摘要:

AbstractIn recent years, several agricultural cooperatives have undergone significant restructuring. Some have been taken through a conversion process and have been reorganized as “investor‐oriented firms” (IOFs). This phenomenon has attracted the interest of agricultural economists, but it has not been analyzed by sociologists. This article examines the discourse with which agricultural economists have approached the conversion issue. Drawing upon Fraser's discussion of “needs talk,” and inspired by Kloppenburg's analysis of the agricultural scientific complex, an argument is made that a reprivatization discourse of neoclassical economics has effectively depoliticized discussion about the future of cooperative enterprise. It is further argued that a repoliticization of cooperation is necessary in order to assure the protection of extra‐economic values and oppositional discourse that is embedded in the historical development of cooperative practices and institutions. We focus here on the role of expert discourse as it relates to the reinvention of cooperative institutions in the agricultural economy. It is argued that this discourse would be improved by greater attention to historical and sociological forces, rather than remaining narrowly focused o

ISSN:0036-0112    

DOI:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00634.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe need to better understand landlord involvement in decision‐making related to pesticide use and water quality issues is evidenced by several trends. These trends include the increasing documentation of water pollution by farm pesticides, the changing characteristics of farm ownership and operator tenure, and evolutions in resource policy and protection planning. This paper utilizes a theoretical approach to the sociology of land tenure to interpret results from an investigation of landlord involvement in environmental decision making regarding pesticide selection on rented land. Eight counties with high susceptibility of water contamination by pesticides were selected for study. Structured, in‐person interviews were administered to in‐county landlords, and a mail survey was used to poll out‐of‐county landlords. Results indicate that participation is generally low with very little difference between landlord groups. Renters make most of the organizational and operational decisions on rented farmland. Landlord participation is predominantly based on economic, rather than on social or environmental, factors. Furthermore, while economic variables are important predictors of participation for both groups, gender and social ties to the renter tend to increase local landlord involvement, but not absentee involvement These results have important implications for both federal programs and further research on land tenure and environmental st

ISSN:0036-0112    

DOI:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00635.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractAgriculture is the leading industry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. At the same time, encroaching development has pressured prime agricultural land to change uses, a change usually considered irreversible. Some regions of Pennsylvania have used zoning to control and plan for the development of agricultural land, but these decisions have not always been agreed on. In response to conflicts over zoning and calls for more effective restrictions of development of prime agricultural soils, the state government implemented agricultural preservation programs designed to ensure the future viability of Pennsylvania's agriculture. While response has been reported as favorable, most reviews relied on voters' support of a state referendum to fund agricultural preservation programs. Few have examined local responses to the implementation of these programs. This paper explores local community responses to agricultural preservation and the state's programs in three regions of Pennsylvania which differ in levels of urban presence and pressure. Using secondary sources, qualitative data, and general population surveys, this analysis provides implications about strategies of agricultural preservation in a state which leads in such efforts.

ISSN:0036-0112    

DOI:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00636.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe case study of a small New York town that dramatized the thesis that the secular expansion of macro forces—urbanization, industrialization, bureaucratization—has permanently reduced the autonomy of all small communities is an example of a special type of discovery/persuasion strategy in the social sciences: the “opposition case study.” In contrast to the more rigorous “competitive test” or the atheoretical “negative case,” opposition case studies confront the dominant perspective with a qualitative illustration of a new theory in the context of a zero‐sum game. When they are successful, opposition cases meet four criteria: the dominant view is immediately rendered obsolete; the origin of the new idea supports its plausibility; the new perspective is shown to be testable; and the new perspective quickly generates new lines of research.Small Town in Mass Societymeets the first criterion, and may have been heuristic, but its probable origin in populist ideology undermine

