Typology and built environment

This thesis examines and seeks to validate typology - the study and/or listing of types - in the comprehension and design of the built environment, particularly public urban space. It addresses typological thinking as a way of indexing knowledge in post -Enlightenment and post- Renaissance thought and presents a critical analysis of the application of type and typology in architecture, including rule -driven approaches to building design. The thesis demonstrates that urban space in western cities is primarily generated by systems of movement and access, and (through examination of the spatial structure of Edinburgh, Scotland and Winnipeg, Canada) that, once created, it has greater permanence than the buildings that front onto it. The thesis argues that typology, including the identification of archetypes and ideal types, remains a common approach to human comprehension of complex phenomena. The thesis notes, however, that typology has gone in- and -out of fashion in architecture - particularly as a basis for the design of buildings - but has been applied more consistently in urban design, both as a vehicle for comprehension and to inform design decisions. The study culminates with a series of quasi -experimental exercises, undertaken with design students, in categorizing space types in Edinburgh and Winnipeg on the basis of their suffix names (odonyms). This includes an examination of the denotations of the 27 space / name types common to both cities and identification of nine distinctive space / name types - gardens, square, park, bridge, promenade, avenue, path / pathway / walk, boulevard, street - that are proposed as constituents of a common vocabulary for urban designers

Transforming relations: Anishnawbe Natural Law in the “Ring of Fire”

This multiple manuscript dissertation project contributes to a larger case study research project examining Matawa First Nation experiences of negotiating a proposed mining project known as the “Ring of Fire.” Nine independent First Nations located in the Treaty 9 territory in Northern Ontario, comprise a collective regional organization called Matawa First Nations. These First Nations have a long history of living their Ancestral ways of trapping, fishing, and gathering from the lands. During the early 20th century, the southern Matawa communities began to have contacts with forestry development, but a chromite deposit with an estimated value of 65 billion dollars on Matawa’s traditional territory in 2008 gave rise to interest in mineral extraction across the entire region. In 2012, active communications began with Matawa First Nations to secure access to these lands for development. As a critical Indigenous doctoral student involved in this case study, my interest was to capture first-hand experiences of Matawa Peoples as they contemplate development on their traditional territory. This multiple manuscript dissertation shares three specific areas of interest: the challenge of conducting Indigenous research on lands and culture different than my own, Matawa’s knowledge of Anishnawbe Natural Laws and inherent rights and the communities’ priorities in the face of this proposed development, and lastly the knowledge gained by visiting with Matawa Knowledge Holders to learn the perspectives of leaders and Elders on the proposed development and what they see as future directions for the generations to come

Information technology and military performance

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2011.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 519-544).Militaries have long been eager to adopt the latest technology (IT) in a quest to improve knowledge of and control over the battlefield. At the same time, uncertainty and confusion have remained prominent in actual experience of war. IT usage sometimes improves knowledge, but it sometimes contributes to tactical blunders and misplaced hubris. As militaries invest intensively in IT, they also tend to develop larger headquarters staffs, depend more heavily on planning and intelligence, and employ a larger percentage of personnel in knowledge work rather than physical combat. Both optimists and pessimists about the so-called "revolution in military affairs" have tended to overlook the ways in which IT is profoundly and ambiguously embedded in everyday organizational life. Technocrats embrace IT to "lift the fog of war," but IT often becomes a source of breakdowns, misperception, and politicization. To describe the conditions under which IT usage improves or degrades organizational performance, this dissertation develops the notion of information friction, an aggregate measure of the intensity of organizational struggle to coordinate IT with the operational environment. It articulates hypotheses about how the structure of the external battlefield, internal bureaucratic politics, and patterns of human-computer interaction can either exacerbate or relieve friction, which thus degrades or improves performance. Technological determinism alone cannot account for the increasing complexity and variable performances of information phenomena. Information friction theory is empirically grounded in a participant-observation study of U.S. special operations in Iraq from 2007 to 2008. To test the external validity of insights gained through fieldwork in Iraq, an historical study of the 1940 Battle of Britain examines IT usage in a totally different structural, organizational, and technological context.(cont.) These paired cases show that high information friction, and thus degraded performance, can arise with sophisticated IT, while lower friction and impressive performance can occur with far less sophisticated networks. The social context, not just the quality of technology, makes all the difference. Many shorter examples from recent military history are included to illustrate concepts. This project should be of broad interest to students of organizational knowledge, IT, and military effectiveness.by Jon Randall Lindsay.Ph.D