Update and thanks

Just to update anyone interested in what I am doing. I have finished writing my thesis and submitted it for for examination. One of my examiners is busy until Christmas so it looks like I am going to have my viva in January. I am actually quite pleased with it.

In the mean time I have got myself a job as lecturer in GIS at Kingston (Surrey) University. I am just trying to get my head around what is required for that.

It is not always easy to show people who you have thanked in the Acknowledgements of a thesis so I thought I would publish it here.

Acknowledgements

The research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council Collaborative Award for Science and Engineering (ESRC CASE) with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), my former employer, acting as co-sponsor. The research was made possible by data from MPS information systems facilitated by Trevor Adams. Detective Superintendent Neil Wilson, a former colleague, assisted with obtaining London Borough of Camden crime and disorder data, which was integral to the research. I am grateful to both.

I have been supported and guided throughout my research by a team of academics within the University College London Geography Department and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis. Typical of this was being provided with data regarding licensed premises and other commercial premises in London by Dr Duncan Smith.

I particularly want to thank Professor Paul Longley, my principal supervisor, who has stretched and challenged me to produce better throughout the research. His guidance and friendship have been unwavering.

I have also appreciated the support and help of fellow students, most notably Daniel Lewis and James Cheshire who eased me into the world of Geographical Information System software.

I am particularly grateful to the Semeion Research Institute in Rome Italy and its Director, Professor Massimo Buscema, who introduced me to multi-dimensional, multivariable clustering techniques when I managed a project whilst I was still in the MPS. We renewed our acquaintance with during this research. The Self Organising Map (SOM) software to perform the clustering processes in Chapter 7 was written by Dr Giulia Massini; I am grateful to her and for the loan of the software.

I have friends and family to thank as well. Firstly, Janet Smith and Monica McKinnie, who became Facebook friends through our joint connection of attending the same junior school in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia and who diligently proofread, pointing out my typos and more bazaar sentence constructions.  They are amazing. My father and mother (especially my father, a professor himself and supervisor of many PhD’s) for their gentle coaxing. Thanks to my youngest sister Megan, who carried out her PhD research in parallel with me but finished before me, for not gloating. And finally I am very grateful to my wife, Vivien, who has shown unreasonable confidence in my abilities from the start and given me plenty of space and time to do my research and kept me going.