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Copyright of Sociologia Ruralis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Demonstrates inadequacy of "part-time farming," preferring "pluriactivity." Sets context for 10 papers on pluriactivity and agro-rural change in Western Europe. Outlines applied social science studies on the topic. Voices need for critical, policy-oriented studies in face of changing agricultural and social issues. (TES)

In this Introduction paper, I will describe the motivation behind this special issue on the role of rural-urban relationships in preserving the rural landscape in Europe. Based on the RURBAN project 'Building new relationships in rural areas under urban pressure', the special issue aims to identify the impact of urban pressure on rural landscapes and to explore the contribution of 'rural goods and services' (RGS) to them. This paper will start with an overview of the concepts of rural-urban relationships and RGS, both from a rural perspective and from the perception of different actors, followed by a conceptual model of demand and supply of RGS. To be able to identify differences and similarities across Europe, rural case study regions near a metropolitan area and a tourist area in Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain will be presented. The Introduction paper closes out with a brief overview of the papers in this issue and the themes explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos Geograficos is the property of Cuadernos Geograficos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Endoxa is the property of Editorial UNED and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In early 1990s Greece became one of the prime destination countries for the migrant peoples of the collapsing regimes of the Balkan and Eastern European countries, experiencing, thus, a historical reversal of the massive exodus, in the 1950s and 1960s, of Greeks to the labour markets of Germany, Australia and the USA. This historical reversal seems to identify a pattern that is common to the Southern European countries. Over the last ten years, immigrant population has grown to attain approximately one tenth of the population of Greece. This development occurs at a time when pressures are being exerted on agricultural incomes following the reform of the CAP and subsequent evidencing of the first consequences of market liberalization in the context of a globalizing international economy. This paper aims at analyzing and interpreting the main findings of an empirical research programme on the economic and social implications of migrant settlement and employment in rural Greece. The research was carried out in three paradigmatic regions of the country: a) in a mountainous, less favoured region, b) in a region with dynamic agriculture, and c) in an insular region of agricultural and tourist development. The paper draws from a qualitative study of administrators and opinion leaders. It is divided into four parts: the first part presents the main elements of migration in rural Southern Europe in the frame of what is known as the South European model of migration. The second part discusses migration towards Greece and reviews research work relating to rural migration. With reference to methodology and the main research hypotheses, the third part presents the analysis of empirical findings concentrating on the importance of migrant labour for the operation of the farm and rural restructuring followed by a discussion of the position and role of migrants in rural society and development. The final part summarizes the main conclusions of this analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologia Ruralis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the article, the authors presents a rejoinder to a comment by Howard Newby on their article in which they had compared the North American and European journals of rural sociology. The study raises two points, which the authors feel must be clarified lest their work be misunderstood. The first concerns the nature of that research and the second concerns the role of ontological assumptions in sociological research. The authors mentioned that their study of the two rural sociology journals was motivated by reflections on their own intellectual activity, and the content analysis of the journals carried out by them was not a sociological investigation. The purpose of their content analysis was to provide an understanding of the characteristics of the two journals from which an explanatory project might proceed. The authors add that Newby's depiction of their work as non-sociological and positivist does underscore an irony. They clarifies that their paper, like many others, does not go beyond the limits of assumptions and data.

This paper presents a comprehensive view of the empirical research findings concerning rurban relationships in different European countries (Finland, France, Hungary, the Netherlands and Spain), through two types of rurban territories: those that are placed close to (or included in) a metropolitan area and those that are close to (and influenced by) an important tourist area or place. Its main aim is to show the diversity of European experiences with regard to urban pressure in this type of areas, highlighting the socio-economic and institutional contexts in explaining similarities and differences between five countries. The results will review the various meanings of 'rural' and 'rurality' in different European contexts and how the study areas combine the characteristics of a rural and an urban area. Moreover, we will see that urban pressure is not perceived as a negative process by many but, rather, the opposite. Further, the multi-functionality of rural areas has often implied an excessive focus on new external urban demands in detriment of enhancing other traditional functions. Given these situations, institutions do not always provide efficient responses to changing rurban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several abstracts of research papers published in the July 3, 2001 issue of the journal "Sociological Ruralis." It discusses the cultural economics in the rural areas of Europe. The paper "Transnational Co-operation Between Rural Areas: Elements of a Political Economy of European Union Rural Development," by Christopher Ray considers the significance of the phenomenon in terms of the emergence of a rural development system. "Exploring the Dimensions of Culture Economies in Rural West Wales," by Moya Kneafsey, Brian Ilbery and Tim Jenkins, interrogates the nature and extent of the culture economy as a force for rural development in West Wales. The discussion draws on empirical material from research into four different product sectors, namely, specialty beef and lamb, organic fruit, vegetables and meat, specialty cheese and artisanal crafts. Of particular significance is the research paper "Governing the Boundaries of Viability Economic Expertise and the Production of the Low-Income Farm Problem in Australia," by Vaughan Higgins which discusses how economic expertise assumed prominence as key authorities in constituting previous collectivist forms of assistance as irrational, and in linking the future viability of Australian agriculture to the theories and practices of agricultural economists.

