The challenges of creating actionable knowledge: an action research perspective

Academia has a critical role in developing new knowledge which construction industry practitioners need to envision, undertake and sustain successful innovation. The new knowledge produced by academia, however, often does not satisfy the needs of practitioners. This unsatisfactory state of affairs is frequently taken to be the consequence of the cultural, motivational and operational differences between the two communities. Actionable knowledge is presented as a useful concept which can fuse the expectations, contributions and outputs of academia and practitioners. Within this context, action research is argued to be an appropriate methodology to develop successful actionable knowledge. Results from an action research project are given which provide researchers and practitioners greater understanding of the key factors that shape the degree to which action research produces actionable knowledge: change focus, collaboration capabilities and systematic process. The criteria intrinsic to Mode 2 research (Gibbons et al., 1994 Gibbons, M., Limoges, C., Nowotny, H., Schwartz, S., Scott, P. and Trow, M. 1994. The New Production of Knowledge: The Dynamics of Science and Research in Contemporary Societies, London: Sage.  [Google Scholar]) are demonstrated to have utility in evidencing actionable knowledge. The implication for policy is that there is a need to develop and use appropriate actionable knowledge frameworks and measures to design funding calls, and to evaluate research proposals and outputs.     

Dialectics of Power: The Case of Tulihta Land-use Agreement

Case studies of planning which involve criminal corruption are rare. The article presents a Finnish court case known as “Tulihta”, concerning the breach of a land purchase contract and treachery in the preparation of the detailed plan for the land property in question, during 1989–1993. The case is analysed from the power perspective by using a framework developed by Mäntysalo and Rajaniemi (2003 Mäntysalo, R. and Rajaniemi, J. 2003. Vallan ulottuvuuksia maankäytön suunnittelussa. Synteesi, 22(3): 117–136.  [Google Scholar]). In the framework, two sets of binary characteristics of power, namely power as control and as ability, and explicit and implicit power, are combined into a horizontal-vertical field. The case analysis is aimed to test the applicability of the framework, as well as to reveal the manifold aspects of power at play in a land-use planning process.     

The Shape of Things to Come: New Urbanism,the Grid and the Cul-De-Sac

There is much debate in the UK, North America and Australia within both crime prevention and planning concerning New Urbanism and the design of suburban housing layouts. New Urbanism promotes high-density, mixed-use residential developments in ‘walkable’ neighbourhoods close to public transport, employment and amenities. One significant factor is New Urbanism's support for permeability and the preference of the grid street layout over the cul-de-sac (Morrow-Jones et al., (2004) Morrow-Jones, H., Irwin, E. and Roe, B. 2004. Consumer preference for neotraditional neighbourhood characteristics. Housing Policy Debate, 15(1): 171–202. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]. The authors present the evidence as it relates to the grid and the cul-de-sac across a range of inter-disciplinary issues such as crime, walkability, social interaction, travel behaviour, traffic safety, cost and sustainability and housing preferences. This paper provides a brief history of the grid and cul-de-sac, discusses their respective strengths and weaknesses and concludes that any ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is myopic and simplistic. It calls for a more holistic approach to understanding the localized and contextual dimension to suburban street layouts and how they may affect human behaviour. The paper highlights key areas for future research and calls for more inter-disciplinary debate and cooperation, particularly between environmental criminologists, planners and town centre managers.     

Toledo Tomorrow: reading Norman Bel Geddes' vision for the future in a shrinking Midwestern City

This paper examines Norman Bel Geddes’ 1945 Geddes, N. B. 1945. Toledo Tomorrow. Toledo: Toledo Blade. [Google Scholar] Toledo Tomorrow plan, his only proposal for a specific city, and its stamp on the morphology of today's Toledo. The paper surveys retrospectively the changes in the morphology of the city and critically analyzes the impact of the Toledo Tomorrow Plan. Today's Toledo, a shrinking rustbelt city, reflects Geddes' legacy of neglecting the historic core, focusing on highway infrastructure, that has since worked in tandem with the forces of decentralization and suburbanization, and the city's weak relationship with its natural features and larger region.     

