in the changing infrastructural implications of staging the Games. As a component of urban and regional policy, the Winter Olympics present both major risks and clear opportunities for the effective transformation of host centres.

Community Engagement for Student Learning in Geography

This article examines the role and purpose of community engagement as a learning and teaching strategy within higher education geography. It explores different interpretations of the concept of community engagement and illustrates different examples of this kind of learning through six case studies drawn from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the USA. Key factors which can lead to success in community engagement and also some of the risks and challenges are discussed. Geographers are encouraged to become involved in this kind of experiential learning and to share practice across a wide range of institutions and countries.

School Catchments and Pupil Movements: A case study in parental choice

Although parental choice of secondary schools is a subject of considerable public and academic interest, there has been relatively little research on the extent to which choice is undermining the traditional role of geographically defined school catchments. This paper, therefore, uses data provided by a case-study local education authority to examine the nature and scale of pupil flows across catchment boundaries. It does so by adopting a form of Geographic Information System as the principal research tool. The results show over a third of Year 7 pupils moving to schools other than their catchment comprehensive. Interestingly, the inner-city catchments were the most permeable: by contrast, children in middle class and rural areas were the least likely to enter a school outside their local area.

Students' Undergraduate Expectations and Post‐graduation Experiences of the Value of a Degree

The internationally shared belief that higher education has a role to play in delivering graduates with an ability to contribute to the knowledge‐based economy is one of the main driving forces behind the ‘employability agenda’ that has emerged in UK higher education in recent years. For a variety of reasons, including the genuine desire to meet the needs of its graduates, geography is responding to the employability agenda through curriculum change and innovation. However, it is important that any employment‐related developments and initiatives are informed by the opinions and experiences of present and former students. This paper addresses this need by comparing the undergraduate career expectations and post‐graduation career experiences of geography students from the University of Plymouth. The study allows comparisons to be made between two cohorts and reveals which aspects of their degree the graduate cohort found to be most and least useful in their current employment.

Developing New Lecturers The Case of a Discipline-Based Workshop

An educational development issue common to all disciplines and countries is how to combine generic development of staff as teachers with appropriate engagement with the specificities of teaching individual subjects. This article explores the nature of the relationship between the generic and the discipline specific, defines the role of the disciplines in educational development, and describes a residential workshop used by geographers, environmental and earth scientists in the UK to deal with their disciplines’ needs in the context of newly appointed lecturers.The workshop was marked by a high level of interaction and the sharing of ideas among the facilitators and participants. The article describes how the lecturers developed the discipline-specific element, reports on the workshop’s evaluation and suggests ways in which other disciplines and staff in other countries might adapt the ideas here.

JGHE Symposium: Benchmark Standards for Higher Education Introducing the First Benchmark Standards for Higher Education Geography

The UKs Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education has recently required British geography to produce a national benchmark statement which sets out the key characteristics of degree-level programmes in geography and outlines the standards which students are expected to achieve. This document will be of direct relevance to all UK geographers and no doubt of considerable interest also to those working in other countries. In addition to presenting in full the benchmark document, this collection of JGHE papers includes an introduction to the purpose of the benchmark and how it was prepared. Three personal critiques are also included from academic geographers working in Scotland, the USA and Australia.

Using optical mark readers for student assessment and course evaluation

Abstract One of the main pressures on academic staff is the burden of student assessment and marking. The use of optical mark readers (OMRs) in conjunction with objective tests can bring very substantial time savings and also ensure that students are assessed across the whole curriculum. This paper outlines the benefits and limitations of automated assessment and offers practical advice for individuals and departments considering a move in this direction. The paper also highlights the savings to be made by using an OMR in student‐based course evaluations.

Introducing objective tests and OMR‐based student assessment: A case study

Abstract This paper describes the process by which objective‐question tests, using an OMR, were introduced into a number of first‐year geography modules at the University of Plymouth. It discusses the rationale for such a move and some of the issues which have arisen. The paper goes on to present the results of various statistical tests, including a comparison of student performance in the objective‐question exams and in the traditional examination essays. A key aim was to determine whether individual students perform consistently across the two forms of assessment.

Small business managed workspace: A follow‐up study of former tenants ‐ where are they now?

Summary Managed workspaces are a form of property intended to offer a protective incubator environment in which new and small businesses can develop to the point where they are strong enough to move out to generally larger commercial premises. There are now some 500 managed workspace centres in the UK but little research has been undertaken to assess their effectiveness. This paper presents the first case study which seeks to trace and interview the former tenants of a managed workspace centre and to find out how many of them have survived and prospered. Their survival rate is shown to be similar to that of the small business sector as a whole. Although most of those interviewed had positive views of their workspace experience, it clearly offered no special immunity from the subsequent risks of business failure.