The concept of social exclusion may be used to connect the experiences of individuals and social groups to broader social and economic processes (linking ‘biography’ to ‘history’). This paper draws on recent empirical studies of young people in rural areas of Britain and other European countries to illustrate how social exclusion may operate in rural areas, particularly in the transition from education to employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts of reports and papers about agriculture in Europe. They include "Spanish Rural Society in Transition," by Manuel Pérez Yruela, "Agriculture, Rural Society and the Land Question in Portugal," by Fernando Oliveira Baptista and "The European and Local Context of Greek Family Farming," by Dimitris Goussios.

The article presents information on various conferences, meetings and papers published in several periodicals related to the rural sociology. In 1962 a Committee for International Co-operation in Rural Sociology was established jointly by the American Rural Sociological Society and the European Society for Rural Sociology. The founders of this rather informal organization were aware right from the beginning of their work that the Committee should be broadened to a world-wide scale as soon as possible. Among the first activities of the Committee was the preparation of the First World Congress for Rural Sociology which was held in August 1964 in Dijon, France. A seminar on peasantry in Birmingham will be held on April 26-27, 1965. This was the second meeting of this type under the chairmanship of R.E.F. Smith, Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Birmingham. There were some 10 to 12 participants, mainly historians but also economists and sociologists, among whom two from continental Europe

The article presents information about the publication of the report of the Fourth Meeting of the ad hoc Working Party on Rural Sociological Problems in Europe, together with three of the papers presented at that meeting, in the journal "Sociologia Ruralis." The publication was a result of the cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the European Society for Rural Sociology.

When scholars talk about an ancient Chinese "urban culture," they distinguish between the "citizens" of the time with the citizen class of medieval Europe, but their emphasis is often still on identifying the "freedom" and "modernity" made possible by "urban culture." This article treats Song-era urban residents as an aggregate group, to explore the characteristics of "urban culture" or "urban market culture" (shijing wenhua). On the surface, Song urban culture seems to feature the coexistence of elite and common culture. Deeper analysis shows that political, economic, and cultural capital became concentrated in urban areas as cities grew, making urban areas much more culturally influential relative to rural areas. Furthermore, because the scholar-gentry class wielded core political power, they continued to exert cultural hegemony. The key influencers of urban culture were public officials rather than private merchants. This was largely due to the popular imitation of upper-class culture by commoners. The urban cultural growth during the Tang and Song dynasties is politically significant because it continued and strengthened the phenomenon since the Tang dynasty of the dynastic state's increasingly unprecedented cultural control, as more scholar-gentry began living and concentrating cultural resources in cities. Thus, from the Song period on, the center of society and culture shifted firmly from rural to urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on the XVth Congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology. He argues that the congress, which is to be held on August 2-6, 1993, comes at a most important time not only for Europe's agricultural economy and rural society but also for rural sociology. He believes that the developments taking place in the European countryside in the 1990s, are bound to stimulate renewed interest in the developmental processes within rural society.

Addresses the interface between rural development and social exclusion and advocates research to enhance theoretical accounts of the links between processes of social exclusion and integration occurring in rural Europe. Structural changes affecting rural economies and societies; Conceptualizing social exclusion; Analysis of the processes in relation to the institutional context of rural societies.

