Shifting cultivation stability and change: Contrasting pathways of land use and livelihood change in Laos

Rural areas in Laos are experiencing a rapid transformation from traditional rice-based shifting cultivation systems to more permanent and diversified market-oriented cultivation systems. The consequences of these changes for local livelihoods are not well known. This study analyzes the impact of shifting cultivation change on the livelihood of rural people in six villages in three districts of northern and central Laos. Focus group discussions and household interview questionnaires were employed for data collection. The study reveals that the shifting cultivation of rice is still important in these communities, but it is being intensified as cash crops are introduced. Changes in shifting cultivation during the past ten years vary greatly between the communities studied. In the northern study sites, it is decreasing in areas with rubber expansion and increasing in areas with maize expansion, while it is stable in the central site, where sugarcane is an important cash crop. The impacts of land use change on livelihoods are also diverse. Cash crop producers hold more agricultural land than non-cash crop producers, and rubber and sugarcane producers have fewer rice shortages than non-producers. In the future, livelihood improvements in the central study site may be replicated in the northern sites, but this depends to a large extent on the economic and agricultural settings into which cash crops and other development opportunities are introduced. Moreover, the expansion of cash crops appears to counteract Lao policies aimed at replacing shifting cultivation areas with forests.

The positive effects of protean career attitude for self-initiated expatriates: Cultural adjustment as a mediator

Purpose – The authors sought to explain why and how protean career attitude might influence self‐initiated expatriates' (SIEs) experiences positively. A mediation model of cultural adjustment was proposed and empirically evaluated. Design/methodology/approach – Data from 132 SIEs in Germany containing measures of protean career attitude, cultural adjustment, career satisfaction, life satisfaction, and intention to stay in the host country were analysed using path analysis with a bootstrap method. Findings – Empirical results provide support for the authors' proposed model: the positive relations between protean career attitude and the three expatriation outcomes (career satisfaction, life satisfaction and intention to stay in the host country) were mediated by positive cross‐cultural adjustment of SIEs. Research limitations/implications – All data were cross‐sectional from a single source. The sample size was small and included a large portion of Chinese participants. The study should be replicated with samples in other destination countries, and longitudinal research is suggested. Practical implications – By fostering both a protean career attitude in skilled SIE employees and their cultural adjustment, corporations and receiving countries could be able to retain this international workforce better in times of talent shortage. Originality/value – This study contributes to the scarce research on the conceptual relatedness of protean career attitude and SIEs, as well as to acknowledging the cultural diversity of the SIE population.

Adjectives in Thai: Implications for a functionalist typology of word classes

Tai languages are often described as “lacking” a major lexical class “adjectives”; accordingly, they and other area languages are frequently cited as evidence against adjectival universality. This article brings the putative lack under examination, arguing that a more complete distributional analysis reveals a pattern: overlap is highest among semantically peripheral adjectives and verbs and in constructions prototypically associated to both classes crosslinguistically, and lowest among semantically core adjectives and verbs and in constructions prototypically associated to only one or the other class. Rather than “lacking” adjectives, data from Thai thus in fact support functional-typological characterizations of adjectival universality such as those of Givón (1984), Croft (2001), and Dixon (2004). Finally, while data from Thai would fail to falsify an adaptation of Enfield's (2004) Lao lexical class-taxonomy (in which adjectives are treated as a verbal subclass) on its own terms, this article argues that in absence of both universally-applicable criteria for the evaluation of categorial taxonomies crosslinguistically and evidence for the cognitive reality of categorial taxonomies so stipulated, even this more limited sense of a “lack” of adjectives in Thai is less radical a challenge to adjectival universality than has sometimes been supposed.

A Framework for Realistic and Systematic Multicast Performance Evaluation

Previous multicast research often makes commonly accepted but unverifed assumptions on network topologies and group member distribution in simulation studies. In this paper, we propose a framework to systematically evaluate multicast performance for different protocols. We identify a series of metrics, and carry out extensive simulation studies on these metrics with different topological models and group member distributions for three case studies. Our simulation results indicate that realistic topology and group membership models are crucial to accurate multicast performance evaluation. These results can provide guidance for multicast researchers to perform realistic simulations, and facilitate the design and development of multicast protocols.

