The Cultural Commons

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Adam Smith ◽  
Cooperative Behavior ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Moral Beliefs ◽  
Large Group ◽  
Abuse And Neglect ◽  
Cultural Commons ◽  
Group Trust

This chapter begins with a review of a simple theory of cooperative behavior. Employing familiar arguments from Adam Smith, it explains why large-scale cooperation is the key to producing general prosperity. Large-scale cooperation invites forms of opportunism that our small-group trust genes are ill equipped to combat. Economic development therefore quickly stalls if another basis for large-group trust is not found. Certain kinds of moral beliefs can provide that basis (the precise nature of those beliefs is developed in the next chapter). The distinction between cultural beliefs and cultural practices is discussed and the role that storytelling plays in conveying moral beliefs is analyzed. Culturally transmitted moral beliefs that can sustain large-group trust are shown to constitute a commonly owned asset by members of society. Culture is therefore viewed as a kind of commons that, like commons generally, is subject to problems of abuse and neglect.

Culture as Moral Beliefs

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C. Rose
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Moral Beliefs ◽  
Large Group ◽  
Greater Good ◽  
Group Trust ◽  
Moral Restraint

This chapter explains why cultural beliefs—specifically moral beliefs—are more important than cultural practices for building a high-trust society because when trust-producing moral beliefs are well ensconced, trust-producing practices naturally follow. Since it is large-group trust that is the key, our innate moral beliefs, which naturally support small-group trust, are inadequate. What is needed are invented moral beliefs that can support large-group trust and the high-trust society. Two problems must be overcome in large-group contexts: the empathy problem and the greater-good rationalization problem. This chapter explains why overcoming these problems requires that beliefs instantiate moral tastes that function prerationally. It also explains why such beliefs must stress moral restraint over moral advocacy.

Sustainable Production of Honeydew and Muskmelon in Western Mexico

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 495d-495
Author(s):  
J. Farias-Larios ◽  
A. Michel-Rosales
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Glomus Intraradices ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Western Mexico ◽  
First Results ◽  
Legume Cover Crop ◽  
Banana Leaves ◽  
Research Show

In Western Mexico, melon production depends on high-input systems to maximize yield and product quality. Tillage, plasticulture, fumigation with methyl bromide, and fertigation, are the principal management practices in these systems. However, at present several problems has been found: pests as sweetpotato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius), aphids (Myzus and Aphis), leafminer (Liryomiza sativae); diseases as Fusarium, Verticilium, and Pseudoperenospora, and weeds demand high pesticide utilization and labor. There is a growing demand for alternative cultural practices, with an emphasis on reducing off-farm input labor and chemicals. Our research is based on use of organic mulches, such as: rice straw, mature maize leaves, banana leaves, sugarcane bagasse, coconut leaves, and living mulches with annual legume cover crop in melons with crop rotation, such as: Canavalia, Stilozobium, Crotalaria, and Clitoria species. Also, inoculations with mycorrhizal arbuscular fungi for honeydew and cantaloupe melon seedlings production are been assayed in greenhouse conditions for a transplant system. The use of life barriers with sorghum, marigold, and other aromatic native plants in conjunction with a colored yellow systems traps for monitoring pests is being studied as well. While that the pest control is based in commercial formulations of Beauveria bassiana for biological control. The first results of this research show that the Glomus intraradices, G. fasciculatum, G. etunicatum, and G. mosseae reached 38.5%, 33.5%, 27.0%, and 31.0% of root infection levels, respectively. Honeydew melons production with rice and corn straw mulches shows an beneficial effect with 113.30 and 111.20 kg/plot of 10 m2 compared with bare soil with 100.20 kg. The proposed system likely also lowers production cost and is applicable to small- and large-scale melon production.

The Dawn of Civilization

2018 ◽  
pp. 234-263
Author(s):  
Kevin N. Laland
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Evolution ◽  
Slow Rate ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Morphological Evolution ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Genetic Evolution ◽  
The Third ◽  
The World ◽  
Adaptive Challenges

This chapter traces the evolution of human civilization from nomadic hunter-gatherer societies to the advent of agriculture and its large-scale impacts on the world. It describes this history in three ages of adaptive evolution. First, there was the age in which biological evolution dominated, in which we adapted to the circumstances of life in a manner no different from every other creature. Second came the age when gene–culture coevolution was in the ascendency. Through cultural activities, our ancestors set challenges to which they adapted biologically. In doing so, they released the brake that the relatively slow rate of independent environmental change imposes on other species. The results are higher rates of morphological evolution in humans compared to other mammals, with human genetic evolution reported as accelerating more than a hundredfold over the last 40,000 years. Now we live in the third age, where cultural evolution dominates. Cultural practices provide humanity with adaptive challenges, but these are then solved through further cultural activity, before biological evolution gets moving.

