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There are different theoretical models on innovation processes, but little has been studied on the actual practices of researchers in these processes. This paper describes the role played by researchers in the framework of innovation and rural development processes by analyzing tensions between real and ideal practices. Fifteen researchers from the National Institute of Agricultural Technology in the northeastern region of Argentina were interviewed. The results show that models of innovation coexist in the real practices and in the ideal role described by the interviewees. The importance of generating spaces for reflection to rethink their role to enhance innovation processes is highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate Social Responsibility in developing countries has become an emerging field of research. In this paper a model of structural equations is proposed to analyze the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility actions and its influence on Cooperation, Innovation and Performance in the Costa Rican agribusiness sector. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the conceptual relationship model and explain the associations among variables. The model results suggest that CSR and Innovation positively influence the agribusiness Performance. On the contrary, it seems that Cooperation does not have an influence on such Performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting food security for rural Sudanese households and to estimate price and income elasticities for Sudanese households based on their food security status. The results show that households living in northern and western rural regions are less likely to be food secure as compared to households living in eastern rural regions. Also, rural households are more likely to be food secure in the fall and winter seasons as compared to summer season. The results of price and income elasticities for secure and insecure households were almost similar. Income elasticities for both secure and insecure households show that cereals, milk & eggs, vegetables, staples, tea and coffee are necessities for rural households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to point out the advances in political ecology studies on hydroelectric power plants. For this purpose, a systematic review methodology of scientific literature was used, resulting in important reflections on four topics: accumulation processes linked to the development of hydroelectric projects; socio-environmental conflicts originated in disputes over rural territories; resistance mechanisms of affected rural communities; and institutional governance to manage conflicts. It is concluded that it is necessary to address territorial inequities of structural origin, which are deepened by the implementation of hydroelectric projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the importance that agro industrial innovation systems are gaining in developing countries, such as Colombia, a territory with an agricultural vocation by nature. Based on the above, first this paper presents an approach to the concept, Second, the document also presents the importance of intermediary agents in their synergy, who facilitate the processes of knowledge and technology transfer between the different actors of academia, industry, government and civil society, opening the way to possible alternatives, aiming at strengthening sectoral innovation systems from the economic, social, political and even environmental approaches. Taking into account the above, a literature search was conducted in Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science, focused on studying the role of intermediary agents in the innovation processes related to agroindustry from the perspective of a sectoral innovation system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural activity in the rural sector has been studied mainly in terms of technical questions regarding cultivation; however, the organizational aspects that generate added value, such as knowledge, have rarely been addressed. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between knowledge management and innovation in rural agricultural organizations in northwestern Mexico. A questionnaire with composed of 36 items and a thorough interview was applied to seven leading organizations of the Yaqui Valley (YV). The results reveal a positive and significant relationship between knowledge management and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residents of Mexico's communities face considerable health issues. The improvement of green infrastructure bolsters the efforts of rural communities in maintaining high standards of health, subsequently making rural communities as habitable as possible. This paper aims to critically assess the existing literature on this topic between 2000 and 2018 because most sources fell comfortably within this range and no other comparable systematic review, either selective or comprehensive in nature, has been conducted in this respect. The results of the review suggest that a greater focus on the development of green infrastructure in rural areas is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of honey is one of the most unresearched topics in Colombia. The bibliographic review in this paper identified the physical-chemical characteristics of the honey that must be considered to establish the honey quality. It was found that the parameters acidity, pH, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), ashes, electric conductivity, sugars, moisture, among others, are the most frequently used. In this review 60 articles were selected based on criteria like geographic origin, publication recentness, and research topic relevance. At the end, some potential non-traditional applications for the honey are set out that, in turn, would open new spaces for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor inactivity, especially among women belonging to rural populations, is an artificially homogeneous concept in which habitualness and transience coexist. This paper analyzes the inactivity in the rural women and their decision-making routes, how their contributing role is render invisible, and the cultural norm influencing this issue. While taking care of the family is one of the main reasons refraining them from working, a strong presence of potentially active women is reported. This fact accounts for the transience and relevance of the cultural context in the woman's decision-making sphere, reinforced by her educative capital, her partner and her age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current paper we study producer-consumer linkages