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While the topic of generalization is well documented for quantitative research, it is less well documented for qualitative research. Addressing this issue, Williams (2000) proposes the concept of 'moderatum generalization' in which generalization is based on the presence of shared culture, and Gobo (2009) proposes idiographic sampling theory via three modes of inference. This article builds on Williams (2000) by considering two mixed-method approaches, cultural consensus analysis combined with cultural modelling, and Q methodology. Both approaches provide a basis for qualitative generalization by explicitly identifying shared culture. In doing this they are consistent with the emblematic case mode of inference described by Gobo (2009).

AbstractIn 2006 Vanclayet al.provided a critical account of the concept of farming styles and proposed revised concepts that enhance our understanding of styles. Their research experience led them to reconceptualise farming styles by applying them to five levels. They concluded that there was no support for a single set of farming styles, that farming styles are more an intellectual construction than a social construction, and that they were not real. In their revised view of farming styles Vanclayet al.discussed and assessed eight issues about the concept of farming styles. We agree with all but two of these assessments – the claim that there is no method that can uncover styles of farming and the claim that such research is not useful for extension. We show in this article that there is a well‐established method for identifying farming styles and that such research is very useful for extension. In making our case we contribute to a better understanding of farming styles, one that uses a method that rests on what farmers state is their approach to managing a farm rather than on methods that rely on researcher assessments of farming styles.

AbstractThis paper argues that the debates in the sociology of agriculture concerning the viability of family farms and related public policy issues can be understood by examining the fundamental assumptions of two different approaches to understanding the totality of society: the expressive and structured orientations. The different orientations to totality provide two distinct formulations of the relationship of agricultural sector to the wider society. Examples are given of the two ways of perceiving agricultural social structure and its relation to the polity and economy. We argue that the structured orientation is most appropriate for the sociology of agriculture and discuss derivatc concepts that can strengthen theory and direct substantive research.RésuméCet article développe ľhypothése selon laquelle les débats de la sociologie ruralc à propos de la viabilite de l'agriculture familiale et des problémes politiques qui y sont associés, peuvent être compris en examinant les hypothéses fondamentales qui se référent à deux approches différentcs de la totalité sociale: approche structurée et approche expressive. Ccs deux approches proposent en effet deux formulations distinctcs de la relation du sectcur agricole á la société globale. Les auteurs donnent des exemples de ces deux maniéres de percevoir la structure agricole et sa relation à la politique et àľéconomie. lis estiment que ľapproche "structurée" est la plus adéquate pour ľetude de &lcar'agriculture, et ils développcnt des concepts qui doivent renforccr cette approche théorique et alimenter des recherches empiriques.ZusammenfassungIn diesem Beitrag wirdt erörtert, wie die Debatten in der Soziologic der Landwirtschaft über die Lebensfähigkcit von Familienbetrieben und damit zusamenhängende politische Sachverhalte verstanden werden können, in dem man die Grundannahmen von zwei untcrschiedlichen Ansätzen zur Erklärung der gesellschaftlichen Tocalität untersucht: die expressiven und die strukturierten Orientierungen. Die uncerschicdlichen Orientierungen auf die gesellschaftliche Totalität führen zu zwei unterschiedlichen Formulierungen dcr Beziehungen des landwirtschaftlichen Sektors zur übrigen Gesellschaft. Es werden Beispiele für die beiden Formen der Wahmehmung dcr sozialen Strukturen in der Landwirtschaft und ihrer Beziehung zur Polidk und WirtKhafi angeführt. Wir bchaupten, daß die strukturierte Orientierung am bestcn für die Soziologie der Landwirtschaft geeignet ist und diskutieren abgeleitete Konzepte, die die Theorie und die direkte, gegenständlichc Forschung stärken können.

Abstract  Within the political economy of agriculture and agrofood literatures there are examples of approaches that reject simple dichotomies between alternatives and the mainstream. In line with such approaches, we challenge the assumption that alternative agriculture, and its attendant improved environmental practices, alternative management styles, less intensive approaches, and better approaches to animal and ecosystem welfare, is the only source of agricultural sustainability. This article uses national farm‐survey results for New Zealand's sheep and beef, dairy, and horticulture sectors to examine conventional farmers, measure their assessments of farming practices, and assess their environmental orientation. Analysis identifies a proenvironmental cluster of farmers in each sector characterized by a higher environmental‐orientation score and distinct ratings of other farm practices queried in the survey. We interpret the results in terms of the exposure of different agricultural sectors to the effects of market‐based, audited, best‐practice schemes. The presence of shades of "greenness" among conventional farmers has important implications for environmental management and for our understanding of the various and complex pathways toward the greening of agrofood systems.

This article reports Australia's first confirmed ancient underwater archaeological sites from the continental shelf, located off the Murujuga coastline in north-western Australia. Details on two underwater sites are reported: Cape Bruguieres, comprising > 260 recorded lithic artefacts at depths down to −2.4 m below sea level, and Flying Foam Passage where the find spot is associated with a submerged freshwater spring at −14 m. The sites were discovered through a purposeful research strategy designed to identify underwater targets, using an iterative process incorporating a variety of aerial and underwater remote sensing techniques and diver investigation within a predictive framework to map the submerged landscape within a depth range of 0–20 m. The condition and context of the lithic artefacts are analysed in order to unravel their depositional and taphonomic history and to corroborate their in situ position on a pre-inundation land surface, taking account of known geomorphological and climatic processes including cyclone activity that could have caused displacement and transportation from adjacent coasts. Geomorphological data and radiometric dates establish the chronological limits of the sites and demonstrate that they cannot be later than 7000 cal BP and 8500 cal BP respectively, based on the dates when they were finally submerged by sea-level rise. Comparison of underwater and onshore lithic assemblages shows differences that are consistent with this chronological interpretation. This article sets a foundation for the research strategies and technologies needed to identify archaeological targets at greater depth on the Australian continental shelf and elsewhere, building on the results presented. Emphasis is also placed on the need for legislation to better protect and manage underwater cultural heritage on the 2 million square kilometres of drowned landscapes that were once available for occupation in Australia, and where a major part of its human history must lie waiting to be discovered.

This article reports Australia's first confirmed ancient underwater archaeological sites from the continental shelf, located off the Murujuga coastline in north-western Australia. Details on two underwater sites are reported: Cape Bruguieres, comprising > 260 recorded lithic artefacts at depths down to −2.4 m below sea level, and Flying Foam Passage where the find spot is associated with a submerged freshwater spring at −14 m. The sites were discovered through a purposeful research strategy designed to identify underwater targets, using an iterative process incorporating a variety of aerial and underwater remote sensing techniques and diver investigation within a predictive framework to map the submerged landscape within a depth range of 0–20 m. The condition and context of the lithic artefacts are analysed in order to unravel their depositional and taphonomic history and to corroborate their in situ position on a pre-inundation land surface, taking account of known geomorphological and climatic processes including cyclone activity that could have caused displacement and transportation from adjacent coasts. Geomorphological data and radiometric dates establish the chronological limits of the sites and demonstrate that they cannot be later than 7000 cal BP and 8500 cal BP respectively, based on the dates when they were finally submerged by sea-level rise. Comparison of underwater and onshore lithic assemblages shows differences that are consistent with this chronological interpretation. This article sets a foundation for the research strategies and technologies needed to identify archaeological targets at greater depth on the Australian continental shelf and elsewhere, building on the results presented. Emphasis is also placed on the need for legislation to better protect and manage underwater cultural heritage on the 2 million square kilometres of drowned landscapes that were once available for occupation in Australia, and where a major part of its human history must lie waiting to be discovered.