Empirical applications of structuration theory

This study reviews and classifies fifty-three potential empirical applications of structuration theory in geography and the social sciences. These were retrieved using a computerized keyword search of articles and books published in the English language between 1982 and 2000. The five dimensions for classifying these studies were (1) a representable type of social behaviour, (2) a methodological bracketing, (3) using specific data, (4) a treatment of time-space, and (5) an interpretation of a duality of structure. Thirteen studies were classified as the most productive applications of structuration theory because they either tested or illustrated a duality of structure. On the one hand, the substantive areas of these were more diverse than originally envisioned. On the other hand, they were interpretations of the ongoing relatively formal social interactions between individuals in modern communities, families and organizations, and this confirms the theory's more circumscribed ontological scope as implied by the critics.     

Crime and disorder, and house sales and prices around the casino sites in Windsor, Ontario, Canada

This study is an analysis of the impact of the opening or closure of a new urban casino on crime and disorder, and house sales and prices in its neighbourhood. The two sets of time-series data were the calls to the police about three types of offences and the house sales through the Multiple Listing Service in two neighbourhoods near the casinos in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Temporally, the weekly numbers of offences and the mean monthly house prices were oscillating almost randomly around their respective declining or stationary long-term averages with no impulse from when a casino either opened or closed. Geographically, only two types of offences increased in number nearer to a casino site, but their respective distance decays neither moderated nor steepened after a casino had closed or opened. Even so, the conclusion is premature that the open or closed casinos have had benign effects on offences and house sales in the neighbourhoods.     

Ambiance, Structure, Et Stratégie: Recherche Sur L'Appréciation Du Paysage Forestier Par Les Campeurs

L'utilisation efficace des espaces consacrés aux loisirs et l'optimalisation de la satisfaction des usagers exigent la compréhension des relations entre ceux-ci et leur environnement. Cet article explore les liens entre 1'attraction d'un site de camping en milieu forestier et I'ambiance qui y règne. On montre d'abord comment cette notion d'ambiance peut-être mise en ceuvre à travers le concept écologique de structure de la végétation forestière. L'étude montre ensuite le rôle important que jouent ces caractéristiques structurelles dans le choix d'un site pour l'usager. Ce choix est le résultat de stratégies qui, tout en s'adaptant aux particularités du milieu, visent la satisfaction de certaines préférences fondamentales du campeur.
The most efficient use of a recreational area as well as the optimization of user satisfaction require the elucidation of the relationships between recreationists and their environment. This article investigates the links between the attractiveness of camping sites in a forest environment and the ambiance which characterizes these sites. It is first shown how the notion of ambiance can be operationalized through the ecological concept of forest structure. Then the study points out the role of this structural dimension of a forest environment as a factor of the user's choice. This choice results from strategies which are aimed at the satisfaction of some of the camper's fundamental preferences while, at the same time, being adapted to environmental characteristics.