in a small rural market in Mexico. Two short food supply chains for the sale of egg were identified, which reduced producer-consumer distance and enabled the exchange of information regarding egg origin, egg production practices, and egg characteristics valued by consumers. This allowed the creation of food symbolism and increased consumers' knowledge and trust in small-scale producers and their products. It is concluded that producer-consumer linkages in short chains enable closeness, confidence, and exchange of information between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies territorialities and contemporary rural dynamics in the south of France and the north of Spain based on the impact of intra-European rural migrations. Its methodology is based on: 1) the understanding and the practise of categories and classifications such as fields of knowledge and relation; 2) fieldwork data as the starting point for developing an ethnography based on observations, interviews and maps. Furthermore, secondary information was considered in order to measure the global significance of this phenomenon. Consequently, the paper highlights the existence of conflicts and negotiations between immigrants and local people, theoretical concepts applicable to similar situations, and the extension of the thematic corpus on rural migrations -studies which, in Europe, have focused on migration in southern continents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to study changes in the fruit and vegetable distribution system in Brazil in previous years and the role that could be played by Public Supply Centres. Food supply is essential for securing access to and availability of food in cities. The paper will consider problems concerning the CEASA since the disruption of the National Supply Centres System (SINAC), and those regarding globalisation in the food industry. The paper was written in 2010 based on gathered secondary data and semi-structured interviews conducted on important actors in the distribution of fruits and vegetables. As one of the conclusions, it states that there is still room for a public role in food supply focused on supply centres and based on the principles of Food Security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a prioritisation of primary and secondary factors that critically affect the implementation of a programme of good agricultural practices (GAP) among small fruit and coffee producers working in the department of Huila in Colombia. The paper uses the methodology of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with two decision-making groups; it reveals that the main obstacle in implementing a GAP programme is the lack of necessary investments in infrastructure with a relative importance of 21.8%, supported by the secondary critical factor 'high costs in investment', with a relative importance of 10.7% - which is without a doubt indicative of how far behind small producers are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The organizational system associated with the development of rural tourism in the department of Antioquia tends to establish informal networks. The purpose of this paper is to study the flow of information and the interdependence between stakeholders in Eastern and Southwestern networks, with the aim of understanding their impact on governance as a condition of development. Social Network Analysis is adopted in this paper. The results show two phenomena: first, information can flow faster in the Eastern network thanks to its density. Second, it is in the Southwestern network where public-private relations and public non-governmental actions determine the governance of the network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a critical revision of conceptual frameworks that have analyzed the nature of the relationship peasant-ecosystems. This need arises from the acknowledgement that rural space and -particularly the peasants inhabiting it- currently undergo a sociopolitical resignification that stems from the revalorization of ecosystem services in the face of the global environmental crisis. Such issues call not only to deconstruct traditional frameworks that have explained this problem, but also to analyze the new meanings that different social actors give to this interaction. Drawing upon a framework based on critical sociology and political ecology, the paper proposes the concepts of "ecosocial solidarity" and "ecosocial project" in order to grasp the rationale leading the practices carried out by peasants in relation to ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present article is to prove that climate by-products can be used as agricultural insurance protection against climate unexpected, particular events in an incomplete market. Transferring risk to the market is an effective way of having protection when facing risks of diverse nature. An analytical model, as well as climate by-product pricing in the j region of Colombia, has been examined. Historical data of the region above mentioned in order to evaluate the relationship between agricultural productivity of Prx, Pry, Prz products and specific climate events such as R —rain or atmospheric precipitation— and H —temperature. Later on, a variety of call and put options will be considered based on heat and rain climatic risks in order to evaluate them theoretically. This paper thoroughly and particularly studies the analytical model in order to listen to the response from labor federations and academic groups. The present study has been framed within the field of risk and climate. The first document was presented at the International Symposium of Costa Rica in early 2009, where it obtained first place as best article in its session. At the time, conceptual guidelines were included to build an evaluation model for a climate by-product (Cruz, J. and Vargas, C. 2008). As mentioned earlier, this paper contains an analytical specification at model level, including an innovation to the model presented initially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural world in Latin America provides today an interesting scenery of social, economic and cultural transformations due to globalization. This process reflects on heterogeneous constitution processes of social subjects in the rural world. Therefore these processes can no longer be studied on the basis of conceptual frameworks that lie in urban and rural dichotomy. The rural question opens an encouraging space of debate that allows the discussion of theoretical categories and methodological tools, traditionally used to intervene in the rural world. In this paper we concentrated our reflection in the organization of domestic labour between impoverished rural