Book reviews

Theory and Practice in Medieval Persian Government. By A. K. S. Lambton. London: Variorum Reprints, 1980. 332 pp.

The Fundamental Principles and Precepts of Islamic Government. By Abolhassan Banisadr. Translated from the Persian by Mohammad R. Ghanoonparvar. Lexington, Kentucky: Mazda Publishers, 1981. xiv & 103 pp.

Islamic Calligraphy. By Yasin Hamid Safadi. Boulder: Shambhala, 1979. 142 pp.; 163 black and white plates. $8.95 paper.

Calligraphy in the Arts of the Muslim World. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979. 216 pp.; 12 color plates, 98 black and white. $25.00 cloth.     

Design thinking for city dashboard development: Recommendations from a study of smart asset management in Sydney,Australia

The city dashboard has become an integral component of smart city asset management systems. It leverages data collected from multiple sources to monitor performance and enable evidence-based decision making. This article investigates the use of a design thinking framework to develop a functional and easy to understand city dashboard. The Smart Social Spaces project is used as a case study to illustrate how design thinking can be employed to develop an asset management dashboard, enabling efficient management of public space and infrastructure. The article profiles the unique collaboration between a local government, a multi-disciplinary team of university academics, and a street furniture designer and manufacturer, all located in Sydney, Australia. We unpack some of the design practice nuances that led this project to receive national awards and international recognition, and most importantly, created a user-friendly system to track and maintain public micro assets. We conclude with lessons learnt and recommendations for dashboard development through a design thinking process.     

Book reviews

The Agguyunlu: Clan, Confederation, Empire. A Study in 15th/9th Century Turko‐Iranian Politics. By John E. Woods. (Studies in Middle Eastern History, No. 3), xv + 348 pp. Minneapolis and Chicago: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1976.

A Persian Stronghold of Zoroastrianism. By Mary Boyce. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977. 284 pp. $19.95.

The Crowned Cannibals: Writings on Repression in Iran. By Reza Baraheni. With an introduction by E. L. Doctorow. New York: Random House/Vintage Books, 1977. 279 pp. $3.95.

Tarikh: Bulletin of the Department of History, Faculty of Letters and Humanities. Tehran: University of Tehran. Vol. 1, Nos. 1–2 (1976–77).

Middle East Economies in the 1970's: A Comparative Approach. By Hossein Askari and John Thomas Cummings. New York: Praeger Publishers (Praeger Special Studies in International Economics and Development). 1976. xxxiii + 581pp.

The Caspian Circle: A Novel. By Donné Raffat. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978. 350 pp. $10.

The Agricultural Development of Iran. By Oddvar Aresvik. New York: Praeger, 1976. 271 pp.

Dschalaluddin Rumi, Licht und Reigen: Gedichte aus dem Divan des grössten mystischen Dichters persischer Zunge. Selected, translated and explained by Johann Cristoph Burgel. UNESCO Collection of Representative Works. Masterpieces of Persian Literature Series, No. 26. Bern, Herbert Lang, and Frankfurt/Main: Peter Lang, 1974. 191 pp.