Typology of Phraseological Units in English

Typology of phraseological units in English Difference in terminology (â€Å"set-phrases†, â€Å"idioms† and â€Å"word-equivalents† [1]) reflects certain differences in the main criteria used to distinguish types of phraseological units and free word-groups. The term â€Å"set phrase† implies that the basic criterion of differentiation is stability of the lexical components and grammatical structure of word-groups. There is a certain divergence of opinion as to the essential features of phraseological units as distinguished from other word-groups and the nature of phrases that can be properly termed â€Å"phraseological units†.The habitual terms â€Å"set-phrases†, â€Å"idioms†, â€Å"word-equivalents† are sometimes treated differently by different linguists. However these terms reflect to certain extend the main debatable points of phraseology which centre in the divergent views concerning the nature and essential features of phraseological units as distinguished from the so-called free word-groups [2, p. 100]. The term â€Å"set expression† implies that the basic criterion of differentiation is stability of the lexical components and grammatical structure of word-groups.The term â€Å"word-equivalent† stresses not only semantic but also functional inseparability of certain word-groups, their aptness to function in speech as single words. The term â€Å"idioms† generally implies that the essential feature of the linguistic units under consideration is idiomaticity or lack of motivation. Uriel Weinreich expresses his view that an idiom is a complex phrase, the meaning of which cannot be derived from the meanings of its elements. He developed a more truthful supposition, claiming that an idiom is a subset of a phraseological unit.Ray Jackendoff and Charles Fillmore offered a fairly broad definition of the idiom, which, in Fillmore’s words, reads as follows: â€Å"†¦an idi omatic expression or construction is something a language user could fail to know while knowing everything else in the language†. Chafe also lists four features of idioms that make them anomalies in the traditional language unit paradigm: non-compositionality, transformational defectiveness, ungrammaticality and frequency asymmetry [6, p. 1-3].The term â€Å"idiom†, both in this country and abroad, is mostly applied to phraseological units with completely transferred meanings, that is, to the ones in which the meaning of the whole unit does not correspond to the current meanings of the components. According to the type of meaning phraseological units may be classified into: †¢Idioms; †¢Semi-idioms; †¢Phraseomatic units (after Ryzhkova). Idioms are phraseological units with a transferred meaning. They can be completely or partially transferred (red tape [3, p. 740]). Semi-idioms are phraseological units with two phraseosemantic meanings: terminological and transferred (chain reaction [3, p. 10], to lay down the arms [3, p. 33]). Phraseomatic units are not transferred at all. Their meanings are literal. Other types of phraseological units are also distinguished: †¢Phrases with a unique combination of components (born companion [3, p. 138]); †¢Phrases with a descriptive meaning; †¢Phrases with phraseomatic and bound meaning (to pay attention to [3, p. 40]); †¢Set expressions (cliches) (the beginning of the end [3, p. 59]); †¢Preposition-noun phrases (for good [3, p. 311], at least [3, p. 414]); †¢Terminological expressions (general ticket [3, p. 755], civil war [3, p. 121]) (after Ryzhkova).Semantic complexity is one of the most essential qualities of phraseological units. It’s resulted from the complicated interaction of the component meanings (meaning of prototype, of semantic structure etc. ). All these components are organized into a multilevel structure [4]. Idioms contain all information in co mpressed form. This quality is typical of idioms, it makes them very capacious units (idiom is a compressed text). An idiom can provide such a bright explanation of an object that can be better than a sentence. We can compare idioms with fables (the Prodigal son [3, p. 571]).Idioms based on cultural components are not motivated (the good Samaritan [5], Lot’s wife [5], the Troy horse [5]). Phraseological meaning contains background information. It covers only the most essential features of the object it nominates. It corresponds to the basic concept, to semantic nucleus of the unit. It is the invariant of information conveyed by semantically complicated word combinations and which is not derived from the lexical meanings of the conjoined lexical components [4]. According to the class the word-combination belongs to, we single out: †¢idiomatic meaning; idiophraseomatic meaning; †¢phraseomatic meaning (after Ryzhkova). The information conveyed by phraseological units i s thoroughly organized and is very complicated. It is characterized by: 1) multilevel structure; 2) structure of a field (nucleus + periphery); 3) block-schema (after Ryzhkova). It contains 3 macro-components which correspond to a certain type of information they convey: †¢the grammatical block; †¢the phraseological meaning proper; †¢motivational macro-component (phraseological imagery; the inner form of the phraseological unit; motivation) (after Ryzhkova).Phraseological unit is a non-motivated word-group that cannot be freely made up in speech but is reproduced as a ready made unit. Reproducibility is regular use of phraseological units in speech as single unchangeable collocations. Idiomaticity is the quality of phraseological unit, when the meaning of the whole is not deducible from the sum of the meanings of the parts. Stability of a phraseological unit implies that it exists as a ready-made linguistic unit which does not allow of any variability of its lexical c omponents of grammatical structure.

