Doctoral dissertations in human geography from Swedish universities 1884–2015: demographics,formats and productivity

The doctoral dissertation is a key component of postgraduate education that plays an important role for knowledge production and hence the development of a discipline. Swedish human geography currently lacks an overview of dissertations. This article fills this knowledge gap by reporting findings from a unique database covering all doctoral dissertations between 1884 and 2015. The paper focuses on the demographics of the authors (age, gender), the format of the dissertation and explores productivity variations for authors of compilation dissertations. The findings show a notable increase in the number of doctoral dissertations since the late 1960s but a decreasing share of doctoral dissertations in the social sciences since the 1970s. In terms of demographics, we show that while the age of the authors remains relatively stable, the gender-balance has improved considerably. In terms of format, the monograph has rapidly given way to compilation dissertations, which now account for half the number of dissertations. More than 70% of all dissertations are now published in English. Statistical results suggest that the likelihood of completing a compilation dissertation is greater if the doctoral candidate is young and if attending Umeå University. But individual author productivity for compilation dissertations is mainly influenced by unobservables.     

中国大陆的马来西亚华侨华人研究——以1982~2011年间《华侨华人历史研究》刊发论文为基础的分析

论文基于《华侨华人历史研究》1982年以来刊发的约60篇马华研究论文,同时参考近年来大陆有关马华研究的博士论文,分析了大陆关于马华研究的主要领域、资料来源、资料类型、研究方法、作者群特点等。研究显示,大陆关于马华的研究,涉及到政治、政策、宗教、文化、社会、文学、女性、族群关系、医学和音乐等领域;研究者重点使用的是英语资料和马来西亚当地的资料,使用最多的是中英文图书,其次是中文期刊和中文报纸;文献分析法是主要研究方法。大陆已有一批比较固定的马华研究者,但人数相对有限,且少有人进行专一的马来西亚华人研究。选择马华作为博士学位论文研究课题的作者成为当今学界研究马华的主要力量。     

The career aspirations and expectations of geography doctoral students: establishing academic subjectivities within a shifting landscape

The PhD forms a watershed period where candidates' professional identities are formed, and their career aspirations and expectations are developed. Yet little is known about Australian geography doctoral students' career aspirations and expectations. Drawing on findings from a 2016 survey of those students, the paper establishes that while a majority of students aspire to work in academia, many also feel quite pessimistic about their prospects of being able to do so. The paper argues that the uncertainty and anxiety that many Australian geography doctoral students feel about their future careers is the product of a wider cultural shift that is occurring in relation to the purpose of the research doctorate. Geographers need to critically engage with these changes and the academic subjectivities they are producing to ensure that, as a discipline, geography continues to make a positive contribution to the careers of the individuals who undertake these degrees.     

A Recent Doctoral Thesis

Advanced doctoral students whose dissertations are substantially concerned with the history of cartography are invited to contact the editor of this section (Dr Elizabeth Baigent, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford OX2 6PW, UK; elizabeth.baigent@wycliffe.ox.ac.uk) to discuss the submission of a short article. For a list of doctoral theses in progress see http://www.maphistory.info/futurephd.html.     

Herman Moll and the London Map Trade, 1678–1732

Advanced doctoral students whose dissertations are substantially concerned with the history of cartography are invited to contact the editor of this section (Dr Elizabeth Baigent, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford OX2 6PW, UK; elizabeth.baigent@wycliffe.ox.ac.uk) to discuss the submission of a short article. For a list of doctoral theses in progress see http://www.maphistory.info/futurephd.html.     

Vilnius 1795–1939: Cartographic Visions and Territorial Projects of a Disputed Space

Advanced doctoral students whose dissertations are substantially concerned with the history of cartography are invited to contact the editor of this section (Dr Elizabeth Baigent, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford OX2 6PW, UK; elizabeth.baigent@wycliffe.ox.ac.uk) to discuss the submission of a short article. For a list of doctoral theses in progress see http://www.maphistory.info/futurephd.html.     

