Search results for "rural"

Merging science and arts to communicate nature conservation

2015

Abstract As a response to overall negative attitudes on nature conservation, Latvian scientists and artists launched a new initiative to communicate biodiversity. Unlike previous efforts, this initiative also included arts (poetry, music, dance and photo/video) as part of the information campaign. This project, named Nature Concert Hall, has been very successful between 2006 and 2012 in terms of receiving national and international recognition; this paper aimed to evaluate its efficiency in increasing the public’s knowledge and awareness of nature conservation issues and pro-environmental behaviour. We used an electronic web-form survey to investigate the views of the Nature Concert Hall’s …

"Analisi economica di imprese zootecniche biologiche in italia: primi risultati del progetto di ricerca interdisciplinare E.Qu.I.Zoo.Bio"

2008

Polarization and suburbanisation in Warsaw

2001

The economic transition in Poland leads to a restructuration of economic activities which affects spatial patterns of cities, especially in Warsaw. Analyzing the location and re-location of population and employment in Poland’s capital allows to enlarge the debate on the suburbanization forms to the Central and Oriental European Countries. The results support the fact that the city center is still largely the most important district in terms of population andemployment, so that in 1999 the city keeps a strong monocentric character. However, from 1994 to 1999, population and employment move towards the Warsaw’s suburbs. Two significant observations, namely the suburbanization of retailing an…

PROFITABILITY OF SMALL LOQUAT FARMS IN SICILY

2015

The northern Sicilian coastline, known for its favorable soil and climatic conditions, represents the main production area in Italy for loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.). Over the years, the absence of process innovation and appropriate marketing strategies caused a gradual decline of loquat cultivation. This study estimates the profitability of some representative Sicilian farms that grow loquat in the area of Trabia (Palermo Province), where this crop is important for the local economy. The results highlighted a productive scenario characterized by high production costs, where only a family farm that supplies much of its own labor can survive.

Profitability of artichoke growing in the mediterranean area

2015

Cultivation of artichokes for production is significant in the Mediterranean Basin. Italy represents an important productive hub and in this context, Sicily has been one of the foremost production areas. Artichoke production is a stable element of either specialized or mixed production systems in the region. However, due to the economic recession and increasing imports of artichokes from North African countries, many companies are undergoing crisis, with concerns for the negative impact on the socioeconomic fabric, in terms of the rising unemployment an eventual collapse of this specific activity would determine. According to the theory of economic development, a prerequisite of a territory…

Why do financial inclusion policies fail in mobilizing savings from the poor ? Lessons from rural south India

2017

© The Authors 2017. Development Policy Review © 2017 Overseas Development Institute Combining multivariate and qualitative analyses, this micro-level study suggests an explanation for the persistence of informal savings in rural south India despite publicly run large-scale programmes to promote bank savings. Gold, in particular, but also Rotating Saving and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) and private lending, remain the dominant forms of savings. We argue that cultural norms and social institutions, such as social class and caste, shape the nature of savings, and also the propensity and opportunities to save. Gold serves multiple purposes, financial, economic, socio-cultural and political. Fur…

An exploratory study of sustainable rural tourism in Sicily

2013

Recently, a significant interest was noticed around rural tourism, and particularly agritourism, which represents the main specific application. Rural tourism is a sustainable tourism, since the valorisation and conservation of environmental and territorial resources where economic activity is carried out are its main features. From the official statistical data, it appears clear that this activity, widely spread in Italy, may provide a significant financial support both to agricultural firms and to the whole sector of tourism, and thus allows redistributing touristic flows from coastal towards inland areas. The main aims of the paper are both to analyse the agritourist supply in Sicily com…

The role telecentres play in providing e-government services in rural areas

2017

Citizens' participation and community orientation – indicators of social sustainability of rural welfare services

2011

The article discusses the issues of social services in rural areas from a theoretical view point of sustainability paradigms of social work. The ecological crisis existing beyond the ongoing global economic crisis is not separated from the increasing urbanization and weakening perspectives in rural areas. The paper is based on results from a participatory action research project in Finland, which aims at strengthening social service provision in rural areas through citizens' participation and community-orientation. The neoliberal politics of centralization, marketization and privatization are heavily transforming rural regions also in the Nordic welfare states right now. The debates in the …

The ‘actually existing’ cultural policy and culture-led strategies of rural places and small towns

2016

Abstract Questions regarding the relevance of culture-based development strategies are even more relevant to ask when such strategies are applied to rural places and small towns. In urban contexts, the number of citizens and the volume and variety of the cultural sector, other industries and services are important success criteria. In small Norwegian rural municipalities, these factors are even more critical because the Norwegian rural context is characterized by low population density and low variety and volume in industries and services. Rural places and small towns are, to a large extent, neglected in the culture-led development studies, and likewise, culture is largely neglected in rura…