International Rural Sociology Association - IRSA
| WG | Title |
| 1 | Poster Session Envisioning Prosperous Rural Futures in a Globalizing World |
| 2 | Reshaping Natures: Social Impacts of Environmental Change on Rural Communities |
| 3 | Alternative forms of agri-food system development in the context of food system industrialization |
| 4 | Rural Women's Networks in South-Kivu 'Referuski' |
| 5 | A 'Parallel and Contrast' study of Natural Environment and Resources Use in the Early Modern Villages: the commons and communities in Japanese and English rural societies, 1590-1870 |
| 6 | Technology Adoption in Indian Rural Areas |
| 7 | Role of Private Sector in Agricultural Marketing of India |
| 8 | Restructuration of dairy farming: Technologies, organisational forms and survival strategies in milk production |
| 9 | Anthropology of the professionals of nature |
| 10 | Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Asia |
| 11 | Production Contracts in the Agri-Food System |
| 12 | Rethinking Developmental Discourse in the Contemporary Rural Societies of Asia |
| 13 | The OECD's 'New Rural Paradigm: Policies and Governance for Rural Development' |
| 14 | Scientific Discourse, Governance and the Agri-Food System |
| 15 | State Versus Civil Society: Towards Sustainable Development |
| 16 | Population Change and Rural Society |
| 17 | Demographic issues of Rural Subpopulation: Fertility, Migration and Mortality |
| 18 | Food, agriculture and rural governance in multi-level systems. The role of reflexivity, networks and multifunctionality |
| 19 | Endogeneous Development Strategies for Rural Revitalization in East Asia |
| 20 | Rural Health Issues in Asia and Pacific Rims |
| 21 | Rural Food Experiences |
| 22 | Transformations of Cooperatives during the WTO Era: New Roles, Survival Strategies, and Future Prospects |
| 23 | Territorial Development, Sustainability and Social Dynamics: Experiences from South America |
| 24 | The future of traditional villages in Asia-Pacific at the beginning of 3rd Millennium |
| 25 | Embodying the Rural |
| 26 | The Role of Rural Tourism in Building Rural Future: New Questions and Challenges |
| 27 | Gender Inequality in the Indian Rural Environment |
| 28 | Historical and contemporary perspectives on rural water governance |
| 29 | Ethnic dimensions of rural social change and development |
| 30 | Networks, Systems, Structures and Chains: The Search for the Public Good in Rural Studies |
| 31 | Change and Development of Rural Society in Korea |
| 32 | Integration - at what price? Uplands in Southeast Asia and beyond |
| 33 | Growth of Consumer Culture and Rural Community |
| 34 | An Evaluation of the Roles of women farmers in East Asia: A comparative study between Korea and Japan |
| 35 | Mitigating Impacts of Climate Changes on Rural Agriculture Communities |
| 36 | Rhabilitation of Coastal Agriculture Resources: Lessons From the South Asian Tsunami |
| 37 | Past and Present of East Asian Rice Culture |
Working Group 1
Poster Session
Envisioning Prosperous Rural Futures in a Globalizing World
Convenors: Yoshio Kawamura and Raymond A. Jussaume Jr.
The co-chairs of the poster session invite posters on any of the World Congresses' themes. The overarching theme of the XII World Congress of Rural Sociology will be to explore the economic, socio-cultural, political, and environmental context, and challenges, facing rural communities throughout the world. Particular emphasis will be placed on uncovering strategies and mechanisms that rural citizens might utilize to engage in a self-determined form of development. Subsequently, congress papers will pay particular attention to the possibilities for rural communities to adapt to and/or resist the negative aspects of globalizing tendencies.
Amongst the sub-themes which might be pursued under this overarching theme are:
Working Group 2
Reshaping Natures: Social Impacts of Environmental Change on Rural Communities
Convenor: Henrique de Barros
Technological change has always provoked changes in the way communities steward their local environment. Over the last 30 years, in particular, the speed of change has raised critical issues on use and conservation of local natural resources - e.g. soil degradation, salinization of drinking and irrigation water, deterioration of coastal/estuarine fisheries, lost of biodiversity. Those changes have become critical in developing countries for either sustaining minimal standards of living or even creating critical limits for sustaining rural life. An immediate example is the agrarian reform in Northeast Brazil, where most the land offered for settlements was exhausted by centuries of intensive cultivation. In other areas, international markets have imposed the intensification of resource use which may damage sustainability in a near future. This session is concerned with the way communities are dealing with scarcity and deterioration of the natural resources that once formed the base of their traditional way of life. For this session we invite papers that may enlighten discussion on a variety of topics, including:
Working Group 3
Alternative forms of agri-food system development in the context of food system industrialization
Convenors: Virginie Diaz Pedregal and Chul-Kyoo Kim
All over the world, traditional agri-food systems are disturbed by globalization and the opening of national markets to foreign economies. Consequences are sometimes dramatic for local communities who cannot really compete with multinationals' practices in the field of food production. Nevertheless, in various cases, the rural population and civil society manage to create alternative forms of agri-food system that try to be economically viable. Organic production, fair trade, labels of origin, direct sales from producer to consumer, etc. are examples of resistance to the industrialization of the food system. Public and private quality-labels are multiplying to ensure consumers' trust in these "alternative" markets. Trust is indeed a key component in the creation of these alternative forms of production and sales. Most of these systems rely on the concepts of relational proximity, democratization and direct participation of producers and consumers in the food processing system. They usually contest the functioning of the conventional market and underline its lack of social welfare. But are these alternative forms of agri-food systems really independent from the industrialization of the food system? Who controls them? To what extent do they achieve their aims? What are the consequences of their implementation for rural development and social communities?
This session encourages the production of work relying on field research experience linked to theoretical considerations, in different social science disciplines. Priority will be given to papers based on international comparisons of alternative forms of agri-food systems development. We would also like to invite papers dealing with new types of agricultural production, distribution, and consumption. This could cover a wide range of issues such as community-supported agriculture, farmers market, community gardens, community kitchens, and comsumer cooperatives.