Copyright of Sociologia Ruralis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Sociologia Ruralis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents research in the field of rural sociology. The author comments on the discrepancies and the similarities between the rural sociology of Europe and North America, as presented in the work of researchers John R. Fairweather and Jere Lee Gilles. According to them, American rural sociology is more empirical, more quantitative, ahistorical and suffused with methodological individualism. However, American rural sociology also emerges as more analytical and although this remains implicit in their discussion more systematically inductive. Their own study shares many of the assumptions and methodology of the "conventional rural sociology" of which they are otherwise critical. The author argues that in the U.S. land-grant college administrators, agricultural economists and government agencies dealing with rural areas constitute the significant others of rural sociologists as much, if not more than, sociologists working in other fields. According to him, in most European countries rural sociology is an activity undertaken in an institutional context which is very different to that of the United States and where, for example, few separate departments of rural sociology exist.

In this research, Finnish actors engaged in the conservation and sustainable use of local breeds on different levels and sectors were interviewed to find out how breeds are valued by different stakeholders and what kinds of policies and practices are preferred in their conservation and sustainable use; and which also gives rise to some ethical concerns. Four storylines based on sustainable use vs. conservation and service-based vs. production-based dimensions were derived from the research data. The research revealed a broad diversity of perceptions of the aims and means of conservation and sustainable use. Some stakeholders brought up different possibilities regarding the different means of in situ conservation. Yet, many were strictly in favour of conservation and against sustainable use. Moreover, in questions of ownership, stakeholders differed in their opinions. The colliding views diversify the conservation and sustainable use of landraces but simultaneously constitute a challenge to finding common aims and means to it. Communication between stakeholders should be improved to enable actors, at the implementation level, to make long lasting commitments regarding the conservation and sustainable use of local breeds. Furthermore, animals should be regarded as conservation actors, in addition to people and organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to examine rural population/residential movements through a mobilities perspective to provide an inclusive analysis of the diverse processes of movement that (re)produce rural places beyond the dominant counter urbanisation narrative. We seek to contribute to the literature in two ways. Firstly, we examine a sample of rural residents who have moved house within a 10 year period to examine the full range of actually existing residential mobilities, including counter urbanisation, lateral in-migration and local mobility within an Irish context. We suggest that counter urbanisation provides only a partial explanation of rural mobility accounting for 44 per cent of our recent movers - moreover, within the counter urbanisation group, approximately a half of this group were originally from a rural context suggesting a more nuanced 'return-to-roots' movement rather than a stereotypical urban-rural movement. Secondly, we explore two relatively new dimensions of rural mobilities - the importance of the actual house characteristics to where respondents moved to and the pull of family networks as key mobility factors. In the Irish context explored in this article, we argue that rather than a search for greenspace and idyllic landscapes, decision-making is often driven by a desire for more private space (internal and external) and the presence of existing family networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction of wrong practices or thoughts by the producer or the adoption of a new production technique shows the success of rural development studies. This study was conducted to assess the effect of Integrated Dairy Farming Project on the Çakmak and Ekinciler villages before and after implementing the European funded "Integrated Dairy Cattle Project" carried out by the Diyarbakır Commercial Exchange in southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey, in 2006. Project villages have enough arable lands and dry farming is performed. The number of cattle is increasing compared to the other villages in the province. In order to make a comparison between the years, three surveys were conducted in 2006, 2007, and 2009 by using questionnaires. The findings of the research show that a considerable portion of the respondents (37%) stated that they did not trust the analysis of this kind of project that had not taken into consideration the rural needs. While 54.4% of the farmers wanted to sell their milk to cooperatives in 2007, the same farmers in 2009 stated that they would not sell to cooperatives. In addition, 47.8% of the farmers trusted and benefitted from Europe (EU) project training programmes in 2007, while selling rate decreased to 35.6% in 2009. Furthermore, 30% of the participants mentioned that they could not trust the project staff since the project duration was short. Because of the reasons mentioned, participation in the project was realized at low level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the comparison between four English-language journals on rural sociology including "Eastern European Countryside," "Rural Sociology" (RS), and "Journal of Rural Studies" (JRS). Topics include the quality achievements of people and institutions in sociological analysis, the rejection of attempts to study agriculture's collective management, and the importance of the function of rural inhabitants in Europe.