Project affinity: the role of emotional attachment in construction projects

Although a wide range of human and organizational factors have been found to be important in the operation of projects, those determined by cultural variables are less well defined. One such influence concerns the notion of ‘project affinity’, the commitment and attachment by stakeholders and participants to projects and their outcomes. The temporal nature and transient involvement context provided by construction projects arguably presents a climate in which many participants are less likely to display commitment to its goals. This note is concerned with the issue of whether an attachment to a project's goals or to the completed product can lead to improved commitment among those involved. The concept of project affinity was developed in the course of a case study investigation in which operatives' attitudes towards the construction of a cancer research facility were explored. Because of the contribution of the facility to the future care of cancer sufferers, the concept of project affinity proved helpful in understanding a factor that appeared to be influencing the commitment of those involved. The results suggest a complementary concept to that of ‘project chemistry’ (c.f. Nicolini, 2002 Nicolini, D. 2002. In search of ‘project chemistry’.. Construction Management and Economics, 20: 167–77.  ).     

Constructing Homeownership Policy: Social Constructions and the Design of the Low-Income Homeownership Policy Objective

This paper offers a new perspective to explain how and why the U.S. federal government pursued a policy agenda that from the early-1990s promoted homeownership as the preferred housing tenure of choice for low-income households. Using policy design theory (Schneider &; Ingram 1997 Schneider, A. L. and Ingram, H. M. 1997. Policy Design for Democracy, Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.  [Google Scholar]), this paper argues that the social constructions of homeownership, low-income households, and the private mortgage industry were instrumental in the development of policies to increase low-income homeownership. The benefits associated with homeownership, based on long-standing norms around success, stability, and the American Dream, justified government interventions to increase access to private mortgage markets for low-income households. This policy stance, however, did nothing to assist households with maintaining homeownership for the long term. The social constructions embedded in the rationales and implementation of these policies contributed to their failure to sustain homeownership and realize its benefits for low-income homeowners.     

Changing Landscapes,Changing Landscape's Story

Abstract

Visual surrogates have been widely used for solving environment related issues. Researchers now have concern over the validity of surrogates. Human perception is multi-modal (Wohlwill, 1976 Wohlwill, J. F. 1976. “Environmental aesthetics: the environment as a source of affect”. In Human Behavior and Environment: Advances in Theory and Research, Edited by: Altman, I. and Wohlwill, J. F. New York: Plenum Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]; Ittelson, 1973 Ittelson W. Environment and Cognition Seminar Press New York 1973  [Google Scholar]) and motion is an essential aspect in the perceptual process (Gibson, 1979 Gibson, J. J. 1979. The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.  [Google Scholar]). Therefore, a surrogate has to be able to represent the dynamic elements in the environment and more realistically reflect human environmental experience. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of videos and slides as visual surrogates for representing dynamic environment. The validity of the surrogates was verified by comparing subjects' perceptual responses to on-site and simulated situations. The perceptual assessments included emotional, cognitive, behavioural and preference responses. The results indicated that on-site participants' emotional responses and preferences are significantly stronger than those of video and slide viewers. In addition, on-site participants' and video viewers' cognitive and behavioural responses were significantly higher than those of slide viewers. Overall, the validity of videos and slides for representing waterscapes was not supported.     

Bidding models: testing the stationarity assumption

With notably few exceptions, bidding models contain probability distributions with parameters that are assumed to be fixed, or stationary, over time. Some methods of testing the tenability of this assumption are examined and applied to eight datasets. Of particular interest is the statistical significance of two types of periodicity: (1) that bidders gradually reduce their bids prior to winning a contract; and (2) that bidders have periods in which they are more competitive and periods in which they are less competitive. To test (1), McCaffer and Pettitt's (1976 McCaffer, R. and Pettitt, A. N. 1976. Bidding behaviour in project management.. The Project Manager, 1(5): 5–8.  [Google Scholar]) cusum method is used and shown to have a limited interpretation in this context. McCaffer's ‘deficit’ statistic is then used in conjunction with a one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and shows (1) to be untenable for the samples involved. To test (2), the deficit statistic is again used with an ANOVA to examine all possible sub‐series of bids.     