Working Group 4
Rural Women's Networks in South-Kivu 'Referuski'
Convenor: Adeline Nsimire
We are an organization of rural women's networks in South-Kivu known as "Referuski." We were established in the Province of South Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "Referuski" is actually constituted of 53 member organizations that are collective in character and that have a strong synergistic relationship with one another. These rural women's organizations are based in eight rural territories within South Kivu. This session will provide a range of papers that discuss and analyze the nature of these women's networks.
Working Group 5
A 'Parallel and Contrast' study of Natural Environment and Resources Use in the Early Modern Villages: the commons and communities in Japanese and English rural societies, 1590-1870
Convenor: Motoyasu Takahashi
This session is based a 'parallel and contrast' study of the use of the natural environment and resources in early modern villages, in particular focusing on the utilization of the fields and commons in Japanese and English rural communities in the period of the growth of the market economy. Recently economic historians have been paying more attention to the environment, against the background of the general increase in global interest in environmental issues. However, there are few empirical studies in on how the lands were actually used including the transformation of land (rice paddy), the clearance of the mountains for cultivation or the use of land in the mountains. Such development of the cultivated land is closely connected with the market economy, and thus it possible to make comparisons between Japanese and English villages including Willingham, Cambs. This session will feature papers based on studies of land use in Japan and England.
Working Group 6
Technology Adoption in Indian Rural Areas
Convenor: Ugrasen Pandey
Modern Technology provides a channel of communication between Rural and Urban centres. In terms of social and economic structure of the village, the chances of acquiring high technology are differentially spread among different land owning groups. Thus, there is a need for reorientation of both research and extension to function is an appropriate mechanism for greater availability of Technology products, services and information without any transmission loss keeping in view both bio-physical as well as socio-economic resources of millions of the farm families in the country. The basic idea has been to bring the scientists and farmers into close contact and to introduce appropriate technologies that facilitate income generation. in the fields of agriculture and allied enterprises.
Researchers, policy makers and development professionals have begun to recognize the value of such Knowledge. The key features of such indigenous knowledge are reducing risks, affordability, ready availability, compatibility with current practices, visible results within a reasonable amount of time and over all satisfying multiple need. More and more documentation of such indigenous knowledge resources will provide a base to the agricultural researchers and blending with the research information.
The present session will focus attention on three issues:
Working Group 7
Role of Private Sector in Agricultural Marketing of India
Convenor: Ugrasen Pandey
India's agricultural achievements since the Green revolution in the 1960s have been significant. Major improvements have occurred in productivity, land irrigation, seed quality and use of fertilizer. Fed by 50 million hectares of irrigated land, India's 182.7 million hectares for crop cultivation represents the largest acreage of cropland in the world. FAO figures indicate that India has around 11% of the world's land under agriculture. Agricultural production has grown at an average annual rate of around 3.5% over the last five years, outpacing annual population growth of about 1.9% and accounts for 20% of India's total exports.
Today, the major bottlenecks confronting the agricultural sector in India include poor yields, lack of post-harvest infrastructure, poor utilization of land, low added value and poor quality of packaging and presentation. Of these, the most significant problem is the poor yield per hectare. In a country that needs to feed nearly a billion people, a mere percentage point change in yield will have a significant impact. Another major constraint is the fact that the agricultural sector in India consists mainly of smallholdings, with average farm size having fallen even further in recent years to a current estimated average size of 1-2 hectares.
This session will focus on the steps being taken to overcome these current problems. This will include discussion of the growing awareness, in both the private and government sector, of distortions caused by current legislation should facilitate the process of the start of another revolution, the so-called Food Revolution, as well as how future government policies will focus on further developing the food processing industry and to increase the efficiency of the agricultural sector.
Working Group 8
Restructuration of dairy farming: Technologies, organisational forms and survival strategies in milk production
Convenors: Reidar Almås and Egil Petter Stræte
The structural problems in agricultural production of industrial economies have been discussed for more than a century, i.e. how to combine an effective production with decent outcome to farmers and to maintain the number of farmers that contribute to an economically and socially sustainable rural activity. Through introduction of new technologies, scientific knowledge and economies of scale, large and effective enterprises with less use of human labour will prevail. However, this has only partly happened. For the most part, farmers are still individual or family-based, being part-time or full-time. However, forces of globalisation - like increased mobility of food and labour - today challenge the farmers in a way that often requires new strategies to maintain a sustainable rural activity. Some of these strategies may represent interesting strategies of resistance or broader and diverse 'paradigm shifts' in creating real socially and economically sustainable alternatives for farming. In this working group we want to emphasise such strategies and especially new organisational forms in farming. Papers on dairy farming are especially welcome, due to this industry's importance in many countries. One example of these new organisational forms in dairy farming is joint farming, i.e. farmers who join neighbours or relatives in joint enterprises. You will find them in Asia (Japan, Korea, India, Bangladesh), in Australia, and in Europe (France, Belgium, Norway, Ireland, Switzerland). Other organisational forms may also rise up. We propose a working group discussion on these structural and organisational issues, both from empirical and theoretical perspectives.
Working Group 9
Anthropology of the professionals of nature
Convenors: L. Dupré and E. Faugère
In this session, we propose to raise the issue of the nature/societies interface. It emphasises an understudied field in Anthropology: the professional relationships to nature, and the way they have been redefined for about fifteen years in the signatory countries to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This international agreement contributed largely to the preservation of biodiversity being brought on to the political scene, proposing, along with other important international agreements, a whole list of injunctions and/or normalisations on the use and preservation of natural resources.
The purpose of this panel is to bring together a wide range of contrasting case studies, without any geographical restriction. The comparison between them will allow the apprehension of the various forms of transformation, appropriation or contestation associated with these international environmental injunctions, in the countries of the South as well as with those of the North. It also aims to explain more accutely the stakes, the contradictions and the political, social, economic and cultural intricacies of these reconfigurations for the professionals of nature.
