Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references.

<p>This dissertation is an ethnography of local entrepreneurship in the TibetoNepalese carpet industry in Kathmandu, Ward 6 (Boudha) and the Jorpati Village Development Committee, Nepal. This industry achieved dramatic growth during the last decade, after European carpet buyers developed with Tibetan refugee exporters a hybrid 'Tibetan' carpet that combined European design with Tibetan weaving technique. As a result, thousands of Tibetan and Nepalese entrepreneurs came to occupy a new economic niche that was a creation of global commercial forces.</p> <p>This study is an analysis of survey and ethnographic-data from among three hundred carpet manufactories. My primary research consultants were the entrepreneurs (saahu-ji) who operated at a time when the industry was subject to international criticism about the abuse of child labour. Many earlier reports claimed that up to one half of all carpet labourers were children, but I found that by 1995 they were employed only infrequently, as a market downturn placed a premium on skilled weavers. The 'off season', as this market reduction is locally known, and the problem of child labour provides a temporal frame for this analysis.</p> <p>For a theoretical framework, Pierre Bourdieu's 'economy of practices' is used to interpret the data; in particular, I use the concept of social capital to explore the reproduction of ethnic, regional and kinship-based networks in the carpet weaving labour market. Carpet entrepreneurs view weaving labour as a risky resource that requires socially legitimate expertise to master. Child labour is often thought to be such a resource in developing craft industries, but in this case child labour was more an artifact of European demand than a traditional exploitative practice.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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4 pp. / Engaging with one's local government on sustainable development ideas can seem daunting. Understanding your local government's structure and public meeting protocol is key to any citizen's initiative to influence and bring about change to their community. Many examples of sustainability plans and policies developed by other communities across the country are available on the internet to help citizens create some action in their own neighborhood that fosters sustainable development.

The current coalition government in England has expressed its commitment to establishing an autonomous teaching profession. This study argues that such autonomy cannot exist in a system that is ideologically driven by market forces and neo-liberal policy. The best situation that most teachers can hope to experience – barring a seismic shift in material conditions – is an earned and scrutinised autonomy, which is an oxymoronic concept. It is argued that the tight control exercised by the state over what happens in schools through its promotion of market forces, reinforces the ideological nature of schooling in England. The theoretical and ontological basis of the study resides in an orthodox Marxist perspective and analyses the way in which neo-liberalism has formed the basis for the material conditions under which teachers currently work. It develops this idea to demonstrate how this dominant ideology pervades current discourse about pedagogy and curriculum, reducing such discourse to a narrower consideration of ‘standards’. It considers how this diminution of what the curriculum has become has, in its turn, had an impact on teachers’ view of their professional autonomy. Data are gathered from two rounds of interviews with 22 serving teachers complemented by some written responses from them. Six others with a professional interest in education policy-making, four of whom are headteachers, are also interviewed. The conclusion is drawn that teachers’ autonomy remains restricted, with any independence of action largely contingent upon the production of outcomes measured against limited, pre-determined and ideologically driven outcomes. The study identifies a disconnection between the aspirations of teachers with regard to their professional autonomy and those of some, but not all, headteachers. A further disconnection between the aspirations of teachers and the policies of central government is also identified. Significantly, teachers may enjoy more professional autonomy in those schools which currently, and possibly temporarily, enjoy market popularity. In terms of a contribution to the debate about teacher autonomy, the study demonstrates that, notwithstanding the effects of the current policy ensemble, teachers maintain a sense of what education could offer young people that goes beyond the existing, reductive models that frame their working lives.

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It is estimated that peatlands cover around 20% of Scotland’s land area. Scotland’s peatlands are important ecosystems in terms of the services they provide; carbon sequestration, water chemistry and flow regulation, biodiversity, as well as for the homes and livelihoods they offer to their inhabitants. Due to historical management practices over 70% of Scotland’s peatlands are damaged to some degree, and are now in need of restoration. The remaining peat bogs need to be conserved. Peatlands are complex landscapes that require good governance in order to be managed fairly and effectively. This thesis sets out to explore the issues surrounding peatland management and offer some recommendations. Workshops were carried out in Dumfries, The Cairngorms, Thurso and Shetland in order to explore how landowners and managers perceived peatlands and peatland restoration and the potential to fund restoration through the Peatland Code Payment for Ecosystem Services Scheme. The main findings were; there was confusion over the policy concerning peatlands, landowners and managers felt uncertain of the potential carbon benefits and methods to predict them, the Peatland Code focuses on carbon benefits and landowners and managers cared more about water and wildlife. These findings prompted a more in depth study of the objectives, priorities and values of landowners and managers through the use of qualitative interviews, and a policy analysis to clarify funding options and regulations and to identify potential barriers. Sixty-seven semi-structured interviews were carried out with landowners and managers from the four regions around Scotland. These were analysed in order to find common themes. Many of the interviewees had social and environmental aims for their land, as well as financial aims. There was a very strong sense of care and responsibility for the land, which was linked to heritage, legacy and identity. Communication was poor between different groups (landowners vs crofters, locals vs incomers, landowners and managers vs NGOs, Scientists, Politicians), fostering a sense of discord or antagonism. This lead to a lack of trust and a reluctance to engage with other groups, exacerbating communication issues. Poor communication means that the good environmental intensions of evident from the interviews did not always translate into action. Exceptions to this always involved face-to-face communication, site visits, and a long term relationship allowing the build-up of trust. Policy documents relating to peatlands were reviewed. Findings were presented at a workshop attended by peatland policy experts, in order to identify gaps or misconceptions, which were then addressed. Peatlands do not have their own policy area, but are mentioned in policy related to agriculture, forestry, fresh water and biodiversity. Peatlands are most often mentioned in terms of their carbon sequestration potential. They are poorly integrated in fresh water policy. This shows a mismatch between the interests of policy-makers, and the interests of practitioners, as identified in the workshops. Funding for peatland restoration is limited, restrictive in terms of activities that will be funded, and the application process is onerous. The regulations are poorly communicated leading many to fear they will be penalised for undertaking management that is beneficial to peatlands. There are few policies with the intention of building capacity through information provision or training. The uncertainty surrounding funding options for peatland restoration may discourage contractors from diversifying in this area, leading to a shortage of people with the skills necessary to carry out the work. In all three chapters there is a common thread that the various policies and schemes created in order to facilitate conservation and restoration of peatlands do not adequately harness the feelings of care and responsibility towards the environment that are present in the landowning and managing communities. This is due to poor communication and a misunderstanding of the various perspectives of groups in these areas, leading to sometimes obstructive policies which fall short of their ambitions.

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In this paper, the evocative nature of patina on stringed instruments is linked to the four agents of transformation that create it. These correspond to four nostalgic values: nostalgic reflection on the passage of time; nostalgia inspired by use; nostalgia for craftsmanship and pastoral nostalgia. Actors in the subfield of restricted cultural production of stringed instruments invoke one or more of these nostalgic values explicitly as a means to rationalize their actions to competing actors and to the broader public in their battle for status. Patina offers visible proof of their claims. Actors in the subfield of large-scale cultural production do not appeal to specific nostalgic values. Rather, they partake of the nostalgic aura surrounding antique instruments by "pasting" artificial patina onto their instruments. This serves to validate the idea of nostalgia. It also lays bare tensions existing in the broader field of cultural production over questions concerning the past and present.