Darktown Follies (Lafayette Theatre, Harlem, 1913)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Templeton
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Large Group ◽  
Lindy Hop ◽  
Black Characters ◽  
New Material ◽  
Black Modernism ◽  
Minstrel Shows

One of the earliest large-scale musical revues to be created and performed by an all-Black cast, Darktown Follies premiered in 1913 at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem. Darktown Follies exhibited qualities common to minstrel shows of the period with its episodic musical numbers and large group finale. The plot, however, focussed on a romantic storyline between two Black characters, which was rarely seen in minstrel performances. Darktown Follies introduced dances, like Ballin’ the Jack (which would eventually become a popular dance on Broadway) and the Texas Tommy (a predecessor of the lindy hop) to the New York stage. Darktown Follies helped launch a trend of White artists traveling to Harlem in search of new material for their own productions. The show foreshadowed the development Black musicals like Shuffle Along (1921) and was an important precursor to the artistic renaissance that would define Black modernism in Harlem of the 1920s and 1930s.

scholarly journals The effect of point application of fertilizerson the soil environment of spread line windrows in the Krušné hory Mts

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (No. 5) ◽  
pp. 195-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Vavříček ◽  
J. Pecháček ◽  
P. Jonák ◽  
P. Samec
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Soil Environment ◽  
Growth Environment ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Humus Substances ◽  
Top Soil ◽  
Low Phosphorus

The plateau of the Krušné hory Mts. belongs to areas that suffered the greatest damage caused by air-pollution stresses in Europe. A part of cultural practices aimed at the reconstruction of local mountain forests was the inconsiderate use of bulldozer technologies for the preparation of sites for forest stand restoration. In the course of large-scale scarification the top-soil horizons were moved into line windrows, which caused marked degradation of the soil environment. The present revitalization of the soil environment is based on the principle of spreading these man-made windrows. Experimental plots were established in localities affected by scarification; the organomineral material from windrows was superimposed on them and subsequently they were reforested with Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). In 2005 the point application of fertilizer tablets of Silvamix type in three treatments and calcic dolomite was performed into the rhizosphere of plants. Before fertilization and after three years of the experiment soil samples were taken from the organomineral zone of the root balls of plants, and the condition of the soil environment on spread windrows and changes in pedochemical properties as a result of applied fertilization were evaluated. Three years after the windrow spreading the content of the majority of soil macrobiogenic elements (N, K, Ca, Mg) is at the level of medium-high to high reserves, and only the low phosphorus reserves pose a certain hazard. The organomineral substrate of spread windrows is a suitable growth environment for the root systems of target tree species. The proportion of humus substances is the most important factor in spread windrows from which the characteristics of the other parameters of soil are derived. Along with the higher proportion of humus substances in Špičák locality significantly higher reserves of major macrobiogenic elements (N, P, K, Ca, Mg) were determined. The applied fertilizers of Silvamix type significantly increased the reserves of soil P, K, Ca, Mg and are a suitable means for the stimulation of spruce plantations in the restored environment of the Krušné hory Mts. Silvamix Forte fertilizer tablets are the most complex fertilizer with the most balanced effects that significantly increases the reserves of soil P, Mg and K. This fertilizer has a high effect on an increase in the reserves of soil phosphorus that may be deficient in conditions of spread windrows. Silvamix R is the most efficient fertilizer to increase potassium reserves. A positive effect of calcic dolomite on an increase in Ca and Mg content was observed while no such effect on the other elements was recorded.  