By 'professionals of nature', we mean every person whose main activity is to scientifically study, manage, preserve or exploit nature. The people are thus, natural scientists, managers of protected natural areas, conservation NGOs, farmers, fishermen or breeders, but also companies exploiting renewable natural resources, such as the seed industries, pharmaceutical and cosmetic firms, etc. The point of this panel is rooted in a paradoxical situation: on the one hand, the knowledge and practices on nature, while diversifying, tend towards an increasing normalisation, notably planned by public policies, which disrupt their forms; on the other hand, one is responsible for and values wild nature, though its savagery should be pacified and managed. This paradox nurtures a reshaped way of thinking - possibly of even enchanting - the juncture between natural and cultural diversity.
Such perspectives urge the adoption of a broader perspective merging geographical (how are things there?) and historical (what about colonial history?) dimensions to clarify the anthropological issues at stake in these professional relationships to nature.
Working Group 10
Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development in Asia
Convenors: Douglas H. Constance and Kotaro Ohara
Papers are invited that discuss the issue of sustainable agriculture and rural development in Asia. The purpose of this session is to bring researchers together from Asia to share their research and discover possible opportunities for collaborative research. Papers can cover theoretical, applied, or policy oriented topics but should focus on the link between sustainable agriculture and rural development in Asia. Such papers might cover but are not limited to topics such as sustainable agriculture, rural development, slow food, local food systems, community supported agriculture, farmers markets, government policy, renewable energy, fair trade, whole farming systems, cooperatives, etc.
Working Group 11
Production Contracts in the Agri-Food System
Convenors: Douglas H. Constance and David Burch
Production contracts are an increasingly common feature of the global agri-food system. They are a key component of the global agri-food value chains that link production and consumption around the world. Researchers have noted that while contracts provide flexible accumulation options to the organizers of the global value chains, that the social relations between contractor and contractee often contain asymmetrical power dimensions. This purpose of this proposed session to bring together researchers to discuss and document the extent of the use of contracts in the global agri-food system and the implications these trends have for power relations along the global value chains. Papers are invited that deal with all aspects of contract production across all the agri-food commodities.
Working Group 12
Rethinking Developmental Discourse in the Contemporary Rural Societies of Asia
Convenor: Eswarappa Kasi
Developmental debates are progressively attempting to look at the grassroots systems of ideas, knowledge and discourses which alter the main body of knowledge. In order to understand the dynamics of development in the contemporary rural societies, we need to re-address or rethink certain themes which are very essential for further clarification and dissemination of the knowledge to local societies. Thus, there is a need to address different themes which include Poverty, Development, Vulnerability and its linkages with Civil Society agencies. It covers the range of theoretical and empirical understandings in the field of inter-disciplinary works of scholars from across the disciplines. It emphasizes on the need of relooking at the contemporary Rural Asian societies, in view of recent studies and debates on Poverty and vulnerability, as a way of rethinking development and to face the new problems in the 21st Century Asia. Thus, it makes a link between field level works with the theory and becomes a full fledged analysis and give a new look in the developmental paradigms. Each scholar shall explain both theoretical as well as empirical understanding of the phenomenon into their own experiences and analyse their thinking in their broad themes. All the themes are basically is a kind of empirical and theoretical, which allowed for considering to further debate and discussion. The proposed session attempts to discuss and also theorize the pragmatic concepts and issues related to marginal groups in contemporary Asian society. It has the following sub-themes: a) Conceptual and Methodological Discourses of Poverty and Vulnerability; b) How Poverty and Vulnerability have a bearing on the Lives of the Marginal Communities; c) The Role of Civil Society agencies in amelioration of the poverty and vulnerability; and d) Emerging trends in the analysis of poverty and vulnerability.
Working Group 13
The OECD's 'New Rural Paradigm: Policies and Governance for Rural Development'
Convenors: Mark Shucksmith and Lynda Chesire
In 2006, the OECD produced a report, entitled The New Rural Paradigm, which outlined a need for a change in rural policy making. This pressure for change emerged through recognition of the perceived failure of financial redistribution and agricultural-based policies to harness the potential of new economic engines for growth in rural regions across the OECD. In response, the OECD identified a new, multi-sectoral, place-based approach to rural development which seeks to identify and exploit the varied development potential of rural regions through new industries such as rural tourism, manufacturing or ICT. At the heart of this new paradigm are two fundamental shifts: a focus on places rather than sectors; and on investments rather than subsidies. Such an approach, it was argued, is less 'defensive' that previous policies in that it concentrates less on attempts to limit decline in rural areas and more upon seizing new opportunities to exploit the unused economic potential of rural areas and to enhance regional competitiveness. In addition, it was acknowledged that such an approach would require the development of new collective governance arrangements to better integrate a broad range of state and non-state actors, horizontally at both the central and local levels, and vertically across all tiers of government.
For this working group, we invite papers that broadly address the theme of the 'New Rural Paradigm' (Copies of The New Rural Paradigm: Policies and Governance for Rural Development (2006) are available at www.sourceoecd.org/regionaldevelopment/9264023909). New challenges are likely to arise from this approach, and the implications of this strategy for the future well-being of all rural areas needs to be carefully considered. For this reason, we encourage papers that address the following sorts of issues: a) Theoretical or critical analyses of the assumptions and practices underpinning the New Rural Paradigm, b) Reviews of relevant rural development policies that relate to the concept; c) Strategies for evaluating rural development policies and the formulation of appropriate sets of indicators; d) New modes of governing rural development, such as local partnerships and inter-governmental collaboration; e) Changing power relations in rural development, including differential access to resources and decision-making along lines of gender, social class, ethnic group etc.; f) Questions of inclusion/exclusion, particular for rural regions where opportunities for new industry development are limited, and where poverty levels are high; and d)Alternative development paradigms.
Working Group 14
Scientific Discourse, Governance and the Agri-Food System
Convenors: Elizabeth Ransom, Gianluca Brunori, and Masashi Tachikawa
With the globalization of agri-food markets and the rise of international and regional governing bodies, participants in the food system increasingly have new scientific requirements governing their food production, processing and retailing enterprises. Depending upon ones location in the agri-food system these requirements pose opportunities, challenges, and/or subjugation of weaker actors by more powerful agri-food participants. Far from being value free - scientific discourse and science based agri-food regulations remain contested terrain between communities, nations and regions of the world. In part, due to competing scientific discourse surrounding recent debates (i.e., genetically modified organisms and global warming) and food safety scares (i.e., BSE and Foot and Mouth Disease) the communication channels between science, social movements, regulatory bodies, private industry and the media set in motion new alliances and new dynamics between various actors and institutions involved in agri-food trade. This session seeks papers that further explore the competing scientific paradigms utilized within agri-food trade and the new alliances and dynamics set in motion by these requirements.
