Occupational bias in construction management research

Biased research results occur when allowances are not made for the cultural perspectives of researchers and respondents. Occupation is a strong source of cultural differentiation in the construction industry, and this paper investigates the potential for bias to arise from people's association with a particular group. A model of occupational stereotypes is presented which expands our current understanding of how different professions perceive each other. This is useful in a research context because it provides a firmer foundation for the interpretation of past research results. Furthermore, it enables researchers to understand the potential for bias to arise from their own occupational backgrounds and to acknowledge these in their research results. A series of suggestions are made which may help researchers reduce occupational bias in their research.     

A case of conflicts in conservation: Two trenches or a three-dimensional complexity?

Conflicts over conservation are often regarded as dichotomies of diametrical opposites. When national parks are established in Norway, two stereotypes can be sketched: (1) the ecocentric position valuing 'pure, authentic nature', relying on the national government as the only acceptable decision and management level; and (2) a more anthropocentric position valuing cultural landscape elements and certain traditional and future uses of the area, favouring local management. A conflict over restoring a firing range to a state of 'authentic nature' for future designation as a national park is examined. The case has raised comprehensive local debate. It is asked whether the relevant actors should be seen as situated in the stereotypes, or whether a more complex three-dimensional picture would provide a better interpretation.     

Representing England's rural-urban fringe

Conflicts over conservation are often regarded as dichotomies of diametrical opposites. When national parks are established in Norway, two stereotypes can be sketched: (1) the ecocentric position valuing ‘pure, authentic nature’, relying on the national government as the only acceptable decision and management level; and (2) a more anthropocentric position valuing cultural landscape elements and certain traditional and future uses of the area, favouring local management. A conflict over restoring a firing range to a state of ‘authentic nature’ for future designation as a national park is examined. The case has raised comprehensive local debate. It is asked whether the relevant actors should be seen as situated in the stereotypes, or whether a more complex three-dimensional picture would provide a better interpretation.     

与古为邻而非临

建筑要继承但不可迷失于文化传统.“救亡”的需要催生了“民族形式”,而“多元化”的思潮又促成了“本土建筑学”.然而两者均有文化问题政治解决的味道.本文以为在今古之间,或中西之间,无须增设藩篱,临与不临,皆非大道.要者在消除成见,而意由情生.     

Perception of Plants in Ancient Times and Their Use as Motifs Revealing Aspects of the Cultural Landscape in Side,Turkey

Landscape can be defined as a complex of human and natural interactions through time. Therefore, landscape identification requires a complete understanding of social, natural, economic, aesthetic and cultural values. Contributing to the aesthetic-visual integrity of the landscape, plants are a valuable indicator, recording the type and degree of the human – nature relationship over time. Our feelings, imagination and perception often contribute to the cultural dimension of the landscape and the role of plants in mythology can be used as a kind of linguistic code for helping to understand some aspects of cultural landscapes. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how a number of key plants were perceived in ancient cultures using some examples from the Mediterranean landscape and to use them to help to evaluate different dimensions of archaeological landscapes using the case of the ancient city of Side in Turkey. Multi-dimensional approaches in landscape evaluation which use symbolic meaning can generate valuable knowledge about cultural landscapes. This is precisely because cultural landscapes are the sum of biological, physical and cultural components, while plants as natural elements have bridged the biological and cultural dimensions.     

地域文化视野下的都城民居——洛阳十字街人文色彩的保护与更新

在一些历史文化名城改造中,只追求物质环境的改善而忽略了对文化环境保护的问题非常突出,造成了城市历史文化风貌的丧失和城市特色的泯灭。文章拟以洛阳老城十字街为例,通过了解它的地域文化特色,对其历史文化街区的人文色彩保护理念进行了较为深入的分析,在此基础上,提出保护与更新的原则与方法,即:结合地域文化,在尽可能保持原有街道格局、空间特色、整体风貌等不变的同时,努力改善街区环境,并依靠其历史文化底蕴振兴传统街区.目的不仅在于对地域传统建筑文化的探索,而是以此为出发点,研究与思考当代乃至未来历史文化街区的保护与创新     

Understanding Cultural Interfaces in the Landscape: A Case Study of Ancient Lycia in the Turkish Mediterranean

Landscapes by definition include interactions between man and nature. Our actions, perceptions and beliefs create and shape the landscape over time. The aim of this study was to evaluate aspects of the Lycian landscape in the Turkish Mediterranean, testing an approach based on interpreting cultural interfaces. Interfaces between past and present, between man and nature, between culture and space and between the visual and the spiritual were evaluated in relation to a selection of specific landscape elements: ancient tombs and local vernacular structures. The Lycians constructed tombs to be their houses for the afterlife using the inspiration of their actual houses. The persistence and the continuity of the original design and construction techniques utilised in the tombs, still found today in granaries, beehives and chimneys, was explored in terms of the types of cultural interface. The results of the study showed that the authenticity of the Lycian landscape is a unique agreement between past and present on land sharing the same knowledge and forms, and in this respect cultural interface can be an instinctive communication tool between pattern, process and product in understanding the associative cultural values within the landscape that are worthy of conservation.     

