Professor Lorna Philip

MA, PhD (Glas)

Personal Chair

Accepting PhDs

51cg

Email Address: l.philip@abdn.ac.uk
Telephone Number: +44 (0)1224 272358
Office Address: G21 St. Mary's Kings College Old Aberdeen AB24 3UE Scotland
School/Department: School of Geosciences

Biography

MA (Social Science) with First Class Honours in Geography (Glasgow) 1993.
PhD in Human Geography (Glasgow) 2000.
1997 - 1998 Research Assistant, Department of Land Economy, 51cg.
1998 - 2004 Lecturer, Department of Land Economy, 51cg.
2004 - 2007 Lecturer, Geography and Environment, School of Geosciences, 51cg.
2007 - 2021 Senior Lecturer, Geography and Environment, School of Geosciences, 51cg
2016 - 2021 Depute Head of School of Geosciences
2021 to date Personal Chair, Geography and Environment, School of Geosciences, 51cg

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships: Past Convenor, 51cg Ethical Review Committee
External Memberships: Hon. Fellow Royal Scottish Geographical Society

Fellow, Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)

Fellow of the Academy of Social Science

Latest Publications

The influence of rural residency on the uptake of screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers in Scotland
2026 - Published
Iversen, L., Raja, E. A., Nath, M., Lip, G., Speirs, V., Collins, J., Philip, L., Hanley, S. J., Murchie, P.
Journal of Public Health, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 467–476
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]
A new conceptual framework to classify sub-national islands: Gow's Typology
2026 - Published
Gow, K. P., Duffy, P., Philip, L., Currie, M., Wilson, R.
Journal of Rural Studies, vol. 124, 104100
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Principles of Repopulation Initiatives for Community Resilience: Understandings Gleaned From the Proposed Scottish Government’s Islands Bond
2025 - Published
Craigie, M. W., Currie, M., Duffy, P., Philip, L., Wilson, R.
Island Studies Journal, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 199-224
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
Mapping for better care: supporting service planning for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal problems
2025 - Published
Hollick, R. J., Stevenson, M., Parker, M., Seaborne, M., Stelfox, K., Pedrick-Case, R., Fry, R., James, W. R., Kennedy, J., Bartram, M., Margaret, C., Brophy, S., Choy, E., Macfarlane, G. J., Philip, L., McFarlane, D., Black, C.
RHEUMAPS Study/51cg. 178 pages
Books and Reports: Other Reports
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE] Report on IAHS webpage
Selling the nation: the commodification of monstrous, mythical and fantastical creatures
2024 - Published
Philip, L. J.
Scottish Geographical Journal, vol. 140, no. 3-4, pp. 474-489
Contributions to Journals: Articles
- [ONLINE] DOI:
- [OPEN ACCESS]
- [ONLINE]

View My Publications

Prizes and Awards

Winner of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Newbiggin Prize 2002.

Research

Research Overview

My main area of research interest is rural socio-economic change. I have published conceptual and empirical papers on topics including rural social exclusion, population change, ageing in rural communities and rural digital divides. I have completed research on these and other topics funded by UK Research Councils and Government Departments.

I have supervised thirteen doctoral candidates to successful completion of their PhD thesis.

Research Areas

Accepting PhDs

I am currently accepting PhDs in Geography and Environment.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.

Email Me

Geography and Environment

Supervising
Accepting PhDs

View Research Area

Research Specialisms

Human Geography
Rural Planning
Social Sciences

Our research specialisms are based on the Higher Education Classification of Subjects (HECoS) which is , published under the licence.

Current Research

I am co-investigator on a five year programme grant awarded by the Chief Scientist Office, Building Rural-Urban healthCare Equity for Scotland (BRUCES) – a multi-methods, interdisciplinary research programme in cancer, musculoskeletal health and frailty. This project runs from Sept 2024 - August 2029 and aims to understand how and why health and healthcare for people living in different types of rural communities differs from those living in urban areas, and how we can improve it. The research team drawns together clinicians, academic researchers and patients interested in improving rural healthcare delivery.