Essay Sample on Biracialism The Identity Development

Essay Sample on Biracialism The Identity Development Essay on Explication from Two Themes: This novel is based mainly on the theme of biracialism. This theme has been clearly brought out in the fact that the novel is set in a family of parents from two different races. The main character in the story, Birdie, is a white girl whose parents are from different races. Her father is black, while the mother is white. She is confused to be of a Jewish-American origin. The theme of biracialism is contrasted with the theme of identity rationalization. This is well observed in the fact that the main character, Birdie, has no clear race due to the difference in the race of the parents. Her father, who is black, does not approve of her, since she is white, and often disregards her. Birdie is helped by Cole, who understands the difficulties she is going through identifying herself with her family and the rest of the world. A child identifies herself with her parent’s origins. If the parents are from different races, the child may identify herself with the race of one of the parents. Birdies mother on the other hand, is so involved with civil activities that she barely has time for her children. She is the white parent, and is the most suitable one to indentify herself with Birdie. Birdie in this case cannot be classified as an American or a Jew. She has to search for her own identity. They even go ahead and come up with their own language with her sister. They can communicate in the language very well but it cannot be understood by other people. It is in the search for her identity that one night her father, his black girlfriend and her sister leave, for a place they are later to understand to be Brazil. In the United States, interacialism is not supported. The Americans believe that the land is strictly for the whites and those from other races are considered to be evil people and may be arrest ed by the government on grounds of underground illegal activities. Biracialism in the States is often faced by many challenges. Those individuals from different races have troubles identifying themselves with the Americans. This is the reason as to why Birdie is forced to live a lie. She is forced to adopt a white identity in order to remain safe in America. The issue of biracialism in the states can be considered a disadvantage in the sense that parents from different races may be forced to separate in search of secure places where there is no racism, and where Biracialism is accepted. Biracialism often leads to individuals, especially children, lacking racial identity. This is what happened to Birdie. She does not have a race to identify herself with and is forced to adopt a different identity to be safe in the United States of America. IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT In the modern world, various different races have come in contact and have over the years learned to coexist together in a cosmopolitan world. However, this does not come or did not come without various challenges, which threatened the coexistence which many strived for. Even so, many people are faced with issues of identity and the roles that they should play in order to achieve their identity. In the novel, Caucasia by Danzy Senna, these issues are illustrated through a mixed family setting involving a mixed family in which the mother is white and the father being a black man. The white woman and the black man have got two daughters one named birdie while the other is called Cole. From this perspective, it is evident that this is a family, which is faced with a lot of racial and cultural issues, which are expressed throughout this book. The writer has illustrated the issues from one of the daughter’s perspective and managed to analyze them in an interesting way which grips the reader (Senna, 39). In the story, issues of race are outlined in various ways. As such, the novel talks of the two blood sisters who are very different in appearance. Although born from a white mother and a black father, birdie the younger sister looks white while her elder sister looks black. This fact has brought out various issues one being that people believe that birdie is an adopted child of the family. The book was set in the 1970s and 1980s a time where America was still struggling with racism issues. Such racial politics are seen to distort the lives of the two girls as they struggle with finding their own identity in a society with little or no mercy for other races. At the time, racial intolerance was still rampant, and the girls had to deal with racial politics every single day given the nature of their family. Birdie who looked white had to deal with the issue of having a black sister, as well as a black father. For birdie, it was rather difficult for her to commit to an identity since she was of mixed race but looked white. She had to also deal with her socially accepted identity on one hand and her psychological construction of her identity. The society identified birdie as a white person and for this reason she was said to be adopted by the family. To further highlight this, her sister Cole looked black in a way which did not raise any form of doubt. It was difficult for her to be able to relate with other people in society without having being declared a misfit one way or the other. It was a constant battle of family relations and identity issues over societal expectations. The family eventually splits under various racial issues as well as politics of race having the separation of the daughters when the family breaks apart. Cole goes with her father while birdie goes with her white mo ther. This shows the strain of maintaining a multiracial family at the time which is posed by society, as well as family individuals. The splitting of the family also posed a lot of strain on the two girls finding their own identity amidst social and personal expectations. Birdie is said to be like a chameleon that has to keep changing in order to fit in society. At one point Birdie in Caucasia asks â€Å"what is the point of surviving if you have to disappear?†(Senna 29). This line shows how issues eg identity will influence the lives of many people. The reason for this being that every person such as birdie in this novel will have to construct their own identity either based on societal expectations or in relation to personal and individual views. From the novel Caucasia, it is evident that multiracial marriages at the time were encountered with very many issues leading to such marriages being dissolved. Birdie and Cole’s parents split due to strained relations brought about by issues of race (Senna 55). This further brought about issues of identity confusion especially to children born the mixed families. Interracial differences at the time of setting the novel was highly magnified leading to rampant and reckless discrimination. Even multiracial families brought together by love seemed to crumble with time due to strained interracial relations affecting both parents and children alike. However from the novel it is evident that children in such families were much more tolerant of racial differences as opposed to their parents (Hooks, 66). Birdie lee and Cole lee despite their appearances were very close and were traumatized by their untimely separation. They also had to struggle to find their own identity amidst the racial tension evident in the book at the time. From this we learn that people have got different views about issues relating to identity and how to deal with role confusion due to construction of identity. CONCLUSION In conclusion, therefore, the novel has highlighted that identity issues will have to be determined by the person in relation to the social placing and in relation to societal expectations. The issue of man overcoming adversity shows how people will strive to overcome challenges in life. This has also been elicited well by the author.