Authors are invited to submit a proposal addressing one or more of the following topics related to agri-food trade: a) The types of scientific techniques employed (risk assessment, third party certification, etc.); b) The role of public/consumer opinion and how such opinions are integrated into scientific discourse and governance; c) What values are represented in scientific discourse (economic efficiency, safety, civic engagement); d) The role of public versus private governance as it relates to scientific discourse and regulations; e) Institutional frameworks for constructing, implementing and enforcing scientific governance across different regions; f) The role of social movements in setting the agenda for scientific discourse and regulation of agri-food products; g) How agribusinesses react to changing definitions of quality, environment, health, and food safety; h) The role of scientific discourse in communication about food; i) The impact of new food requirements on local/national production and consumption systems; j) Alternative food standards, alternative food networks and their impact on the food system; k) Participatory standard setting and certification; and l) The role of experts in the governance of the food systems.
Working Group 15
State Versus Civil Society: Towards Sustainable Development
Convenor: Professor A Karuppiah
By keeping view of the central theme of the Congress to explore the economic, socio-cultural, political, and environmental context, and challenges, facing rural communities throughout the world to uncover strategies and mechanisms that rural citizens can utilize to engage in a self-determined form of development, authors are invited to submit abstracts to the session Social Capital and Sustainable Development.
The cultural characteristic of Social Capital within the framework of James Coleman is not only that of the hallmark of moral community but also as that of the community being activated by trust and social and interpersonal network. The societies in the globalised world have divergence of the possession of these characteristics namely of that of the LOW TRUST and HIGH TRUST. It is said that communities like US and Japan are characterized with HIGH TRUST on the one hand and Taiwan, Italy, and France with LOW TRUST on the other hand.
Further, there is of sociological significance on the dispersal or concentration of political power otherwise called as State versus Civil Society to promote development potentials. In a different way, Putnam has analysed through a mapping of the divergent characteristics civic volunteerism in North and South Italy and related them with the success and failure of the administrative and economic achievements. In a different way the Thatcher era and the governance found that there is too much for Governance and also too much of people to be governed on their too much interest and saw a birth of new democracy with a social market and economy by building alliance with community networks called as social networks. In India, the issue of Special Economic Zones and the alienation of the farm lands with the patronage of State is yet another illustration to usher in Social capital approach to the rural social mechanism to contest or to negotiate with the issues of local development. Also, there are questions and debate between leftist and rightist scholars over Market versus State failure ultimately giving in a form and shape of divergent Social Capital approach.
With these frameworks as limited illustrations, the call is made to the Individual scholars from across the international spectrum for papers to look into the relevance of these as key to the success of the Globalised economy, Rural Community and Social Capital, with all the strategies and mechanisms that "rural citizens can utilize in sustaining a self-determined form of development."
Working Group 16
Population Change and Rural Society
Convenors: Dudley Poston , Nina Glasgow, and David L. Brown
Changes in population size and composition are inextricably linked with changes in local community structure. Changes in fertility levels, the force of mortality, as well as the net direction and selectivity of migration affect the number, age-sex composition, stock of human capital, cultural background, and other aspects of local populations. These changes pose both challenges and opportunities for local development and for promoting social and economic well-being. In return, changes in social and economic organization at the local level attract, retain, or repulse persons, provide economic security which affect fertility decisions, and provide support for infrastructure and institutions that affect morbidity and mortality. This session will focus on the interrelationships between population change and rural society in a wide variety of national settings in both developed and less developed regions of the world. The working group is especially interested in papers focusing on: (a) rural aging in an international context, (b)the rural aspects of migration and geographic mobility in a globalized world, (c) how population dynamics affect and are affected by poverty and social inequality, (d) the impacts of population change on land use and natural resources, and (e) how macro-structural transformations affect demographic parameters at the sub-national level, (f) how to account for changes in population composition when evaluating the outcomes of health related social programs including those targeted to HIV/AIDS reduction, and (g) how changing gender roles and norms affect fertility [and migration] decision making.
Working Group 17
Demographic issues of Rural Subpopulation: Fertility, Migration and Mortality
Convenors: Mary Ann Davis and Dudley L. Poston, Jr.
Demographic destinies of rural areas, particularly population changes, affect agro-food production and consumption. Globally life expectancies are increasing and fertility rates are dropping. These increasing life expectancies raise issues of how the population dynamics will affect food production, occupational structure, health care structure, and the educational structure of nations with aging populations. The changing sex ratio at birth in Asia has further implications as to who will be the physical carers for the aging populations in the next decades. Will the carers be female? Will they be immigrants? This session will focus on these demographic dynamics and their policy implications.
Papers are invited that deal with demographic issues, including but not limited to: fertility: rural and urban differences; aging and life expectancy issues; rural emigration and migration issues; gendered migration; rural marriage patterns; caretakers for the elderly; retirement and recreational land use vs. agricultural land use; and health care accessibility and mortality in rural areas.
Working Group 18
Food, agriculture and rural governance in multi-level systems. The role of reflexivity, networks and multifunctionality
Convenors: Peter H. Feindt and Philip Lowe
In a globalising world food production is increasingly governed by public and private actors in international and transnational arenas. With trade in food growing, rules for national food safety and food security policies are on the agenda of international negotiations. Because of the potential consequences of changes in food production patterns for rural livelihoods, resource management, ecology and landscape preservation, state and non-state actors bring diverse policy goals to these arenas. In many countries the governance of food production is also linked to deeply entrenched national agriculture and rural policies. Competition, climate change and biosecurity issues also influences the setting of public and private regulatory standards, or strategies to meet basic nutritional demands in the context of the UN Millennium Goals transcend national borders. At the same time, national publics, governments, producer and consumer groups are not prepared to hand over complete control over food, agriculture and rural policies to supra-national bodies.