Predicting risk of water quality failures in distribution networks under uncertainties using fault-tree analysis

The water quality in a distribution system is affected by many factors, including operational and environmental conditions as well as the condition in and around the distribution network. Lack of reliable data as well as knowledge gaps with respect to the impact of these factors on water quality make the quantification of water quality failure risk very challenging. Furthermore, the variability inherent in (sometimes) thousands of kilometers of distribution pipes presents added complexities. Major modes of water quality failures can be classified into intrusion of contaminants, regrowth of bacteria (biofilm), water treatment breakthrough, leaching of chemicals or corrosion products from system components, and permeation of organic compounds through plastic pipes. Deliberate contamination and negligence of operators have in recent years become an added concern. In earlier works by Sadiq et al. (2004 Sadiq, R., Kleiner, Y. and Rajani, B. 2004. Aggregative risk analysis for water quality failure in distribution networks. Journal of Water Supply Research and Technology: Aqua, 53(4): 241–261. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], 2007 Sadiq, R., Kleiner, Y. and Rajani, B. 2007. Water quality failures in distribution networks – risk analysis using fuzzy logic and evidential reasoning. Risk Analysis – An International Journal, 27(5): 1381–1394. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), an aggregative risk analysis approach using hierarchical structure was proposed to describe all possible mechanisms of contamination. In this paper a similar structure is used as a basis for a fault-tree approach. While fault-tree analysis is widely used for many engineering applications, in this paper we specifically explore how interdependencies among factors might impact analysis results. Two types of uncertainties are considered in the proposed analysis. The first is related to the likelihood of risk events, and the second is related to non-linear dependencies among risk events. Each basic risk event (input factor) is defined using a fuzzy probability (likelihood) to deal with its inherent uncertainty. The dependencies among risk events are explored using Frank copula and Frechet's limit. The proposed approach is demonstrated using two well-documented episodes of water quality failures in Canada, namely, Walkerton (ON) and North Battleford (SK).     

Putting theory to work: the use of theory in construction research

Attention to epistemology, theory use and citation practices are all issues which distinguish academic disciplines from other ways of knowing. Examples from construction research are used to outline and reflect on these issues. In doing so, the discussion provides an introduction to some key issues in social research as well as a reflection on the current state of construction research as a field. More specifically, differences between positivist and interpretivist epistemologies, the role of theory in each and their use by construction researchers are discussed. Philosophical differences are illustrated by appeal to two published construction research articles by Reichstein et al. and Harty on innovation (Reichstein, Salter and Gann, 2005 Reichstein, T., Salter, A.J. and Gann, D.M. (2005) Last among equals: a comparison of innovation in construction, services and manufacturing in the UK. Construction Management and Economics, 23, 631–644.10.1080/01446190500126940[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]; Harty, 2008 Harty, C. (2008) Implementing innovation in construction: contexts, relative boundedness and actor-network theory. Construction Management and Economics, 26, 1029–1041.10.1080/01446190802298413[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]). An analysis of citations for each highlights different cumulativity strategies. The potential contribution of mixed research programmes, combining positivist and interpretivist research, is evaluated. The paper should be of interest to early researchers and to scholars concerned with the ongoing development of construction research as an academic field.     

