[Xmca-l] CHAT and Government Land use decision making

[Garry O'Dell]

Dear All,
Dear All,

I am trying to establish whether other academics have encountered my particular field of inquiry.

This exploratory qualitative research focuses on the decision-making process of state and local government bureaucrats as it relates to temporary uses. Events, such as markets, community, sporting, music, art and agricultural shows can be one-off, intermittent or a regular user of vacant private or public land, water or the air. Anecdotal evidence notes that government, community and industry actors hold different interpretations, priorities and understandings and as a result events are inconsistently treated in the land use regulation process. There is uncertainty, conflicting organizational priorities and community expectations, and a lack of useful policies, practices or methodologies. 
 
The research applies Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a conceptual framework enhanced by a theoretical scaffold provided by Weber’s classic theory of rationality, Bozeman’s red tape theory, Lipsky’s work on street level bureaucracy and Ritzer’s McDonaldization. CHAT acts as a lens to understand the decision-making process drawing upon data collected from documents and semi-structured interviews of legislators, event organisers and government staff. 
 
 I am particularly interested in exploring the decision-making process for events with following characteristics/dynamics:
 
•    Land-, water- or air-based use/event
•       Held on private or public spaces
•       One-off, intermittent or a regular use/event
•       Arranged with a commercial or not-for-profit focus
•    Using temporary facilities such as marques, stages, car parks, amenities and food kiosks to make any public or private space usable
•    On or in a space (building, land, water or air) not primarily intended for the use/event
•    At the end of the temporary use/event the space is restored, as far as is practicable, to the pre-use condition
•    Does not hinder the permanent development of the space
•       Can be a mix of temporary uses, e.g. camping with a concert.
 
If you are aware of any academic research or insights into events decision making processes.
 
Regards,



Garry O'Dell

Ph. 0412439589

Doctoral Candidate
Newcastle Business School
Faculty of Business and Law
University of Newcastle
Auckland Street,
NEWCASTLE NSW 2300 Australia

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