scholarly journals Designing with Pathways: A Spatial Design Approach for Adaptive and Sustainable Landscapes

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 565
Author(s):  
Mark Zandvoort ◽  
Nora Kooijmans ◽  
Paul Kirshen ◽  
Adri van den Brink

Despite rising attention to pathways thinking in multiple domains such as climate adaptation, energy supply planning, and flood risk management, their spatial translation is so far understudied. We set out to study how spatial design based on pathways thinking can help develop more adaptive and sustainable landscapes. Using landscape analysis, field research, and research-through-designing in a case study on climate resilience in Boston (USA), we argue for better understanding of the spatial and design consequences of pathways in general. Our results indicate that pathways can be spatially translated, demanding landscape-informed choices when sequencing different policy actions. We found that spatial designing makes the landscape consequences of pathways transparent and enables policy-makers to replace the input of policy actions with spatial interventions, select pathways according to different underlying design strategies, use the mapped pathways to initiate an iterative research-through-designing process to test and inform different designs, and spatially visualize the pathways and possible sequences of actions. We conclude that policy-makers should be cognizant about the spatial implications of pathways and offer directions to enrich applications of pathways thinking for achieving adaptive and sustainable landscapes.

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeroen De Waegemaeker ◽  
Eva Kerselaers ◽  
Maarten Van Acker ◽  
Elke Rogge

Purpose As policy makers address the issue of climate adaptation, they are confronted with climate-specific barriers: a long-term horizon and a high degree of uncertainty. These barriers also hamper the development of spatial planning for climate adaptation. So how can spatial planners encompass these barriers and steer the general debate on climate adaptation? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This research analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of an international design workshop on climate adaptation, and drought issues in particular. Design workshops are originally an educational setting but they are increasingly employed as a tool to explore alternative futures on a complex, real-life design problem. The case study illustrates how climate-specific barriers emerged throughout the design workshop and clarifies how they were encompassed by the participating design students. Findings The research clarifies the added value of a design workshop on climate adaptation. The paper highlights specific promising characteristics of the design workshop: the visualization of future adaptation challenges and the current water system, the focus on a regional project instead of sectoral adjustments and the integration of the adaptation challenge with other socio-economic goals. In the case study Flanders, however, the necessary participation of climate experts and policy makers of other domains proved challenging. Originality/value The paper argues that a design workshop has the potential to enrich the debate and policy work on climate adaptation. In many countries with low-planning tradition, however, additional tools are needed to help set the “adaptation agenda.”


Author(s):  
Naomi HERTZ

Intensive manual labor enterprises in the developed world face challenges competing with products imported from countries where manufacturing costs are low. This reduces the volume of domestic production and leads to rapid loss of knowledge and experience in production processes. This study focuses on the Israeli footwear industry as a case study. Qualitative methodologies were applied, including in-depth interviews and field observations. A literature review on previous research, and contemporary trends was conducted. The field research examines challenges along the value chain in small factories. It finds that mass production paradigms impose a decentralized process between designers and manufacturers and therefore do not leverage local potential into a sustainable competitive advantage for small factories. The proposed solution is a digital and technological platform for small manufacturing plants. The platform mediates and designs the connections between production, technology, and design and enables the creation of a joint R&D system.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-346
Author(s):  
Iyam Marhamah ◽  
Yaya Yaya ◽  
Asep Sodiqin

Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menggambarkan sistem dakwah Pondok Pesantren At-Tawazun ditinjau melalui sistem terbuka mulai dari tahap input, conversion, output, feedback, hingga environment dalam upaya mengatasi problematika santri yang dipengaruhi oleh perkembangan zaman. Penelitian yang dilakukan ini menggunakan metode studi kasus dengan pendekatan kualitatif dan spesifikasi penelitian field research (penelitian lapangan). Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa keberadaan pondok pesantren At-Tawazun dirasakan cukup besar manfaatnya oleh orang tua maupun masyarakat. Lembaga dakwah dan pendidikan ini telah ikut berkontribusi dalam menanggulangi masalah sosial dan kenakalan remaja yang semakin rumit, sehingga mampu memberikan lulusan santri yang brakhlak, berbudi luhur dan mampu mengamalkan ilmunya di masyarakat. Lebih dari itu, kehadiran pondok pesantren At-Tawazun diharapkan dapat mengatasi akulturasi budaya yang menyimpang di era sekarang ini. Sehingga semangat generasi muda kita dapat disalurkan terhadak hal-hal positif, untuk kemajuan Agama dan Negara. This paper aims to describe the da’wah system of At-Tawazun Islamic Boarding School through an open system starting from the input, conversion, output, feedback, and environment stages in an effort to overcome the problems of santri that are influenced by the times. This research uses case study method with qualitative approach and field research specification (field research). The results of this study indicate that the existence of the At-Tawazun Islamic Boarding Scool was felt to be of considerable benefit by parent and community. This da’wah and education institution has contributed to tackling social problems and juvenile delinquency that are increasingly complicated, so as to be able to provide graduates who are morally, virtous and able to practice their knowledge in the community, moreover, the presence of the At-Tawazun Islamic Boarding School is expected to overcome the deviant cultural acculturation in the present era. So that the spirit of our young generation can be channeled suddenly to positive things, for the advancement of Religion and the state.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Saida Parvin

Women’s empowerment has been at the centre of research focus for many decades. Extant literature examined the process, outcome and various challenges. Some claimed substantial success, while others contradicted with evidence of failure. But the success remains a matter of debate due to lack of empirical evidence of actual empowerment of women around the world. The current study aimed to address this gap by taking a case study method. The study critically evaluates 20 cases carefully sampled to include representatives from the entire country of Bangladesh. The study demonstrates popular beliefs about microfinance often misguide even the borrowers and they start living in a fabricated feeling of empowerment, facing real challenges to achieve true empowerment in their lives. The impact of this finding is twofold; firstly there is a theoretical contribution, where the definition of women’s empowerment is proposed to be revisited considering findings from these cases. And lastly, the policy makers at governmental and non-governmental organisations, and multinational donor agencies need to revise their assessment tools for funding.


Author(s):  
Dinh Thi Thanh Van ◽  
Nguyen Thuc Trang

Financial inclusion and startup are two topics, which recently get attention of academic researchers and policy makers in Vietnam. One of the important factors for setting up a successful startup is the financial capability of the owners. Therefore, financial inclusion has a strong correlation with startup establishment. This article tested the effects of several factors in financial index (findex) developed by World Bank on startup establishment in some OECD countries. The result showed that borrowing from friends and relatives along with from credit institutions and opening a debit account at banks have  significant impacts on startup establishment in these countries. Finally, the article presented several recommendations for policy makers to stimulate the startup growth in Vietnam in the next time. Key words startup, financial inclusion, startup establishment References 1. Colman Msoka (2015), “Financial inclusion and microfinance in Tanzania”, Inclusive growth: Tanzania Country Report2. Endeavor-GEM, 2011, “High-Impact Entrepreneurship Global Report”3. Eric Ries, 2012, “The Lean Startup” book”, http://www.stpia.ir/files/The%20Lean%20Startup%20.pdf 4. European Startup Monitor, 2015, “European Startup Monitor 2015”, http://europeanstartupmonitor.com/fileadmin/presse/download/esm_2015.pdf 5. Jennifer Dahlin Ivarsson (2014), “Mobile-banking and entrepreneurship: Is there a link? A case study on South Africa”, Nationalekonomiska Institutionen, Box 7082, ISSN 0283 – 15896. Maher Al-Mahouq (2010), “Success factors of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs): The case of Jordan”, Anadol University jourmal of social sciences, Cilt/Vol.: 10 – Say/No:1-16 (2010)7. Mohammed S.Chowdhury (2013), “Success factors of entrepreneurs of small and medium sized enterprises: Evidence from Banladesh”, Business and Economic Research, ISSN 2162 – 4860, 2013, Vol.3, No.2.8. OECD, 2015, “Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2015”9. Roman Angela, 2011, “SME’s sector access to finance: An overview”10. Yao Wang, 2014, “What are the biggest obstacles to growth of SMEs in developing countries? An empirical evidence from an enterprise survey”, JED 210 Paper