The article seeks to initiate a debate on what part rural research plays in making real rural worlds. It does so through a review of the development of rural sociology. What started as a formal discipline in the United States in the early 20th century spread from there as part of the establishment of the post-war transatlantic liberal order. In the specific conditions of post-war Europe, that stimulated an organised response - a European rural sociology - to emulate and challenge the American approach to the study and regulation of rural problems. This selective review of the history of rural sociology poses the question: what are its creativity claims; and ponders more generally the basis of the creativity claims of the engaged sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article looks at the evidence employed in the CORASON (the cognitive approach to rural sustainable development: the dynamics of expert and lay knowledge) research project of changing rural power relations in the context of sustainability and knowledge use in Europe. It explores what kinds of knowledge contribute to sustainable development in rural development projects and how they are created or empowered, according to the interest and capacity of the different actors involved. The article examines how actors interpret and negotiate the requirement of sustainability. It discusses how the idea and practice of sustainable development can build on local knowledge as a resource for generating activity and for commoditising local goods and service, looking at the potentials of sustainability projects for future rural development, the types of knowledge used in projects and their social sources, dynamics and social availability. It reviews the proliferating project form of management that locks actors into power relations connected to their capacity for knowledge use and discusses the pressure of urban demands on rural sustainability in the context of local autonomy. These issues are elaborated through a study of the interconnection of knowledge and power and the role of the actors in the creating and using knowledge. On the level of public policy, the authors identify the knowledge–power complex as an important factor of decision-making in rural policy and develop a critique of rural policy for its inadequate attention to the interconnection between knowledge, power and interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the significance of local government and cooperatives in political thought and practice from the year 1940 to 1970 in Tanzania. It is stated that both instruments are characterized by their ambiguity and allow the central authority to push through its interests at various levels. It is also mentioned that cooperatives were mainly the result of initiatives from the local rural population and can thus be seen as a movement even though the idea of cooperative societies was imported from Europe.

Against a background of limited research on rural poverty and social exclusion in Europe, this article draws mainly, but not exclusively, on Irish studies to discuss three related themes. The first identifies distinctive characteristics of poverty in rural areas on the basis that specifically rural features restrict the applicability of rural – urban comparisons. The second elaborates on this point in reviewing the problems of finding appropriate indicators of poverty and deprivation in farm households and in rural areas. The third theme moves the discussion from poverty and deprivation as outcomes or static states to social exclusion as a set of dynamic processes which generate and reproduce rural poverty. A number of generic exclusionary processes are posited and their specific rural manifestations illustrated. The review of Irish experience suggests that studies of rural poverty and social exclusion require sensitivity to the specifics of rurality, a theoretical understanding of multidimensionality in processes and outcomes, and an eclectic set of research approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sociologia Ruralis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on research in the field of rural sociology. The authors compare the two journals "Rural Sociology," and "Sociologia Ruralis," providing constructive criticism of the theory and methods of some contemporary rural sociologists. Sociologia Ruralis articles, representing a major stream of European rural sociology, generally have been considered to be similar to Rural Sociology articles because of the historic influence of the U.S. tradition on the European tradition. The two journals provide articles that are taken to be representative of conventional rural sociology and tend to be empiricist, inductive and positivist. The article examines the nature of conventional rural sociology rather than other disciplines or journals which may study rural subject matter. Published articles are the principal means by which members of a discipline communicate amongst themselves in order to develop their methods or positions. In the case of U.S. rural sociology, it is reasonable to assume that Rural Sociology receives the majority of articles on rural subject matter and that the journal is representative of the U.S. discipline. However, the articles from Sociologia Ruralis should not be taken as representative of the entire European discipline because of the variety of European journals available as an outlet for research on rural topics.

The article focuses on the importance of rural sociology in Europe and North America. The author asserted that the discussion of rural psychology in terms of its discipline, conceptual problems and future undertakings must start by touching on fundamental issues of every scholarly discipline. It is required to establish intellectual specificity regarding historical background, social development and scholarly conceptual ideas. Academic references, studies and strategies can be used in the specificity of discipline.

The article focuses on the problem of rural migration and role of the European Society for Rural Sociology in the problem. The author of the article informs that it is for the purpose of creating a meeting ground for those interested in the welfare of the farm population that the European Society for Rural Sociology was founded. Probably the most tangible and measurable symptom of the unsettled conditions in Europe's countryside is rural migration; it is understandable, therefore, that this was chosen as the general theme of the first congress of the European Society for Rural Sociology. The extent of rural migration is so great that it must surely be counted as one of the principal social problems of our time. In Great Britain the present number of people in rural occupations has been estimated as about four-fifths of the prewar total. The author argues that in many countries there is a definite movement of people from agriculture into town employment. The causes of this trend have been classified into "push" and "pull" factors. The "push" comes from the fall in farm labor requirements, owing mainly to mechanization. In a well researched article the author gives necessary data regarding rural migration in Europe.