A new way of developing semantic differential scales with personal construct theory

Measurement is a fundamental issue in management research. However, traditional scale development methods have the drawback of mixing researchers' bias with the scale design. Based on Ding et al.'s (2007 Ding, Z. K., Ng, F. F. and Cai, Q. Y. 2007. Personal constructs affecting interpersonal trust and willingness to share knowledge between architects in project design teams.. Construction Management and Economics, 25: 937–50. [Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) exploratory work, a new way to develop semantic differential measurement scales is proposed and tested with a survey in the context of the construction industry. The purpose is to provide researchers and practitioners with a new method to develop semantic differential scales for measurement while the bias from their own perspective can be reduced. The reliability and validity of semantic differential scales according to the new method are tested with SPSS and Amos 6.0. The results show that the generated semantic differential scales with this method have high reliability and validity. The new way to develop semantic differential scales offers researchers and practitioners one more choice of scale development. The general application of this new method to other contexts is yet to be tested.     

Planning for deep-rooted problems: What can we learn from aligning complex systems and wicked problems?

An earlier generation of planners turned to Rittel & Webber’s 1973 Rittel, H. W. J., & Webber, M. M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4, 155–169. doi:10.1007/BF01405730[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] conception of “wicked problems” to explain why conventional scientific approaches failed to solve problems of pluralistic urban societies. More recently, “complex systems” analysis has attracted planners as an innovative approach to understanding metropolitan dynamics and its social and environmental impacts. Given the renewed scholarly interest in wicked problems, we asked: how can planners use the complex systems approach to tackle wicked problems? We re-evaluate Rittel and Webber’s arguments through the lens of complex systems, which provide a novel way to redefine wicked problems and engage their otherwise intractable, zero-sum impasses. The complex systems framework acknowledges and builds an understanding around the factors that give rise to wicked problems: interaction, heterogeneity, feedback, neighbourhood effects, and collective interest traps. This affinity allows complex systems tools to engage wicked problems more explicitly and identify local or distributed interventions. This strategy aligns more closely with the nature of urban crises and social problems than the post-war scientific methodologies about which Rittel and Webber had grown increasingly sceptical. Despite this potential, planners have only belatedly and hesitantly engaged in complex systems analysis. The barriers are both methodological and theoretical, requiring creative, iterative problem framing. Complex systems thinking cannot “solve” or “tame” wicked problems. Instead, complex systems first characterize the nature of the wicked problems and explore plausible pathways that cannot always be anticipated and visualized without simulations. The intersection of wicked problems and complex systems presents a fertile domain to rethink our understanding of persistent social and environmental problems, to mediate the manifold conflicts over land and natural resources, and thus to restructure our planning approaches to such problems.     

Geographies of mortgage market segmentation: the case of essex county,new jersey

Since the late 1980s, mutually reinforcing trends in economic growth, public policy, and community activism have fostered a wave of residential mortgage lending to ‘underserved markets’ in US cities. Yet many of the changes in housing finance that supported sustainable home ownership also lured a new generation of subprime and predatory credit institutions specialising in high-cost, high-risk lending. For many urban and minority neighbourhoods, the old problems of exclusionary redlining are now accompanied by new dilemmas of exploitive greenlining. This paper analyses the market penetration of subprime lending institutions and the subsequent concentration of mortgage ‘pre-foreclosures’ in low- and moderate-income, African American neighbourhoods. Focusing on Newark, NJ, and its surrounding suburbs, Gary King's King G 1997 A Solution to the Ecological Inference Problem: Reconstructing Individual Behavior from Aggregate Data (Princeton, Princeton University Press)  [Google Scholar] ecological inference technique and a series of logistic regression models are used to assess the role of borrower characteristics, institutional divisions, and neighbourhood context in the process of mortgage market segmentation. The evidence corroborates theories emphasising the dynamics of capital investment, financial services restructuring, and the economic incentives for racial-geographic targeting, and not the presumed credit deficiencies of urban and minority home owners. Unfortunately, the tidy empirical analysis offered here is overshadowed by the enormous societal experiment now underway across the US, as a wave of delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures undermines the belated minority home ownership gains achieved during the unprecedented boom of the 1990s.     

Reading Through a Plan

Problem: Planners may read plans often, but the profession continues to view the interpretation of plan content as something that is either too obvious or too unimportant to require explicit discussion. Plans are seldom adequately interpreted. This is regrettable because plans contain a rich variety of content and meaning.