producers that must incorporate non agrarian practices as a way to guarantee their social reproduction. We believe that in the rural development studies some obstacles are being experienced when trying to analyze the heterogeneity which characterizes the constitution processes of this "rural" social subjects. This paper propose a case study conformed by small rural producers that participates in a community forestry project carried out by an NGO in Formosa province, in Argentina. This allowed us to evidence the existing tensions, between a "domestic" and a "technical" logic in the practices and representations that are at stake in the workforce organization of this groups activities and their role in the construction of a "domestic productive project" of this units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at presenting a critical view of urban agriculture, which is seen as the empirical expression of the emergence of new rural practices. In search of arguments to explain the occurrence of transformations, the paper begins with a reference to the classical distinction between rural and urban affairs and then introduces the concepts of urban and city-outskirts agriculture. The discussion is then focused on the following questions: Is urban agriculture different form rural agriculture? How does the urban expansion process encourage agricultural and livestock practices in cities? What role does direct agricultural production play as an activity incorporated into urban dynamics? Finally, a classification of urban agriculture according to the reasons behind it is proposed, and some final considerations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the poverty - environment relation as observed in the rural communities living next to the tourist development called Bahías de Huatulco, located to the south of Oaxaca, in the poorest zone in Southeastern Mexico. The information presented was gathered throughout five years of work of various institutions; the methodology applied was that of participative rural research and continuous improvement techniques, that allowed the conformation of work groups in which family and community members of San Isidro Chacalapa, Santa María Xadani, Petatengo and Playa Grande were involved. In the paper, variables that are affected by the poverty - environment relation are defined, and some indicators that serve to identify such relation in the work zone are described. In rural communities, the preservation of natural resources is strongly determined by conditioning factors and family behavior. In production activities, family organization for work and rural people's attitude towards change and innovation have a negative impact on the quality and quantity of the natural resources available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The participation of stakeholders in the design and application of rural development policies is one of the major concerns of policymakers. The Framework for Participatory Impact Assessment (FoPIA) is a methodology used to measure the impact of policies, which could include different stakeholders. This paper used FoPIA to assess the impact of rural development policies in Mexico and Colombia. The results showed a positive impact in the case of Mexico, whereas in Colombia, just one of the policies showed positive results. In both cases, social themes were remarked in order to take them into account at the moment of designing rural development policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supply of water to rural areas has historically provided the Mexican government with a significant challenge. Years of uncertainty in relation to responsibility for water supply, as well as geographical differences across the country and a division between rural and urban areas, explain this phenomenon. I have reviewed in this paper a substantial proportion of the literature on this topic, the reasons behind its nature, and the solutions to the problem in Mexico, as my main aim. The key conclusion is that while improvements in rural water supply in Mexico have been made, further work is required for equality in its supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural areas face a range of global challenges as a result of current economic and social transformations. The contribution of cooperatives, as collective companies with a strong territorial affiliation, has led them to be considered in some countries as a pillar of rural policies. This paper analyzes a successful public initiative released almost thirty years ago: cooperatives for regional development. Their function as promoters of the cooperative movement in Quebec is critical for corporate diversity and employment in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ecuador and Colombia there are indigenous and peasant communities that still grow three Andean tubers: Ullucus tuberosum, Oxalis tuberosa and Tropaelum tuberosum. This paper, supported by a local ethnoecological analysis of the agricultural knowledge, explains the determinants for preservation in situ in both countries by means of cultural practices and beliefs associated with these species. It shows how existing laws, institutions, migration and land uses directly affect their planting areas and cultivation techniques. However, the persistence of beliefs about its uses stands out due to the prevalent memory of the adult population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent literature analyses the role of territorial specificities, as the core of territorial rural development strategies based on differentiation. Unfortunately, the proliferation of quality assurance schemes is provoking a "labyrinth of labels" which diffuses the local efforts for capitalizing rural specificities. A second-generation of labels is currently being developed to simplify the territorial differentiation message. A number of territories in Southern Europe are basing their rural development strategies joining the so-called European Territorial Quality Mark ( E T Q M ) Project. This paper proposes an original methodology, designed and developed by authors, for the evaluation of some of these second-generation labels. This methodology has been validated in i5 rural territories as the pioneers of the E T Q M in Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many processes related to rural development have a strong psychosocial component. Yet, there exists no specific psychosocial theoretical framework for addressing them. In this paper, then, we present a set of theoretical guidelines for analysing rural development processes and interventions from the perspective of psychology. In doing so, we draw upon an Actor-Oriented Approach and address concepts commonly