Although rural sociology as such has received scant attention in Argentina, due primarily to a theoretical preoccupation with European schools and systems, the adaptation of European theories to the interpretation of Argentine national history has resulted in considerable attention to the role of rural-urban conflict in the course of national development. Particularly in the sociological interpretation of the long dictatorship of Rosas has rural-urban conflict been emphasized, whether in terms of urban civilization and rural barbarism, urban commercialism and rural feudalism, or urban white supremacy and rural Indian or mestizo supremacy. Lacking concrete studies of particular urban and rural social organizations and institutions, these theories resolve into opposition of two meta-physical forces in a philosophy of history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the relation of marriage and education to fertility in Soviet Union. It is understandable that the present, highly secularized, social system in Soviet Union accounts for much of the reluctance to emphasize the role of traditional beliefs. While recently traveling in Eastern Europe, this author observed that secondary school books about Soviet Union do not mention the Islamic and Buddhist traditions among the rural populations of the Caucasus, Central Asia, and along the Mongolian border. Foreign tourists visiting the more remote parts of the Soviet Union have for some time noticed families with a large number of small children as a Common sight in Moslem communities. The high rates of natural increase in those areas are openly acknowledged by journalists, scholars, and administrators, and have already produced a number of authoritative statements from among the ranks of Soviet Union Academy of Sciences. In the 36 ethnic groups of the Soviet Union, there was a strong correlation between the percentage of Women who were married at ages 20-24, and the child-woman ratio. Correlations were lower, but Still important, among women aged 16-19 and 25-29 years. The percentage of the population aged 16-19 and that aged 60 and over with some formal schooling above the seventh grade also seemed to be correlated with fertility.

Antonio J. Posada, Chief of Agrarian Reform and Rural Sociology Service, speaking on behalf of the Director-General of FAO, thanked the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany for its hospitality and facilities and welcomed the participants. He took note of past accomplishments of the Working Party on significant issues concerning rural social change in Europe, and of the complexities and importance of the social, cultural and institutional aspects of agricultural and general economic development and change in the different countries of the region. The documentation for the current session provided evidence of that complexity. The growing interest on the part of rural policy-makers and administrators in the human aspects of agriculture was a reassuring change. Posada then called attention to the FAO Conference decision to focus more of its resources on helping developing countries and its desire to reduce the number of statutory bodies. The Secretary briefly reviewed the history of the Working Party for the benefit of new participants, its previous seven sessions, the major areas of work and projects undertaken. He considered that the arrangements in this Working Party for the full participation of other international agencies and organizations had enriched the program and deliberations of the Working Party, and that the efforts of this group have helped to focus attention on the scientific analysis of current rural problems in Europe.

The article focuses on the Bandoeng Conference of 1937. Particular attention is given to the affect the conference had on rural health and development. The author reports that the conference, increasingly regarded as a milestone event, unleashed a pouring of interwar interest in rural hygiene. Mainly due to the leadership of the League of Nations, rural hygiene became a key focus in international politics, as world leaders drew attention to the overwhelming health needs of poor rural populations in Europe and the world. These rural populations were dealing with disease and mortality, restricted access to modern medical providers and the benefits of public health practitioners, as well as struggling with the devastation of the worldwide economic depression.

The article discusses role and function of rural sociology in Europe. An analysis is attempted of the present state of rural sociology in this region pointing out its start and improvement after the Second World War, its relationships to the North American experience in this field, and its own contents. All is seen in reference to the intense and radical transformation, which now effects the European society and above all its rural sector, as well as the connections with related disciplines such as agricultural economics, social psychology, general sociology, cultural anthropology, etc. Further it has indicates the prospects and the objectives for rural sociology in Europe. These are in large part already determined by the changes in process in the European rural society, some figures are shown concerning the modifications of the demographic structure and the consistency of the labour force, the social mobility as an effect of migratory movements, the transformation of agriculture in its structure and the cultural patterns.