Transformaciones territoriales en el periurbano de Mar del Plata

El estudio de las transformaciones territoriales de las áreas periurbanas demanda el conocimiento de la evolución de las actividades que allí se desarrollan. El presente trabajo analiza las transformaciones del periurbano de Mar del Plata entre los noventa y la actualidad, enfatizando en los cambios de las actividades. Para ello, se realiza una clasificación supervisada de usos sobre imágenes satelitales de 1989 y 2009, que es ajustada a partir de una base de datos del área. Posteriormente, se analizan las transformaciones considerando distintas fases de estructuración de las ciudades y se establece una periodización siguiendo las nociones de régimen y ruptura. El estudio realizado constituye una base para generar estrategias de ocupación y desarrollo del área y la metodología aplicada puede extenderse a otros territorios

Empleo agrario y ruralidad ampliada

La creciente interrelación rural-urbana es un aspecto resaltado por distintos trabajos producidos recientemente en Argentina y en otros contextos sociales. Este artículo parte de consideraciones teóricas acerca de la ruralidad y analiza la evolución experimentada por la estructura del empleo según sectores y categorías ocupacionales a partir de reprocesamientos censales especiales. Toma un concepto amplio de ruralidad (áreas de población dispersa y localidades inferiores a los 10.000 habitantes), teniendo en cuenta el fuerte imbricamiento existente en los pequeños núcleos urbanos con su entorno rural circundante. El análisis realizado permite discutir la perspectiva de la urbanización de la población ocupada en actividades agropecuarias. Asimismo, muestra la fuerte heterogeneidad interprovincial en materia de inserción ocupacional, aspecto que se vincula con el diferente peso que históricamente han adquirido la pequeña producción y/o los cultivos demandantes de grandes contingentes de mano de obra estacional en las áreas consideradas

Transformaciones territoriales en el periurbano de Mar del Plata

El estudio de las transformaciones territoriales de las áreas periurbanas demanda el conocimiento de la evolución de las actividades que allí se desarrollan. El presente trabajo analiza las transformaciones del periurbano de Mar del Plata entre los noventa y la actualidad, enfatizando en los cambios de las actividades. Para ello, se realiza una clasificación supervisada de usos sobre imágenes satelitales de 1989 y 2009, que es ajustada a partir de una base de datos del área. Posteriormente, se analizan las transformaciones considerando distintas fases de estructuración de las ciudades y se establece una periodización siguiendo las nociones de régimen y ruptura. El estudio realizado constituye una base para generar estrategias de ocupación y desarrollo del área y la metodología aplicada puede extenderse a otros territorios

Transformaciones territoriales en el periurbano de Mar del Plata

El estudio de las transformaciones territoriales de las áreas periurbanas demanda el conocimiento de la evolución de las actividades que allí se desarrollan. El presente trabajo analiza las transformaciones del periurbano de Mar del Plata entre los noventa y la actualidad, enfatizando en los cambios de las actividades. Para ello, se realiza una clasificación supervisada de usos sobre imágenes satelitales de 1989 y 2009, que es ajustada a partir de una base de datos del área. Posteriormente, se analizan las transformaciones considerando distintas fases de estructuración de las ciudades y se establece una periodización siguiendo las nociones de régimen y ruptura. El estudio realizado constituye una base para generar estrategias de ocupación y desarrollo del área y la metodología aplicada puede extenderse a otros territorios

Empleo agrario y ruralidad ampliada

La creciente interrelación rural-urbana es un aspecto resaltado por distintos trabajos producidos recientemente en Argentina y en otros contextos sociales. Este artículo parte de consideraciones teóricas acerca de la ruralidad y analiza la evolución experimentada por la estructura del empleo según sectores y categorías ocupacionales a partir de reprocesamientos censales especiales. Toma un concepto amplio de ruralidad (áreas de población dispersa y localidades inferiores a los 10.000 habitantes), teniendo en cuenta el fuerte imbricamiento existente en los pequeños núcleos urbanos con su entorno rural circundante. El análisis realizado permite discutir la perspectiva de la urbanización de la población ocupada en actividades agropecuarias. Asimismo, muestra la fuerte heterogeneidad interprovincial en materia de inserción ocupacional, aspecto que se vincula con el diferente peso que históricamente han adquirido la pequeña producción y/o los cultivos demandantes de grandes contingentes de mano de obra estacional en las áreas consideradas