Planning and Multiculturalism: A Reflection on Australian Local Practice

This paper is set within the Australian local landscape of cultural diversity. Although urban research acknowledges that planning practice must be responsive to cultural diversity, there remains an often muted and erratic response on the ground. Planners have a responsibility to plan for the needs of all citizens who live and work in their locality. However, the notion of ‘planning for all’ is not an easy one to operationalize. This is related to the historical assumptions upon which planning rests and the difficulties that professionals have in understanding different communities and then seeking to plan for them through the use of traditional tools and with outdated and culturally assimilationist attitudes. Rather than blaming practitioners for not keeping pace with theoretical developments in understanding cultural diversity, the city and the consequent practical response that this infers, the paper offers suggestions for practical responses that are achievable in the context of the contemporary planning office. Changes in the professional's mindset and approach are also discussed using the concepts of reflexivity and cultural inclusivity.     

中国近代公园营造中的中西文化交流

结合中西方文化碰撞、磨合、交融的过程,对近代中国先后出现的租界公园、开放私园和大众公园进行考察,并以典型的园林个案为代表,探讨了各个历史发展阶段人们对于中西文化不同程度的认识与体验,认为任何成功的设计作品都需要对异质文化精神的充分理解。而相对于租界公园中本土文化的缺失,或开放私园中表现出来的文化迷失,近代时期所形成的＂中西合璧＂风格,在本质上体现了文化交流过程中对本土文化的宣扬。     

Understanding the impact of cultural and religious water use

This paper investigates the effect that cultural and religious backgrounds have on water consumption patterns among ethnic minorities in UK cities. District meter area data were combined with ethnicity and religion data from the 2001 UK census to highlight particular areas of interest. The research identifies startling differences in water use patterns, which are clearly linked directly with religious and cultural practices. The overall conclusion is that it would be extremely unwise to exclude these social parameters in any further research into understanding domestic water demand. The research has application in the wider context of research or practice outside the western world, where the factors identified in this research may characterise the vast majority of water supply systems.     

Capturing the Intangible and Tangible Aspects of Heritage: Personal versus Official Perspectives in Cultural Heritage Management

In discussions on how to handle local heritage values, local values or insider-ness are often seen as synonymous with intangible aspects of heritage. At the same time, expert knowledge is usually associated with material objects, whereby experts have had the power to define what to preserve. In this study of three Norwegian towns, complementary and interdisciplinary methods have been used to address the relationship between personal and official perspectives on cultural heritage values and their tangible and intangible aspects. Results from interviews asking people to describe places they value in the area in which they live have been compared with results from a study of the official heritage plans in three selected towns. The study shows that a gap has unintentionally been constructed in the understanding of cultural heritage. To bridge the gap additional methods for documentation of cultural heritage and their contexts have to be developed. Experiments with various forms of active user participation are one way to introduce new additional approaches and thereby create local engagement and awareness of the role cultural heritage can play.     

历史建筑文化价值的发掘与生成

随着社会经济的高速发展,国内社会对历史建筑文化价值的认识逐步深化;相关部门对历史建筑的保护也越来越重视,加大了对文物保护单位、历史建筑和优秀近代建筑进行保护的力度。但由于过去在这方面的研究还不够充分,在国内一些地区出现因为保护方法和措施不当而造成的对历史建筑“保护性的破坏”。认知是保护的前提,基于这样的理念,本文分别从文化遗产本体和人类文化活动两个角度进行研究,再将两个观察的视角叠合,把历史建筑和其作用对象进行关联思考,力图剖析其文化价值在这一过程中如何在体验者个体或群体上生成并发挥作用。     

抽象艺术与内蒙古地域建筑

在当今中国高速的城市建设当中,出现了千城一面,表面的现代化,不可持续发展等问题,使城市变得越来越单调、冷漠、缺乏亲和力。因此,创作出具有地域文化特色和人情化的建筑是解决问题的基本方法。游牧文化作为内蒙古独具特色的文化现象,很多建筑师在创作当中尝试着应用,但很少有人来系统的学习或深入的理解。本文用抽象艺术的视角,寻求基于地域文化表达的建筑创作出发点,并通过对内蒙古草原造型艺术和内蒙古地区具有代表性的建筑进行归类分析,从而找到创作地域特色在建筑造型上表达的具体做法,期望能够为以地域建筑创作的建筑师们提供全新的视角。     