Evaluación cualitativa del proceso de implementación de un programa de actividad física y juego recreativo orientado a la familia en el Partido de la Matanza (2011-2014)

En la presente ponencia se propone presentar los avances de investigación de un estudio caso en el Partido de la Matanza, en tres espacios socio residenciales de villa o asentamientos urbanos, que tuvieron como población objetivo a las familias en situación de vulnerabilidad social. A partir de la observación sistemática de las actividades desarrolladas en el marco del programa, entrevistas en profundidad y grupales a informantes claves involucrados de modo directo en la implementación del programa, se realiza un análisis en paralelo entre el enfoque teórico y metodológico del programa, y las prácticas objetivas desarrolladas en el territorio. Se reconocen los límites de los programas orientados al ?deporte social? para traducir en prácticas concretas elideario del desarrollo humano desde un enfoque de derechos, los desafíos de cobertura y en particular de construcción e implementación de ofertas educativas de calidad en el campo del juego recreativo y el deporte

Breve nota sobre a etimologia de Dioniso

This article aims chiefly to discuss the status quaestionis regarding the etymology of Dionysus. The main theories thereon are analyzed and a new connection is put forward between the name of the god and one of his characteristic activities -dancing. In view of this, some passages of the Rig Veda are pointed out which might strengthen the bond already suggested between Dionysus and the god Indra within the Indo-European tradition

Breve nota sobre a etimologia de Dioniso

This article aims chiefly to discuss the status quaestionis regarding the etymology of Dionysus. The main theories thereon are analyzed and a new connection is put forward between the name of the god and one of his characteristic activities -dancing. In view of this, some passages of the Rig Veda are pointed out which might strengthen the bond already suggested between Dionysus and the god Indra within the Indo-European tradition

Evaluación cualitativa del proceso de implementación de un programa de actividad física y juego recreativo orientado a la familia en el Partido de la Matanza (2011-2014)

En la presente ponencia se propone presentar los avances de investigación de un estudio caso en el Partido de la Matanza, en tres espacios socio residenciales de villa o asentamientos urbanos, que tuvieron como población objetivo a las familias en situación de vulnerabilidad social. A partir de la observación sistemática de las actividades desarrolladas en el marco del programa, entrevistas en profundidad y grupales a informantes claves involucrados de modo directo en la implementación del programa, se realiza un análisis en paralelo entre el enfoque teórico y metodológico del programa, y las prácticas objetivas desarrolladas en el territorio. Se reconocen los límites de los programas orientados al ?deporte social? para traducir en prácticas concretas elideario del desarrollo humano desde un enfoque de derechos, los desafíos de cobertura y en particular de construcción e implementación de ofertas educativas de calidad en el campo del juego recreativo y el deporte

Evaluación cualitativa del proceso de implementación de un programa de actividad física y juego recreativo orientado a la familia en el Partido de la Matanza (2011-2014)

En la presente ponencia se propone presentar los avances de investigación de un estudio caso en el Partido de la Matanza, en tres espacios socio residenciales de villa o asentamientos urbanos, que tuvieron como población objetivo a las familias en situación de vulnerabilidad social. A partir de la observación sistemática de las actividades desarrolladas en el marco del programa, entrevistas en profundidad y grupales a informantes claves involucrados de modo directo en la implementación del programa, se realiza un análisis en paralelo entre el enfoque teórico y metodológico del programa, y las prácticas objetivas desarrolladas en el territorio. Se reconocen los límites de los programas orientados al ?deporte social? para traducir en prácticas concretas elideario del desarrollo humano desde un enfoque de derechos, los desafíos de cobertura y en particular de construcción e implementación de ofertas educativas de calidad en el campo del juego recreativo y el deporte

Breve nota sobre a etimologia de Dioniso

This article aims chiefly to discuss the status quaestionis regarding the etymology of Dionysus. The main theories thereon are analyzed and a new connection is put forward between the name of the god and one of his characteristic activities -dancing. In view of this, some passages of the Rig Veda are pointed out which might strengthen the bond already suggested between Dionysus and the god Indra within the Indo-European tradition

Biomagnetostratigraphy of ODP Leg 189 sites

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)-Quaternary summary biostratigraphies are presented for Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 189 Sites 1168 (West Tasmanian Margin), 1170 and 1171 (South Tasman Rise), and 1172 (East Tasman Plateau). The age models are calibrated to magnetostratigraphy and integrate both calcareous (planktonic foraminifers and nannofossils) and siliceous (diatoms and radiolarians) microfossil groups with organic walled microfossils (organic walled dinoflagellate cysts, or dinocysts). We also incorporate benthic oxygen isotope stratigraphies into the upper Quaternary parts of the age models for further control. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary age-depth model for all deep-penetrating sites of Leg 189 incorporating updated shipboard biostratigraphic data with new information obtained during the 3 yr since the cruise. In this respect we provide a report of work to November 2003, not a final synthesis of the biomagnetostratigraphy of Leg 189, yet we present the most complete integrated age model for these sites at this time. Detailed information of the stratigraphy of individual fossil groups, paleomagnetism, and isotope data are presented elsewhere. Ongoing efforts aim toward further integration of age information for Leg 189 sites and will include an attempt to correlate zonation schemes for all the major microfossil groups and detailed correlation between all sites.