Seasonal migration and micro-credit in the lean period : evidence from northwest Bangladesh

This paper investigates the relationship between access to micro-credit and temporary seasonal migration, an issue which is largely ignored in the standard rural-urban migration literature. Seasonal migration due to agricultural downturns is a common phenomenon in developing countries. Using primary data from a cross-sectional household survey from the northwest part of Bangladesh, this study quantifies the factors that influence such migration decisions. Among other results, we find that network effects play a significant role in influencing the migration decision, with the presence of kinsmen at the place of destination having considerable impact. Seasonal migration is a natural choice for individual suffering periodic hardship; however the strict weekly loan repayment rules of Micro-credit Institutes can have an adverse effect on this process, reducing the ability of borrowers to react to a shock. Our result suggests that poor individuals prefer the option of not accessing the micro-credit and opt for temporal seasonal migration during the lean period. The results have numerous potential policy implications, including the design of typical micro-credit schemes.

Will income inequality cause a middle-income trap in Asia? Bruegel Working Paper 2013/06, 10 October 2013

The Asian economy is expected to realise favourable growth during the first half of this century, but there is no guarantee. There is a discussion about a ‘middle-income trap’, which refers to a country that has realised rapid growth to become a middle-income country but is unable to grow further. A middle-income trap could occur not only if there is a delay in shifting the economy toward a productivity-driven structure, but also if there is a worsening of income distribution.We consider this in line with the theories of development economics and through a quantitative analysis. The relationship between income inequality and the trap can be explained by the Kuznets hypothesis and the basic-needs approach. Our quantitative analysis supports the Kuznets hypothesis, and indicates that,although a low-income country can accelerate its economic growth with the worsening of income distribution as an engine, a middle income country would experience a decreasing growth rate if it fails to narrow the income gap between the top and bottom income groups. The results also show that the basic-needs approach is also applicable in practice, and imply that the improvement of access to secondary education is important. A sensitivity analysis for three Asian upper-middle-income countries(China, Malaysia and Thailand) also shows that the situation related to a middle-income trap is worse than average in China and Malaysia. These two countries, according to the result of the sensitivity analysis, should urgently improve access to secondary education and should implement income redistribution measures to develop high-tech industries, before their demographic dividends expire. Income redistribution includes the narrowing of rural urban income disparities, benefits to low-income individuals, direct income transfers, vouchers or free provision of education and health-care, and so on, but none of these are simple to implement.

Addressing internet training issues for people with Parkinson's disease

The Internet enables access to information, services, support and participation in leisure opportunities. Some populations, including people with disabilities, lack access to these opportunities through the Internet. Barriers may include finances, physical access, lack of resources and inaccessible websites. Limited access to Internet training is an additional barrier for people with communication impairments. People with Parkinson's disease (PD) may have difficulty accessing usual Internet training due to high-level language, cognitive and physical limitations. Aphasia-friendly Internet training materials were trialed with this population to investigate if participants could learn to use the Internet and would benefit from Internet training. The tutors' experience was also investigated using qualitative measures. Seven people with PD were matched with volunteer tutors. These pairs met for six Internet training lessons using training materials available as a free download from: http://dexter.shrs.uq.edu.au/cdaru/aphasiagroups/. Pre and post-test Internet skills assessments and attitudinal questionnaires were conducted. Significant differences between pre and post-test scores were found. Participants reached varying levels of independence on Internet tasks. Favorable outcomes were reported by participants, and tutors reported a positive experience. Further investigation is recommended to determine the efficacy of this approach compared with other training avenues and with other communication-impaired populations. Practical and theoretical implications for speech pathology practice are discussed.