As a consequence a complicated netting of public and private, national, international and transnational governance arrangements is emerging. They include market, state, public and associational modes of cooperation. This workshop aims to address three questions: 1) How can these new and emerging multi-level arrangements be theorized (conceptual perspective); 2) How are they governed, and by whom (empirical perspective); and 3) How should they develop (normative and practical policy perspective)?
We especially, but not exclusively invite papers that make use of the concepts of reflexivity, network governance and multifunctionality or discuss their analytical value to address these questions.
Working Group 19
Endogeneous Development Strategies for Rural Revitalization in East Asia
Convenors: Larry Burmeister and Dr. Chung Ki-Wan
This working group session explores possibilities for endogeneous strategies for rural/agricultural development in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. These three countries are chosen for a series of cross-country case comparisons of endogeneous rural development issues because of important similarities in resource endowments, historical agricultural development trajectories, and current rural/agricultural sector adjustment problems. In response to the current hegemony of neoliberal political economy governance modes that mandate state fiscal austerity, development studies have taken a decided turn toward local-level, grassroots-initiated alternatives to state interventionist development models. It is our contention that understanding 21st Century rural/agricultural development opportunities and constraints in these three countries will be advanced by comparative sociological analyses of locally-initiated development responses. The working group seeks to understand how local actors' are now engaged in development efforts to enhance the socioeconomic viability of their locales and what these current efforts reveal about the potential to use endogeneous local resources to build upon what is now being done. In addition, we are confident that the working group's focus on building a more viable rural society from the husbanding of local resources will help us better understand complementary roles of state-level, and even international-level, efforts in an effective rural revitalization division of labor. While the rural/agricultural development dilemma seems more acute in these East Asian societies, many of the problems are endemic in many other advanced industrial societies. Thus, we are confident that lessons to be learned in our work group activity have broader cross-country applicability.
Working Group 20
Rural Health Issues in Asia and Pacific Rims
Convenor: Jin Young Choi
Human health world-wide has improved due to advancements in medicine and technology. However, to achieve further improvement in population health, increasing attention has been paid to issues of health and health care disparities in rural communities. While the characteristics of rural health are often defined by geographic space, the sociological, demographic, cultural, and economic components of rural areas create different entities than their urban counterparts. These social factors determine the health care needs and health behaviors and outcomes of rural residents. The proposed session is aimed at bringing together research that addresses specific health and health care issues and their social impacts from a multiplicity of dimensions. It is also intended to discuss the implications for policy and community planning at the community and government levels. Papers that deal with a comprehensive range of rural health issues in Asia and Pacific Rim countries are invited.
Working Group 21
Rural Food Experiences
Convenors: Tracey Scarpello , Jason Middleton, and Dr. Fiona Poland
Whilst rural areas are responsible for production of the world's food, paradoxically, the food choices available to rural communities may be suboptimal, and nutrition and health compromised.
Currently, across the globe, rural areas face unprecedented challenges due to swelling population levels and changing dietary expectations, against a backdrop of diminishing natural resources and a deterioration of food service provision. Furthermore, the pace of change is set to escalate, due to the requirements of globalisation and predicted climate changes.
How can food access and availability be improved in rural areas? How can rural communities work more closely together to improve their food choices? How can food producers, manufacturers and retailers improve their practices and enhance rural nutrition and health?
Rural sociologists, policy makers and service providers must join forces with rural dwellers in order to fully understand their food requirements. It is time for rural communities to embrace their environment, improve the use of local resources and promote sustainable healthier food choices. This session will investigate the food-related experiences of rural dwellers across the world, and explore scenarios for the future.
Working Group 22
Transformations of Cooperatives during the WTO Era: New Roles, Survival Strategies, and Future Prospects
Convenors: Keiko Tanaka and Yong-Ju Choi
Historically, agricultural (or farmers) cooperatives have played multiple roles in agrarian political economies. Their governance networks usually extend from the national to the community level; their activities often aim to provide political, economic, and social support to farmers and rural residents, including purchasing and marketing of agricultural products, implementation of government regulations/policies, and administration of healthcare and educational programs. However, a rapid decline in the rural and farming populations, neo-liberal policy for restructuring the agricultural sector, and the increased globalization of agricultural trade and food production have forced many countries to reexamine how these cooperatives may be able to remain a meaningful vehicle for shaping agriculture and food systems. This working group will compare experiences of cooperatives in diverse countries in the world to cope with challenges and survive in the WTO era. Potential issues to be examined in this group may include, but are not limited to: 1) Institutional and regulatory reforms of agricultural/farmers cooperatives to improve their capacity in global agricultural production and trade under the WTO framework; 2) New forms of cooperatives that have recently become vibrant in the agrifood system (e.g., consumers' or food cooperatives); 3) New types of alliance between cooperatives (e.g., producer and consumer cooperatives) or between cooperatives and civic organizations (e.g., farmers cooperatives and environmental organizations); 4) Political and cultural debates surrounding the social significance of cooperatives in the agrifood system; 5) Prospects and challenges for cooperatives to address public concerns with environmental sustainability, food safety, public health, aging; and 6) New strategies of cooperatives to support farmers to stay on their family farms or to assist new farmers to start their family farms.
Working Group 23
Territorial Development, Sustainability and Social Dynamics: Experiences from South America
Convenors: Gabriela Litre and Hermes Morales
For some years now, several countries from South America have been adopting innovative public policies to foster territorialized rural development strategies. These policies are frequently the result of the incentives provided by international institutions devoted to research and development, such as the Interamerican IICA and IDB, as well as by the scientific cooperation services from European countries (i.e.the Leader Program). These South American countries are executing decentralization and development regionalization processes, often accompanied by participative and empowering dynamics targeting agricultural and rural organizations. This issue is one of the most recent fields of study of the 35 reasearch teams from South America and Europe working in the context of the SMART network. The SMART network (SMART standing for 'Strategic Monitoring of South American Regional Transformations') has two main objectives: the first one is to generate information about agricultural dynamics and its environmental impacts over the different eco-regions in South America. The second one is to create innovative tools to monitor land use change in the continent. Our proposal for session is to examine - through a socio-environmental and socio-political approach - the impacts and the transformations resulting from those territorial development processes in the Southern Cone. We intend to characterize these new territorial dynamics from three angles: production systems, organizational and institutional mechanisms and environmental impacts. Our working group will gather contributions, case studies, comparative studies and methodological proposals based on three themes: i) The interaction between social movements and territorialized public policies; ii) Sustainability and territorial dynamics at a local scale, iii) Productive Dynamics and Territoriality.
