A dynamic model of regional population growth and decline

"This paper presents a two-sector dynamic model of regional population change. The model contains a migration equation, an earnings equation, and an amenity equation for each region. In the context of this model, migration is seen as a disequilibrium process through which the regional populations move towards equilibrium positions. Migration occurs when one region is perceived to be superior to the other on the basis of its earnings and amenity levels. Equilibrium is achieved when population movements between the regions eliminate any differences in their relative attractiveness. A comparative-static analysis of the model is presented to analyze the effects of policy changes and exogenous shocks on the distribution of population among the regions." The geographical focus is on the United States.     

A Postcolonial Critique of Community Energy: Searching for Community as Solidarity in India and Scotland

Community renewable energy (CRE) represents a growing empirical and academic turn towards community‐based sustainability and climate change interventions. This paper brings together postcolonial theory and CRE for the first time to outline fundamental tensions in the conceptualisation and application of the idea of community. The understanding of community within the CRE discourse is largely: (1) location‐based; and/or (2) a community of choice that is consciously opted into. Driven by postcolonial theory, this paper counterpoises both as a form of community as contract against an idea of community as solidarity. Its central thesis is that actually existing community, contrary to how the bulk of CRE literature commonly understands it, is a combination of bonds of solidarity and emergent purposes. The paper conceptualises community as fluid bonds of solidarity that align and realign differently around different purposes.     

Visa Story Concerning the American Embassy in India

This paper describes the difficulties the author encountered when applying for a visa to attend WAC-5 in Washington, DC. The first response he met was that he could not be granted a visa because he was ‘going abroad for the first time’. He did not give up, however, and was supported by Joan Gero, Claire Smith and Heather Burke, who all wrote to the Embassy. In the end, the visa was issued—and he was allowed to go abroad for the first time.

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Resumen Este artículo describe las dificultades que tuvo el autor a la hora de solicitar un visado para asistir al WAC-5 en Washington, DC. La primera respuesta que le dieron es que no podían concederle un visado porque era la primera vez que iba a viajar al extranjero. Sin embargo, no se dio por vencido, obteniendo el apoyo de Joan Gero, Claire Smith y Heather Burke, que escribieron a la Embajada. Finalmente, el visado fue concedido—y se le permitió viajar al extranjero por primera vez.

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Résumé Cet article décrit les difficultés rencontrées par l’auteur lorsqu’il a demandé un visa afin de participer au CMA-5 à Washington, DC. La première réponse qu’il a obtenue est qu’il ne pouvait pas obtenir de visa comme c’était la première fois qu’il voyageait à l’étranger. Il a insisté et a aussi obtenu le support de Joan Gero, Claire Smith et Heather Burke qui ont tous écrit à l’ambassade. à la fin, il a pu obtenir son visa ce qui lui a permis de voyager à l’étranger pour la première fois.

     

Jatanā: A Peasant Woman’s Ballad from Haryana in North India

Women’s private folk songs in male-dominated societies often keep a fascinating record of their critique of the patriarchy’s hegemonic tendencies. These folk songs reveal the women’s sense of resentment against their subordinated position in a patriarchal system, and also their desire to live in an egalitarian world. This article analyses a North Indian Haryanvi peasant women’s folk ballad called Jatanā as a site of both resentment against masculinist culture and imaginative and defiant escape from its bounds.     

Elusive Empowerment: Price Information and Disintermediation in Soybean Markets in Malwa,India

Price information provision and disintermediation have often been considered means to empower farmers, since lack of information and multiple intermediaries are seen as major obstacles preventing farmers from obtaining a higher price for their produce. Using the example of soybean in Malwa, central India, which is a cash crop that links farmers to global consumers, this article argues that the very expectation of disintermediation in the soybean supply chain is misleading. India's position in these global networks puts farmers and intermediaries in Malwa in the position of price receivers: they are unable to influence the global price of soybean or manipulate its local price in any way. In this context, providing price information has negligible impact on the final price obtained by farmers. The potential for empowerment has to be understood more broadly, by mapping out the ways in which power is exercised by various actors in the marketplace — one of which is the determination of the quality of a farmer's crop. This article maps such possibilities by examining how norms regarding quality in soybean are created and enforced, and how they are influenced by broader logics that go beyond the soybean marketplace itself.     

Applications of satellite remote sensing for research and heritage management in Indian prehistory

Multidisciplinary spatial studies are relatively limited in Indian archaeology, despite their potential for research and heritage management. This paper discusses applications of satellite remote sensing, field studies and GIS, in the context of Palaeolithic archaeology. The study region covers an area of around 8000 km², in the state of Tamil Nadu, South India, and is characterized by a rich and diverse Palaeolithic record. Satellite images of varied spatial resolutions were interpreted to address both regional and site-specific research questions. Thematic maps were generated from satellite data and refined with intensive field investigations. These were used for demarcating sources of raw material, and in investigating variability in the distribution of sites through time in relation to a range of geological and geomorphological features. Satellite data and field studies also aided in mapping impacts on sites resulting from modern landuse patterns. The paper also discusses the development and testing of a model to detect potential areas where new sites may be rapidly located.     

Legal heritage and urban slums

This paper studies the effect of legal origins (common law vs. civil law) on contemporary slum formation in developing countries. First, we provide a cross-country correlation analysis. Second, we provide a regression discontinuity analysis using household data from Cameroon. The results suggest that a common law heritage is associated with a lower probability of slum conditions. The legal philosophies transplanted through colonization appear to be associated with the pattern of contemporary urban housing stocks in developing countries.