Over the last decade, soft planning has become an increasingly visible concept in literature. Since term spaces was firstly coined, been used to describe a growing number of practices that occur at margins statutory systems. However, as planning-related literature proliferates, so does diversity approaches and it encompasses. Such fuels long-standing questions about what can or cannot be consid...

This paper describes a theory of language generation based on planning. To illustrate the theory, the problem of planning referring expressions is examined in detail. A theory based on planning makes it possible for one to account for noun phrases that refer, that inform the hearer of additional information, and that are coordinated with the speaker's physical actions to clarify his communicati...

I review several bodies of empirical urban theory relevant to the archaeological analysis of ancient cities. Empirical theory is a type of “middlerange theory” (following Robert Merton): sets of concepts and methods that are less abstract, and have greater empirical content, than high-level social theory. The categories of theory reviewed here include environment-behavior theory, architectural ...

IT systems have been characterized by its ability to continually evolve at a rapid pace. Newer IT systems— enterprise platforms and systems in particular—continue to grow in range, reach, and complexity. However, because existing theories have not sufficiently accounted for this character of IT systems in addition to other malaises, our ability to explain technological innovation has in turned ...

This paper reports the progress of an attempt to examine how and why complex integrated IT infrastructures, such as ERP systems, impact firm performance. Based on emerging literature on agility, IT management and organizational theories, a conceptual model that describes a nomological network linking IT infrastructure characteristics, organizational culture, agility and firm performance is pres...

The paper describes a knowledge-based control loop as the key feature of a generic control architecture for nodes in a Reconfigurable Transportation Systems (RTSs). In particular, two main aspects are presented: (i) the design of an ontologybased representation of information related to both internal configurations/capabilities of a node and the active connections with its neighbors in the plan...

In the computer industry product’s life cycles are getting shorter every year, resulting in increasing number of used products that need to be recycled or reused. In order to gain the advantages of “two-way” economy a change in business approach is needed. Configuration of the recovery network is a complex task due to the big number of relations between reverse supply chain participants. In pra...

Three types of normative planning theories have been popular among planners in the United State and Western Europe in recent years, with a fourth knocking at the door. In contrast, rational planners in South Asian cities, realizing that their resources are limited, have traditionally practised a synoptic approach to planning. Unfortunately, most of their planning initiatives have been futile, o...