Working Group 24
The future of traditional villages in Asia-Pacific at the beginning of 3rd Millennium
Convenor: László Kovács
At the turn of the Millennium, the major cities of the Asia-Pacific region were experiencing fast economic growth, attracting a considerable labour force from rural settings. Income inequalities are visible between rural and urban areas, and economic and societal disparities are tangible, involving far-reaching sociological consequences. Deviant behaviours due to status inconsistency and lack of social control can be observed among migrants from rural areas to cities; poverty and hopelessness are frequent among people living in underdeveloped, remote areas. The work presented in this working group seeks to find how the cultural traditions, habits and customs of peoples living in rural areas of Asia-Pacific might be maintained in the face of the globalisation and economic development of these regions. We seek case studies, sociological, economic, and demographic analyses on the following topics: a) Differences in fertility and mortality in rural and urban settings; b) Income-related (health) inequalities; c) Trends and consequences of rural-urban migration flows; d) Comparison of Asia Pacific and European urban-rural migration trends: e) Schooling in rural and remote areas; f) Rural and regional economic sustainability, the future of agriculture; g) Perseverance of rural social spaces; h) Social, economic and environmental relationships; i) Policy interventions reducing poverty and hunger in rural settings; j) Rural cultural identity and lifestyles; k) Local consequences of global economical development; and l) Cohesion and solidarity among people with rural roots. Papers that focus on a comparative, intercultural, cross-national analyses are strongly encouraged.
Working Group 25
Embodying the Rural
Convenors: Lia Bryant and Barbara Pini
In contrast to the broader field of sociology, the body has largely remained under theorised and unincorporated in analyses of gender in rural settings. However, in order to more fully understand power relations and explain both women's and men's locations in agriculture and rural communities it is necessary to develop understandings of power relations as embodied.
Aspects of embodiment that have been under-researched in gender and rural social science include for example, the recreational body, sexualities, ethnic and Indigenous bodies, the body and (dis)abilites, the ageing bodies and the sensory body. There is also a need for further investigations of the labouring body both in relation to agricultural and non-agricultural work (e.g. mining, food processing) just as there is room for examining the implications of new technologies (e.g. computers, biotechnology) for rural bodies. In addition, there is a need to safety and the environment.
Working Group 26
The Role of Rural Tourism in Building Rural Future: New Questions and Challenges
Convenor: Alenka Verbole
Rural areas and their communities are no longer meeting only food needs of the population, but provide opportunities for new income generation opportunities and livelihoods by meeting recreational and leisure needs. These developments put demands and pressure on both rural communities and their environs.
This session would like to address the phenomena of rural tourism development and its role in building rural futures. Papers exploring and discussing different challenges of rural tourism development within the context of building rural future are welcome. In particular, we seek papers on: a) the theoretical and conceptual issues which contribute to the sociology of rural tourism; b) rural tourism as an innovation in rural areas; c) different forms of tourism in rural areas, including new ideas and practices for and around rural tourism and small-scale vs. mass tourism; d) the role of social and cultural and human capital in the development of rural tourism; e) development patterns and the impacts of developing tourism in rural areas; f) rural development policy analysis and assessment of national legislation and regulations that can promote or hinder local development; g) comparative analysis of rural tourism development; and h) past and present challenges and problems of rural tourism development in East and West, North and South.
Working Group 27
Gender Inequality in the Indian Rural Environment
Convenor: Sumana V. Pandey
Gender stratification is evident in every culture and society in the world. Some things are masculine and others are feminine, some work is women?s work, some responsibilities are for men and/or women. The differential evaluation of people?'s social worth primarily on the basis of sex is the key aspect of gender stratification. Such views become a characteristic of the entire social system leading to unequal distribution of power, prestige and property. Gender inequality affects every aspect of culture and society. Its affect is most prominent in family structure, the education system and the economy. Just like social class systems, gender is a structural feature of society.
As a result of gender stratification the universal status of men is higher than women. Therefore men enjoy a greater allocation of societal resources of power, prestige, and property. The notion that a women?s place was at home was soon forgotten. Women now worked in heavy metal and chemical factories, in banks, businesses and civil service and women also worked as engineers, electricians, bus drivers and plumbers. Such jobs were unthinkable for women before the advent of the WWI. Furthermore, India was a nation which had deep routed cultural traditions nature such as the concept of Dowry, Sati, Female circumcision, and above all women were the property of men and men had freedom to treat their women in any way they wished to do so.
This study will focus on five types of inequality found in the rural areas of Rajasthan such as:
1. Natality inequality.
2. Education inequality.
3. Ownership inequality.
4. Household inequality.
5. Decision- taking inequality.
Though contributions, we will try to find out some facts regarding the type of gender relations in the families of rural India.
Working Group 28
Historical and contemporary perspectives on rural water governance
Convenor: Andreas Neef
Current water management and policy issues in rural areas of both industrialized and developing countries are strongly linked to historical forms of rural water governance. Comparative historical analysis is increasingly being recognized as a valuable approach to study the evolution of water governance. Lessons learned from earlier rural societies can help to understand past and present institutional arrangements for rural water management, current water conflicts and future challenges for multi-stakeholder water governance in many parts of the world.
Of particular interest are papers that address the following questions:
1. How did new paradigms of water management, such as integrated water resource management (IWRM) and polycentric water governance, develop and how are their participatory principles implemented in countries/regions with different legal and administrative histories of water governance?
2. What are past and present driving forces (e.g. colonial legacies, state legislation) for changes in collective action and local institutional arrangements of rural water governance?