ISSN:0036-0112    

DOI:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00637.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractDespite literally dozens of attempts, and the expenditure of billions of dollars, efforts to site radioactive waste disposal facilities in this country have been uniformly unsuccessful. While both researchers and policymakers continue to address reasons for these failures, little attention is being given to the consequences for the communities themselves of these intensive siting battles. Using a research framework that addresses both the sources and consequences of community conflict, we examine what is happening in four different areas currently being considered as potential hosts for either a high‐ or a low‐level radioactive waste facility. Some degree of conflict is observed in each community, although it varies from one area to another based on such differences as potential to experience economic benefits, perceptions of class and ethnic equity, and the role of extra‐local players in the controversy. We conclude that current policies lead to inequitable distributions of risk that, in turn, create “fairness” questions that are important both in explaining current patterns of conflict and in anticipating long‐term consequences for the affected

ISSN:0036-0112    

DOI:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00638.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThis paper examines the impact of human capital (the number of working age household members), social capital (social exchange helping networks and community integration), technological capital (use of mechanical agricultural tools), and village of residence on stratification of Russian peasant households in the post‐Soviet era. Findings from a 1995 survey of households in three Russian villages show that the number of working age adults in the household has the strongest influence on household agricultural production. Social capital and technological capital also are associated with differences in the amount of sales obtained from household production. One village, which is located in anoblast(province) which has a program to assist peasant households had substantially higher agricultural production than did the other two villages which are located inoblastiwithout such programs. The number of working age adults in the household, social exchange networks, and community attachment are negatively associated with symptoms of stress, while higher village levels of production are associated with higher average levels of symptoms of stress in the village. The implications of the findings for the future of Russian agriculture and Russian rural village life are discusse

ISSN:0036-0112    

DOI:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00639.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Book reviewed in this article:Environmental and Natural Resources Issues: Arizpe, Lourdes, M. PriscillaStone, andDavidC. Majors(eds.).Population and Environment: Rethinking the Debate.Environmental and Natural Resources Issues: Lund, Jens.Flatheads and Spooneys: Fishing for a Living in the Ohio River Valley.Environmental and Natural Resources Issues: DuPuis, MelanieE. AndPeterPendergrass(eds.)Creating the Countryside: The Politics of Rural and Environmental Discourse.Environmental and Natural Resources Issues: Kromm, DavidE. AndStephenE. White(eds.).Groundwater Exploitation in the High Plains.Environmental and Natural Resources Issues: Vickers, Daniel.Farmers and Fishermen: Two Centuries of Work in Essex County, Massachusetts, 1630–1850.International Issues: Wilson, Richard. 1995.Maya Resurgence in Guatemala: Q'eqchi' Experiences.International Issues: Jeffrey, Patricia andRogerJeffrey.Don't Marry Me to a Plowman! Women's Everyday Lives in Rural North India.International Issues: Weaver, FrederickS.Inside the Volcano: The History and Political Economy of Central America.International Issues: Wachtel, Nathan.Gods and Vampires, Return to Chapaya.Rural Politics: Finegold, Kennethand ThedaSkocpol.State and Party in America's New Deal.Rural Politics: Watkins, MarilynP.Rural Democracy: Family Farmers and Politics in Western Washington, 1890–1925.Rural Culture and Rural Development: Rowley, ThomasD., DavidW. Sears, GlennL. Nelson, J. NormanReid, andMervinJ. Yetley(eds.).Rural Development Research: A Foundation for Policy.Rural Culture and Rural Development: Billson, JanetMancini.Keepers of the Culture: The Power of Tradition in Women's Lives.Rural Culture and Rural Development: Sontag, M. Suzanne andMargaretM. Bubolz.Families on Small Farms: Case Studies in Human Ecology.Rural Culture and Rural Development: Rank, MarkRobert.Living on the Edge: The Realities of Welfare in America.Rural Culture and Rural Development: Scott, ShaunnaL.Two Sides to Everything: The Cultural Construction of Class Consciousness in Harlan County, Kentu

ISSN:0036-0112    

DOI:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00640.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0036-0112    

DOI:10.1111/j.1549-0831.1996.tb00641.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY