Local Government in a Devolved Scotland
Since the arrival of devolution on the political agenda in the 1970s, there has been an expectation that its introduction would inevitably lead to a reconsideration of the structure and functions of local government (Gunn 1977; Page 1979). Indeed, both the SNP and the Liberals committed themselves in electoral manifestos to transferring functions from local government to a Scottish Parliament, dismantling the big regions, and shaping local authorities around the former district councils. Even after the recent reorganisation, that anticipation of further structural change remains.
The 2004 Spending Review in Scotland
The publication of the Executive's Spending P lans for Scot land in September 2004 marks the end of an intensive six month period in which budget strategy for the next three years is determined (Scottish Executive 2004a). Whilst the annual budget process continues into Stage 2 in October, and ends with the passage of the Budget Act in January the following year, it is concerned mainly with fine tuning and parliamentary scrutiny of the detailed spending proposals for individual programmes. The Spending Review process, however, is now recognised as the key stage in resource allocation (McKay and Fitzgerald 2002).
Fieldwork in geography teaching: A critical review of the literature and approaches
Abstract Virtually all lecturers in geography recognise the importance of fieldwork as a vital mode of teaching in the subject. This paper draws on material produced as part of a HEFCE review of teaching and learning in the field and assesses the implications of recent changes in higher education for field studies in geography. The literature on the development of, and recent changes in, fieldwork practice is reviewed and assumptions about appropriate forms of teaching and assessment are challenged. The need for carefully integrated preparation of project‐orientated fieldwork is stressed and the importance of debriefing and feedback after field visits is emphasised. Various suggestions for guidelines on good practice are presented. Finally, a range of future issues and problems in fieldwork is identified and discussed.