Reflections on Foucauldian Discource Analysis in Planning and Environmental Research

YesDiscourse analysis is becoming an increasingly common approach in planning and environmental policy research. This paper asserts that the generic treatment of discourse analysis obscures distinct approaches where `discourses¿ can combine different elements of text, systems of thought, and action. Textually-oriented approaches have been more prevalent over the 1990s but this paper explores a different approach, grounded in the theory of Michel Foucault, which broadens discourse to embrace social action. Comparing and contrasting two studies which have utilised this approach, the paper suggests that there is considerable room for variation concerning the subjects of study, the institutional scale of analyses, the methods of investigation, and process of analysis. Nevertheless, this paper identifies certain core elements of a Foucauldian discourse analytic approach. The paper concludes that this emerging approach to discourse analysis promises considerable insights if applied more widely in planning and environmental research

The impacts for stone curlews of increased traffic on the A11. Model and predictions

Stone curlew nest density in the Breckland region of Eastern England was shown to be negatively related to ‘nearby’ housing density and ‘nearby’ trunk road traffic (based on new traffic data for the period 1988-2006). However, no statistically significant additional relationship with non-trunk A-road traffic could be detected. We recommend using the statistical modelling predictions in the report Table 5 as the best currently available estimates of the potential effect of a 70% increase in A11 average daily (March-August)two-way traffic above the average All traffic levels in 2002-06. The predicted effect of a 70% increase in A11 traffic is for a reduction from current observed nest numbers on suitable arable land of 3.7% with no changes in housing density or 4.9% when combined with the predicted effect of housing options. A reduction of 7.3% is predicted for semi-natural grassland and SSSI habitats. Taking both semi-natural grassland/SSSI and arable habitats together, the observed total average nest numbers for the period 2002-2006 was 221.4, and the prediction following a 70% increase in traffic on the A11 is 210.8, a reduction of 10.6 nests (4.8%)

Are We Worthy Leaders?

Today as never before America stands as the champion of democracy. Again we have successfully defended our democratic ideals against the forces of oppression. Not only have we protected them for ourselves, but it is now our aim to spread this freedom to the less fortunate people of the world who have never enjoyed it before. Our ancestors drenched this land of ours with their own blood in order that we might be a free nation. Now it is our noble purpose to make this freedom universal. Before we set ourselves up as an example, let us look over our record and make sure that we are really worthy of leadership. If we carefully examine some of our very recent history, we might detect certain distasteful elements which other nations would not want to adopt

The Character Of Tailholt

All those who really knew John Taylor are dead and forgotten. His generation have by this time advanced a considerable way down the line of history. Not all has been forgotten, however; as the story was passed on to me by my grandfather\u27s narrations, I feel as though I really knew old John myself

The New Recruit

The new recruit has just entered a completely different phase of life in which he immediately becomes extremely insecure. He has no idea what is coming next, and this insecure feeling is so radically different from the security of the average American home that he suffers a considerable amount of anxiety until he is able to make an adequate adjustment to service life. He is no longer allowed to say what he pleases when he feels the urge to do so, and the resulting suppressed emotion often makes him irritable toward his fellow cohorts

Empathy and self-acceptance: necessary qualities of a peer helper

This thesis is a preliminary study of the qualities of people who chose to be peer helpers. A review of the literature on helping theories led to the conclusion that empathy and self-acceptance were necessary elements of a helper. This study hoped to lend support to this theory. The hypothesis stated that students electing to take a peer helping training course would have different levels of empathy and self-acceptance than those in a cooking class. These qualities were measured using a psychological inventory, and the scores of 115 adolescent subjects (n=115) were compared. There was no significant difference between students choosing different electives. Implications of these findings are discussed, as well as formats for future studies

Objectives of the Soviet Merchant Marine

In the years since the end of the Second World War, no aspect of merchant shipping has created greater controversy than the phenomenal growth of the merchant fleet of the Soviet Union. Starting in 1945 with a makeshift fleet that was a motley collection of obsolete vessels, ships received as reparations from the defeated Axis nations and Lend-Lease Liberty ships, the Soviets have fashioned a modern, efficient merchant marine that is currently second in the world in numbers of ships and sixth in deadweight tonnage. Employed as a powerful instrument of the Soviet state, this fleet now competes effectively with Western shipping lines throughout every corner of the globe. This paper will examine the remarkable rise of the Soviet merchant marine with particular emphasis on the objectives of this growth. For ease of discussion, political, economic and military objectives will be evaluated separately, although, in reality, these aims are often closely intertwined and dependent on each other. This analysis will reveal why the Soviet Union, once regarded strictly as a continental power, is now a maritime superpower and, given her economic development plans, will become even more dependent on her merchant fleet in the future

Imagining Future Agricultural Landscapes in a new Sudan: entitled expertise, cultural intransience and fine warm rain in the English wilds

This article sits in response to work on the rolling out of development-centred technical and scientific expertise at the decline of the British empire in Africa. Specifically, it focuses on the imagining of future agricultural landscapes in Sudan, exploring how such imagining was framed by the social and colonial worlds in which scientific knowledge about agricultural capacity in the north and south was produced. It draws on a private archive of letters, photographs and objects compiled by Roger Brain, an agricultural scientist engaged in research and census work for the University of Khartoum in Sudan between 1953 and 1959. His archive reveals the underlying assumptions, conventions and anxieties that framed the ways in which he viewed and understood the landscapes in which he worked. I argue that this framing shaped regionalised notions of inevitable technological transformation in the north, and notions of a fragile cultural distinctiveness coupled with a deep nostalgia for rural intransience in the south. Ultimately I suggest that this shaped the production of scientific knowledge by Roger Brain and others like him, woven through the production of policy and planning regarding Sudan’s economic future after independence

'I cover myself in the blood of Jesus': Born Again heritage making in Sierra Leone

This article concerns the risky terrain of heritage management in Sierra Leone and its navigation by devout Born Again Pentecostal Christians. It engages with the ever-expanding Born Again movement and its narrative of rupture, on the one hand, and the increasingly visible heritage sector and its focus on cultural continuity, on the other. These positions appear irreconcilable: one experiences the past as a dangerous satanic realm, the other as a valuable resource. However, as this article explores, they frequently meet in the workplace as many heritage professionals are also Born Again believers. I am interested in this meeting-point as demonic channels and godly practices converge. I argue that Freetown’s Born Again heritage professionals do not succeed in their roles despite their religion, but because of it