Is popular culture merely a process of creating, marketing, and consuming a final product, or is it an expression of the artist's surroundings and an attempt to alter them? Noted Argentine/Mexican anthropologist Néstor García Canclini addresses these questions and more in Transforming Modernity, a translation of Las culturas populares en el capitalismo. Based on fieldwork among the Purépecha of Michoacán, Mexico, some of the most talented artisans of the New World, the book is not so much a work of ethnography as of philosophy—a cultural critique of modernism. García Canclini delineates three interpretations of popular culture: spontaneous creation, which posits that artistic expression is the realization of beauty and knowledge; "memory for sale," which holds that original products are created for sale in the imposed capitalist system; and the tourist outlook, whereby collectibles are created to justify development and to provide insight into what capitalism has achieved. Transforming Modernity argues strongly for popular culture as an instrument of understanding, reproducing, and transforming the social system in order to elaborate and construct class hegemony and to reflect the unequal appropriation and distribution of cultural capital. With its wide scope, this book should appeal to readers within and well beyond anthropology—those interested in cultural theory, social thought, and Mesoamerican culture.

e-Research y español LE/L2: Investigar en la era digital es el primer volumen que aborda de manera conjunta las aportaciones al español LE/L2 de la lingüística de corpus, la biblioteconomía y la edición digital. Es excelente para mejorar las técnicas de investigación a la vez que se toma conciencia sobre el uso de las tecnologías en los estudios sobre el español LE/L2. Características principales: visión interdisciplinar e internacional a partir del trabajo de expertos que ejercen su actividad docente, investigadora y profesional en diferentes ámbitos y en distintos países; planteamiento teórico-práctico mediante la exposición de una reflexión teórica y la descripción de casos prácticos; sólido marco teórico que se presenta en los dos primeros capítulos; estructura homogénea dividida en útiles apartados (necesidades, cómo ayudan las tecnologías y casos concretos) para que el lector pueda localizar los contenidos con facilidad; lectura del volumen que puede ser lineal (capítulo tras capítulo) o transversal (por ejemplo, los casos prácticos que se presentan en cada capítulo); materiales complementarios en línea, como, por ejemplo, glosario hipertextual y enlaces a los corpus y programas mencionados en los capítulos. Escrito en español, de manera clara y accesible, y con abundantes ejemplos e ilustraciones, e-Research y español LE/L2: Investigar en la era digital es ideal para todas aquellas personas vinculadas con la investigación en torno al español LE/L2: estudiantes de máster y doctorado, directores de tesis (PhD o máster) y profesores. e-Research y español LE/L2: Investigar en la era digital is the first volume that jointly addresses the contributions of corpus linguistics, librarianship and digital publishing to Spanish as a second or foreign language (LE/L2). It is excellent for improving research techniques while raising awareness about the use of technologies in studies of Spanish LE/L2. Main features: interdisciplinary and international vision based on the work of experts who carry out their teaching, research and professional activities in different fields and in different countries; theoretical-practical approach through the presentation of a theoretical reflection and the description of practical cases; solid theoretical framework which is presented in the first two chapters; each chapter is divided into three useful sections (needs, how technologies help, and specific cases) so that the reader can easily locate the contents; reading can be linear (chapter by chapter) or transversal (for example, the practical cases presented in each chapter); supplementary online materials include a hypertext glossary and links to the corpus and programs mentioned in the chapters. Written in Spanish, in a clear and accessible way, and with abundant examples and illustrations, e-Research y español LE/L2: Investigar en la era digital is ideal for all those involved in research on Spanish LE/L2, master's and doctoral students, thesis supervisors and professors.

Short-cycle higher education programs (SCPs) form skilled human capital in two or three years. Through original empirical research, this book explores SCPs? outcomes and returns, their supply, and what makes them good. It draws attention towards a higher education sector that has been typically overlooked in research and policy.

Cactus plants are precious natural resources that provide nutritious food for people and livestock, especially in dryland areas. Originally published in 1995, this extensively revised edition provides fresh insights into the cactus plant’s genetic resources, physiological traits, soil preferences and vulnerability to pests. It provides invaluable guidance on managing the resource to support food security and offers tips on how to exploit the plant’s culinary qualities.