Farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship facing the upcoming expiry of land contracts

On the verge of the expiry of land contracts, it is theoretically and practically important to explore the willingness and motivations of farmers to stabilize the land contract relationship, with regards to protecting their land contract rights, addressing potential contradictions during the land contract extension, and maintaining the stability of contracted land. Using China Land Economic Survey Data in 2020, this paper explores the impact of differences in areas per capita of household contracted land on farmers' willingness to stabilize land contract relationship. The findings show that most farmers support the stability of land contract relationship;the smaller areas per capita of contracted land are occupied by households than the average in the village, the weaker of the farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship. The difference between the areas per capita of contracted land ownership of a household and the average in the village has a greater impact on the willingness to stabilize land contract relationship for middle-and low-income farmers, while the development of land transfer market does not increased the willingness. Affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the land plays a more important role of employment security, which reduces farmers' willingness to stabilize the land contract relationship. Furthermore, the promotion of socialized agricultural service has also mitigated the willingness of farmers o stabilize the land contract relationship.

Resilience of U.S. cattle and beef sectors: lessons from COVID-19. (Special Issue: COVID-19 impacts on selected commodities.)

The upheaval wrought on the U.S. beef industry by the global COVID-19 pandemic carried with it several lessons that might help improve resiliency should there be a reoccurrence. First, the futures market for fed cattle fell well before cash prices, which sent a signal to market cattle early, and those who did so benefited. Second, the decline in futures anticipated the closure of slaughter plants and provided an opportunity to purchase and store beef primals in anticipation of future scarcity. Third, the beef industry has ways of slowing or stopping the pipeline of animals destined for feed yards and can "store" these animals in background feeding facilities or on pasture or rangeland. Producers who waited to sell feeder cattle benefited from higher feeder cattle prices once the processing facilities reopened. Fourth, cow slaughter plants responded to the pandemic and subsequent scarcity of labor much better than large fed-cattle plants. Cow plants are not as sophisticated and complex as fed-cattle plants. This relative simplicity may help explain the superior performance of these plants during the crisis. Sixth, the academic work on the value of building smaller plants as a response against concentration provides mixed results-these plants require more labor per animal and can be even more susceptible to labor scarcity. Seventh, the observed increase in boxed beef prices, even as fed cattle prices fell, demonstrates the risk-mitigating impact of producer ownership of downstream activities in the value chain.

Evolution of oilseed sector in Romania - an analysis from the perspective of effects produced by the COVID-19 pandemic

Romania ranks first in the European Union for the production of sunflower seeds, third for the production of soybeans and seventh for the production of rapeseed. The paper aims to analyse the effects produced by the COVID-19 pandemic on the evolution of the oilseed sector in Romania. Thus, the following indicators were analysed: evolution of areas under oilseeds, total oilseed production and average yields, as well as the volatility of selling prices for oilseeds. The results of the study reveal that Romania has been the largest producer of sunflower seeds in the European Union. The average yields in sunflower, soybeans and rapeseed have shown great variations in the analysed period. According to Eurostat data, it can be noticed that although Romania is the third large producer of oilseeds in the EU, the average yields continue to be low compared to those from other large EU producers. Yields are also among the most volatile in the EU. The selling prices for soybeans showed a higher increase in the year 2020 than in 2019 in Romania, compared to the increase in the average selling prices of the EU-27 (+9.89%). The selling prices for rapeseed also had a higher increase in 2020 than in 2019 in Romania, compared to the increase in the average selling prices of the EU-27 (+2.31%).

The impact of risk-taking and auditor characteristics on value creation in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19 pandemic: MRN