3. What have been the links between a strong state and irrigated agriculture in classical 'hydraulic societies', for instance in Southeast and East Asia?
4. How did competition and conflict in rural water management and conflict resolution mechanisms evolve over time?
5. What is the historical and present role of the rural sector in transboundary water governance issues?
Working Group 29
Ethnic dimensions of rural social change and development
Convenor: Branka Krivokapic-Skoko
Traditionally, the topics of ethnicity and diversity have tended to be more associated with the urban settings. There are recent indicators of shifts among scholars and policy makers in terms of recognising multiculturalism, ethnicity, social cohesion, and intercultural exchange within the rural environment. For instance, the focus on diversity in rural areas has been signposted by a considerable debate in Journal of Rural Studies as well as by some British scholars (see Cloke and Little 1997) who examined relations between 'otherness', marginalisation, ethnic landscape, and rurality.
The immigrants have transformed the rural landscapes through the construction of public and private spaces expressing their cultural heritage. These sites can also significantly impact the dynamics of social cohesion and intercultural relations in multicultural rural communities. This session encourages the papers which link heritage and multiculturalism in rural settings and explore the potential role of the sites built by rural ethnic minorities in facilitating intra - group and inter - group social networks./p>
This session would like to broaden the discussion on ethnicity in rural settings to include not only historical approaches to the study of rural ethnic communities, but also to include contemporary and comparative research on rural ethnic landscape. Thus, we are interested in receiving papers focusing on research that addresses, but not limited to, issues like the following:
a. Ethnicity, heritage and tourism in rural areas
b. Ethnic determinants of farming patterns and community development
c. Assimilation of ethnic groups into rural communities and rural ethnic conflicts
d. Contested countryside cultures
e. recognising the bonding and bridging social capital of ethnic groups in rural communities
Working Group 30
Networks, Systems, Structures and Chains: The Search for the Public Good in Rural Studies
Convenors: Alberto Arce, Terry Marsden, and Gustavo Blanco
Agro-food studies has applied a variety of methodologies to progressively approach a more dynamic world of food and diverse landscapes. This has meant that social analysis has needed to re-approach 'the social' in agricultural sociology. Approaches derived from network theory, while contributing to approach processes of mobility, vulnerability and sustainability, have presented themselves as theory, metaphor and methodology. In short, networks have been integrated within previous approaches to re-consider the social internalization of linkages and issues of distantiation, the finitude of the world and the creative potential of new information technologies.
This amounts to a re-objectification of 'reality' and it has represented a contemporary situation that seems to have collapsed private and public domains, generating institutional practices that cannot hold the 'old monolithic notion' of policy from above. Scattered practices and a flexible reality are usually synthesized and conceptualized as the collapse of the public and the private. This loss of boundaries has generated a process of intensive connectiveness that is ambiguous and in urgent need of critical reflection. How different methodologies or combinations of methodologies have helped us to re-approach 'new' empirical agro-food situations? How do we imagine the world of food today? How are we encompassing different modes of human action, conflicts and negotiations over resources? Is there any reason to explore actors' capacities to shape the social and material world? Do we need to describe how actors are labouring through difference? This workshop wants to critically assess different methodologies to approach the issue of public good.
Working Group 31
Change and Development of Rural Society in Korea
Convenors: Jang Heo, Dae-Shik Park, and Nae-Won Oh
Rural society in Korea has endured one of the most rapid changes in the world for the past several decades particularly since 1960s, when the authoritative Park regime had begun export-driven industrialization. Not only absolute numbers of rural farm households, population, and villages were shrunk, but social and demographic composition of rural inhabitants underwent substantial shifts. Traditional economic activities, for instance, local production by producers' groups and marketing of small farm products, have been given away to new mode of operations. What makes this social transformation unique is its unprecedented speed of changes, and its effects on the lives of rural population.
This session would like to share knowledge and results of analysis on the transformation occurred in Korean rural society for the past four decades with special concerns on such aspects as: rural villages, farm households and farmers, local markets, and local farming organizations. In accordance with the Congress's theme, it would try to discuss about the future and visions of Korean rural society under the globalizing world. Papers which cover those aspects with primary focus on Korean case will be very welcomed, and the session is wide open for international scholars who have concerns on Korea. Those who want to present cases of other countries than Korea but with similar topics will be also welcomed, but please indicate their implications on Korea.
Working Group 32
Integration - at what price? Uplands in Southeast Asia and beyond
Convenors: Rupert Friederichsen
Potential contributors are invited to address the following and related questions: What are the impacts of increasing economic, cultural, and political integration on local and hybrid or mestizo cultures, livelihoods, identities and communities? What limits and counter-trends does integration face (participation vs. marginalisation)? What localised responses and more general strategies (e.g. social movements) to encounter projects of external influence are emerging? Which forms of resource use are driving the state and other stakeholders' interest in upland areas (e.g. agriculture, hydropower, forest, tourism and nature protection, land for settlers)? How important is the national level for analyses of rural uplands integration in the era of globalisation? There are debates about regional paradigms such as an emerging 'Asian paradigm' of rural development. Do these paradigms contribute to ?regimes of truth?, which delimit the possibilities of debating the integration of marginal rural people into contemporary states and societies?
Working Group 33
Growth of Consumer Culture and Rural Community
Convenors: Ram Manohar Vikas
The idea of the "spirit of community" is a very important concept in sociology. Extensive studies have been done to understand this notion of community. Theorists have understood community in terms of its characteristics of co-operation, norms of reciprocity, trust, kinship, interaction, commitment and responsibility, responsiveness, justice, democracy and self-governance. In the seminal work Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (community and society) Tonnies argued that Gemeinschaft (community) is a living organism and Gesellschaft (society) is a mechanical aggregate and artifact. He contended that the constituents of community are family and neighborhood, while city and state are examples of society. Dewey has also associated community to the life of small villages.
Consumer culture, which is often accused of generating false needs, poses a fundamental contradiction with the notion of community. This contradiction is exacerbated through consumption of goods for non-utilitarian purposes. Theorists contend that there is a stronger urge to acquire than to share goods. Consumerism is more inclined towards private consumption than public consumption. Self-expression, individualization and differentiation, some of the core values of consumer culture are expressed through possessiveness, nongenerosity, and envy. In this context it is important to understand how consumer culture is influencing the rural landscape.
