W. Richard Goe

The Role of Contact Requirements in Producer Services Location

The authors explore the role of contact requirements in the locational tendencies of producer service establishments. Empirical evidence from two demand-side surveys suggests that close proximity between vendors and clients is required for contracts that involve frequent buyer–seller interaction (face-to-face linkages). These types of contracts are shown to be relatively low duration and/or low cost in nature. Specific activity classes that exhibit these characteristics include data processing, computer software development, product testing, and equipment repair services. In contrast, more advanced (and often more expensive) services such as management consulting and industrial design exhibit lower levels of contact sensitivity. The paper concludes with a discussion of forthcoming prospects for the development of a contact-based model of producer service location.

Computer and Internet Use by Great Plains Farmers

We use data from a 2001 survey of Great Plains farmers to explore the adoption, usage patterns, and perceived benefits of computers and the Internet. Our adoption results suggest that exposure to the technology through college, outside employment, friends, and family is ultimately more influential than farmer age and farm size. Notably, about half of those who use the Internet for farm-related business report zero economic benefits from it. Whether a farmer perceives that the Internet generates economic benefits depends primarily on how long the farmer has used the Internet for farm business and for what purposes.

Learning Factories or Reproduction Factories? Labor-Management Relations in the Japanese Consumer Electronics Maquiladoras in Mexico

This article compares and contrasts the labor-management practices of Japanese consumer electronics maquiladoras in Mexico with those of consumer electronics factories in Japan and assesses the extent to which the labor-management practices of Japanese factories have been transferred to maquiladoras in Mexico. An idealized model of the labor-management system employed in Japanese factories in the consumer electronics sector is delineated from the available research literature. Data on labor-management practices of the Japanese consumer electronics maquiladoras are derived from personal interviews with 75 Mexican production workers. The findings suggest that the consumer electronics maquiladoras in Mexico are using a hybrid labor-management system that is similar to but differs in important ways from the system used in consumer electronics factories in Japan.

The Efficacy of Public Education as a Means of Social Mobility for the Indigenous Tribal Populations of Rural India

India is home to a diverse number of indigenous tribal groups collectively known as the ‘adivasis’. As part of a tribal development strategy, the Indian government extended the public school system to serve rural tribal areas. This qualitative study explores the efficacy of the rural school system as a means of promoting social mobility among the Santal, Birhor, Kharia, and Lodha tribes located in the state of West Bengal, India. The findings indicate that rural schools have poor facilities, lack resources, and offer environments that are not conducive to academic success by the majority of tribal students. The research also reveals how the challenges faced by tribal children in rural schools are exacerbated because of a lack of cultural competency on the part of education professionals who design and deliver the curriculum. Thus the schools largely fail in preparing tribal students for even the bottom rungs of the Indian labour market.

The implications of corn-based ethanol production for non-metropolitan development in the North Central region of the US

Although most countries in the world are rapidly urbanizing, the majority of the global population – particularly the poor – continue to live in rural areas. This Handbook rejects the popular notion that urbanization should be universally encouraged and presents clear evidence of the vital importance of rural people and places, particularly in terms of environmental conservation. Expert contributors from around the world explore how global trends, state policies and grassroots movements affect contemporary rural areas in both developed and developing countries.