Purpose: This article calls for planners to “read through” plans, not just to grasp their essential ideas or the means of implementing those ideas, but also to perceive additional levels of meaning relating to a) a plan's place within a larger intellectual sphere, b) a plan's statement on the social and political values of the time, and c) a plan as a part of the history of the planning profession and the life of cities.

Methods: I propose a visual approach to plan reading descended from Panofsky's (1939 Panofsky, E. 1939. Studies in iconology: Humanistic themes in the art of the Renaissance, New York, NY: Harper and Row.  [Google Scholar]) theory of iconology and use this to examine three very different plans that describe different size cities (small, large, very large) during different periods over the past 80 years (the 1930s, 1960s, 2000s). I analyze three levels of meaning in each plan: its factual meaning, or “plain sense” (Mandelbaum, 1990 Mandelbaum, S. J. 1990. Reading plans. Journal of the American Planning Association, 56(3): 350–358. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]); its contextual meaning, or relation to political, social, economic, and physical conditions; and its temporal meaning, or setting within the scope of observations made by other plan readers in the perspective of elapsed time.

Results and conclusions: Factual readings show that information may be found in diverse aspects of a plan document, from seemingly superficial aspects like its cover to unarguably central elements such as recommendations. Factual readings depend on understanding the relationships among different elements, and reveal information about the plan and its framers that may not otherwise be readily apparent. Contextual readings show us that plan recommendations are as much a product of contemporary conditions and norms as they are of plan-specific “survey and diagnosis” (Nolen, 1936 Nolen, J. 1936. Comprehensive city plan for Dubuque, Iowa, Dubuque, IA: City Planning and Zoning Commission.  [Google Scholar]). This raises the question of whether plan quality is to be judged only in terms of skillful execution of concerns of the day or whether innovation is also important. Temporal readings reveal that plans and planning have changed dramatically over time, simultaneously confirming and questioning the conventional wisdom of planning history.

Takeaway for practice: Many planners read plans on a regular basis, and plans continue to constitute the major printed currency of the planning profession. Both plans and planning will benefit if planners become more discerning readers of the profession's principal idea vessels. Formal plan interpretation is rare, but each planner can become a better plan interpreter.

Research support: None.     

Field-calibrated influence lines for improved axle weight identification with a bridge weigh-in-motion system

Bridge weigh-in-motion (BWIM) systems take influence line (IL) as a reference to calculate axle weights. The calibrated ILs based on field measurements can acquire better conformity with the actual situation and more actually represent the characteristic of existing bridges. Following the methodology proposed by O'Brien et al. (2006 O'BrienE.J., QuilliganM.J., & KaroumiR. (2006). Calculating an IL from direct measurements. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Bridge Engineering, 159, 31–34. [Google Scholar]), this paper presents back-calculating of the ILs from direct measurements taken on field tests for identification of axle weights of heavy vehicles. The algorithm for calibrating ILs is based on continuously measured bridge responses (strains) produced by two calibration vehicles passing across the instrumented bridge. In terms of the calibrated ILs, Moses' algorithm was applied to identify axle weights of moving vehicles by the least-square method. Field tests on highway US-78 in Alabama were conducted as a case study to evaluate the accuracy of the presented algorithms in calibrating ILs and to identify the axle weights by comparing with the static measurements, and with the measurements by the bending-plate weigh-in-motion (WIM) system on a one-to-one basis to demonstrate the accuracy of BWIM system relative to conventional pavement WIM systems. Finally, factors influencing axle weight identification, including the selection of ILs, the shapes of ILs and the scan numbers for collecting strain signals, were discussed.     