文化生态学视角下的北欧木建筑地域创作分析

文化生态与建筑地域性在概念上 具有很大的关联性,建筑是整体区域文化 系统中的具体文化要素,而文化生态与地域 性的本质含义是一致的。由此可以使论文通 过文化生态学整体与要素关系的理论分析 北欧木建筑的特征与规律,旨在更好的理解 和借鉴其地域创作的成功因素。作为地域整 体文化的具体要素和表现载体,北欧木建 筑充分体现了平实、自然和高艺术品味的特 征,与区域文化整体特征形成呼应。并通过 把握切入点、突出主特征和保持高水准的 建筑创作策略,形成卓越的地域建筑景观, 有效反推动了区域整体文化特色的发展。     

不同干燥方法对桑椹中芦丁含量的影响

目的:研究不同干燥加工方法对桑椹药材中芦丁含量的影响。方法:采用HPLC法研究不同干燥法加工后桑椹药材中芦丁含量的变化。结果:经不同干燥加工方法处理后的桑椹药材种芦丁的含量有较大差异,以冷冻干燥法处理后的桑椹药材中芦丁含量最高。结论:通过对比分析不同的干燥加工方法,冷冻干燥法的干燥效果最佳。     

The Interaction of Local Context and Cultural Background: Somalis' Perceived Possibilities in Nordic Capitals' Housing Markets

Immigrants' housing position is often explained by (lack of) resources or differences in cultural backgrounds. Recent studies have included the importance of local context. The aim of this paper is to examine Somalis' perceptions of their possibilities in four Nordic capitals' housing markets: Copenhagen, Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm. The approach is an interview study based on immigrants' own explanations of what they strive for and how they assess the impact of local conditions and cultural background for their possibilities. We found that local context and cultural background intertwine and sometimes conflict with each other, but that the negotiation between cultural background and local context was individual. The conclusion is that local context and cultural background are important factors for understanding differences between Somalis on different housing markets, thus emphasising that local context and cultural background have to be studied together to understand perceived housing possibilities.     

原真性原则在国内文化遗产保护领域的 研究评述

原真性原则是实施遗产保护需要遵循的基本原则之一,也是衡量与评估遗产价值的重要依据,对原真性原则的深刻理解与合理解读有助于提升中国遗产保护的质量。从文化遗产原真性概念的缘起入手,概述了国内对于原真性概念的讨论,以及对原真性原则在物质文化遗产保护和非物质文化遗产保护领域实践的反思与趋势,最后提出将原真性在理论与实践层面的研究进行剥离,或对原真性的衍生意义进行再命名,以实现在现有保护框架内理论研究对保护实践的有效指导。     

Recommendations for restoration of ancient buildings and the survival of a masonry chimney

In the last years significant developments occurred with respect to the possibilities of experimental and numerical analysis of ancient cultural heritage buildings. Such advances result from the societal growing concern about the preservation of this heritage, together with the evident cultural and economic importance of this activity. Recommendations for interventions in architectural heritage structures recently issued by ICOMOS are briefly reviewed here, with a discussion about the proposed methodology. Then, a case study is fully detailed, including the aspects of survey, advanced numerical analysis, diagnosis, justification of remedial measures and detailing of the adopted strengthening. The paper also advocates that significant information can be obtained from numerical analysis, namely with respect to the understanding of existing damage and to the minimum and adequate design of strengthening. A clear understanding of the structural behaviour, based on sophisticated tools of analysis, can therefore reduce the extent of the remedial measures in the restoration of ancient structures. In this case, a masonry chimney with severe damage is strengthened keeping the old fabric, as a significant example that ancient timber and masonry structural elements can often survive if appropriate methodologies for diagnosis and repair measures are adopted.     

Occupational stereotypes in the construction industry

An investigation of occupational stereotypes in the construction industry provides insights into the perceptions and expectations which different occupational groups have of each other. The results are valuable in the reduction of uncertainty, misunderstanding and conflict within construction projects and do not support the widely held view of institutionalized confrontational relationships. Instead, there appears to be a natural degree of goodwill underlying interpersonal relationships although it is delicate, precarious and easily destroyed by insensitive managerial practices.     

Connecting landscapes: examining and enhancing the relationship between stakeholder values and cultural landscape management in England

In England’s post-Brexit environment, as the nation’s approach to cultural landscapes is reassessed, understanding what stakeholders value and how they currently engage with landscape management is likely to be increasingly important. This study explores this at a localised scale. Examining the value of an ecosystems services perspective, it focuses on two case-study landscapes in Gloucestershire. Using interviews, focus groups, mapping tasks and questionnaires it examines how stakeholder values intersect with current policies and practices. Based on this analysis, it suggests the need for greater integration and knowledge exchange between stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of landscape management. It suggests new strategies, such as a centralised e-portal of resources, are required to ensure awareness and dialogue between stakeholders. This study is part of a larger European project comparing how the values of stakeholders in heritage landscapes can be better integrated into cultural landscape management.