I have recently compelted a longitudinal study of the long term impacts of flooding on rural communities, funded by Scotland's Centre for Research Excellence in Water (CREW).

Past Research

I have compelted work on three interdisiplinary research projects funded through the 51cg's RCUK dot.rural research hub: Technologies to support Older people at home: maximising Personal and Social interaction - TOPS; 'Two Speed Britian' -a dot.rural - Oxford Internet Institute collaboration using data from the 2013 Oxford Internet Survey; and RuralPAWS, a project which adressed digial exclusion in a remote rural case study community.

I have also completed research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council exploring retirement transition migration in rural areas and have undertaken other research examining issues associated with rural demographic ageing.

Supervision

My current supervision areas are: Geography and Environment.

I am currently supervising 2 PhD students. One is working on research aligned with Scotland's National Islands Plan and island population revival, the other is investigating inter-generational communication as a means of improving the quality of life of older people.

I have supervised completed PhD research on topics including rural population change, rural ageing, rural community-led broadband initiatives and impacts of next-generation broadband on rural businesses.

Supervisees

Funding and Grants

Selected funded research projects

Assessing the impacts on people and communities following the Decembet 2015 / January 2016 flood events Project funded by CREW, Scotland's Centre of Expertise for Water

RuralPAWS Project funded by the RCUK Rural Digital Economy Hub, dot.rural.

Oxford Internet Survey Project funded by the RCUK Rural Digital Economy Hub, dot.rural. G

Technologies to support Older people at home: maximising Personal and Social interaction – TOPS Project funded by the RCUK Rural Digital Economy Hub, dot.rural.

The Retirement Transition and the Celtic Fringe: Mobility Trends and Migrant and Rural Community Well Being Project funded by the ESRC.

Policy Grid 2 Project funded by the ESRC.

Teaching

Courses

The UN Sustainable Development Goals: Transforming Our World GG1512
GG3094 Social Science Data and Analysis
Research Design GG3573
Research Design GG3574
Globalisation GG3576
Rural Geographies GG4073
Rural Geographies GG4083
Geography Undergraduate Dissertation
Research Methods GG5516
Dissertation (SRD And MLE) GG5905

Teaching Responsibilities

I have teaching commitments across the undergraduate Geography curriculum including contributions to Level 1 The UN Sustainable Development Goals: Transforming Our World, Level 3 Research Design, Level 3 Social Science Data and Methods, Level 3 Globalisation and Masters level Research Methods. I also deliver a specialist Level 4 Honours Option course, Rural Geographies, and I supervise undergraduate and taught post-graduate dissertations.

Publications

Update

51cg

Biography

Memberships and Affiliations

Latest Publications

The influence of rural residency on the uptake of screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers in Scotland

A new conceptual framework to classify sub-national islands: Gow's Typology

Principles of Repopulation Initiatives for Community Resilience: Understandings Gleaned From the Proposed Scottish Government’s Islands Bond

Mapping for better care: supporting service planning for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal problems

Selling the nation: the commodification of monstrous, mythical and fantastical creatures

Prizes and Awards

Research Overview

Research Areas

Accepting PhDs

Geography and Environment

Research Specialisms

Current Research

Past Research

Supervision

Supervisees

Funding and Grants

Courses

Teaching Responsibilities

The influence of rural residency on the uptake of screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers in Scotland

A new conceptual framework to classify sub-national islands: Gow's Typology

Principles of Repopulation Initiatives for Community Resilience: Understandings Gleaned From the Proposed Scottish Government’s Islands Bond

Mapping for better care: supporting service planning for people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal problems

Selling the nation: the commodification of monstrous, mythical and fantastical creatures

The value of qualitative longitudinal research for researchers and policy makers: lessons learnt from exploring long-term impacts of flooding

An internal diaspora: opportunities for island repopulation?

