Farmers' Contribution to Agricultural Social Capital: Evidence from Southern Spain

Social capital is the whole set of shared norms, values, attitudes, and beliefs that promote cooperation among individuals within the community and that has proved to be a key factor in explaining development processes. This article aims to provide an analytically reliable notion of social capital within the farming sector and a methodological tool for empirically measuring how social capital is accumulated at the farmer level. The theoretical framework proposed is based on the multidimensionality of the complex concept of social capital. Thus, to develop a comprehensive index for social capital, we identify three dimensions of the concept, structural, relational, and cognitive social capital, each one also comprising several subdimensions. This integrative approach permits creation of a composite indicator of the agricultural social capital accumulated at the farmer level, further identifying socioeconomic factors that influence its accumulation at that level. We empirically apply this methodological approach to farmers in Andalusia in southern Spain as a case study. This research provides an interesting starting point for informing policymakers about social capital and helping them implement the necessary programs to facilitate sustainable development in the agricultural sector.     

Caloric restriction minimizes aging effects on the femoral medial condyle

This study aimed to analyze the effects of caloric restriction on aged femoral articular cartilage of Wistar rats. Three groups of eight animals each were considered: young (YC) and old (OC) control groups fed with a normal diet and old caloric restriction group (OCR) composed of 18-month-old animals fed with a 31% less caloric diet from 6-months of age. Articular cartilage was studied through morphometry and immunohistochemistry. Body mass was 12% less in the OCR group than in the OC group. The articular cartilage from OC rats show thinner medial condyles, fewer chondrocytes, smaller chondrocytes nuclear volume and, in both condyles, a predominance of collagen type II and less collagen density compared to both YC and OCR groups (p?p?相似文献   

How Latinos Are Transforming the United States: Research, Theory, and Policy

The United States is entering a new era, a period marked by some important demographic changes in the composition of the population, most especially significant increases in the Latino and Latino immigrant segments of society. These population shifts require corresponding interpersonal, organizational, and structural changes. The present issue bridges research and theory across disciplines and includes studies incorporating a variety of methodologies to examine these important areas. These articles begin to fill some of the voids where a systematic and robust corpus of knowledge is lacking. The contributions address topics ranging from issues of identity and interpersonal relations to pressing matters of educational significance to general approaches to navigating the cultural transitions that mark fluid transnational adaptations. Finally, each contribution delineates the policy implications resulting from the processes and literatures that are examined.     

浙江农村青年创业小额贷款项目在基层的实施效果研究———以乐清市为例

浙江农村青年创业小额贷款项目自推出以来受到浙江基层创业青年广泛关注,该项小额贷款制度申请程序简便、担保形式灵活、政府扶持力度逐年加大,已逐步发展成为基层创业青年融资的主要途径之一.近年来,在浙江“两创”总战略鼓励下,农村青年创业小额贷款项目发展前景广阔、发展势头良好,同时在担保、风险控制、贷款覆盖面等方面也不乏矛盾和困惑     

Graphical and Numerical Methods for Detecting Influential Observations in Complex Bingham Data

We describe methods to detect influential observations in a sample of pre-shapes when the underlying distribution is assumed to be complex Bingham. One of these methods is based on Cook's distance, which is derived from the likelihood of the complex Bingham distribution. Other method is related to the tangent space, which is based on the local influence for the multivariate normal distribution. A method to detect outliers is also explained. The application of the methods is illustrated in both a real dataset and a simulated sample.     

元认知策略在高职高专英语阅读教学中的应用

通过阐述元认知策略基本理论和分析元认知与英语阅读的关系,尝试构建以元认知策略为中心的英语阅读“4步教学法”,把元认知策略引入高职高专英语阅读课堂教学实践,用以培养学生的元认知策略意识,提高学生的英语阅读水平.     

一类含有随机参数的混沌系统的Hopf分岔研究

文章选取随机变量为系统的随机变量研究含有随机参数混沌系统的Hopf分岔,利用Chebyshev正交多项式逼近理论将含有随机变量的系统转化为等价的确定性系统,通过Hopf分岔定理和Lyapunov系数讨论了随机参数系统的Hopf分岔及稳定性,发现随机系统的渐进稳定性参数区间大小不仅和确定性参数有关,还与随机参数有非常密切的关系.     

基于产业融合的新农村景观生态规划——以重庆种苗科技城为例

在“农业与旅游业”相互融合的前提下对重庆种苗科技城进行调研和论证,提炼出了种苗科技城的“三级形象”规划理念,以生态学理论为基础对种苗科技城进行景观规划,旨在创造新型的基于产业融合的新农村景观,为今后农业园区的建设提供参考.     

论雷蒙德·威廉斯对历史唯物主义的释义重建——一个"文化唯物主义"视角下的探讨

在实现历史唯物主义的英国式重建的过程中,雷蒙德·威廉斯通过融合本土的文化分析方法提出"文化唯物主义"这一概念.这种重建工作可以界定为"以文化唯物主义为视角的释义重建",主要包括从"二分"到"总体"、从"决定"到"颠倒"两个方面.同时,威廉斯的这种重建工作深受以卢卡奇、阿尔都塞等为代表的西方马克思主义的理论范式的影响,本质上是一场"英马式的西马实践".