used in rural development studies, such as human agency, social interfaces, worldviews, rationales and strategies, and explore their psychosocial dimensions. This enables us to advance a psychosocial understanding of the complexity and multi-determination that characterises processes of rural development, and thus in this way to add a new perspective to rural development studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of rural tourism in San Juan Atzingo, state of Mexico, has been promoted by diverse international organizations, federal government agencies, private sector companies and even some civil society organizations. However, the activity has not been established and it is generating contradictory results on the components that determine the peasants' lifestyle and production. The paper identifies the socio-territorial impacts of the project Tlahuica Community-based Ecotourism (ECT), and it uses the commonality proposal as a methodological framework for analyzing the implications for the territory, the resources, the weakening of the organizational structures, the dynamics of labor, reciprocity, and even the transformation of typical cultural elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines food security in two rural areas of Antioquia: Andes and Santa Fe de Antioquia. To this end, the concept of food system and the conceptual and methodological approach of social network analysis (SNA) were adopted. Results: In Andes there are high levels of conflict, lower levels of cooperation and coordination, high levels of intermediation and centralization; in Santa Fe de Antioquia there are more cooperation and coordination relations, and power is concentrated in few actors. In conclusion, the networks' methodology made possible the development of a relational analysis between actors from a qualitative and a quantitative point of view. Additionally, the food system worked as a structural framework in which these relationships are embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the role of the policies that support organic agriculture in the sector promotion, from the case of Andalucia in Spain, the largest in area and number of operators in the country. To do this, in the first place, key policies at regional, national and supranational levels that have potentially affected the supply of the sector are identified. Then, the evolution of the main variables related to it is illustrated (surface, producers, demand, etc...). Based on the foregoing, it is concluded that the existence of a relationship between the aids to organic production and the sectoral development could be presumable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the territory management process regarding a succinct property of the public policy, its territorialization. The methodological basis takes criteria and factors that deal exclusively with territorial development, and segregate two qualities to the territory: as a central focus of public policy and as a management unit. All in all, the interactions that make up social networks are analyzed and a proposal on the convergence structure for territorial management is presented. The results show the methodological feasibility in a case study, the District/Regional Councils of Sustainable Rural Development (CD / RDRS) in Central Mexico. It is concluded that the methodologies are coherent for reasoning the condition or situation of territorial development, and based on that propose solutions to the problems that arise from the management process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the reflection on the link between disaster risk management and gender equity. It is presented a case study on perceptions about climate change and institutional abilities regarding risk management in four locations of the state of Yucatan, Mexico. In order to know the local social perceptions, surveys and interviews were administered to key informants, and the results account for the existence of serious problems in municipal institutions in charge of both disaster risk management and the promotion of processes to generate greater gender equality. Additionally, a lack of knowledge about the factors that cause climate change was recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines, from a gender perspective, the types of occupation and sources of income of family women and men from the rural areas of the state of Paraná, Brazil, in the period between 2001 and 2008. The estimates reflected that the number of families in the analyzed period was stabilized, reversing a decline occurred in the nineties of the last century. A sharp reduction in agricultural occupations and a worrying process of proletarianization were found, being women the most affected by these phenomena. The non-agricultural occupations opened an important place for women income generation separate from male spaces. Men revenues from agricultural occupations are still the largely responsible in the formation of family income and social transfers are the major source of income for women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Businesses use their resources and abilities to maximise their efficiency, and the implementation of innovative tactics has become common in recent years. Based on the evaluation of a performance model based on the variables of the Cobb-Douglas production function, the present paper intends to empirically confront the ways in which Spanish agribusinesses and farming companies, particularly the ones located in the Murcia region, can improve their management through their efficiency and their relation to innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the importance of technologies of scientific origin in the evolution of Latin American agrarian capitalism during the past three decades. From the perspective of dialectic materialism as a method and epistemological positioning the following is concluded: the package of the green revolution left the process of agrarian salary distribution unresolved. On the contrary, new technologies aiming at productivity in the global market do allow a) to partially detach agriculture from the constraint of its natural rhythms, b) to substantially increase production capability in work and in the soil, c) to invigorate surpluses under the structure of agribusinesses, d) to free workers from rural economy and the food industry itself, and e) to guarantee salary relations as the predominant way of generating value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on recent changes in the food industry, both at a global and national level, the reactivation of traditional food products is turning into a good alternative for promoting rural development. The present paper