Helping Students Move Beyond General Goals

Helping Students Move Beyond General Goals Once you have determined a general goal and you think you know why it appeals to you, you are ready to write it in a way that will help you make it happen. Goals Studies of successful people have shown that they write goals that contain similar elements. To write a goal like winners do, be sure that: It is stated in a positive way. (eg. I will... not, I might or I hope...It is obtainable. (Be realistic, but dont sell yourself short.)It involves your behavior and not someone elses.It is written.It includes a way to measure successful completion.It includes the specific date when you will begin working on the goal.It includes a projected date when you will reach the goal.If it is a big goal, it is divided into manageable steps or sub-goals.The projected dates for working on and completion of sub-goals are specified. Despite the length of the list, great goals are easy to write. The following are examples of goals containing the necessary components. General Goal: I will be a better basketball player during this year.Specific Goal: I will get 18 baskets in 20 tries by June 1, 2009.I will begin working on this goal January 15, 2009.General Goal: I will become an electrical engineer some day.Specific Goal: I will have a job as an electrical engineer by January 1, 2015.I will begin working on this goal February 1, 2009.General Goal: I will go on a diet.Specific Goal: I will lose 10 pounds by April 1, 2009.I will begin dieting and exercising February 27, 2009. Now, write your general goal. (Be sure to start with I will.) _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Now make it more specific by adding the manner of measurement and projected completion date. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I will begin working on this goal on (date) _______________________________ Considering how completing this goal will benefit you is quite important because this benefit will be the source of motivation for the work and sacrifice needed to complete your goal. To remind yourself why this goal is important to you, complete the sentence below. Use as much detail as you can by imagining the goal completed. Begin with, I will benefit by meeting this goal because... _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Because some goals are so big that thinking about them makes us feel overwhelmed, it is necessary to break them into sub goals or the steps you need to take in order to meet your major goal. These steps should be listed below along with a projected date for completion. Creating Sub-Goals Since this list will be used to schedule your work on these steps, you will save time if you set up a table on another piece of paper with a wide column for listing the steps, and a number of columns to the side which will eventually be used to indicate time periods. On a separate sheet of paper, make a table with two columns. To the right of these columns, attach gridded or graph paper. See the image at the top of the page for an example. After you have listed the steps you will need to complete in order to attain your goal, estimate the date by which you can complete all of them. Use this as your projected ending date. Next, turn this table into a Gantt chart by labeling columns to the right of completion date with appropriate time periods (weeks, months, or years) and color in the cells for the times you will work on a particular step. Project management software usually contains features for making Gantt charts and make the job more fun by automatically changing related charts when you make a change in any one of them. Now that you have learned to write a great specific goal and to schedule sub-goals on a Gantt chart, you are ready to learn how to maintain your motivation and momentum. Back to Goals and Resolutions: Writing Great Goals

Various Key Competencies of The Crocs Inc Shoe Company Case Study

Various Key Competencies of The Crocs Inc Shoe Company - Case Study Example Crocs Inc can employ this strategy through making shoes from foam clogs (a croslite material) manufactured by a Canadian company (Snyder, 2011). This material is a mixture of inexpensive ingredients from many suppliers. This material is very easy to wash with water and it does not slip on wet boat decks. It prevents bad odor because of the presence of large ventilation holes. The foam is closely celled in shape of the wearer’s foot to provide maximum comfort. These new designs of shoes may be sold to sailors from a leased warehouse. They can also have a brand name â€Å"clogs†, which can capture the attention of many sailors. Synder (2011) postulates that the company may also hire experienced consultants in combination with their own representatives and distributors who will be experienced in sales and marketing to manage its sales and control costs. A supply chain that provides a competitive advantage can also be developed by Crocs Inc managers. Through this supply chain, retailers can place bulk orders to be supplied during the selling season. These orders can be quickly manufactured and shipped to new retail stores. This will no doubt offer a competitive advantage over other manufacturers. Crocs Inc may also expand through acquiring ideas from executives, Flextronics, and built infrastructure. The shoe company can also launch their sales worldwide to increase profits. It can also be helpful in getting a brand name that would stand out in the competing market in Europe (Snyder, 2011). Funky looking shoes would then be introduced in the market. The company should buy most of the competitors’ stakes so as to take control of the market. The company should also consider increasing more shoe companies. This can be done by opening more branches in different territories around the world. These new companies will add more ideas to the business and increase the rate of growth.