Author(s):  
Pia Liv Russell

This interdisciplinary case study explores information literacy policy in Ontario’s public education system. Using interviews with policy makers and a rhetorical analysis of information literacy policy documents, it finds Ontario’s current information literacy policy inadequate to the task of providing equitable student access to opportunities for information literacy development.Une étude cas interdisciplinaire explore la politique de littératie informationnelle du système d’éducation publique de l’Ontario. En utilisant des entrevues avec les décideurs et une analyse rhétorique des documents sur la politique de littératie informationnelle, il est démontré que la politique de littératie informationnelle actuelle de l’Ontario est inappropriée pour la mission qui vise à offrir aux étudiants un accès équitable aux possibilités de développement de la littératie informationnelle. 


2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Magnavita ◽  
Norbert Schleifer

In the last decades, geophysical methods such as magnetic survey have become a common technique for prospecting archaeological sites. At sub-Saharan archaeological sites, however, magnetic survey and correlated techniques never came into broad use and there are no signs for an immediate change of this situation. This paper examines the magnetic survey undertaken on the Nigerian site of Zilum, a settlement of the Gajiganna Culture (ca 1800-400 BC) located in the Chad Basin and dated to ca 600-400 BC. By means of the present case study, we demonstrate the significance of this particular type of investigation in yielding complementary data for understanding the character of prehistoric settlements. In conclusion, we point out that geophysical methods should play a more important role in modern archaeological field research, as they furnish a class of documentation not achievable by traditional survey and excavation methods, thus creating new perspectives for interpreting the past of African societies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-109
Author(s):  
Heba Aziz ◽  
Osman El-Said ◽  
Marike Bontenbal

The objective of this study was to measure the level of cruise tourists' satisfaction as well as the relationship between satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. Also, the impact of factors such as nationality, length of the visit, and age on the level of expenditure was measured. An empirical approach for data collection was followed and a total of 152 questionnaires were collected from cruise tourists visiting the capital city of Oman, Muscat, as cruise liners anchor at Sultan Qaboos Port. Results of the regression analysis supported the existence of a causal relationship between satisfaction with destination attributes, overall satisfaction, recommendation, return intention, and expenditure. It was found that the average expenditure varies according to age and length of the visit. Recommendations for policy makers were suggested on how to increase the role of cruise tourism in strengthening the economy.


Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Hossein Omrany ◽  
Veronica Soebarto ◽  
Jian Zuo ◽  
Ruidong Chang

This paper aims to propose a comprehensive framework for a clear description of system boundary conditions in life cycle energy assessment (LCEA) analysis in order to promote the incorporation of embodied energy impacts into building energy-efficiency regulations (BEERs). The proposed framework was developed based on an extensive review of 66 studies representing 243 case studies in over 15 countries. The framework consists of six distinctive dimensions, i.e., temporal, physical, methodological, hypothetical, spatial, and functional. These dimensions encapsulate 15 components collectively. The proposed framework possesses two key characteristics; first, its application facilitates defining the conditions of a system boundary within a transparent context. This consequently leads to increasing reliability of obtained LCEA results for decision-making purposes since any particular conditions (e.g., truncation or assumption) considered in establishing the boundaries of a system under study can be revealed. Second, the use of a framework can also provide a meaningful basis for cross comparing cases within a global context. This characteristic can further result in identifying best practices for the design of buildings with low life cycle energy use performance. Furthermore, this paper applies the proposed framework to analyse the LCEA performance of a case study in Adelaide, Australia. Thereafter, the framework is utilised to cross compare the achieved LCEA results with a case study retrieved from literature in order to demonstrate the framework’s capacity for cross comparison. The results indicate the capability of the framework for maintaining transparency in establishing a system boundary in an LCEA analysis, as well as a standardised basis for cross comparing cases. This study also offers recommendations for policy makers in the building sector to incorporate embodied energy into BEERs.


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