Nigel Walford has taught Geographical Information Systems courses at Kingston University for 12 years and previously worked in the Data Archive at Essex University. He graduated from the University of Sussex and did his postgraduate work at the University of London. His thematic research interests relate mainly to rural issues and include agriculture, land use planning and population. Recent book publications include Geographical Data Analysis (John Wiley & Sons) and Reshaping the Countryside: Perceptions and Processes of Rural Change (CAB International) as well as several journal articles in Health and Place, Geography, Planning Practice and Research, Applied Geography and International Journal of Population Geography.