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of risk-taking and auditor characteristics on value creation in companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In addition, it investigates the moderator role of auditor characteristics in the impact of risk-taking on value creation, especially in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe information about 199 company in 2014–2021 was examined. In the present study, in accordance with the related theoretical literature and the importance of auditor specialization, auditor tenure and auditor reputation, these factors were considered as the auditor characteristics.FindingsThe present findings based on the generalized least squares (GLS) method showed that risk-taking positively affects the value creation. The auditor characteristics (auditor specialization, auditor tenure and auditor reputation) have a significant positive effect on the value creation. Furthermore, the auditor characteristics enhance the impact of risk-taking on value creation. The results of generalized method of moments method and robust regression analysis are consistent with the GLS results. To take into account the Covid-19 conditions, the data were divided into pre-Covid-19 and post-Covid-19 years. The results showed that auditor characteristics moderate the impact of risk-taking on value creation in pre-Covid 19 and post-Covid 19.Originality/valueThe study highlights the role of auditor characteristics in the value creation, especially in the emerging market. Given that Covid-19 has seriously damaged global economic well-being and has put companies at a double risk, the present findings can be useful for managers, investors and the international community, and help company managers make risk-taking policies and select auditors with appropriate characteristics.

Did outside directors' firm-specific accumulated knowledge benefit the firm's stock performance during COVID-19?

We examine whether outside directors' firm-specific accumulated knowledge in the forms of human and internal social capital benefitted the firm during COVID-19. Using a sample of 754 US firms during the COVID-19 collapse period, we find an inverted U-shaped relation between outside directors' average board tenure and cumulative excess stock returns. Our result suggests that firms experienced optimal cumulative excess stock returns during COVID-19 when outside directors' average board tenure is 10 years. We also find that the curvilinear relation is profound for outside directors with more internal social capital, suggesting that outside directors' internal social capital plays a prominent role in enhancing board effectiveness during a crisis. Furthermore, we use several robustness checks to confirm the results. JEL Classification: D83, G30, G34, M41

Classics and the Precariat

WHEN I (CHIARA) TOOK UP MY POSITION at Vanderbilt in 2016, I was given a one-year contract. Since I teach at a well-resourced university, there was a network of child care centers where I could enroll my child—a nice perk that many academic jobs do not include. While those with full-time or tenure-stream positions may not have had to worry about health insurance coverage or paid sick leave (Douglas-Gabriel 2020), questions continue to abound over hiring, pay freezes or cuts (Woolston 2021), parental leave policies and tenure clock extensions, as colleges and universities have scrambled to develop clear and equitable responses to the crisis. [...]the grand revelation of COVID is that, in the words of Chris Caterine, author of Leaving Academia, "All faculty are contingent.” For this reason, programs should be encouraged to work toward converting long-term contingent faculty members into tenured or tenure-track hires whenever possible, or to ensure that contingent positions have as much security and permanence as possible through the use of longer-term contracts.

Written/Unwritten. Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure ed. by Patricia Matthew (review)

The University of Michigan denied tenure to four marginalized faculty members in 2007 and while wrestling with her own tenure challenges, Patricia Matthew brings these stories together. In many ways, these persons are marginalized from the intellectual community that graduate school fosters. [...]they are effectively rendered invisible to the campus community at large. The stigma attached to them, complicated by a healthy level of historical skepticism of social workers and mental health clinicians, may prevent scholars who struggle with anxiety and depression, for example, from availing themselves of any wellness resources and counseling services available to them on campus. In the age of COVID-19, the long-term effects of the disease for those who have survived it are yet to be fully understood and the impacts of the collective trauma are likely exacerbating for those who are already struggling with isolating physical conditions and mental health challenges.

Decolonizing Time, Knowledge, and Disability on the Tenure Clock

We consider the tenure clock's enmeshment in the neoliberal academy's settler colonial and ableist modes of organizing labor and valuing knowledge, modes in turn informed by heteropatriarchal spatiotemporal logics. The tenure clock in the settler academy relies on labor performed by those positioned outside of its time—such as those in temporary or semi-temporary positions, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students. Our motivation in tracing these logics and formulating feminist strategies to undo them stems directly from observing "faculty with disabilities" at our university struggling against the tenure clock;as well as seemingly abled women faculty, faculty of color, and contingent faculty, who have strained against the academic clock and ended up debilitated in the process. We articulate ways in which more collaborative understandings of university culture and knowledge production might serve to challenge the peculiar temporalities produced by the tenure clock. Listening and learning at the intersections of feminist, Indigenous, and disability studies scholarship teaches us to work toward imagining a different approach to tenure, and from there, the way to a different academy.