An Internet training intervention for people with traumatic brain injury: Barriers and outcomes

Primary objective: To test whether people with cognitive-linguistic impairments following traumatic brain injury could learn to use the Internet using specialized training materials. Research design: Pre-post test design. Methods and procedures: Seven participants were each matched with a volunteer tutor. Basic Internet skills were taught over six lessons using a tutor's manual and a student manual. Instructions used simple text and graphics based on Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5. Students underwent Internet skills assessments and interviews pre- and post-training. Tutors completed a post-training questionnaire. Main outcomes and results: Six of seven participants reached moderate-to-high degrees of independence. Literacy impairment was an expected training barrier; however, cognitive impairments affecting concentration, memory and motivation were more significant. Conclusions: Findings suggest that people with cognitive-linguistic impairments can learn Internet skills using specialized training materials. Participants and their carers also reported positive outcomes beyond the acquisition of Internet skills.

The mirror-ball effect: Investigating channels, messages and participation levels

Journalists have always used equipment which has been generally available in the communities in which they worked. This has been a result both of economy and necessity, since they found they had to connect with their audiences using means that were available to the audience, not just to the sender. Newspapers sold on street corners in the very early media days; SMS and email have become the rule for the early 21st century. This development also admits the possibility of the roles of the communication professional and the community merging during the “public journalism” process, and has become most recently evident in the areas around the Bay of Bengal, struck by the tsunami on December 26, 2004, especially in the Indonesian province of Banda Aceh, and in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where tiny portable radios, featuring solar panels and hand-cranked dynamos, have suddenly become part of a vital news media channel. In this article participant-observation and personal interview techniques are used to record and compare many of the digital channels used by news and information senders up to 2005. It also investigates the level of genuine participation which these new technologies have brought to the communications process.

The importance of forest area and configuration relative to local habitat factors for conserving forest mammals: A case study of koalas in Queensland, Australia

The loss and fragmentation of forest habitats by human land use are recognised as important factors influencing the decline of forest-dependent fauna. Mammal species that are dependent upon forest habitats are particularly sensitive to habitat loss and fragmentation because they have highly specific habitat requirements, and in many cases have limited ability to move through and utilise the land use matrix. We addressed this problem using a case study of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) surveyed in a fragmented rural-urban landscape in southeast Queensland, Australia. We applied a logistic modelling and hierarchical partitioning analysis to determine the importance of forest area and its configuration relative to site (local) and patch-level habitat variables. After taking into account spatial auto-correlation and the year of survey, we found koala occurrence increased with the area of all forest habitats, habitat patch size and the proportion of primary Eucalyptus tree species; and decreased with mean nearest neighbour distance between forest patches, the density of forest patches, and the density of sealed roads. The difference between the effect of habitat area and configuration was not as strong as theory predicts, with the configuration of remnant forest becoming increasingly important as the area of forest habitat declines. We conclude that the area of forest, its configuration across the landscape, as well as the land use matrix, are important determinants of koala occurrence, and that habitat configuration should not be overlooked in the conservation of forest-dependent mammals, such as the koala. We highlight the implications of these findings for koala conservation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does ICT promote democracy and economic freedom in Middle East?

This study investigates the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) expansion on economic and social freedom in the Middle East (Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and United Arab Emirates) for the period of 1996 to 2005. This study is unique as it analyzes the effect of institutional resistance (governments’ restrictions) on ICT development, economic freedom and democracy. The results show that institutional resistance poses a significant negative effect on ICT development and democracy. Results also show that ICT expansion in Middle East has not only been effective in bridging the Digital Divide, but that it had a positive impact on promoting civil liberties and economic freedom in a region that is vulnerable to political, social, and global conflicts.

The impact of Foreign Direct Investment and trade openness on ICT expansion: A comparative analysis of Asia-Pacific and Middle Eastern countries

This study investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow and trade openness on the expansion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for the period of 1996 to 2005, in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions. The results of regression analyses conducted indicate that while dissimilarities exist among the countries included in this study in terms of their level of socio-economic and political development, factors such as trade openness, education and the growth of GDP had a positive impact on their ICT development. While FDI inflow had positive impact on the expansion of ICTs on Asia-Pacific countries its impact on Middle Eastern countries was not statistically significant. The study results also show that governmental intervention in economic activities has a negative impact on ICT expansion in both regions. In the Middle East, regional conflict imposes additional negative impact on FDI inflow and trade openness and consequently, ICT expansion. The regression results show that those countries that implemented liberalization of their ICT sector were able to not only reduce the digital divide with other developed countries, but also increase their operations in both local and global markets.