Planning and the communal state: interpreting community participation in Caracas

The paper adopts an interpretive institutionalist framework [Hay (2011 Hay, Colin. 2011. “Interpreting Interpretivism Interpreting Interpretations: The New Hermeneutics of Public Administration.” Public Administration 89 (1): 167–82. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9299.2011.01907.x.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]), “Interpreting Interpretivism Interpreting Interpretations: The New Hermeneutics of Public Administration.” Martin (2015 Martin, Graham. 2015. “‘Ahora tienen que escucharnos’ [now they have to listen to us]: Actors’ Understandings and Meanings of Planning Practices in Venezuela’s ‘Participatory Democracy’.” PhD thesis, Cardiff University. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/77661/. [Google Scholar]), “‘Ahora tienen que escucharnos’ [now they have to listen to us]: Actors’ Understandings and Meanings of Planning Practices in Venezuela’s ‘Participatory Democracy.” PhD Thesis, Cardiff University, to unpack participants’ involvement in communal councils (CCs) and a commune, two Venezuelan reforms seeking to incorporate citizens into planning processes. The paper focuses on how participants in La Silsa, an informal neighbourhood in Caracas, understood and enacted upon community planning opportunities provided by these new councils. Municipal and national government staff and finance heavily supported La Silsa’s emerging commune and CCs. Despite the national government’s rhetoric of ‘constructing a new socialist, communal state’, the article identifies several challenges need to be overcome to successfully shift from existing representative institutional/governmental arrangements towards more participatory repertoires. The article’s findings mirror those of other empirical studies of Latin America’s democratic innovations: citizen participation strengthens representative governmental arrangements, rather than replace them with normative alternatives.     

Positioning Lean within an exploration of engineering construction

Engineering construction has specific characteristics that separate it from other types of construction such as technical complexity, onerous safety, health and environmental regulations, duality of new build combined with maintenance and repair, largely owner/user commissioning clients, value propositions revolving around a production Process, etc. The recent Gibson report (Gibson, 2009 Gibson, M. 2009. Changing to Compete: Review of Productivity and Skills in UK Engineering Construction, London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.  [Google Scholar]) highlighted several significant problems associated with engineering construction in the UK arising, in many cases, from skill shortages and poor client–contractor relationships. Informal observation and a literature review enable 12 factors to be proposed that differentiate engineering construction from other forms of construction. A new paradigm for the construction sector is Lean construction. This is an adaptation of Lean production and is based on a philosophy that focuses on delivering improved value through the assembly of problem-solving networks of knowledgeable and skilled people. Accepting that Lean construction exists in theory as a method for improving a raft of construction production issues, the question is asked here as to whether it is also relevant to the set of additional factors identified as applying specifically to production in an engineering construction context. The discussion concludes that Lean construction principles can be applied in engineering construction and that an improvement in value could be achieved. Note: throughout this paper the word ‘process’ is used in two contexts—the design and construction process and the end Process that is the function of the client business, e.g. water treatment Process, food manufacturing Process. The context is distinguished by the capitalization of the first letter.     

The reconstruction of housing in Palestine 1993–2000: a case study from the Gaza Strip

