Household production and capitalist development in contemporary Russia

This essay reviews four recent books based on research on the development of capitalism and the position of household-based farming in post-Soviet Russia. Each of the books represents a different set of conceptual assumptions and is based on different methods of enquiry. It is argued that a problematic feature of much of the literature on this topic is that it begins from the assumption that successful capitalist development in Russian agriculture should be based on the development of small-scale family farming. This tends to obscure the variety of forms of production that have emerged so far and the range of different relationships between them

Agri-Food Trade between the United States and Russia

U.S.-Russia agricultural trade has undergone significant change. This article provides an overview of bilateral agri-food trade. Particular attention is devoted to agri-food trade since 2000. The article concludes that American agricultural exports are now less important to Russian food security than at any time since 1992

Household inequality and village discord: toward a post-socialist moral economy

The author believes that rural Russia is much more unequal today than during the Soviet period in terms of income and wealth (land). The article describes three periods in the XX century, when rural Russia experienced a significant upheaval in the economic interaction between peasants and their means of production: the Stolypin reform of 1906-1911, the Stalin's collectivization, and the ending of the Soviet system in the early 1990s. The author analyzes the effects of the market revolution that came with the end of Soviet rule and facilitated the growth of village inequality, and focuses on intra-village relations between different economic strata. The paper has several goals: to quantify the growth in household inequality; to examine intra-village relationships between "rich" and "poor" households; to explore whether high-income households feel communality with the village community. To analyze the level of village discord, the author uses survey data from a geographically diverse sample of 900 rural households. The article argues that the post-socialist moral economy is not based upon state regulated income levels or wealth holdings-rather on opportunity and economic freedom bounded mainly by the energy, willpower, capabilities and adaptability of household members

Vulnerabilities in Russian Agriculture to Climate Change

Russia’s agricultural sector has experienced a significant rebound in production since 2000, becoming the leading wheat exporter in the world in six of the past agricultural years. Not only has Russia’s role in the international food trade system become more important, as the world’s population continues to increase Russia grain will become even more significant, especially to politically volatile regions where food riots have contributed to pressures for regime change. While analysts are cognizant of the effects of climate change and impacts on Russian agricultural production, little thought has been given to the pathways for a transition from industrial agriculture. The article identifies four vulnerabilities to the agricultural sector from climate change in the world and in Russia. The article discusses the dislocations that may occur during a transition from industrial agriculture. The final section considers alternative models for moving away from industrial agriculture, concluding that the market-driven approach in which private industry leads the transition by “going green” is the most politically viable in Russia

Hidden Hands

Abstract The large-scale installation, Hidden Hands, is constructed of thousands of fabric loops in various colors that cover the exhibition walls. Next to this growth of fabric is a domestic workspace, along with pins, needles, torn garments, and other objects requiring attention and care. A massive quilt lying on the floor next to this transformed corner of the gallery connects the two spaces. Hidden Hands also incorporates sounds, smell, light, and fans to evoke feelings of chaotic domesticity and daily tasks requiring attention. Domestic work has predominantly been done by women for hundreds of years. Between tending to the children, preparing meals, and keeping the home, the occupation of “housewife” has long been one of the most varied and strenuous. Hidden Hands highlights the significance and importance of domestic toil and care; it is an acknowledgment of the hours of unrecognized labor, and a tribute to the countless tasks completed by women

Is Russia's Role in the International Agri-Food System Sustainable?

acceptedVersio

Environmental Costs of Government-Sponsored Agrarian Settlements in Brazilian Amazonia

Brazil has presided over the most comprehensive agrarian reform frontier colonization program on Earth, in which ~1.2 million settlers have been translocated by successive governments since the 1970's, mostly into forested hinterlands of Brazilian Amazonia. These settlements encompass 5.3% of this ~5 million km2 region, but have contributed with 13.5% of all land conversion into agropastoral land uses. The Brazilian Federal Agrarian Agency (INCRA) has repeatedly claimed that deforestation in these areas largely predates the sanctioned arrival of new settlers. Here, we quantify rates of natural vegetation conversion across 1911 agrarian settlements allocated to 568 Amazonian counties and compare fire incidence and deforestation rates before and after the official occupation of settlements by migrant farmers. The timing and spatial distribution of deforestation and fires in our analysis provides irrefutable chronological and spatially explicit evidence of agropastoral conversion both inside and immediately outside agrarian settlements over the last decade. Deforestation rates are strongly related to local human population density and road access to regional markets. Agrarian settlements consistently accelerated rates of deforestation and fires, compared to neighboring areas outside settlements, but within the same counties. Relocated smallholders allocated to forest areas undoubtedly operate as pivotal agents of deforestation, and most of the forest clearance occurs in the aftermath of government-induced migration