Working Group 34
An Evaluation of the Roles of women farmers in East Asia: A comparative study between Korea and Japan
Convenors: Gyung-Mee Gim, Tokuya Kawate, and Juri Hara-Fukuyo
Korea and Japan have had a big influence on each other historically. Though there are various differences, these two societies have many common points about agriculture and the role of women farmers. For example, rice has been main the crop for generations, although nowadays there is an increasing shift from rice to other cash crops like vegetables, fruit and livestock. In addition, each society has experienced rapid economic development and for the promotion of agriculture and farm villages a kind of harmonization with urbanization and industrialization has become very important, including intercourse between urbanites and ruralites or consumers and producers. Another similarity is that, different from European and American societies, women farmers have played very important roles in agriculture and farm village communities and have occupied over half of the active farming population. Nonetheless, the position and evaluation of women farmers in rural families and farm village communities are too low. Gender equality in agriculture and rural communities has not yet been advanced. In recent years, however, social recognition of the importance of the roles of women farmers is getting better and agricultural policy has started to support various aspects of women farmers gradually.
Given this context, it may be said that it is very important and fruitful trial to advance the sociological study about women farmers and to improve their roles and evaluation in East Asia. The goal of this working group will be to advance such a study, with an emphasis on an examination of: 1) the trends and problems of the roles of women farmers in agriculture; 2) the roles of women farmers in rural families; 3) an evaluation of the roles of women farmers in the promotion of regional agriculture and rural revitalization; 4) the promotion of gender equality in agriculture and the functions of family farm management; 5) the improvement of the economic position of women farmers and the functions of rural women?s entrepreneurial activities; 6) the trends and problems of the organization and networking of women farmers; 7) Agricultural policy for supporting women farmers; and 8) Development of common issues and solutions for cooperative research on women farmers under sustainable agriculture between Korea and Japan.
Working Group 35
Mitigating Impacts of Climate Changes on Rural Agriculture Communities
Convenors: Narendra Kumar Choudhary and Annette Kimmich
The Global Forum for Disaster Management (GFDM) was inaugurated during the fourth World Water Forum at Mexico. In the recent past, rural communities around the world have experienced a number of disasters like earthquakes, cyclones, hurricanes, forest fires, flash floods, etc. The hurricanes and cyclones along the American - Asian and Pacific coast changed the lives of millions of people in Asian countries. Several NGO's played an important role in the provision of immediate rehabilitation for the victims in rural areas. Recognizing the social responsibility, the Open University Geological Society, the International Commission on Groundwater-seawater Interactions and ISDR, along with other organizations, has provided immediate rehabilitation measures for affected communities. For life to return to normal for the agricultural population, systematic scientific and technology based efforts are needed. Also rehabilitation work should focus on cost-effective methods for agricultural rehabilitation. The GFDM?s goal is to examine, among other items, the relationship between the socio-economic dimension and scientific and technological methods that are relevant to early rehabilitation programs for agriculture in various parts of the world. ISDR, along with the Muktainagar-Taluka Education society and the Open University Geological Society, has accepted the responsibility of providing the necessary infrastructure and institutional help for GFDM to conduct research and development and work related to agricultural management. The purpose of this working group is share and learn from the lessons acquired by the GFDM on disaster management and mitigation in the Asia - Pacific region through the work of NGOs and academic and research institutions on topics like the social and ecological management for agricultural development in the affected villages, and early rehabilitation of rural communities and participation of agricultural communities in socio-economic and sustainable development.
Working Group 36
Rhabilitation of Coastal Agriculture Resources: Lessons From the South Asian Tsunami
Convenors: L.P. Chaudhari and Anup Suresh Yewale
The Asia-Pacific region has become more vulnerable to Geo disasters and impacts of climate changes in recent years. On 26 December 2004, massive waves triggered by an earthquake surged into coastal communities in Asia and East Africa with devastating force. Hitting Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India hardest, the deadly waves swept more than 200,000 people to their deaths. The agricultural communities in Asia-Pacific regions are witnessing the social- economical and ecological risks and impacts of such kinds of Geo-Disasters and climate changes. Also the number of hurricanes, cyclones, forest fires and flash floods that occur around the continents of the globe that are having devastating impacts continues to grow. The economic losses to coastal ecosystem, agriculture, irrigation, aquaculture, drinking water resources, the rural agriculture industries and infrastructure are very high due to these extreme geo-disasters that are linked with environmental and climate changes are signigicant. The ecosystem, economic system, agricultural system, and aquacultural system in rural coastal regions are severely affected and need systematic rehabilitation. This working group reviews the status and issues of rehabilitation of flood affected rural agriculture communities in the Asia-Pacific region focusing on agriculture and rural socio-economic problems and damage arising from the extreme floods, and earthquake and tsunami in Asia-Pacific region and social and economic losses in rural regions.
Working Group 37
Past and Present of East Asian Rice Culture
Convenor: Seung-Jin Chung
Rice, as well as wheat and corn, are products of civilization. East Asian peoples built their civilizations on a particular mode of livelihood, the so-called Rice Culture. Rice culture, which is often accused of only being a food culture, poses a fundamental relation with the notion of community. Our working group is a special session co-sponsored by the Institute of Rice, Life and Civilization in Honam plain, which is famous for being the rice basket of Korea. In our session, we would like to share knowledge and the results of analyses on the transformations that have occurred in East Asia rural society, with special attention being paid to: the origins of rice farming in East Asia; changes in rural villages (=communities); the realty of the family farm; and comparisons between peasants and farmers in the context of rural life. Our working group invites interdisciplinary research on these topics and related explorations on the possibilities for regional convergence with respect to rural involution and development in Japan, South Korea, China, and South-east Asia. In accordance with the Congress's theme, this session would try to discuss the future and visions of East Asia rural society in a globalizing world. Papers which cover those aspects with a primary focus on East Asia case will be very welcomed.