Leading a turnaround Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leading a turnaround - Essay Example Another change made was to reinvest savings back into the business; this had the knock-on effect of raising the company’s EPS. However, perhaps the most successful change was to instill a new corporate culture that respected leadership; this was important if Loren was going to be able to pick the company up because he needed respect of his subordinates. After five years of Loren in charge, the company’s reputation and value grew enormously, with double-digit earnings growth year-on-year. In January of 2005, Loren stepped as CEO of the company and handed over the reins to Steven Alesio (this was planned for two years before it actually took place). For the few months following that move, Loren remained as chairman; he stepped down from this role in May of 2005 and was replaced once again by Steven Alesio. With the company heading in the right direction, it was the right time for Loren to retire and leave the company in the capable hands of someone who he has specifically chosen for the

The Most Significant Moment of Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Most Significant Moment of Life - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the true essence of our life is exhibited through the little moments of joy or sorrow that are dear to us and are close to our hearts. These moments may be seemingly minor and trivial but become the most treasured and meaningful memories. These noteworthy moments adorn our past for our lifetime and have an evergreen effect on our future. Not just joyous incidents, some heart-wrenching episodes affecting our dear ones or our surroundings can also remain etched in our memories. Such incidents serve as reminders of the realities of life and the ups and downs it encompasses. On the other hand, the beautiful and worthwhile episodes shared with our family, favorite pets, colleagues, and friends prove to us every day the worthiness of life. These precious memories give us the necessary boost we need when we are drowned in the daily chaos and obligations. The researcher’s Granddad possessed a very full of life and admirable personality. The author enjoyed the most when she used to spend her time at her grandparent's house. Every single moment the researcher spent with her granddad was filled with affection and a feeling of warmth. Even now when she thinks of even the most inconsequential episodes she spent with her granddad, the author is reminded of his honesty and kindness that reflected her personality. Childhood is a part of your life where the tiniest of gestures have a deep impact on one’s personality. The researcher’s granddad showed the importance of family, the significance of kindness and gave her the confidence that is needed to become a self-assured young girl that she is today. The author always worshipped his lively personality, the way he laughed and made jokes with his companions. His authoritarian personality with the spirit of kindness and love that, he had in abundance, especially for the researcher. Her granddad always took special care of her and the author used to accompany him most of the time. One particular incident has left a deep impact on the author’s mind and she still finds that she related to it some way or another. During one particular summer vacations, when the author was in 6th standard she went to her granddad's house as a part of her usual annual routine. As usual, the author spent the bright lively summer days in her grandparent’s house cherishing each and every moment. Summer vacations were a time which she used to wait for eagerly. It was an occasion when the researcher got the chance to spend time with one person who made her feel special through his affectionate soul and kind gestures. Granddad brought home a little, frail puppy that looked scared and homeless. Its innocent round eyes stared at the author with fear in them. Granddad had found him on his way home in a deserted street without its mother. The researcher was amazed and quite amused by this little creature. The puppy was just like a little baby; small, fragile and completely dependent on others. Granddad gave the puppy to the author and told her to take special care of the little creature. That day he taught the researcher a lesson that she followed the rest of her life. It was something that was obvious from his way of life and his personality. He taught her love and affection for family. He told her that if today the author takes care of the little, defenseless creature, it will grow up tomorrow and return her the kindness and affection she showed to it.  

Public Participation Planning

Public Participation Planning The purpose of this Literature Review is to establish a theoretical framework for my research proposal, specifically the theoretical aspects associated with public participation and collaborative planning. It aims to analyse and assess the various articles books and journals published and researched to date, while also identifying potential gaps in the research, which could be addressed by my research proposal. The literature review will take the form of an assessment of the emergence of public participation, the different types of participation and decision making models, followed by an analysis of the merits of collaborative planning as a tool for facilitating public participation within a development plan process. 2.2What is meant by participation? Although the merits of public participation have only begun to gain credence in recent times, the idea itself has been around for quite a while and literature on the subject can be found spanning back a number of decades. Public Participation has been defined as citizen involvement in making service delivery and management decisions (Langton, 1978). More recently it has been defined as ‘the process through which stakeholders influence and share control over priority setting, policy-making, resource allocations and access to public goods and services (Kende-Robb, 2005). Sanoff argues that it is advocated to reduce citizen cynicism toward government, build stakeholder consensus in government and enhance administrative decision-making. There remains a strong sense that the proper objective of participation is to ensure the ‘transformation of existing development practice, and more radically, the social relations, institutional practices and capacity gaps which cause social exclusion. This was central to many of the approaches to participation over the years including the community development approach from the 1940s to 1960s; political participation in the 1960s and 1970s; alternative development from the 1970s to the 1990s; social capital from the mid 1990s to the present and participatory governance and citizen participation from the late 1990s to the present day (Hickey Mohan, 2004). Other traditional participation mechanisms include public hearings, citizen forums, community or neighbourhood meetings, citizen advisory groups, individual citizen representation and focus groups (Wang, 2001). The focus on increasing public participation and citizen involvement