intends, by way of a qualitative methodology, to research on the process of the reactivation of wine from Berisso Coast and to identify the main factor which favoured it, with the purpose of creating information useful for other similar ventures. It was observed that factors can be classified under three categories: local and national context; product characteristics, considering it is a traditional product; and the organisation of producers, interacting with technicians from the Faculty of Agrarian and Forest Sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small farmers in Zapotlán El Grande, Mexico, are living through important changes in their production and consuming practises, as a result of the structural modification of Mexican economy and its impact on agriculture, as well as Ciudad Guzmán's urban growth. The present paper shows how these changes are of such a different nature that they reveal a rural world which was completely different from the model which took shape in rural sociology. Thus, the concept of new rural living is a pertinent one, as it underlines the fact that rural-agricultural dichotomy, as opposed to urban-industrial dichotomy, reflects, more than ever, real life in small communities, or their relationship with cities and the global world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper begins with an overlook at the third sector and the relationship between investment and growth. It is empirically focused on the Portuguese rural regions of Douro and Alto Trás-os-Montes, which have received a great quantity of investment incentives from the European Union. The purpose is to study the impact of these investments on development. Results show public investment has had greater impact than private production investment, which highlights the importance of non-for-profit investment on the third sector. For this reason, support for the third sector stands out as a main item in rural development policies, given that the impact of public investment did not bring about a dynamic of marketable goods on an international scale that could help regions become independent on public financial support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biased contracting in machinery services have had an important historical role in the process of expansion and intensification of agricultural activity in the Pampas region. The purpose of the present paper is to analyse the evolution of biased contracting in machinery services during the period 1988-2002, as well as its main characteristics. With this scope special reprocessing of the National Agricultural Censuses (CA 1998 and 2002) were used in order to quantify some variables that allow us to further understand their evolution and characterisation. Results mainly show the heterogeneous nature of biased contracting both between provinces of the region and between deciles of agricultural area in the worked land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Mexico many socioeconomic dynamics are being put in motion within rural communities, the purpose of which is to regain control over natural resources and creating Communal Forestry Companies that support an inclusive and participative type of progress. The object of the present paper is to analyse the case of San Pedro El Alto in Mexico in terms of local endogenous development, Víctor Toledo's (1996) contribution to the study sustainable communities and post-farming appropriation (Barkin y Rosas, 1996; Rosas, 2011). This study proposes a transition from subsistence agriculture to a type of production that would increase quality of life. A participative methodology was used, including semi-structured interviews to key informants and documental information. Data will be showed demonstrating that San Pedro El Alto has achieved a certain degree of development due to the creation of the Communal Forestry Company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing importance of the evaluation field is exemplified by its increasing use in international organizations and public policies at a regional, national and local level, as well as by the exponential growth of evaluation societies around the world. Focusing on rural development, this expansion is due to the utility of evaluation in providing evidence to help in the decision-making and improve interventions, as well as being a value system that establishes criteria and explicit standards by which to judge these interventions. This paper aims to provide clarity on these aspects through a comprehensive analysis of the evolution and the current situation of the evaluation field. The literature reviewed and our evaluation experiences confirm the evaluation's ability to provide a scientific basis to the decision-making in rural development programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows a conceptual framework which synthesizes the evolution of the "modern project" and its dominant values, reaching to a new approach for the planning of rural development projects in the post-modernity: Working With People (WWP). The WWP model proposed is integrated into international discussions of "social learning" and it incorporates key elements of planning as social learning, collaborative participation theory and project management models. WWP is the result of 25 years of experience from the research group GESPLAN in several European contexts and emerging countries. The WWP implementation has led to different methodologies and applied research. This new way of thinking opens up new fields of research in rural development projects planning, evaluation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Regionalism - NR, is an arena in which diverse movements, theoretical approaches and policies converge, and is increasingly accepted and used in the field of regional planning. As a macro-structure, the NR articulates different movements and streams of thought, with regional development as the common goal, although primarily focused on metropolitan regions. This paper analyzes the NR, outlines the current contents and theoretical underpinnings identifies the main criticisms and lessons learned with potential application in rural regions. It also suggests adjustments and a policy framework that can be applied within the context of rural territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the production system of Oxalis tuberosa, Ullucus Tuberosus and Tropaeolum tuberosum in the province of Sugamuxi, Boyacá. Using random sampling, polling, interviews and rural diagnosis it was established that production areas present limitations for agriculture. 84.4% of production is destined for personal consumption. 46.8% of producers are senior adults whereas young adults are less interested in agriculture. 