Change and transition: the climate of Ukraine's agri-food sector

The agri-food sector has contributed significantly to climate change, but has an important role to play in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The agri-food sector has many potential win–win–win strategies that benefit mitigation and adaptation, and also deliver gains in rural income and land management. Post-Soviet transition economies provide a good model for understanding some of the barriers to adaptation and mitigation in the agri-food sector, due to their significant unmet agricultural potential combined with inefficient energy use. Ukraine is used as a case study to explore the barriers and bridges to addressing climate change in a post-Soviet state. A variety of stakeholders and farmers were interviewed about mitigation and adaptation and the current response capacity. Grounded theory analysis revealed themes that are perceived to function as barriers including: pandering, oligarchs and market interventions; corruption and transparency; and survival, freedom and law enforcement. Foreign involvement and investment emerged as a bridge to overcoming these barriers. The results indicate that significant progress in climate mitigation and adaptation in the agri-food sector in Ukraine will only be achieved if some of the wider political and social issues facing the country can be addressed.

Policy relevance

Ukraine has considerable potential for both agricultural production and climate change mitigation; however, this potential can only be met by identifying and addressing barriers currently impeding progress. This article found that barriers to effective climate change are perceived to stem from wider post-Soviet transition issues. These wider issues need to be addressed during the implementation of climate policy since they are viewed to be important by a wide variety of stakeholders. International negotiations have provided little incentive for Ukraine to achieve effective mitigation, and corrupt practices further impair mitigation projects. In addition, export quotas currently function as a maladaptive climate policy and reduce both farmers' capacity in Ukraine and international food security. Meanwhile, foreign involvement, not just financial investment, but also the investment of ideas can provide a bridge to effective climate policy. The international community needs to provide a legal framework and assist Ukraine in adopting transparent processes in order to successfully execute climate policy.     

Sharing and neoliberal discourse: The economic function of sharing in the digital on-demand economy

In this paper I offer a critical analysis of ‘sharing’ as a discursive formation in the emerging on-demand economy or, as its more commonly known, ‘sharing’ economy. The set of firms and digital platforms that constitute the on-demand economy evade precise definition, though in popular commentary include Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Taskrabbit, Couchsurfing, and Yelp, among others. I argue that sharing is a discursive formation that is produced through neoliberal economic practices and contributes to their constitution and performance, connoting the embeddedness and inter-determination of the economic with the social. I analyze interview material with software developers and others working for on-demand economy firms in San Francisco to underscore how the sharing discourse is produced, and to examine the possible relationship between the sharing discourse and working practices in the on-demand economy. I explore how sharing, though a fragile and contested discourse, has been used by some proponents of the on-demand economy in an attempt to justify and normalize flexible and precarious work through an ambiguous association between capitalist exchange and altruistic social values. This ambiguity is productive insofar as sharing has become associated variously with transactional platforms, digital peer review via surveillant and punitive ratings systems, and algorithmically mediated, precarious, and ‘entrepreneurial’ contract work, while retaining affective associations with community, inclusion, and participation.     

Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) as part of the existing care economy in Canada

This review paper discusses the program called Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF), in North America, as an example of a subset of the care economy in which volunteers contribute to farm care. Human care is partly direct (some childcare, kitchen duties and other housework), but mostly indirect, in that farm families get time off. This review expands on previous work that considered farms in Ontario, Canada as spaces of care and farmwomen as the carers. It critiques other research that claims WWOOFers do not replace local labor and that WWOOF represents an idealistic and ethical space potentially corrupted by tourists.     

珠江三角洲西部地区空间经济持续发展初探

建设珠江三角洲经济区是再造广东新优势的龙头,珠江三角洲西部地区建设是它的突破口。文中对珠江三角洲东,西部增长极进行比较,针对存在问题,调整增长极的发展轴,重点培养珠海,澳门,中山,江会４个增长极,构造西江一崖门经济走廓和广珠澳铁路沿线工业,商贸带两条发展轴,并建立高新技术产业带,优化空间经济布局,促进珠江三角洲西部地区持续发展,从而增强珠三角和广东经济发展后劲,振兴珠江流域经济。     

Economic development and major guarantee projects in the region along the Yangtze River

Ｉ．ＤｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔＳｉｔｕａｔｉｏｎＴｈｅｒｅｇｉｏｎａｌｏｎｇｔｈｅＹａｎｇｉｚｅＲｉｖｅｒｉｓｔｈｅｎａｔｉｏｎａｌｍａｊｏｒｅｘｐｌｏｉｔａｔｉｏｎｂｅｌｔａｎｄｔｈｅｂｏｎｄｏｆｔｈｅｅａｓｔｅｒｎａｎｄｗｅｓｔｅｒｎｐａｒｔｓｏｆＣ...     

河北、江苏两省外向型经济的比较研究──兼议加快河北省外向型经济的发展

江苏等沿海经济发达省市的经验充分证明,外向型经济对整个经济的振兴具有十分重要的带动作用。本文试图通过河北省与江苏省外向型经济的比较研究,在借鉴江苏省成功经验的基础上,对加快河北省外向型经济的发展提出几点设想。     

浅谈在市场经济中实行地质资料有偿使用

地质资料是一座巨大的资源宝库,可以进行长期的、多层次、多侧面的开发利用。在市场经济条件下,更要积极推进地质资料的有偿使用,使其发挥更大的作用。     

在战略性调整中大力发展多种经营

文章介绍了地矿部广西地矿局自“八五”以来,在战略性结构调整中大力发展多种经营的做法和经验。     

老挝会晒蓝宝石资源评价

以世界上又一著名的蓝宝石产地、老挝会晒地区的蓝宝石为例,从宝石资源需求,讨论宝石资源与地质经济;同时,介绍了会晒蓝宝石的宝石学特征及综合评价方法。     

矿产资源在生产力发展中的意义

矿产资源是生产力系统中的重要构成在素,人类自进入文明社会后,生产力的存在和发展都与太产资源的开发利用息息相关,矿产资源已日益成为生产力系统的内在要素,矿产资源的开发利用是生产力发展的必要条件,更是维系现代生产力可持续发展的关键。矿产资源的开发是生产力发展的结果和标志,同时,矿产资源的开发利用既能够促进生产力的发展,又对生产力的发展产生限制和制约作用。开发利用资源是发展生产力,保护矿产资源就是保持生