Rural transformations, rural futures: introduction to theme section

Informing Scotland’s Rural Deliverty Plan and Rural Lens: Evidence, Indicators and Evaluation.: Final Report from the SEFARI Specialist Advisory Group

Uncovering attributes of an internal Islands Diaspora: Connections and Aspirations to Return

Rurality, islandness and public policy in Scotland

Gow’s Typology of Scotland’s Islands: Technical notes

Participation and civic engagement in Scotland: the importance of contributions from older adults

Rurality, islandness and public policy: do definitions matter?

A new initiative for rural tourism:: How IsleHoliday plans to help rebalance the sector

COVID-19 and the countryside. Rural areas: distant from the pandemic?

Flooding and mental health: what are the long-term impacts?

Imaginative animal geographies: Scotland’s mythical beasts and monsters

Geographies of the rural and the Covid-19 pandemic

Long-term impacts of flooding following the winter 2015/16 flooding in North East Scotland: Comprehensive Report: Co-author, drafted chapters, implemented the research and analysis

Long-term impacts of flooding following the winter 2015/16 flooding in North East Scotland: Summary Report

The Sheep and Trees initiative: a first step towards integrated agroforestry in Scotland?

Healthy ageing in Smart Villages? Observations from the field.

Editorial Introduction: Diverse Geographies of Rural Ageing

Population Growth. The Development of Towns and Villages in Galloway, 1755-1841

Rural Ageing

Written evidence submitted to the House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Rural broadband and digital only services inquiry

Remote rural home based businesses and digital inequalities: understanding needs and expectations in a digitally underserved community

Centenary of the Department of Geography, 51cg

Rural geographical research at the 51cg: working in rural places and with rural communities

After Brexit: 10 key questions for rural policy in Scotland

Tales from a Small Island: Applying the ‘Path-Dependency’ Thesis to Explore Migration to a Remote Rural Community

A Window to the Outside World: Digital technology to stimulate imaginative mobility for rural housebound older adults

Impacts of winter 2015/16 flooding in and around Ballater and in the Garioch: overview of findings from Project Year 1

The digital divide: Patterns, policy and scenarios for connecting the ‘final few’ in rural communities across Great Britain

Rural resilience in a digital society: Editorial

‘Digital by Default’ and the ‘hard to reach’: Exploring solutions to digital exclusion in remote rural areas

Striking a balance between in-person care and the use of eHealth to support the older rural population with chronic pain

Social isolation and the perceived importance of in-person care amongst rural older adults with chronic pain: a review and emerging research agenda

Bringing The Outside In: Technology for Increasing Engagement with the Outside World among Rural Housebound Older Adults

‘It’s revolutionised how we do things’: then and now - a case study of Internet behaviours in a remote rural community

Two-Speed Britain: rural Internet Use

Attitudes towards the use and acceptance of eHealth technologies: a case study of older adults living with chronic pain and implications for rural healthcare

51cg, dot.rural written evidence to the Commons Select Committee Rural Broadband and Digital-only Services Inquiry for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA)

Editorial: The Rural Digital Economy

Technology for Older Adults: Maximising Personal and Social Interaction: Exploring Opportunities for eHealth to Support the Older Rural Population with Chronic Pain

'Two-speed' Scotland: patterns and implications of the digital divide in contemporary Scotland

A wireless router for “free” Public Access Internet Service for Government Digital Services

Reaching the hard to reach? The rural public access WiFi service delivery model: role, potential and pitfalls

Lessons learnt from the deployment of a semantic virtual research environment

Responding to Scotland's Rural Health and Social Care Needs With Innovative Solutions

Social isolation and the perceived importance of in-person care amongst rural older adults with chronic pain: a review and emerging research agenda

Connected life-courses: influences on and experiences of 'midlife' in-migration to rural areas

An Appreciation: Neil Smith (1954-2012)

Personal and social interaction amongst the older rural population with chronic pain: can ICT support resilience?

Retirement Transition Migration: Implications for Rural Development

Retirement transition, migration and remote rural communities: evidence from the Isle of Bute

Urban to rural migration in Northern Ireland: a lifecourse perspective