The production and consumption of history : a discourse on heritage and nostalgia in the 1990s : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography at Massey University

The dialectic of history as an ideology and history as a commodity can underpin a discourse on the production and consumption of history as heritage and nostalgia in the 1990s. History as an ideology is erased from the dominant space of representation, by history as a commodiy; therefore, history as an ideology needs to be discussed separately from history as a commodity even though they are not independent categories; this is because they are mutually constitutive of each other. The processes and structures that underwrite this dialectic, Capitalism and Modernity, produce different outcomes in different places and at different times; outcomes such as the cabinets of curiosity during early modernity, modernist and postmodernist museums, heritage sites such as country houses, a shopping mall and a disneyfied theme park arranged around a historic locale and the gentrification of some parts of the inner City of London. These objects of history are produced, reproduced and consumed by social actors in different places and at different times. The production and consumption of history as an object does not explain why these particular outcomes exist in the places and the times that they do. These outcomes need to be explained, and can be explained, by using a dialectical methodology. Such an explanation would look at the underlying processes and structures of Capitalism and modernity

How Do We Come to Know? Exploring Maple Syrup Production and Climate Change in Near North Ontario

This paper reports on a pilot project exploring the impacts of climate change on maple syrup production in understudied near north, Ontario spaces. Maple syrup is produced by settler, Métis and First Nations communities for commercial distribution and as part of a mixed subsistence economy. The focus on maple syrup is opportune, since syrup production and sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) are extremely susceptible to climate change and the biophysical and social impacts of climate change on maple syrup production in the near north of Ontario have yet to be understood. Given that the process of developing research is under-reported and that this project has had the opportunity to undertake a funded development process, this paper describes and assesses our process of ‘coming to know’, which has been guided by the following objectives: 1) to undertake an exploratory investigation of the nature of available data about long-term syrup production and climate change in both settler and Indigenous communities, 2) to include and valorize marginalized Indigenous voices and ecologies, 3) to focus on collecting climate change data from understudied near north spaces, 4) to assess the availability and quality of ecological and quantitative data in order to enhance locally-relevant understandings of climate change, and 5) to work towards the development of a cross-cultural and transdisciplinary methodological framework within which to accomplish the first four objectives. We approach these objectives across disciplinary boundaries and cultural perspectives, and with growing relationships with community partners. We describe the rich sources of information found through the pilot study and discuss highlights of our on-going process of developing our research project

When Is Transition Over?

The transition process in which a country moves from a planned economy to a market economy offers a unique opportunity for economists and policymakers to observe and understand the effects of major institutional, legal, and political changes on economic systems. But one feature of the process that has not been considered until now is when is the process over? When has a transition progressed far enough to ensure that a market system will survive and mature? Are there institutional, economic, and political standards that countries reach that measure the level of transition attained or, indeed, show that they have completed transition?https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1190/thumbnail.jp

Beliefs vs Behavior of Elementary Teachers Integrating Technology in Mathematics

Many elementary students struggle to meet expectations on mathematics assessments despite an increase in science, technology, engineering, and math instructional strategies. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore elementary math teachers\u27 technology integration self-efficacy, their level of technology adoption, and their actual technology integration behavior. The conceptual framework used in this study included Bandura\u27s social cognitive theory, which is often used in the investigation of self-efficacy. Additionally, the International Society for Technology Education Classroom Tool, which is in alignment with the National Educational Standards for Teachers, was used to gauge the level of technology integration in the classroom. Nine volunteer teachers in Grades 3-5 participated in surveys, observations, and follow-up interviews. Data were analyzed using open coding to identify themes and patterns. The findings from this study indicated that the teachers\u27 perceptions were positive as they believed technology could have positive implications for the teaching and learning process. However, findings also indicated that not all the teachers in the study felt confident with using technology in their practice. These teachers indicated that there was a need for onsite support, peer mentoring and professional development geared towards effectively aligning content, pedagogy, and technology. The information from this study may add more to the body of knowledge on information and communications technologies adoption and integration. The social change potential in this study is that through confident teachers in mathematics, and technology integration, students may improve their skills to be competitive for employment and opportunities in a global marketplace

Exploring the Performance of the Financial Service Cooperative Industry in Grenada

The 2008 financial crisis impacted the Caribbean financial sector with declining liquidity and profitability, and return on assets falling to 0.7% from 2.6%. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that credit union executives in Grenada used to consistently maintain profitability. The targeted study population consisted of four credit union executives responsible for operations, administration, and regulations in the financial service cooperative industry in Grenada. The social influence of power theory was the conceptual framework that grounded this study. The data collection process included semistructured interviews and document (annual reports and cooperative society laws) review. Data analysis involved the thematic approach, using word frequency, coding, and text search to identify underlying themes. Themes that emerged from the study included risk management, investment policies, and the influence of executives decisions\u27 on consistent profitability. Study findings may contribute to positive social change by helping credit union executives maintain profitability, resulting in the potential to benefit local communities by supporting projects that improve the quality of life

