2,106 research outputs found
Planar lattice gases with nearest-neighbour exclusion
We discuss the hard-hexagon and hard-square problems, as well as the
corresponding problem on the honeycomb lattice. The case when the activity is
unity is of interest to combinatorialists, being the problem of counting binary
matrices with no two adjacent 1's. For this case we use the powerful corner
transfer matrix method to numerically evaluate the partition function per site,
density and some near-neighbour correlations to high accuracy. In particular
for the square lattice we obtain the partition function per site to 43 decimal
places.Comment: 16 pages, 2 built-in Latex figures, 4 table
Population Growth, Famine and Economic Growth
The aim  of this chapter is to examine briefly some aspects of the demography of my  field area. This discussion will lead into the focus of the next chapter,  which aims to examine the organisation of production and labour, paying  particular attention to the relationship between labour demand and household  size and structure
Land Ownership: Caste and Economic Status
In  this chapter I will be examining some of the features of the system of land  tenure in Rajasthan and an!llysing the distribution of land ownership in  Hinganiya. The underlying ~m is to demonstrate the biased distribution of  land ownership particularly along caste lines and to examine the extent to  which landownership and caste are related. The working hypothesis is that  there is a land-wealth nexus. In later chapters I will examine the points at  which wealth and landownership diverge.
Castes and Caste Relationships
In  order to understand the agrarian system in any Indian local community it is  necessary to understand the workings of the caste system, since caste  patterns much social and economic behaviour. The major responses to the  uncertain environment of western Rajasthan involve utilising a wide variety  of resources, either by spreading risks within the agro-pastoral economy, by  moving into other physical regions (through nomadism) or by tapping in to the  national economy, through civil service, military service or other  employment
Introduction
The  environment of western Rajasthan is shaped by predominant aridity, which is  broken by moderate and irregular monsoonal rainfall. One assessment of the  occurrence and perception of drought by farmers is that in every decade there  are ' ... from six to nine severe drought years, from one to three good  years, and hardly one average or "normal" year' (Bharara 1982:352).  The problem is that no one knows in advance which will be a good year or  which will be a bad year.
Agriculture, Pastoralism and Household Economy
Vincze  (1980) has discussed the features of economies which he refers to as  'agro-pastoral peasant economies'. The term can usefully be applied to the  economy of Hinganiya and its surrounding villages. It is a peasant economy in  the sense that it is concerned with subsistence, while being oriented towards  markets for the sale of surpluses. It is agro-pastoral because the economy  combines agriculture and herding. This chapter describes agricultural and  pastoral production in Hinganiya. It then goes on to describe subsistence  activities, placing emphasis on the annual work cycles associated with both  agriculture and pastoralism. A major aim is to identify priorities for  production and any points of conflict between the requirements of the various  subsistence activities.
Conclusion
The  farmers of western Rajasthan are faced with one certainty: the certainty that  their livelihood each year is uncertain. My concern in this study has been to  look at the way people in one part of the region survive in circumstances of  great uncertainty about subsistence in the face of unreliable seasonal  rainfall. The study has been conceived primarily as a study of an agrarian  system -a system of agricultural production including the ecological,  socio-economic and political context.
Fieldsite: Hinganiya and the Surrounding Villages
This  chapter is intended to provide a brief introduction to the villages in which  I carried out fieldwork. Map 4 shows the locations of the four villages and  important adjacent villages. The description in this chapter describes the  situation up to the time of my field visit in 1987. Subsequent developments  are not discussed.
Ecological Context: The Environment of Western Rajasthan
The  purpose of this chapter is to outline the main features of the environment of  western Rajasthan. The emphasis will be on the macro-environment, setting the  broad context, although, where appropriate, I will point out the specific  features of my field area. I will also provide a brief account of human  occupation and land use.
Adapting to Drought: Beyond the Village
So far  I have concentrated on describing the agro-pastoral economy of western  Rajasthan, emphasising the ways in which it is organised and the way it  incorporates risk management. I have also discussed the twin hierarchies of  caste and landownership which are an important aspect of the context within  which agro-pastoralism operates. In this chapter I will pursue two themes.  Firstly I wish to show in greater detail how economic opportunities are  opened or closed by position in either of the caste or landownership  hierarchies. This partly involves a discussion of labour relations, but moves  to an examination of various types of emigration and the ways in which caste  and economic status affect the pattern of emigration. The second theme is the  role of the state in famine relief and development.
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