72% of people interviewed in establishments selling food could not identify the different tubers and despite the deep roots of tradition in older people, there is a risk these species will be lost. Contrary to this tendency, the Republic of New Zealand, where demand for tubers is increasing, is encouraging their genetic enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty is the natural state in which farmers make decisions. This paper studies attitudes towards risk among small-scale pineapple producers in the department of Santander, Colombia. For this purpose a random sample of 194 small-scale pineapple producers form the towns of Girón, Lebrija and Rionegro was taken. In order to determine attitudes towards risk a medium utility - non linear standard deviation approach was chosen. Results indicate that small-scale pineapple producers in Santander are reluctant to risk and show an increasing absolute reluctance and a decreasing relative reluctance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to identify the determining factors of the agrarian crisis in Mediterranean Spain and the solutions agricultural cooperatives could provide. The methodology consists of the application of the Delphi Method through a questionnaire presented to experts in 2011. The conclusion of this study is that agricultural cooperatives represent an appropriate formula for facing threats and weaknesses in this sector. Implementing a competitive differentiation strategy based on quality is compatible with strategies to reduce production prices through the concentration of agricultural supply. Strategic alliances have the power to set up strategies aimed at improving professionalisation in management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic downturn of primary activities in rural Mexico has brought about a shift of productive activities into a service economy, and the land is now the place for non-agricultural activities such as tourism which not only affects ecosystems but has transformed rural areas into a dense fabric full of infrastructures and equipment for providing services to tourists. The aim of this paper is to conduct a theoretical reflection on the configuration of rural areas as a result of the process of capitalist domination through tourism, a historic process formed by two main dynamics: the appropriation of space and strategic resources for tourism, and the increase in value of such space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on statistical data, this paper analyses how and why the Minho region (Braga and Viana do Castelo districts) came to hold its semi-peripheral position, not only in relation to central regions but to urban centres such as Lisbon and Porto. Subsequently, it presents a number of development models: neoliberal theories on growth and modernisation, the neo-institutional perspective, neo-Marxist versions of independence and centre-periphery relations, besides territorialism theory. Using the method of statistical analysis of socio-demographic indicators, a clear socioeconomic difference between social groups and sectors was verified. Nevertheless, despite upgrades in infrastructure and transport, Minho suffers from socioeconomic, educational and cultural inequities created by endogenous and exogenous factors such as the globalisation that is currently taking place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to study the social construction of one of the mechanisms for the social reproduction of domestic groups, known as multi-activity work and carried out by members of rural or urban domestic units (DU). This mechanism is the result of implementing local solutions to the problem of social reproduction in domestic groups and is related to the creation or expansion of economic activities other than agriculture and the establishment of local job markets and social agreements, all of which have been taking place continuously since the seventies in the Municipality of Nealtican, in Puebla, Mexico. The results presented are attained by means of Complex Systems methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of this paper is to analyse changes in the collective imaginary regarding Spanish rurality from 1940 to the present. For this purpose a historical-sociological methodology was used that allows for the differentiation of three different phases in the evolution of this imaginary. These phases are: 1) conservative mystification of rurality; 2) contempt and disdain for rural life; 3) current tendencies towards the revalorisation of rural areas, which came about simultaneously with growing consideration for rural areas as places for leisure and tourism. The study of these transformations shows that the Spanish collective imaginary on rurality is not intrinsic and indifferent to time and context, but the product of a social construction in constant social and historical change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to show convergent processes and existing contradictions in rural areas (RA) in the southeast of the Argentinean Pampas in order to interpret and explain the different trajectories (according to contexts of time and space) that the actors follow in order to join a multi-scale environment that is both exclusive and changing. The study was carried out by means of methodological triangulation. Part of the results show that hegemonic dynamics take control over natural resources and delocalise local connections in order to favour foreign ones. Under this scheme, socio-territorial conflicts arise in the form of the exclusion of actors from territories and institutional decay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to investigate the social and symbolic boundaries of the new winemaking configuration of Mendoza, Argentina, which resulted from its restructuration and globalization from the nineties onwards. We analyze the tensions and asymmetries that the new model generates, particularly from the perspective of wine producers, based on the so-called “east" of the province, which appears as a subordinate region in the current scenario. Our methodological approach combines elements of anthropology and sociology, based on extensive qualitative and quantitative field research and aiming to account for both the views and native categories of actors, and the structural dimensions in which they are inserted. The main results are linked to the increased social-productive vulnerability and the competitive difficulty of small wine producers in the face of new investments, and to the identification of internal borders in the sector, from what we call the quality/quantity tension that runs through it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]