No description available.

This study considers the labor organization of a group of northern Kenyan pastoralists. Since 1960, the Samburu have experienced substantial cattle loss and land circumscription and the work focuses both on herding and non-herding labor responses to a changing regional economy. The viability of Samburu pastoralism rests on specific labor forms which permit intensified production and economic diversification. / Based on twenty-four months of fieldwork, primarily during the 1983-84 drought, the study emphasizes the interplay between the social and technical organization of labor. Social institutions of descent and age guide natural resource and delineate work roles, while encouraging the varied forms of cooperation which greatly extend the family workforce. The diversity of technical strategies, which are strongly shaped by cultural preferences, contrasts with the paucity of production materials. / Several key findings have applicability to a range of pastoral locales, particularly proof of the positive relationship between labor input and animal output and of the higher efficiency of labor in larger versus smaller-scale herding units only under stable production conditions. Further, the quantitative material on dry season versus drought labor use as well as evidence for differential livestock survival rates represent unique accounts in themselves. / Beyond insights into pastoralism, however, the analysis is structured so as to contribute to several important issues in small-scale rural production. The accounts of the interconnection of technology and social forms and of the integration of "on-farm" and "off-farm" enterprise have implications for defining the scope of any labor investigation. The discussions of the terms "labor" and "technology" pose wider questions of the content of such basic concepts. Finally, the methodological discourse on labor measurement should assist those similarly trying to distinguish between "use" and "demand" in predominantly noncapitalist societies.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on February 27, 2008) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (PhD) -- University of Western Sydney, 2001. / Bibliography : leaves 182-190.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--UCLA, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.H.S.A.)--University of Michigan, 1981.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 106-122).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 12, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Vidakovic, Branislav; Committee Co-Chair: Edwards, Paula; Committee Member: Goldsman, David; Committee Member: Griffin, Paul; Committee Member: Lee, Eva

Thesis (MSD (EAP))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.