Producing Spatial Knowledge: Map Making in Edinburgh,c.1880–c.1920

Advanced doctoral students whose dissertations are substantially concerned with the history of cartography are invited to contact the editor of this section (Dr Elizabeth Baigent, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford OX2 6PW, UK; elizabeth.baigent@wycliffe.ox.ac.uk) to discuss the submission of a short article. For a list of doctoral theses in progress see http://www.maphistory.info/futurephd.html.     

Benchmarking in Geography: Some implications for assessing dissertations in the undergraduate curriculum

Internationally there is concern about assessment standards and the qualities of graduating students. In the UK this is resulting in the introduction of benchmarking by disciplinary communities, including that of geography. In that context the authors report on a project across social science disciplines, including geography, in one UK university, to examine and improve the assessment of undergraduate dissertations. The project examined what assessment criteria are currently published to students and identified some sources of inconsistency in applying them. It identified some potential core criteria and recommended ways of increasing transparency in applying them, so as to reduce inconsistencies and potential unfairness in marking. Implications for geography departments and the international disciplinary community are suggested and for the benchmarking exercise in British geography.     

The Anglo-Saxon Cotton Map in Context

Advanced doctoral students whose dissertations are substantially concerned with the history of cartography are invited to contact the editor of this section (Dr Elizabeth Baigent, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford OX2 6PW, UK; elizabeth.baigent@wycliffe.ox.ac.uk) to discuss the submission of a short article. For a list of doctoral theses in progress see http://www.maphistory.info/futurephd.html.     

Depicting ‘Terra Australis’: An Analysis of the Imagery on the Unknown Southern Continent on Renaissance World Maps, 1520s–1620s

Advanced doctoral students whose dissertations are substantially concerned with the history of cartography are invited to contact the editor of this section (Dr Elizabeth Baigent, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford OX2 6PW, UK; elizabeth.baigent@wycliffe.ox.ac.uk) to discuss the submission of a short article. For a list of doctoral theses in progress see http://www.maphistory.info/futurephd.html.     

Doctoral Thesis in Progress

Advanced doctoral students whose dissertations are substantially concerned with the history of cartography are invited to contact the editor of this section (Dr Elizabeth Baigent, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford OX2 6PW, UK; elizabeth.baigent@wycliffe.ox.ac.uk) to discuss the submission of a short article. For a list of doctoral theses in progress see http://www.maphistory.info/futurephd.html.     

民国时期留美西洋史学者与美国的西洋史学术传统——以博士论文为中心的考察

民国时期留美西洋史学者是中国的留美生中一个非常特殊的群体,国内史学界对他们的留学生涯,特别是博士论文关注较少。这批学者在博士论文的选题上颇具特色,具有强烈的现实关怀、关注国内重大的史学争论、主要侧重欧洲国家的历史。几篇博士论文运用了大量的一手史料,在研究视角上也很有新意,所以得到了导师和美国史学界的认可。几位学者在回国后形成了自己独特的治学风格,并通过授课和学术组织工作,为中国的世界史学科奠定了坚实的基础。     

差异和差距:中国和北美旅游地理博士学位论文的比较研究

通过对56篇中国旅游地理学博士学位论文和76篇北美论文的比较研究发现:中国旅游地理研究的博士学位论文滞后于北美,但中国博士论文增长速度快于北美;北美论文选题视野宽泛而中国论文选题视角比较狭窄;北美旅游地理博士学位论文选题的学科本位特征比较明显,而中国旅游地理博士学位论文选题的实践驱动比较突出;由于中国和北美旅游业发展背景和所处发展阶段不同或研究者对旅游地理问题认识的差异使其博士学位论文选题倾向有明显不同,即使在同一时期也有不同的研究热点。在北美,旅游影响研究和旅游景观/形象/感知研究是两个长盛不衰的课题且涉及的论文数量最多;在中国,涉及最多的研究领域是区域旅游开发/发展和生态旅游。     

Contextualising Recent Tensions in Seventh‐day Adventism: “A Constant Process of Struggle and Rebirth”?