in policy making has only begun to have a visible effect in recent times. It has been stated that direct, active citizen involvement in policy making has not always been a goal of civilised societies (Putnam, 1995). The reason is, to some extent a result of the enlarged role in society played by government bureaucracies (Davidoff, 1965). Habermas however states that individuals should be able to freely share their views with one another in a process, which closely resembles true participatory democracy. He states that the public sphere is â€Å"a discursive arena that is home to citizen debate, deliberation, agreement and action† (Habermas, 1981). By allowing every person the same opportunity to participate in discourse, Habermas hopes to eradicate the prejudices which limit marginalized groups from fully attaining their rights in a democratic society. The difficulty with recent models of participation is that citizens are more often reacting to plans rather than proposing what they see as appropriate goals for future action. This is certainly the case in Ireland, where participation is almost always reactive in nature. However, in the last decade this has begun to change and public participation is becoming an established part of planning and policy decision-making practice (Cameron Grant-Smith, 2005). Participation Versus Consultation Even though the term ‘participation is used to describe public involvement in policy and decision making, it must be recognised that there are various levels at which a person may participate and in many cases what is referred to as public ‘participation is not in fact participation at all. In the late 1960s, Sherry Arnstein developed an 8 rung ‘Ladder of Citizen Participation with each rung corresponding to the extent of the citizens power in influencing a final outcome (Arnstein, 1969). Arnstein developed this Ladder while involved in developing processes for citizen participation in planning and renewal projects in America (see figure 1). At the bottom of the ladder are rungs 1 (Manipulation)and 2 (Therapy). Both are non participative and the aim is to cure or educate the participants. The proposed plan is deemed best and the job of participation is to achieve public support by public relations. Rungs 3 (Informing), 4 (Consultation) and 5 (Placation) demonstrate slightly higher levels of tokenistic participation, however too frequently the emphasis is on a one-way flow of information with no channel for feedback. Rung 6 (Partnership) can be described as meaningful participation, as power is in fact redistributed through negotiation between citizens and power holders. Planning and decision-making responsibilities are shared e.g. through joint committees. It is at this partnership level that the collaborative planning model aims to operate. Rungs 7 (Delegated Power) and 8 (Citizen Control) affords ‘have-not citizens the majority of decision making seats or full power and is the holy grail in terms of citizen participation. Figure 1: If participation is to be real and effective there must be dialogue between the different stakeholders and between those who have power (those at the top of the ladder) and between those who have little or no power (those at the bottom of the ladder). There must be a two way flow of information between the parties involved. However there is no dialogue in consultation which is what has traditionally been considered ‘participation in a development plan process in Ireland. The planning authority consults the public normally after a plan has been prepared by seeking feedback through public meetings and public comment. ‘Participation in Ireland essentially consists of proposal and response the planning authority proposes a plan for a community and members of the public respond through making a submission. This submission is often made without any direct contact with officials in the planning authority so in effect there is no dialogue of any form, thereby illustrating that what is refered to as ‘participation in a development plan process in Ireland is in fact consultation. However, with public participation now becoming central to National, European and International policy, as well as being an important aspect of the sustainable development discourse, such tokenistic participation is no longer adequate. The introduction of the Planning and Development Act 2000 has resulted in a requirement on planning authorities to produce their statutory plans through a process that involves greater public input at the earlier stages. They are now required to develop a somewhat more participatory approach to planning than was previously the case. The Aarhus Convention, which took place in 1998, and the 2003 Public Participation Directive which followed on from the convention, also provide members of the public with opportunities for early and effective participation on plans or programmes relating to the environment. The increase in emphasis on public participation has meant that alternative models of planning need to emerge to facilitate and respond to this increas e and the collaborative planning model is one such response. 2.4Participation in Physical Planning Decision Making There has been much debate about the most effective methods of facilitating citizen involvement in policy formulation and decision-making. A useful approach that provides a basis for analysing processes of decision-making in planning is that developed by Innes and Booher (2000) and this will be discussed first, followed by an analysis of other participatory models of decision making that have emerged in recent times. The Innes and Booher approach identifies four different models of decision making technical/bureaucratic, political influence, social movement and the collaborative model as well as identifying when and where each model works best, which ultimately depends on the levels of diversity and interdependence present (see diagram). Source: (Innes and Booher, 2000) The technical/bureaucratic model works best where there is neither diversity nor interdependence among interests. A bureaucratic system is set up to implement known policy and the technical analyst is associated with rationality and bureaucracy. Technicians and bureaucracies essentially respond to a single set of goals and decision maker, and the typical practice is one where analyses are not focussed on interdependencies. Within this model, the focus of planning is on the achievement of the most efficient mechanism for reaching easily defined and identified needs. The political influence model works best where there is a high diversity of interests, however there is normally a low interdependence of interests, as each individual is focussed on their maximising their own interest only. In this model there tends to be a political bargaining approach that seeks to get an adequate number of interests to agree to a particular course of action in order for it to work. The social movement model recognises the importance of high levels of interdependence among a coalition of interests and individuals, but which does not deal with the full diversity of interests. Collaboration therefore is seen