Art Education and the Social Use of Metaphor

Human beings are greatly dependent upon social knowledge as a basis for directing their actions in the world and interpreting the actions of others. The dominant quality of social knowledge, or culture, is that it is symbolic. Consider the concept of culture offered by anthropologist Clifford Geertz: (Cultura) denotes a historically transmitted pattern of meanings embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life

Socially Relevant Practice in Art, Culture, and Environment

What is socially relevant practice? From my perspective, socially relevant practice has to do with making knowledge available to students that enables them to know about social institutions and contexts associated with the visual arts. In other words, the students are provided with experiences that lead them to an understanding of the phenomenon of art in culture and society so that they can assess and decide what their own relationship will be to concepts and objects comprising the visual arts

Culture Change: The Work of C.A. Bowers in Educational Policy

C.A. Bowers has proposed a perspective on educational theory and practice involving cultural literacy and communicative competence. Bowers\u27 proposal addresses culture change through a critical examination of activities in the school curriculum. An overview of this perspective and its possible use in art education is presented

MANAGING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS OVERSEAS: LESSONS FROM THE PAST

The prospect of trade liberalization at both the regional and global level opens up the possibility of increased agricultural investment in developing countries. Such opportunities can be very appealing to developed-country producers who face high domestic costs, particularly for land and labor. Further, foreign investment could be an extremely positive development in terms of using developed country technical knowledge to increase global food production. However putting this experience into practice overseas has not always been successful in the past. The history of expatriate investment in developing country agriculture does not offer many encouraging examples. Often overlooked in the literature of both agricultural economics and management, private investment in large-scale agricultural production, mostly undertaken by agribusinesses, has a poor record. Five case studies examined in this paper offer examples of what goes wrong which such investments. Based on the experience of these operations, it is the thesis of this paper that the main adaptation that these projects might have made is in the role of management.International Relations/Trade,

THE DEMAND FOR PRIVATE PROPERTY RIGHTS: LAND TITLING, CREDIT, AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IN MEXICO

Land titles can increase agricultural productivity by increasing access to collateralized credit. However, increased credit use depends on the assumption that farmers face asset-based credit rationing. This assumption is tested using data from Mexico's voluntary land titling program. The results do not support the existence of widespread credit rationing.Land Economics/Use,

THE DIFFUSION OF LIVESTOCK BREEDING TECHNOLOGY IN THE U.S.: OBSERVATIONS ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TECHNICAL CHANGE AND INDUSTRY STRUCTURE

Livestock Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Consumer preferences for table cassava characteristics in Pernambuco, Brazil

Cassava is a major source of carbohydrate for populations in the tropics; however, there is little information about the preferences of consumers toward the quality characteristics of this crop. This paper analyzes the demand for different cassava attributes, and applies the hedonic price method to estimate the values that consumers give to implicit attributes of cassava. The results show that ease of peeling, time of cooking and texture of cassava are the most important characteristics consumers consider when purchasing and consuming cassava. Cassava varieties, root size, ease of peeling and location of the market are relevant attributes in price determination.Cassava, Consumer preferences, Hedonic price, Northeast of Brazil, Consumer/Household Economics,

Property rights, collective action, and agribusiness

The authors state that "governments and research and development organizations are increasingly interested in understanding and promoting rural agroenterprises as a way to combat rural poverty." They look at the implications of market orientation for small-scale agricultural producers and the implications of integration for small farms and firms. They conclude that agroindustrialization, which is changing agriculture and rural communities in developing countries, forces farmers and entrepreneurs to change the way they do business. Collective action and networking, a better understanding of how to develop and support those networks, and less traditional forms of organization, such as agricultural cooperatives, is necessary for the development of an "efficient and equitable agribusiness sector." from TextPoverty alleviation ,Property rights ,Collective action ,

The importance of social capital in Colombian rural agro-enterprises:

This paper characterizes and measures the contribution of social capital to the performance of 50 agroenterprises in Colombia. Using qualitative analysis we document how social capital performs a variety of functions in firms, including providing access information via networks of contacts, reducing transactions costs in contracting via trust, and sustaining capacity for collective action. To estimate social capital's contribution to firm structure and performance, quantitative indicators of firm-level use of social capital are developed based on the number and strength of relationships that firms maintain. Econometric analysis finds that firm-level returns to relationships are high, higher than to physical or human capital. The results suggests that while firms can increase their economic performance by investing in social capital, institutional and technological innovations that ameliorate the effects of the market failures that lead to use of social relationships for business purposes could also improve both equity and efficiency.Capacity,

DBAE and CLAE

The foundations upon which knowledge is organized and presented in both discipline-based and cultural literacy approaches to art education are addressed. It is argued that the foundations for these two approaches are a result of conflicting views on the standardization of curricula and the perceived need for achievement oriented evaluation; these in turn are reflective of a fundamental difference in beliefs and assumptions as to the nature of education