Between 1844 and 1863, fragments of disappointed Millerism developed the landmark ideas, the denominational name and the basic structure of what is now the Seventh‐day Adventist Church with fifteen million members (2008) in 201 countries. This article contextualises the struggle of recent decades between continuity and change in Adventist teaching, suggesting that a score of doctoral theses/dissertations and other studies offer a coherence that is deeply disturbing for some believers, insufficient for some others, but satisfying for many. The demands in Western culture for faith to be shaped by evidence and to offer existential meaning have elicited three stances in relation to traditional Adventist thought: reversion, alienation, and transformation. Whereas the consequent tensions may be viewed as evidence of “growth, vitality and increased understanding,” they also constitute an urgent call for effective internal and external dialogue.     

Renewing the purpose of geography education: Eco-anxiety,powerful knowledge,and pathways for transformation

Concerns about the decline in uptake of secondary geography education continue despite arguments supporting the value of geography education, the power of geographical thinking, and geography’s critical role in preparing students to deal with complex challenges. Already constrained by neoliberal politics of disadvantage, young people must plan and prepare for chaotic futures. Consequently, young people are becoming distressed and worried about their futures and feeling powerless as society fails to adequately address these issues. In this article, we ask what schools and universities can do as place-based public institutions to serve young people to effectively respond to eco-anxiety and build capacities to surf the unrelenting waves of change. We draw on journeys that brought three young doctoral candidates to study geography. From their stories, we sketch what a geographical education could offer in terms of relevance, practicality, and engagement with transformative system change. We think that under current world conditions, this is a moment to revive geography education and give it renewed purpose to encourage young people to develop skills and competences to tackle wicked problems.     

Re-framing the Geography Dissertation: A Consideration of Alternative,Innovative and Creative Approaches

This paper reviews the opportunities and challenges for re-framing the purpose, process, product and assessment of final-year geography dissertations. It argues that the academic centralities of critical thinking, analysis, evaluation, effective communication and independence must be retained, but that the traditional format limits creativity and innovation. Re-imagining capstone projects has implications for students, faculty, departments and institutions, but greater diversity could enhance its relevance to students and employers, better aligning the student experience with the academic interests and future career demands of the 21st century graduate.     

Doing Fieldwork in Development Geography: Research Culture and Research Spaces in Vietnam

Rapid socioeconomic and institutional changes in Vietnam since the early 1990s have opened up new geographical spaces for field research. Reflecting on the experiences of three doctoral student researchers engaged in distinct development geography fieldwork projects in Vietnam, this paper profiles some of the conditions and procedures for carrying out fieldwork in order to serve as a basis for comparison of changing ‘fieldwork possibilities’ in Vietnam and other developing and transitional socialist countries.     

北京大学的人文地理教学与研究

北京大学的地理部分是1952年由清华大学调入的。当时、北京大学成立了地质地理系。地理方面按苏联经验只建立自然地理学专业。     

国内外女性主义地理学研究述评

后现代思潮背景下,性别研究在人文科学领域越来越重要。性别不只是关于个体身份的自然属性,更是一种映射社会变革、社会不平等和反抗特权的社会关系。本文梳理国内外女性主义研究的相关文献,具体从女性主义地理学理论渊源、西方女性主义地理学和中国本土女性主义地理学等三方面对女性主义地理研究进行综述。较之于国外同行,国内女性主义地理学研究仍显单薄,多数是采借和沿袭西方的相关理论进而通过特定案例加以印证（佐证）,某种意义上是对西方同行的回应性研究。未来的我国女性主义地理研究,需要关注三个问题：从我国传统文化女性发展理论中吸取营养;聚焦女性日常生活世界领域的实践逻辑;女性作为能动者的个体和自组织的集体智慧需要引起注意。