Russian Federation - The myth of monopoly : a new view of industrial structure in Russia

Discussion of economic reform in the Russian Federation is colored by the conventional view of Russia's industrial structure. Both in Russia and in the West, Russian industry is characterized as very large enterprises operating in highly concentrated industries. The authors challenge the conventional view. They assess Russian industrial concentration by comparing the Russian industrial structure (as revealed in the 1989 Soviet Census of Industry) with that in the United States and other countries. They find that very large firms are more prevalent in the United States than in Russia. This empirical fact suggests that planners economized on the costs of central economic coordination not by building unusually large enterprises, but by not building very small enterprises. Their most important finding: that there is little aggregate or industry concentration at the national level in Russia. Monopolies and oligopolies actually account for only a small share of national employment and production. Instead, barriers to competition in Russia arise as a result of highly segmented product markets. In large part, this segmentation can be viewed as a legacy of central planning. Under the prior regime, enterprises were highly isolated, divided alone both ministerial and geographical lines. Presently, these barriers are reinforced by some features of the transitional environment that continue to undermine the efficient distribution of goods. The authors conclude that the traditional policy remedies appropriate for problems of concentration (such as antitrust policy and import competition) may be ill-advised or inadequate for addressing problems of imperfect competition in the Russian economy. They argue instead that improving the distribution system and other market infrastructure that supports trade and facilitating the entry of new firms should be the most critical elements of competition policy in Russia.Microfinance,Small Scale Enterprise,Private Participation in Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Water and Industry

Social Exclusion, Ambiguity and (IR)rationality

This working paper extends the methodology of non-smooth affective portfolio theory (APT) for eliciting (IR)rational preferences of investors endowed with continuous quasilinear utility functions, where assets are portfolios of risky and ambiguous state-contingent claims. The elicitation is a solution of the affective Afriat inequalities;see technical appendix 1. Solving the smooth affective Afriat inequalities is Np-hard; see technical appendices 2, 3, and 4. The proposed extension is a methodology for the elicitation of (IR)rational preferences of individuals endowed with random continuous quasilinear utility functions defined over finite subsets of discrete social goods as a refutable model of social exclusion in the incomplete markets for social goods; see technical appendices 5 and 6. The methods of elicitation are generalized estimating equations (GEE) and alternating logistic regression (ALR); see technical appendices; 7 and 8

Patient-defined meaningfulness within chronic pain rehabilitation: A concept analysis

Background: As the problem of chronic pain grows worldwide, rehabilitation is critical to improved patient well-being. There is thus a need for rehabilitation-focused research. It appears that outcomes are improved when patients perceive the rehabilitation process to be meaningful. However, there is no empirical evidence determining how this would be achieved. An important first step is to identify and describe the concept of meaningfulness as it is used in the chronic pain rehabilitation literature. Objective: This paper reports the findings of a structured concept analysis to define meaningfulness from the patient perspective in chronic pain rehabilitation. Methodology: In consultation with a medical librarian, a search strategy was developed and articles retrieved. The Walker and Avant concept analysis method was used to analyze the data, identify the defining attributes of meaningfulness, develop contrary, borderline, and model cases, and identify its antecedents and consequences. Results: The search revealed extensive use of the terms ‘meaningfulness’ and ‘meaningful’ within the chronic pain rehabilitation literature from the healthcare provider and system perspective. However, only ten articles met the inclusion criteria, and used the terms meaningful or meaningfulness from the patients’ perspective. Given the paucity of relevant studies, it was not possible to retrieve a clear definition of meaningfulness specific to the context of chronic pain rehabilitation, nor to identify specific outcome measures used to confirm whether rehabilitation is meaningful for people with chronic pain. Conclusions: There is a worrisome gap in the chronic pain rehabilitation literature regarding the application of the concept of ‘meaningfulness’ as perceived by the patient. This study lays the foundation to further the conceptual clarity required for rigorous research to determine potential benefits of personally meaningful chronic pain rehabilitation. Further work is required to define and operationalize the concept, develop valid assessment tools, and build the evidence base regarding relationships between patient-defined meaningfulness and positive outcomes in rehabilitation

Accounting Doctoral Placement: A Geographic Analysis

Accounting doctoral placement is described according to the geography of graduate employment. The results show that most U.S. programs provide graduates to schools in the state or the region. Since many doctoral programsprefer to place their graduates in high ranking research programs or in other doctoral schools, geographic concentration suggests many of them are serving a regional need, rather than placing graduates at the highest(research ranked) schools. Additionally, many programs have a relatively high level of foreign placements. Whether these foreign placements add to the prestige of the program is unknown, but they do not help combat the U.S.accounting doctoral shortage