In the Palestinian Territories, housing is thought to be amongst the most difficult problems facing the National Authority (PNA) (Al‐Agha, 1997 Al‐Agha Z (1997) A national outlook for housing in Palestine in: A. B. Zahlan (Ed.) Reconstruction of Palestine, Urban and Rural Development (London, Kegan Paul)  [Google Scholar], p. 3). Increased Israeli settlements, the large size of Palestinian families, the deteriorating economic situation, the lack of national banks operating in the field of housing, the presence of refugee settlements containing over 1.2 million people, the Israeli state's policy of residential demolition and land confiscation have all combined to present a severe obstacle to urban reconstruction in the region. In an attempt to address these issues and to make some progress towards realising the estimated 180 000 housing units required by the Palestinian people, the Palestinian Housing Council (PHC) was established in 1992 (Abd Alhadi, 1994 Abd Alhadi, R (1994) Construction and Housing in the West Bank and (Gaza) Strip (Geneva, United Nations Commission on Trade and Development)  [Google Scholar]; Ziara, 1997 Ziara M (1997) The Palestinian Ministry of Housing. Challenging and opportunities in A. B. Zahlan (ed.) Reconstruction of Palestine, Urban and Rural Development (London, Kegan Paul)  [Google Scholar]). Although it has had some success, the organisation has been plagued by reports of internal dissent and disputes with its beneficiaries. This paper seeks to cast some light on these controversies by focusing on the PHC's role in the Elkarama Housing Project in the Gaza Strip during the period 1993 to 2000.1 Here it must be emphasised that this paper does not claim to provide an analysis of the current situation in Gaza. The authors acknowledge that conditions in Palestine are extremely fluid and have, to a great degree, overtaken the issues considered above. In examining this rapidly‐evolving environment, however, it is valuable to reflect upon recent changes and, while recognising the acute systemic problems that Palestinian administrators face, to offer critical assessments of domestic policy decisions and their outcome. View all notes It will first outline the broader context in which public institutions within the Gaza Strip operate before offering an account of the structure and background of the PHC. It will then consider Elkarama itself and will conclude by summing up the various factors that have determined the project's outcome. Finally, the paper will offer some tentative recommendations for improved housing provisions within the Gaza Strip in the future.     

Stooking the Peanuts: Historical Agriculture and the Management of a Dying Seasonal Landscape,North-East New South Wales,Australia

Popular interest in seasonal landscapes reflects the importance of ephemera in people's appreciation of landscapes. Landscape management tends to focus on long-term and reasonably permanent qualities, typically at annual and, especially, decadal time scales. However, human interest in shorter-term and ephemeral landscape qualities—such as seasonal qualities—allows people to use scales of direct human experience to identify and define landscapes. Brassley (1998 Brassley, P. 1998. On the unrecognized significance of the ephemeral landscape. Landscape Research, 23: pp.?119?–?132 [Google Scholar]), reviewing the ‘unrecognized significance of the ephemeral landscape’, notes that permanent components are managed through planning instruments; while ephemera may be crucial to landscape appearance, they are largely unprotected or not managed. Here a seasonal landscape of historic peanut farming that remains, in small pockets, in northern New South Wales, Australia, is examined with a view to identifying sustainable management of this landscape. The landscape becomes visually distinctive during the annual cycle of cropping when peanuts are placed in rows of stooks. Stooks are small circular stacks of harvested plants built around a tomato stake and capped by a sack, used to dry the peanuts immediately after harvesting; they appear to be unique. Following Brassley's observations regarding the lack of management of ephemera in landscapes, the long-term viability and conservation of this landscape are examined. The problem is further heightened by the fact that, while this landscape is visually distinctive, it also represents a social and agricultural activity that is in decline and unlikely to survive in the near future. This raises questions about the long-term sustainability of such a seasonal landscape—it is truly ephemeral both annually and in the long term—and options for the retention of at least some of the key landscape components within a contemporary landscape are explored.     

The Twisting Paths to Planning Reform in Scotland

In the context of modernization in the public sector and the reforms of land use planning practices, this article traces the paths followed in Scotland to articulate an appropriate agenda for change to create a modern planning system. Fundamental to this drive for public sector reform is devolution, and the search to articulate an appropriate form of state apparatus for a modern Scottish state. Context, however, is all-important. Research and extensive consultation have paved the path to a planning White Paper, Modernizing the Planning System, and a draft Planning Bill. This article examines the archaeology of the Scottish road to reform, and considers the nature of the changing practices associated with devolution in Scotland.

We are therefore determined to build a planning system that balances the right of individuals to develop their property and the interests of the wider community. This White Paper outlines our detailed proposals for modernisation of the planning system, to secure greater fairness and equity, a system where everyone's views are listened to and taken proper account of.

First Minister, Jack McConnell, 2005 McConnell, J. 2005. “Scottish Executive”. In Modernising the Planning System: A White Paper, Edinburgh: Scottish Executive.  [Google Scholar]