Student Awards 2019

We are delighted to announce our winners for this year. Well done to everyone, it was again a really tough choice as the standard was high. Certificates were presented on 4th December at our next event.

• Undergraduate Awards Winner – Larissa Towey – Leeds University
• Masters Winner – Jason Dalrymple – UCL
• Masters Runner Up – Georgia Hayes – Leeds University

Undergraduate Awards Summary

Larissa Towey University of Leeds BA Geography (Industrial) “The Geography of Common Mental Disorders: An ecological study of England using self-reported and antidepressant prescribing data”

• Common Mental Disorders (CMDs), co-occurring conditions of depression and anxiety, affect nearly 1 in 6 people in England.

• This work sought to identify spatial variations in CMD prevalence, understand the extent to which socioeconomic factors influence CMDs and subsequently explain spatial variation in England

• Socioeconomic factors such as rates of unemployment, ethnic minorities and limiting long-term illnesses, were analysed against outcome data at aggregate Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and Middle Super Output Area level

Judges: This work represents novel research and goes about exploring this using non-traditional datasets, such as data from the GP Patient Survey (GPPS) and Openprescribing.net.  The output are technically sound and have clear policy implications

Masters Awards Summary

Runner up

Georgia Hayes University of Leeds MSc Consumer Analytics and Marketing Strategy “Identifying temporal, seasonal, spatial and other patterns of violent crime in London, in comparison with other crime categories”

• This research explored patterns of violent crime in London between the years 2011 and 2019
• Temporality, seasonality plus other spatial patterns were explored through analyses of police recorded and other publicly available data
• Analyses conducted at borough and LSOA level were contrasted with patterns observed in the Index of Multiple Deprivation and other variables
• Analyses conducted at borough and LSOA level were contrasted with patterns observed in the Index of Multiple Deprivation and other variables
• Effective use of the gini coefficient

Judges: This is a strong piece of research on a very topical issue. The work clearly has impact/usage implications and shows plenty of flair

Winner

Jason Dalrymple University College London MSc Geospatial Analysis ” “Evaluating the impact a restaurant aggregator might have on a UK National Restaurant Chain and with that impact in mind consider whether prevailing retail theories apply in the online world”

• This research sought to examine the impact Deliveroo has had (and is having) on the restaurant industry through the activities of one UK national restaurant chain
• The work investigated the interplay between catchment areas, as well as considering how spatial modelling can be applied to revenue allocation/estimation
• Measuring ‘impact’ was achieved through the use of GIS, probability analysis, buffering algorithms and the manipulation of postcode data to model future revenue

Judges: This is a technically sound piece of research that explores a topic closely aligned to SLA interests. The approach is highly bespoke and something relatively under-explored from an academic perspective. Congratulations to all our three winners. We look forward to another SLA Awards in 2020. Please spread the word and help us encourage more students to enter.