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ABSTRACTPlanning the use of resources is an increasingly complex business as environmental and social concerns become more explicit and decisive. Many groups of people are affected, so that decisions have to be made from several viewpoints and with several criteria. Decision‐makers must not only apply the criteria which represent their own interests, but must also estimate the opinions and reactions of other affected people. If a decision is to be effective, these parties need to know how it was arrived at and to feel that it is their decision.The paper uses a simple example and two case studies to describe decision aids, designed as means of (i) communication and persuasion, and (ii) analysis. Important characteristics are (a) transparency, (b) attention to presentation, and (c) grouping of criteria.

THIS PAPER EXAMINES EXPLANATIONS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT PROVIDED BY 900 ADULTS IN A LARGE MARKET SURVEY CONDUCTED IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. THE DATA ARE EXAMINED IN TWO WAYS: THE FIRST CATEGORIZES RESPONSES ACCORDING TO ECONOMIC EXPLANATIONS AND THE SECOND USES "SOCIAL" EXPLANATIONS. THESE "SOCIAL" EXPLANATIONS INCLUDE "INDIVIDUALISTIC" ONES WHERE PEOPLE ATTRIBUTE CAUSES TO PERSONAL LAZINESS AND UNWILLINGNESS TO WORK, FOR EXAMPLE, "SOCIETAL" CAUSES AND INEVITABLE OR "FATALISTIC" EXPLANATIONS. THE STUDY CONTRIBUTES TO A GROWING LITERATURE ON LAY EXPLANATIONS FOR ECONOMIC EVENTS AND THE STRUCTURE OF THESE EXPLANATIONS, AND DISCUSSES IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF THESE LAY EXPLANATIONS IN LEGITIMIZING CURRENT GOVERNMENT POLICY.

Improving stream water quality in agricultural landscapes is an ecological priority and a legislative duty for many governments. Ecosystem health can be effectively characterised by organisms sensitive to water quality changes such as diatoms, single-celled algae that are a ubiquitous component of stream benthos. Diatoms respond within daily timescales to variables including light, temperature, nutrient availability and flow conditions that result from weather and land use characteristics. However, little consideration has been given to the ecological dynamics of diatoms through repeated seasonal cycles when assessing trajectories of stream function, even in catchments actively managed to reduce human pressures. Here, six years of monthly diatom samples from three independent streams, each receiving differing levels of diffuse agricultural pollution, reveal robust and repeated seasonal variation. Predicted seasonal changes in climate-related variables and anticipated ecological impacts must be fully captured in future ecological and water quality assessments, if the apparent resistance of stream ecosystems to pollution mitigation measures is to be better understood.

Improving stream water quality in agricultural landscapes is an ecological priority and a legislative duty for many governments. Ecosystem health can be effectively characterised by organisms sensitive to water quality changes such as diatoms, single-celled algae that are a ubiquitous component of stream benthos. Diatoms respond within daily timescales to variables including light, temperature, nutrient availability and flow conditions that result from weather and land use characteristics. However, little consideration has been given to the ecological dynamics of diatoms through repeated seasonal cycles when assessing trajectories of stream function, even in catchments actively managed to reduce human pressures. Here, six years of monthly diatom samples from three independent streams, each receiving differing levels of diffuse agricultural pollution, reveal robust and repeated seasonal variation. Predicted seasonal changes in climate-related variables and anticipated ecological impacts must be fully captured in future ecological and water quality assessments, if the apparent resistance of stream ecosystems to pollution mitigation measures is to be better understood.