Who owns the land owns the wind? Land and citizenship in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,Mexico

Wind energy expansion across rural areas interacts with various interests at the local level, generating multiple reactions within communities. The Eólica del Sur wind farm implementation pathway in Mexico is a paragon of different positions vis-à-vis this industry after trying to install 132 wind turbines in other towns since 2006. This paper argues that there is a bias in studies of the politics of wind energy development in favour of oppositional voices, as opposed to groups that endorse wind energy expansion or that have stakes in the sector but neither support nor oppose wind projects per se. Based on fieldwork conducted over three years and semi-structured interviews with Eólica del Sur stakeholders, the paper argues that different responses to wind energy are linked to contrasting ownership claims over land in the region and competing notions of the institutions that should legitimize these claims.     

Structures of foreign trade and income distribution: The case of Mexico

Using Mexico's input-output tables and household survey data, this paper examines various trade strategies and their relationship to commodity production with a view to assesing their effect on the distribution of income. The model incorporates income-induced multiplier effects, taking into account the full range of input import-substitution possibilities. The results show that the differences in the impact on income, particularly, of the lower incomes, are most marked in the tensions between exportable and import-competing activities. On the whole, production per unit of output in the non-tradable sector produces as much factor income as that in the export sector. Expansion of exportable activities marginally improves the economic position of the poor in relation to other income groups, but only when direct effects are taken into account. If, however, domestic production meets the needs of intermediate imports, then the distribution of income remains unaffected by alternative trade strategies.     

Technology and The Courtroom: An Inquiry into Knowledge Making in Organizations

Recent theories of knowledge management have offered a functionalist understanding of knowledge creating dynamics in organizations. Their focus is on the role of knowledge assets as a determinant of competitive performance. However, the presupposition that knowledge can be managed or treated as an objective commodity seems to overlook the highly interactive, provisional and controversial nature of knowledge‐oriented phenomena in organizations. By deviating from the mainstream, we conduct a phenomenological inquiry into knowledge making within the setting of courtroom trials. Evidence is provided by in‐depth case studies carried out in six Italian courtrooms adopting videocassette recording (VCR) technology as a tool for recording and storing the proceedings of criminal trials. The behavioural responses of courtroom actors confronted by the intrusion of an alien technology in a highly institutionalized and resilient setting are particularly relevant for the study of knowledge in organizations. They reveal the highly controversial, pasted up and medium‐specific features of organizational and professional knowledge systems. Rather than being the product of smooth conversion processes, knowledge in organizations is the outcome of inquiry, controversy and bricolage, resilient as a whole, but subject to local disputes, experiments and reassembling. Based on the findings of the cases, our account points towards a view of organizational knowledge as a dynamic, heterogeneous ‘assemblage’ characterized by ongoing transformations and reconfigurations.     

Using a functional approach to test trending volatility in the price of Mexican and international agricultural products

In this article, we extend the traditional GARCH(1,1) model by including a functional trend term in the conditional volatility of a time series. We derive the main properties of the model and apply it to all agricultural commodities in the Mexican CPI basket, as well as to the international prices of maize, wheat, swine, poultry, and beef products for three different time periods that implied changes in price regulations and behavior: before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; 1987–1993), post‐NAFTA (1994–2005), and commodity supercycle (2006–2014). The proposed model seems to adequately fit the volatility process and, according to heteroscedasticity tests, also outperforms the ARCH(1) and GARCH(1,1) models, some of the most popular approaches used in the literature to analyze price volatility. Our results show that, consistent with anecdotal evidence, price volatility trends increased from the period 1987–1993 to 1994–2005. From 1994–2005 to 2006–2014, trends decreased but the persistence of volatility increased for most products, especially for international commodities. In addition, we identify some agricultural products such as avocado, beans, and chicken that, due to their increasing price volatility trends in the 2006–2014 period, may present a risk for food inflation in the short run.     

Food security,obesity, and inequality: Measuring the risk of exposure to the neoliberal diet

In reviewing the so‐called obesity “epidemic”, we critique the individual‐focused explanations that also lead to interventions at this level. Instead, we suggest a different possibility: that food choices are structurally conditioned by income inequality, first; and, second, that we eat what huge oligopolistic food producers and distributors have on offer, which is in turn shaped or facilitated by neoliberal state intervention. To highlight the relevance of structural factors, we develop an index that measures the risk of exposure to what we call the “neoliberal diet” for low‐to‐middle‐income working classes. Using this index, we compare the United States and Canada, advanced capitalist countries that are also agro‐export powerhouses, with a group of countries including the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) plus Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey. We conclude that state interventions need to refocus on reducing social inequality and the social determinants of food production and distribution. Transcending individualistic and consumption approaches will help us appreciate that the state, not the individual consumer, is best positioned to implement change when it comes to food “choices” and food production.     

全球及本土语境下的第三届哈瓦那双年展

大家对哈瓦那双年展的历史性角色一直有着错误的认知,的确令人震惊。这一盛会最近迎来了它的二十五周年纪念,可以说是驰名国际,且还因其举办地的特殊性,颇具相当的性吸引力。然而除了它的规模巨大之外,通常都被认为是非主流且有些混乱的双年展。大家对它在引领国际艺术圈向今日更宽广领域的转型中所担当的开创性角色知之甚少     

Imagination,Self‐Knowledge,and Poise: Jim March’s Lessons for Leadership

James G. March was a founding father of modern organization theory, and arguably its most eclectic scholar. His elegant writings, which were underpinned by a behavioural view of organizations, spanned ambiguity and choice, rationality and decision‐making, organizational change, organizational learning, and institutional theory, among others. In this editorial, we remember Jim March by reflecting on his lessons for leadership. It is structured into three parts, each portraying a key aspect of contemporary leadership: imagination, self‐knowledge, and poise. March believed that these qualities were essential to leadership, and he embodied them to the fullest.     

Does spatial visualization ability improve after studying technical drawing?

Two studies were carried out to analyze whether learning technical drawing improves a person’s ability for spatial visualization. Visualization and inductive reasoning tests were applied at the beginning and end of a course in technical drawing in samples of first year engineering students. In both studies it was observed that a moderate percentage of students improved their Visualization test execution. The improvement was similar in men and women. There was no improvement on the inductive reasoning test. The results support the conclusion that the spatial visualization ability can be improved with training.