1,721,137 research outputs found
Cotton, Environment and Poverty in Uzbekistan
No full textThis chapter explores analytical linkages between the production of cotton, the use of water, the deterioration of soil and water resources, and rural poverty in Uzbekistan. These partial analyses are undertaken in order to better understand the overall cotton-environment-poverty nexus, which in the particular case of Uzbekistan represents a crucial set of complex linkages, in particular when rural poverty is being investigated. Such an analysis is undertaken in the context of the transformations that have taken place in the agricultural production system during the ‘transition period’ since 1991, when the country gained independence. The chapter proceeds as follows. In the second section, the cotton sector in Uzbekistan is briefly analysed, starting with the Soviet legacy of forced cultivation, the overall dependency of the Uzbek economy on cotton (providing hard currency, employment and industrial inputs), and the current reforms in the agricultural sector. The third section discusses the linkages between cotton-water, cotton-land, cottonpoverty, and also addresses whether the state-led introduction of massive wheat production during the 1990s, which aimed to bring about food self-sufficiency, has altered these linkages. Here the chapter also analyses whether the shift to wheat is ‘pro-poor’ and/or ‘pro-environment’, which it might seem at first sight, as it is a food staple and uses much less water than cotton does. The fourth concluding section will assess the linkages in conjuncture, in order to assess the cotton-environment-poverty nexus for Uzbekistan, taking into account different indicators, such as water use and efficiency, soil deterioration (e.g. salinity), fertilizer use, water quality and rural poverty. The conclusion will confirm that the poor in Uzbekistan are generally rural, living in those areas where cotton is produced, with high indices of soil deterioration, and environmental pollution negatively affecting their health. The shift towards more grain production has neither been pro-poor nor pro-environment. While cotton is still a very remunerative crop, its proceeds are not benefiting most of the rural poor in Uzbekistan, especially not the rural workers, known before as the kolkhozniki. Current changes in the agrarian sector, with the formation of medium-sized ‘private’ farmers (fermers), do not fundamentally change this picture, in spite of noticeably less taxation and higher prices for cotton output during the past few years
Cotton, Environment and Poverty in Uzbekistan
No full textThis chapter explores analytical linkages between the production of cotton, the use of water, the deterioration of soil and water resources, and rural poverty in Uzbekistan. These partial analyses are undertaken in order to better understand the overall cotton-environment-poverty nexus, which in the particular case of Uzbekistan represents a crucial set of complex linkages, in particular when rural poverty is being investigated. Such an analysis is undertaken in the context of the transformations that have taken place in the agricultural production system during the ‘transition period’ since 1991, when the country gained independence. The chapter proceeds as follows. In the second section, the cotton sector in Uzbekistan is briefly analysed, starting with the Soviet legacy of forced cultivation, the overall dependency of the Uzbek economy on cotton (providing hard currency, employment and industrial inputs), and the current reforms in the agricultural sector. The third section discusses the linkages between cotton-water, cotton-land, cottonpoverty, and also addresses whether the state-led introduction of massive wheat production during the 1990s, which aimed to bring about food self-sufficiency, has altered these linkages. Here the chapter also analyses whether the shift to wheat is ‘pro-poor’ and/or ‘pro-environment’, which it might seem at first sight, as it is a food staple and uses much less water than cotton does. The fourth concluding section will assess the linkages in conjuncture, in order to assess the cotton-environment-poverty nexus for Uzbekistan, taking into account different indicators, such as water use and efficiency, soil deterioration (e.g. salinity), fertilizer use, water quality and rural poverty. The conclusion will confirm that the poor in Uzbekistan are generally rural, living in those areas where cotton is produced, with high indices of soil deterioration, and environmental pollution negatively affecting their health. The shift towards more grain production has neither been pro-poor nor pro-environment. While cotton is still a very remunerative crop, its proceeds are not benefiting most of the rural poor in Uzbekistan, especially not the rural workers, known before as the kolkhozniki. Current changes in the agrarian sector, with the formation of medium-sized ‘private’ farmers (fermers), do not fundamentally change this picture, in spite of noticeably less taxation and higher prices for cotton output during the past few years
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Land Tenure Security and Unsecured Livelihoods: Post Land Reform Development in The Philippines
Full text linkThis paper focuses on the role of land market transactions i.e. land leasing and usufruct mortgage, and its impact on the livelihoods in a post policy reforms in the Philippines. A case study was undertaken with the Manobo tribe and landless sugarcane labourers in the villages of Quezon, Bukidnon
(Philippines). They invested on acquired lands but failed to sustain it, instead, were induced to land market participation. Livelihood insecurities are explored which highlight its eroding and enhancing (Rigg 2006) outcomes from participating in the land transactions (Ellis 2000, Rigg 2006, World Bank 2003).
The main inquiry is focused on: what are the impacts of land markets, i.e. lease and usufruct mortgage participation of the beneficiaries of land policy reforms, to their livelihoods shortly after securing it? Subsumed questions confront the
reasons why they participated and opted to rent out their lands after securing it? What are the local determinants and mechanisms of land transfers in the area? How do schemes of land market transaction work in Quezon? And finally, what were the changes and effects on the livelihood conditions of the
new landowners
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