as the model that deals best with both diversity and interdependence ‘but is typically the least-used and least-institutionalised of the four models (Innes and Booher, 2000). Both the technical/bureaucratic model and the political influence models of planning and decision making, as proposed by Innes and Booher, reflect the lower levels of participation as identified by Arnstein, with the ‘convincing nature of the technical/bureaucratic model comparing significantly with need to ‘educate and ‘cure participants on Arnsteins tokenism rungs. The technocratic approach to planning which was the dominant planning model for much of the twentieth century has been severely criticised for its failure to adequately incorporate the values and interests of stakeholders into the decision making process. This criticism of technocratic planning was fuelled by the growing protests of stakeholders over expert-formulated plans in areas such as natural resource management, environmental regulation, transportation, and urban renewal, that were clearly contrary to the interests of large segments of society (Gunton and Day 2003). Planning theory responded to t he criticism and limitations of the technocratic approach by acknowledging the role of goals and objectives identified through democratic political processes (political influence model) to set the framework in which plans were prepared (Davidoff 1965). Planners, previously experts under the technocratic umbrella were relegated to determining optimal means to achieve politically set goals within this new participatory environment. The unresolved question in this new goals-based planning theory was how the goals should be determined. The initial and somewhat vague response was that goals should be determined by citizen participation in the planning process, however it was not clear how this was to be achieved (Gunton and Day 2003). Dahl suggested that pluralism was another vehicle that would allow individual citizens to have their concerns voiced in government, a concept developed by Davidoff in the 1960s interlinked with the idea of the planner as an advocate for the under-represented (Dahl, 1989). Unlike the ‘advocacy planning that Davidoff proposes (different planners acting as advocates for different interests), most city and town planning is performed by a single planning authority which develops plans, which it feels will best serve the welfare of the whole community, not of individual interest groups (LeGates and Stout, 2000). Davidoff argues that different groups in society have different interests, which would result in fundamentally different plans if such interests were incorporated into these plans. The articulate, wealthy and powerful groups have the skills and resources to influence plans to take account of their own interests while the poor and powerless do not. Advocacy Planning introduces the idea of planners acting as advocates, articulating the needs of the poor and powerless, the same way as a lawyer represents a client (Davidoff, 1965). The problem with advocacy planning, however, is that it did not provide a framework for resolving disputes among competing interest groups and therefore cannot be seen as an adequate method for dealing with the various conflicts that are emerging in modern day planning. Dahl sees pluralism as a situation where individuals join interests groups that represent their needs and wants. These interests groups then come together to debate their competing viewpoints and create a collective public policy that should reflect the common good. The more interest groups that exist, the greater the conflict, and the greater the likelihood that decision making will reflect that common good (Dahl, 1989). However, Lowi on the other hand argues that pluralism often fails to represent the collective good, and instead represents the needs and wants of special interest groups (Lowi, 1979). Davidoffs idea of pluralism is slightly different from Dahls, in that citizens or interest groups should go one step further and produce an alternative plan to what he sees as the ‘unitary plan prepared by the planning authority, and the advocate planner can be central to the process by representing certain interest groups. A final model, often referred to as alternative dispute resolution, also emerged as a way of engaging stakeholders in the development of plans by allowing stakeholders to negotiate a consensus agreement to resolve the dispute (Susskind and Cruikshank 1987). However the alternative dispute resolution does not appear to provide a satisfactory model either, as it is reactive in responding to disputes that have already arisen instead of proactive. In essence, this limits its effectiveness as a planning tool. It is evident therefore that to date, the existing models of decision making have had limited success with regard to facilitating public participation. However as our societies and communities are now becoming more diverse and less homogenous than ever before it would seem an alternative model is required to facilitate and acknowledge these changes. 2.5The Collaborative Planning Model Innes and Booher (2000) note that in situations where there is a clear interdependence between stakeholders interests and there exists a high diversity of such interests that a different model of planning and policy making is needed. This model is known as collaborative planning. It emerged as a distinct planning paradigm in the 1990s and is a logical extension of alternative dispute resolution (Gunton and Day 2003). ‘The collaborative model is about stakeholders co-evolving to a common understanding, direction and set of heuristics†¦. It is only the collaborative model that deals both with diversity and interdependence because it tries to be inclusive and to explore interdependence in the search for solutions. It does not ignore or override interests, but seeks solutions that satisfy multiple interests. For complex and controversial issues in rapidly changing and uncertain contexts issues that there is public pressure to address collaboration among stakeholders is likely to be the best approach indeed the only approach that can produce a satisfactory result. (Innes and Booher, 2000, p21) This model is a new framework for planning which proposes that spatial planning activity move from the traditional narrow, technical and procedural focus towards a communicative and collaborative model for achieving common purposes in the shared spaces of our societies (Healy, 1997). For Healy, collaborative planning seems not to be an end in itself, but a path to â€Å"co-existence in shared spaces.† Like Innes and Booher, Healy also believes that a collaborative approach can be successful only where there is a variety of stakeholders interests, because if all the interests are the same then no dialogue is required. Healys version of collaborative planning emerged after she analysed the shortcomings of conventional forms of governance and styles of planning, namely economic planning, physical development, public administration and policy analysis, advocacy planning, neo liberalism and utilitarianism. The conceptual base for collaborative planning as Healy sees it, consists of two theoretical strands, an ‘institutionalist sociology and ‘communicative dialogue. The institutionalist theory states that spatial planning processes need to be judged by the quality of the process, i.e. the way the decision is made is just as important as the actual decision. It also seeks to identify and analyze forms and relations of power between people, beyond that of class and categories. The communicative approach offers a way forward in the design of governance processes for a ‘shared world and takes an ethical commitment to enabling all stakeholders have a voice. It deals with the design of governance systems and practices, focusing on ways of fostering collaborative, consensus building processes. This approach outlines a number of necessary components for a collaborative model to be successful. Consensus building practices are important, as they help to ensure that no stakeholder finds a particular outcome intolerable. It is important that an individuals position at the top of the ladder is not maximized at the expense of the individual at the bottom; there should be equality. It recognizes three forms of reasoning instrumental/technical (the mechanisms for public decision making), moral and emotive/aesthetic. It argues that there has been a predominance of the first, at the expense of the other two. Within the public sphere, moral and emotive reasoning must be afforded an equivalent status, to achieve balance. There is also a need for recognition of the growing cultural differences that there now is. She also points out that polices and processes need to be designed to relate to the experience of globalization and multi-cultural societies, as older planning practices do not take these into account. Leadership is not about bringing stakeholders around to a particular planning content but in getting people to agree and ensuring that, whatever the position of the participants within the socio-economic hierarchy, no groups interests will dominate (Healy, 1997) Another approach to collaborative planning is that which emerges from the work of John Forester, an American planning theorist, who focuses on the communicative role of the planning analyst. His view is that planners within organizations do not work instrumentally towards the achievement of clearly distinguishable ends. Instead he sees the role of the planner to: ‘†¦work instead toward the correction of needless distortions, some systematic and some not, which disable, mystify, distract and mislead others: to work towards a political democratization of daily communications. (Forester, 1989, p.21) Forester also states that: ‘†¦problems will be solved not only by technical experts, but also by pooling expertise and non-professional contributions too; not just by formal procedure but by informal consultation and involvement; not mainly through formally rational management procedures, but through internal and external politics and the development of a working consensus; not by solving an engineering equation but by complimenting technical performance with political sophistication, support building, and liaison work (p. 152) Forester therefore recognizes the communication and negotiating elements of planning, as well as its technical elements. He also recognizes the political nature of planning and the extent to which the planner is engaged in value laden political action. 2.6Strengths and Weaknesses of Collaborative Planning Advocates of collaborative planning cite many advantages of the collaborative model relative to other models of planning. Firstly, the chances of reaching a decision on a plan are a lot higher, because stakeholders are incorporated in the process from the outset to help reach a solution, rather than remaining as critics outside the process (Gunton and Day 2003, Susskind et al. 2000). Secondly the dynamic interaction of the stakeholders is likely to produce a plan that is in the public interest as more alternatives are generated and the consensus decision rule ensures that the mutual interests of all parties are at least partially catered for in the plan (Frame et al, 2004). Thirdly, the plan produced at the end of the process has a greater chance of being implemented, because stakeholders who might otherwise attempt to block the implementation have developed the plan and will help implement it because they have a stake in the outcome. Finally, collaborative planning helps to create à ¢â‚¬Ëœsocial capital among the stakeholders, improving their skills, knowledge and stakeholder relationships which last beyond the process of creating a plan (Gunton and Day, 2003). However, the collaborative planning model also has its critics and a number of weaknesses and challenges to the approach have been identified. Firstly, collaborative planning is founded on the principle of stakeholders negotiating with one another to agree on an outcome. In some cases, more influential and powerful stakeholders will avoid or undermine the process by using delaying tactics, or pursuing alternative means to achieve their objectives if they do not like the outcome of collaboration (Frame et al, 2003). Secondly, the need to achieve consensus may encourage stakeholders to seek second best or vague solutions when they cannot reach the best possible agreement (Gunton and Day, 2003). Cooper and Mckenna (2006) and Fainstein (2000) also state that the need to achieve consensus has meant that participatory exercises often concentrate on issues where agreement is more likely to be achieved and avoids those which are likely to cause difficulties. Thirdly, the time and resources r equired to organise a process around large group of diverse stakeholders is quite substantial. This is compounded by the potential lack of support or interest from planning officials who are unwilling to delegate the decision-making responsibilities to outside stakeholders (Wondolleck and Yaffee, 2000, Fainstein, 2000). Also, established statutory fora comprising of local elected representatives are relatively neglected, while project staff must spend huge amounts of time, energy and money organising and servicing local public meetings, stakeholder meetings, public surveys and follow up consultation exercises. This often leads to a situation where projects become characterised by ‘consultation paralysis, a condition where nothing can be done because yet someone else must be consulted or re-consulted (Cooper and McKenna, 2006). Finally, relying on stakeholders that have little or no specialised training may lead to the exclusion of important scientific information in the decisi on making process, thus resulting in poor decisions being made. Fainstein (2000) also cites what she sees as a number of other weaknesses with the collaborative planning approach including: Action/implementation is often a problem, because parties in the process are not honest about their intentions and purposes It ignores the role of the powerful and their capacity to impede the implementation of agreed actions The process is usually too drawn out and resource hungry If the planner/expert acts as facilitator only, new and creative thinking can be stifled and only those that are incrementalist in nature will emerge There is evidence that experts acting on their own often come up with better solutions than stakeholders operating in a collaborative process It is evident from the above that collaborative planning approaches have many strengths and weaknesses, however it would appear that the potential benefits to the community from using such an approach outweigh potential negatives. COLLABORATIVE PLANNING IN IRELAND In the past number of years, there have been many attempts to develop models for community development and planning that aim to achieve higher levels of participation than previous models. Such models include the ADOPT model, the Bantry Bay Charter and Integrated Area Planning (IAP) to name but a few, while the Village Design Statement (VDS) could also be considered as an attempt at achieving higher levels of participation through a more collaborative approach. The ADOPT model, which was pioneered by Ballyhoura Development Ltd, is aimed at providing local area-based communities with a framework for participation in community development at a local level. The model also aims to tackle the lack of co-operation within the community sector, and weak research and planning by communities who are participating and contributing to local planning and development activities. It seeks to develop a strong community representative structure, an umbrella group that brings together representatives of the various bodies and groups within the community to ensure that activities are not being duplicated and that real needs are being addressed. This umbrella structure, along with the training and capacity building that the model promotes, supports communities and their representatives to play a meaningful role in partnership functions with Stage agencies and other bodies (Pobal, 2003). The Bantry Bay Charter was a project initiated by Cork County Council with the main objective being to develop a model and strategy for successful coastal zone management. By developing a stakeholders charter it was possible to develop an agreed approach to the management and development of the Bantry Bay area. In doing so, the process brought together the different stakeholders and interest groups of the area, as well as the agencies involved in regulating and developing the area. The Charter is based on the understanding that the regulatory agencies need to work in partnership with the local community for the successful management and development of the area. It explored the use of consensus, where all those who are stakeholders work together, to develop a single agreed approach to its development. Similar to these models is a model of collaborative planning developed by Tipperary Institute (TI), a third level education institution specialising in the area of Sustainable Rural Development called Integrated Area Planning. Integrated Area Planning is a concept that first emerged through the 1999 Urban Renewal Scheme, introduced by the Irish Government and which involved a more targeted approach to the award of urban renewal incentives. This model is multi-focused and is based on the premise that development of an area should emerge from a broadly based not take place in isolation but should emerge from a broadly based Integrated Area Plan (IAP), taking into account the social, environmental, economic and cultural needs of a community. Integrated Area Planning has been defined by TI as an empowering, practical and participatory process to collect, analyse, and compile information while developing the skills and structures needed to prepare and implement an inclusive and multifacet ed plan for a defined geographical area. The development of the IAP model was influenced to a great extent by planning theorist Patsy Healy and central to the model is the requirement for consensus to be reached on all issues before the process can be moved forward. The IAP model contains many key steps, which must be carried out including: Contracting Phase Pre-Development Phase Data Collection Establishment of a Steering Group Capacity Building of the Steering Group Establishment of Visions and Objectives Establishment of task groups Drafting Stage Validation Approval Implementation Using the IAP model, TI became involved in a number of community planning projects in Ireland including: Crusheen Co. Clare, Kinvara and Eyercourt Co. Galway, Ferbane Co. Offaly, Hacketstown Co. Carlow and Kilmacthomas in Co. Waterford. In each of these cases, the communities, in partnership with the relevant authorities prepared plans for their areas. Two of the key stages in the process are establishing the steering group and task groups. The steering group is elected by the community and it is contains a representative from the various different stakeholders in the process. The steering group plays an important role in the whole IAP process as they are responsible for driving the process forward. The task groups on the other hand are smaller groups, which are made up of members from the community and statutory agencies. The task groups are responsible for carrying out research on particular topics, such as the environment, infrastructure etc and they then report back their finding s to the steering group. The IAP process is quite resource demanding and generally takes over 12 months to complete. CONCLUSION It is clear from the above that the issue of participation and the models, which attempt to facilitate it, are central to the planning and environmental fields in both Ireland and abroad. Some of the collaborative planning models that have been developed in Ireland have multiple aims, one of which is to impact on the statutory Local Area Plan process and outcomes, including those implemented in Kinvara, Ferbane, Hacketstown and Kilmacthomas. However having reviewed the literature it is evident that there has been a clear lack of research focussing on the assessment of such collaborative planning models in Ireland. In order to assess the extent to which the IAP model in Kinvara was successful, an examination of the entire process is required. To this end, the examination required will entail more than just the IAP process itself, but also its impact on the LAP process as well as an assessment of the level of implementation that has taken place to date. Bibliography: Arnstein, Sherry R., (1969) A Ladder of Citizen Participation, Journal of the Institute of American Planners, Vol. 35 (4), pp 216-24. Connick, S., Innes J., (2001) Outcomes of Collaborative Water Policy Making: Applying Complexity Thinking to Evaluation, Working Paper 2001-08 Dahl R, (1989). Democracy and its Critics. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. Davidoff, P, (1965) Advocacy and Pluralism in Planning, Journal of the American Institute of Planners DeSario, J. Langton S, (1987) Fainstein, S.S. (2000). ‘New directions in Planning theory, Urban Affairs Review, Vol.35, Issue 4, March, pp.451-78 Frame, Tanis M., Thomas I. Gunton, and J.C. Day. (2003). Resolving Environmental Disputes through Collaborative Planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. Frame, Tanis M., Thomas I. Gunton, an