Creation of cultural heritage inventories: case of the historic city of Ahmadabad

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khushi Shah
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Urban Management ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Historic City ◽  
Historic Cities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the relevance of cultural heritage inventories and documentation as critical tools for heritage conservation and management in historic cities, through the case study of the historic city of Ahmadabad, India. Design/methodology/approach – The paper discusses the creation of inventories as part of the comprehensive documentation undertaken for preparation of the World Heritage nomination dossier. In this context, the goal of preserving the outstanding universal value of the historic city formed the basis for selection and assessment of the assets to be included in the inventory. Standard processes and methodology employed for creation of the database involved archival research and planning; field surveys for mapping, photo documentation and data collection; data registration and processing using CAD, Ms Office and geographic information system (GIS)-based digital platform. Optimal data acquisition while maintaining cost and time efficiency was an important consideration for the fieldwork. Findings – While an inventory remains a critical conservation tool, the heritage assets are integrally linked to and influenced by their surroundings in an urban context. A comprehensive documentation approach that provides a broader understanding of the city’s natural features, built environment, heritage resources, cultural practices and socio-economic networks is therefore necessary for creation of a suitable management plan for historic cities. Traditional field surveys based on external visual observation are time and cost effective, and can generate adequate information on identification and assessment of built heritage assets for creation of inventory along with documentation of their context. However, the scale of investigation and the intended role of an inventory as an urban management tool calls for creation of integrated, accessible and updatable data management systems. Research limitations/implications – At the moment, the database created is only used for the limited purpose of monitoring and managing the conservation of listed properties. The importance of the inventory as a critical conservation and urban management tool can be further validated once the GIS database of the historic city is integrated within the urban management and planning system for the city. Originality/value – The inventory created for the historic city of Ahmadabad offers one of the few examples of heritage documentation at such a large scale. It covers an area of 543 ha with a detailed inventory of more than 6,000 properties. The description of, and the reflections on the process employed provide an overview of usual challenges encountered in creation, presentation and management of heritage inventories for historic cities which may offer useful guidelines to practitioners planning similar exercises and help them establish efficient work processes.

scholarly journals Cultural Beliefs and Practices of Ethnic Filipinos: An Ethnographic Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn J. Grey
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Traditional Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs And Practices

<div><p><em>The study was to determine the cultural beliefs and practices of the ethnic Filipinos. This is a qualitative study and the focus is the Aetas living in Central Philippines. The informants were the 9 prominent Aetas, 6 of them were Aeta women who have experienced pregnancy or pregnant during the time this study was conducted. The findings revealed that during pregnancy their most  beliefs and practices are observed by the Aetas.  Some of the traditional beliefs and practices of Aetas  have been influenced by many factors. They have also retained some of their traditional beliefs and practices on pregnancy, childbirth, marriage, death and burial despite the effects of the factors mentioned. All throughout the life stages of the Aetas in the rural communities, their old beliefs and practices had been influenced by modernization.  It simply shows that the Aetas , are also susceptible to accept changes that may affect their way of life. Their traditional cultural practices that deeply rooted in their beliefs were difficult to neglect since it has already been part of their tradition for years.</em></p></div>

scholarly journals EFFECTS OF SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS ON EFFECTIVE AGRICULTURAL TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR FARMERS BY THE BENUE STATE AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY IN ZONE C

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Simon Ameh Ejembi ◽  
Hephzibah Onyeje Obekpa
Keyword(s):  
Training Program ◽  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Logit Analysis ◽  
Agricultural Innovations ◽  
Advocacy Program ◽  
Study Questionnaire

Most agricultural innovations were not sustainably adopted due to incompatibility to social and cultural practices. Based on this proposition, this study was designed to analyze the effects of socio-cultural factors on agricultural training programs for farmers by the Benue State Agricultural and Rural Development Authorities (BNARDA) for farmers in Zone C. Seven communities were purposively selected due to their unique cultural practices and a total of 118 respondents were randomly selected for the study. Questionnaire was used as tool for data collection.  Descriptive statistics and logit regression were used for data analysis. The results show that there were 22 % of respondents aged between 50-60 years, 72 % of them were married and about 60 % had at least secondary educational attainment.  Annual income of respondents was between ₦80,000.00 - ₦100,000.00. About 72 % had farming experience of less than 10 years, and 31 % were cosmopolites. The result further shows that fear of ostracization was among the major reasons that inhibit training program participations. The results of logit analysis show that education (-3.3987), gender (2.268), rivers/streams (-.732) and leadership (2.150) were significantly affect training program. It was concluded that farmer who have strong cultural beliefs were responsible for non- participation in the training program. It was recommended that aggressive advocacy program be embarked by BNARDA before packaging a training program for the farmers.

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