Sketching – a tool

I denna kandidatuppsats undersöks skissandets roll i gestaltningsprocessen. Syftet är att sprida kunskap kring hur vi landskapsarkitekter kan dra nytta av detta verktyg i vårt arbete. Genom att bättre förstå hur skissen fungerar kan vi utveckla och optimera vårt användande av den. Inledningsvis görs en genomgång av hur skissprocessen fungerar. Därefter fastslås tre faktorer som stärker skissen som landskapsarkitektens verktyg; det diskuteras hur kreativiteten kan stimuleras av skissande, hur skissen kan användas för undersökande och platsförståelse samt hur skissen påverkar minnet och upplevelsen av en plats. Arbetet bygger i huvudsak på en litteraturstudie. Ett mindre experiment kompletterar litteraturen i kapitlet om skiss och minne. Genom litteraturstudien konstateras att skissens organiserande funktion stärker vår förmåga att se och lösa problem. Skissens förmåga att sålla information hjälper oss även att schematisera och förstå verkligheten. Det ökade fokus på objektet som en skiss kräver av utövaren påverkar också hens relation till motivet. Resultatet av det enkla experimentet ger en antydan om ett visst samband mellan skissande och ett mer detaljerat minne av en plats.In this paper the role of sketching in the design process is examined. The aim is to spread knowledge about what use landscape architects can extract out of sketching in our daily job. By getting to know better how the process of sketching works, we can develope and optimize the way we use it. Initially a review is made of how the process of sketching works. Three facts that states the sketch as an important tool for landscape architects are made; how creativity is supported by sketching is discussed, how sketching can be used to examine and understand a place and how sketches affects the memory and the experience of a place. This work is mainly based on a litterature review. A less comprising study about the connection between sketching and memory is made as a complement to the litterature. The litterature rewiew shows that the organizing function of the sketch improves our ability to detect and solve problems. The capacity of a sketch to interpret information also helps us to schematize and understand reality. The sketch demands a higher level of concen-tration which affects our relation to the subject. The result from the small experiment gives nothing but a vague hint, saying that there may be a connection between sketching and a stronger memory of a place

The silence of the loco : aspects of solutions for railway related noise

Detta examensarbete har genomförts under vintern 2016/2017 inom ramen för landskapsarkitekt-utbildningen. Utgångspunkten är en frågeställning formulerad av avdelning Gata och Landskap på COWI i Malmö, som har bred erfarenhet av storskaliga infrastrukturprojekt och bidragit med värdefull input under processen. Järnvägen är till sin natur storskalig och om- och nybyggnad av denna medför per automatik en betydande landskaplig påverkan. Buller är en miljöstörning som påverkar väldigt många människor – en femtedel av Sveriges invånare beräknas vara utsatta. Ju tätare och närmre störningskällorna vi vill bygga bostäder, desto påtagligare blir bullerproblematiken. I arbetet undersöks hur buller från järnvägen hanteras idag och vilka möjligheter som finns att hantera problematiken med alternativa lösningar. Huvudfokus ligger på ett upplevelseperspektiv av de strukturer som byggs för att minska bullernivåerna vid stationsnära områden. Till grund för den teoretiska delen av arbetet ligger litteraturstudier. Källmaterialet består till stor del av rapporter och utredningar från statliga verk och myndigheter samt artiklar och skrifter som behandlar lösningar för bullerproblematiken. Studerade byggda exempel, platsanalyser vid befintliga stationsområden och ett undersökande skiss- och gestaltningsarbete mynnar ut i idéer kring hur lösningar för bullerproblematiken kan tillföra platsen ett värde istället för att främst, som ofta är fallet, utgöra en fysisk och visuell barriär.This thesis was completed as a part of the Landscape Architecture Programme, during the winter of 2016/2017. It is based on a question formulated by the Department Gata och Landskap, COWI in Malmö, which has extensive experience in large-scale infrastructure projects and has contributed with valuable input during the process. The railway is largescaled by nature and its structure considerably affects the surruonding landscape. Noise affects more people than any other environmental issues. One fifth of Sweden's population is estimated to be exposed. The more dense we want to build our residential areas, and the closer to the noise source, the more challenging are the noise problems. How noise from railways is managed today, and what kind of alternative solutions there is to manage noise problems, is examined. The main focus is the experience perspective, how places around the railway station is percieved and how they are affected by the built structures for noise reduction. The basis for the theoretical part of the work is literature, mainly reports and studies from departments and authorities, as well as articles and writings that deals with solutions for noise problems. A study of built examples, site analysis and investigative sketch- and design work has resulted in ideas on how solutions for noise problems can bring value to a place instead of, as is often the case, constitute a physical and visual barrier