Six students of metropolitan development present a reappraisal and fresh approaches to the analysis of urban systems. Drawing on economics, sociology, political science, geography, and city planning, ...they reconceptualize urban structure and function, refocusing attention from the forms of population density to the processes of human interaction.
Abstract Objective To evaluate the outcomes of a randomized controlled trial, which assigned patients with post-cancer fatigue (PCF) to education, or 12-weeks of integrated cognitive-behavioral ...therapy (CBT) and graded exercise therapy (GET). Methods Three months post treatment for breast or colon cancer, eligible patients had: clinically-significant fatigue; no co-morbid medical or psychiatric conditions which explained the fatigue; and no evidence of recurrence. The CBT/GET arm included individually tailored consultations at approximately two weekly intervals. The education arm included a single visit with clinicians describing the principles of CBT/GET and a booklet. The primary outcome was clinically-significant improvement in self-reported fatigue (SPHERE, 0–12), designated a priori as greater than one standard deviation of improvement in fatigue score. The secondary outcome was associated improvement in function (Role limitation due to physical health problems–SF-36, 0–100) comparing baseline, end-treatment (12-weeks), and follow-up (24-weeks). Results There were 46 patients enrolled, including 43 women (94%), with a mean age of 51 years. Fatigue severity improved in all subjects from a mean of 5.2 (±3.1) at baseline to 3.9 (±2.8) at 12-weeks, suggesting a natural history of improvement. Clinically-significant improvement was observed in 7 of 22 subjects in the intervention group compared to 2 of 24 in the education group (p<0.05, χ2 ). These subjects also had improvement in functional status compared to non-responders (p<0.01, t-test). Conclusions Combined CBT/GET improves fatigue and functional outcomes for a subset of patients with PCF. Further studies to improve the response rate and the magnitude of the benefit are warranted.
I assume we’ll want to sustain any mode of transport only if we judge it to be effective and desirable, and of course, only if we think we can afford to sustain it. Over time, we’ve abandoned any ...number of modes that failed those tests — horsecars, trolleycars, and pullmancars, among others; and we’ve kept those that passed the tests — most notably motorcars, airplanes, and ships. In retrospect, it seems we’ve been pretty draconian in rejecting transport modes that have failed in the market place of public favor. Now the test for sustainability is being pressed most vociferously against the automobile, because cars pollute a lot, use a lot of land, injure and kill a lot of people, and consume a lot of petroleum. More than that, and perhaps most important of all, automobiles have accumulated a growing circle of critics who regard cars as instruments of evil, deserving to be rejected into the dustbin where the world’s sinful and dangerous instruments are consigned.
In the recent flurry of commentaries on the variously alleged trends and implications of metropolitan growth, there has been little basis for agreement or disagreement among the commentators, even ...about the nature of the phenomenon under discussion. This is scarcely surprising, for each group of observers views the metropolitan communities through the colored glasses of its own discipline or profession, and each sees something different from what others see. Their observations may bore, or perplex, or fascinate others; but they are not easily fitted into the others’ conceptual systems.
If the experience of interdisciplinary inquiry on other matters is relevant
The search for scientific bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, because of the nature of these problems. They are "wicked" problems, whereas science has developed to deal ...with "tame" problems. Policy problems cannot be definitively described. Moreover, in a pluralistic society there is nothing like the undisputable public good; there is no objective definition of equity; policies that respond to social problems cannot be meaningfully correct or false; and it makes no sense to talk about "optimal solutions" to social problems unless severe qualifications are imposed first. Even worse, there are no "solutions" in the sense of definitive and objective answers.
Th e search for scientifi c bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, because of the naturę of these problems. Th ey are “wicked” problems, whereas science has developed to ...deal with “tame” problems. Policy problems cannot be defmitively described. Moreover, in a pluralistic society there is nothing like the undisputable public good; there is no objective defi nition of eąuity; policies that respond to social problems cannot be meaningfully correct or false; and it makes no sense to talk about “optimal solutions” to social problems unless severe ąualifi cations are imposed fi rst. Even worse, there are no „solutions” in the sense of defłnitive and objective answers.
The Post-City Age Webber, Melvin M.
Daedalus (Cambridge, Mass.),
10/1968, Letnik:
97, Številka:
4
Journal Article
Recenzirano
It is noted that the US tends to overreact to problems. While huge efforts are being made to alleviate the crisis of the contemporary US city, Ur' ization is moving away from the locationally fixed ...city & region. A new kind of large-scale Ur society is emerging that is increasingly independent of the city. The US supposes that the problems found inside cities are 'city problems' ; but they are really problems of a changing society that extend far beyond the locale of the large city. Ur' ites no longer reside exclusively in metropolitan settlements, nor Ru'ites exclusively in the hinterlands. Increasingly, those who exhibit most of the attributes of Ru folk are concentrating within the highest-density portions of the large metropolitan center, & the typical Ur people, characterized by high educ' al attainments & highly specialized occup's, increasingly live outside the city. Cities exist only because spatial agglomeration permits reduced costs of interaction. The large metropolitan centers that used to be primarily goods-producing loci have become interchange junctions within the internat' 1 COMM's networks. The new cosmopolites belong to none of the world's metropolitan areas, although they use them. They belong to the nat' 1 & internat' 1 communities that merely maintain information exchanges at the metropolitan junctions. The pattern of settlement upon the US continent is also shifting - moving toward long strips along the coasts, the Gulf, & the Great Lakes. Cost-reducing improvements in transportation & COMM technologies are likely to accelerate these trends dramatically. As more of the nation's youth go to Coll & thus enter the nat' 1 & internat' 1 cultures, attachments to places of residence will decline even more. The demise of the city is associated with the internat' lization of society generated by the knowledge explosion. Meanwhile the preindustr local areas are being left further behind. Although it is still easy for people from these areas to migrate to the cities, the demands of large-scale society are making it more & more difficult for newcomers to gain entry into the new Ur society. The central issue is to formulate an Ur'ization policy to accelerate the SM of the marginals. It must include raising all incomes above the poverty line, creating new jobs in large volumes, particularly for the least skilled, better public & private housing, better educ, more public recreation services, & new & better Med & health services. The nation is rich enough to accomplish all this. M. Maxfield.
PDF
