Public Participation in Planning: an intellectual history

This paper tracks the changing role of public participation in planning thought. In doing so, the paper shows that the role of public participation in planning is largely determined by the nature of the planning enterprise being undertaken. The definition of the planning problem, the kinds of knowledge used in planning practice, and the conceptualisation of the planning and decision-making context are the important determinants of the extent of participation offered to the public. The paper therefore contributes to thinking about how to evaluate public participation by showing that it can only be understood in terms of the decision-making context in which it is embedded. Specifically, it makes little sense to evaluate public participation in terms that are not shared by the planning model itself     

GGR Biennial Review: Atomic Absorption,Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry,Neutron Activation Analysis and X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry Review for 2008–2009

This review describes developments major and in trace element determination using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry that were reported in 2008 and 2009. Publication levels were comparable to those of previous years, except for XRF which showed an increase in the number of articles published in the past 2 years. In terms of number of publications and impact, the most active field was AAS, while INAA was the least active. As expected for well-established and mature methods, novel developments for all four analytical techniques were relatively sparse. For AAS, the most notable publications concerned developments in sample introduction, particularly focussing on solid samples, increasing analyte sensitivity, and higher sample throughput. For ICP-AES, publication of developments in sample introduction, remediation of matrix effects and calibration continues. Compared with past years, there was a clear focus on sample preconcentration methods, but very few publications reporting new hyphenated speciation methods. For INAA, there were several publications exploring the accuracy and robustness of the method, as well as the requirements for INAA to meet criteria for a primary method of measurement. Two other related techniques, delayed neutron activation analysis, and prompt gamma activation analysis, were also described. Hyphenated XRF techniques showed interesting developments in enabling XRF and XRD analysis on the same spot, and further work characterising and calibrating three-dimensional micro-XRF shows promising results for investigating sample heterogeneity.     

A generalization of Szebehely's equation for three dimensions

Szebehely's equation for the potential generating a prescribed family of orbits in two dimensions is generalized for three-dimensional orbits. A simultaneous system of first-order linear partial differential equations is derived for the determination of the potential in the three-dimensional case. Solutions of this system are found in several cases including Kepler's problem too.Paper presented at the 1981 Oberwolfach Conference on Mathematical Methods in Celestial Mechanics.This paper is dedicated to Professor Victor Szebehely on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

The bedrock topography of the botany basin,New South Wales

The bedrock topography of the Botany Basin has been determined from seismic‐sparker records made in Botany Bay and Bate Bay, and from seismic‐refraction and gravity measurements on the Kurnell Peninsula. Supplementary information has been obtained from boreholes both on land and in the sea.

The Cooks and Georges Rivers formerly constituted the main drainage of the Basin and flowed generally southeastwards (beneath the present Kurnell Peninsula) and joined the Port Hacking River east of Cronulla. The depth of the bedrock channel of the former Georges River is 75–80 m b.s.l. at Taren Point, 90–95 m beneath the Kurnell Peninsula and 110–115 m at its junction with the Port Hacking River channel. The bedrock channel of the former Cooks River is about 30 m b.s.l. at Kyeemagh, its present entrance to Botany Bay, and it joined the Georges River at a location now 90 m b.s.l. beneath the Kurnell Peninsula.

A second drainage system existed in the north and east of Botany Bay and generated the present mouth beneath which the bedrock is now 110 m b.s.l. This channel followed a southeasterly course parallel to the present northern shore of Botany Bay and was separated from that of the ‘Cooks and Georges Rivers’ by a bedrock ridge which extended from beneath Sydney Airport to the northern extremity of the Kurnell Peninsula. Over much of its length this divide had a depth of about 30 m b.s.l.

The formation of the Kurnell Peninsula tombolo led to the diversion of the ‘Cooks/Georges River’ through the mouth of Botany Bay and subsequently led to the development of the bay. This change in the drainage system occurred when the sea was less than 30 m below the present sea level.     

Performance analysis of the spaceborne laser ranging system

The Spaceborne Laser Ranging System is a proposed short pulse laser on board an orbiting spacecraft.^1,2,3,4 It measures the distance between the spacecraft and many laser retroreflectors (targets) deployed on the Earth’s surface. The precision of these range measurements is assumed to be about ±2 cm (M. W. Fitzmaurice, private communication). These measurements are then used together with the orbital dynamics of the spacecraft, to derive the relative position of the laser ground targets. Assuming a six day observing period with 50% cloud cover, uncertainties in the baseline for target separations of 50 km to 1200 km were estimated to be on the order of 1 to 3 cm and the corresponding values in the vertical direction, ranged from 1 cm to 12 cm. By redetermining the measurements of the relative target positions, the estimated precision in the baseline for a target separation of 50 km is less than 0.3 cm and for a separation of 1200 km is less than 1 cm. In the vertical direction, the estimated precision ranged from 0.4 cm to 4.0 cm respectively. As a result of the repeated estimation of the relative laser target positions, most of the non-temporal effects of error sources as exemplified by the errors in geopotential are reduced. The Spaceborne Laser Ranging System’s capability of determining baselines to a high degree of precision provides a measure of strain and strain rate as shown byCohen, 1979. These quantities are essential for crustal dynamic studies which include determination and monitoring of strain near seismic zones, land subsidence, and edifice building preceding volcanic eruptions. It is evident that such a system can also be used for geodetic surveys where such precisions are more than adquate.     

A soil chronosequence in Late Glacial and Neoglacial moraines, Humboldt Glacier, northwestern Venezuelan Andes

Late Glacial and Neoglacial (Little Ice Age) deposits on the Humboldt Massif were analyzed for relative-age dating parameters, including geomorphic and weathering characteristics, geochemical and soil properties. The soil chronosequence, formed in chemically uniform parent materials, provides an important database to study soil evolution in a tropical alpine environment. Extractable and total Fe and Al concentrations, examined to assess their use in relative-age determination, and as paleoenvironmental indicators, provide an important measure of the accumulation and downward profile movement over time of organically-bound Al, ferrihydrite and other crystalline forms (hematite and goethite) of extractable Fe. Ferrihydrite is particularly useful in determining former perched water levels in soils with relation to paleoclimate. The ratios of most Fe extracts are time dependent. The Fe_d/Fe_t ratio, within statistical limits, shows a slow increase from LIA (Little Ice Age) to Late Glacial soils, which closely correlates with other alpine soil studies in the middle latitudes and other tropical alpine locales. Values of Al_d (dithionite) and Al_o (oxalate extractable) generally do not correlate with time; however, Al_p (pyrophosphate extractable) measured against Al_t (total) provides insight on the downward translocation over time of organically-bound Al. Low leaching rates in this chronosequence are further supported by clay mineralogy trends and the geochemical data.