No description available.

The research presented in the thesis is a'case-study of a 'socially-directed' technology policy, formulated and implemented by the Greater London Council (GLC) whilst in office, between 1981 and 1986. The GLC attempted to make a direct link between technological innovation and social needs by creating the facilities, in the form of five 'Technology Networks'. for user involvement in socially-useful product design and development. The research is important for an exploration of technology issues. First, it represents an attempt to influence the politics of technological development. Second. it addresses issues of the content of technology and the social organisation of the innovation process. The Technology Networks comprised the focal points of the research. The objectives were the identification of the factors, both locally and nationally, which affected the policy implementation process. For the GLC, the national economic and political context proved crucial to policy developments: it resulted in their abolition in 1986. The Technology Networks remained in operation, but were increasingly plagued by funding difficulties. Findings from the study suggest that the access of a different range of social groups of users and producers to the early stages of the innovation process. may be a valuable exercise in itself. but is problematic as a base for an alternative technology policy. Other major constraints on the development of socially-useful technologies are manufacturing and market opportunities. The conclusions are concerned to explore the potential of a local authority as an agent of technological change, in terms of their role in design and technology education and the creation of an alternative technological hegemony.

This is a theoretical dissertation built on the premise that different people appreciate landscape in different ways. It takes a multidisciplinary approach, and links findings made in several fields so as to attempt understanding of the phenomenon of rural landscape quality. A range of relatively modern explanations of the nature of landscape quality is examined and criticised primarily on the grounds of a tendency to confuse the abstract and uniform with the concrete and variable, that is, a failure to separate the general from the particular. A means of making this separation is then proposed and pursued for the remainder of the thesis. Discussion centres upon the activity of perceiving landscape. What does it involve? At the most abstract there are the structures of the senses and cognition inherited genetically and, with minor variations, common to all who perceive. At the most concrete there are the circumstances surrounding each individual engaged in the actual instant of perception. Between these two is the role played by the culture of the individual concerned. This thesis is slightly unusual in laying stress on the importance of the cultural inheritance as a factor contributing to differentiation and constant change in rural landscape quality. No firm conclusions are reached in what is essentially a work of experiment and speculation.

Physical infrastructure is required for health and security. Physical infrastructure also plays a significant role in development and economic growth. It may be seen as the foundation on which the expansion of agricultural production and subsequently industrial production takes place. Both of these are required to generate sustainable economic growth to support social welfare. This thesis examines methods of enabling low-income households and communities in low-income ('developing') countries to benefit from physical infrastructure.

The period since 1974, when major reorganisation led to the development of new local government structures in most parts of England and Wales, has seen the growing politicization of local government activities, and the emergence of leisure policy as a significant concern for local authorities. This thesis examines the implications of party poll tics at the local level for leisure policy by reviewing expenditure on leisure by all English local authorities and by undertaking a case study of the development of leisure policy in a Metropolitan District.

No description available.

This thesis studies municipal museums in Canada, defined as museums owned and operated under a bylaw or directive of a municipal corporation. The objectives are to examine ideas about these museums, to document their development, to identify their operation within the local government structure, and to analyze their contemporary state. The first part identifies a tradition in which municipal museums have evolved in response to gradual increases in community support. Their organization has been related to local government structures. The middle part documents a national review which identified municipal museums and collected information on their establishment, management and operation. A survey and case studies provide statistical and documentary evidence which is presented on a national and regional basis. From these findings it has been possible to define the municipal museum population of some three hundred institutions representing approximately one quarter of all museums, identify their characteristics, explain management arrangements, outline the role of local government, describe operations, and document the status of policy development. In the final section implications of the findings are examined. Influences on museums in the areas of their role in society, the emergence of standards and patterns of support are outlined. Current developments indicate that these museums are adopting planning as a museum activity. The established identity of municipal museums is a factor which will contribute to their continuing evolution. In some regions municipal museum services may be improved and expanded through formal cooperative efforts. By identifying, documenting and analyzing the municipal museum phenomenon in Canada this work clearly establishes that these institutions are a significant and potentially unified group of museums. Supporting appendices list municipal museums by date of foundation, province, survey response and planning studies. Questionnaires, research guidelines and a select bibliography are provided.

No description available.

No description available.

The urban woodlands in Redditch are integral elements of greenspace that are highly valued as an informal recreational resource, and for the physical and spiritual benefits that the community derives from visual and physical contact with them, on a daily basis. However, that they are cherished community assets, rather than places to be avoided, depends on contextually specific requirements being met, in regard to their siting and design. The thesis discusses these key criteria from the perspective of the Redditch urban community. It is identified that a choice of woods should be located within 300 and 700 metres of the home, to enable access by people, including those with restricted home range, mobility or with limited time to visit, and to provide a moderate walk to woods more distant, as an integral part of the 'recreational experience'. Convenient access to, and familiarity of these urban woodlands increases people's confidence to use woods more frequently and more distant from the home. Woodland size, preferably between 2 to 7 hectares and a good network of well lit, hard surfaced paths are also important factors influencing the attractiveness of woodland. Otherwise, visitors' demands regarding woodland type and facilities are modest. Plantations are as much valued and enjoyed as ancient semi-natural woodland. However even where the physical requirements for woodland are met, social and cultural factors limit many people's access to, and uses of the urban woodland. By exploring the personal, social and cultural values, and interpretations of these woods, the thesis analyses how the community reacts to change to the woodlands introduced by woodland management works, and identifies that it ascribes them a plurality of meanings and contextual relationships; as a woodland garden, a doorstep recreational area, a symbol of the pastoral idyll, a wildlife sanctuary and a gateway to the natural world. The theoretical framework of the thesis draws on multi-disciplinary perspectives including; landscape deslqn, town planning and the social and cultural perspectives of cultural geography. The evolution of the urban woodlands as elements of urban greenspace, people's recreational uses, and their attitudes and feelings towards them are explored by diverse methodological procedures, which include a longitudinal study and use of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. The research both builds on and adds to the existing body of knowledge by addressing the value and significance of providing urban woodlands within the urban fabric, and the key criteria which need to be observed to provide such areas close to where people live, and close to what they need.