Changing Higher Education in the United Kingdom: Examining Three Trends through a Neoliberal Lens

Perry discusses how neoliberalism has had a dramatic impact on higher education in the UK. She traces the history of neoliberalism in broad strokes from the pre-Thatcher years to the post-Thatcher years and identifies three key trends in higher education: widening participation and the politics of aspiration, the emergence of the student entrepreneur-consumer, and the marketization of higher education. With specific reference to the third trend, she discusses the use of Internet-based education by higher education institutions and its potential impact on students. The coronavirus pandemic has posed major challenges for student recruitment and increased the precariousness of students in the instructional process.

Impacts of the COVID-19 response on the academic public health workforce

Little attention has been given to the mental and physical health impacts of COVID-19 on the academic public health workforce. Academic public health is an important support mechanism for public health practice, providing expertise and workforce training, conducting research, disseminating evidence-based scientific information to both public health and lay audiences, and serving as a supplementary workforce when additional resources are needed. These roles become more important during a public health emergency, particularly during a prolonged public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the COVID-19 response, the roles of academic public health have expanded to include developing and implementing contact tracing, surveillance, testing, and vaccination programs for universities and their surrounding communities, all while continuing to prepare students and support the public health practice workforce in their ongoing efforts. As in other responder groups, this has resulted in significant mental health effects and burnout among public health academicians. The authors suggest important steps that can be taken to improve the resilience of the academic public health workforce and to support their contributions during prolonged public health emergencies. © 2023 The authors.

Statistical Analysis of Professors' Assessment Regarding the Didactic Use of Virtual Reality: Engineering vs. Health

Virtual reality (VR) has proven to be an efficient didactic resource in higher education after the pandemic caused by COVID-19, mainly in the Engineering and Health Sciences degrees. In this work, quantitative research is carried out on the assessments made by Latin American professors of Health Sciences and Engineering of the didactic use of VR. Specifically, the gaps by university tenure in the assessments given by the professors of each of the two areas of knowledge analyzed are identified. For this purpose, a validated questionnaire has been used, which has been applied to a sample of 606 professors. As a result, it is shown that the professors of Engineering and Health Sciences have similar self-concepts of their digital competence, but the Engineering professors give higher values to the technical and didactic aspects of VR. Moreover, in both areas, professors from private universities rate VR technologies more highly than those from public universities, this gap being wider in Health Sciences. Finally, some recommendations are offered regarding digital training and the use of VR, derived from the results of this study. © 2023 by the authors.

COVID-19 pandemic and resilience in the agricultural sector: a local strategy may solve the global challenges

Agriculture remains a major engine of growth among the majority of developing and underdeveloped countries throughout the globe. But the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has severely affected all sectors of agribusiness industries. In many parts of the world agriculture production became almost half due to the impact of this pandemic. But in two Himalayan regions of India, Darjeeling and Sikkim, mixed effects were observed during the pandemic period. Although a large number of marginal farmers were severely affected during the lockdown and even in the unlock phases, while a significant number of farmers also gained nominal to a large amount of profit;chiefly because of reliability on complete organic farming including producing organic manure and bio-pesticides by the farmers themselves, lack of competition with imported agricultural commodities into the local market due to the inter-state travel ban, marketization of the agricultural products to the consumers through Farmers Producers Organizations (FPOs), NGOs and Sikkim State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation ltd. (SIMFED) and above all creation of the Farmers' Helpline at district levels by the local government bodies to solve the problems of the farmers even in the remotest regions.

Smallholder views on Chinese agricultural investments in Mozambique and Tanzania in the context of VGGTs

Based on a case study in each country, this study documents the views of Mozambican and Tanzanian smallholders regarding Chinese agricultural investments and the extent to which investors abide by their legitimate land tenure rights as defined by the Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Forests and Fisheries in the Context of National Food Security (VGGTs). The VGGTs offer guidelines to government on how to protect the land tenure of rural communities when land is being acquired for large-scale land investments. The study also assessed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on smallholders. Due to COVID-19, instead of fieldwork, we conducted telephone interviews with 20 smallholders in Mozambique and 35 in Tanzania. The Mozambican case showed that even when land set aside for investors was not in dispute, smallholders still had unmet expectations, especially regarding investors' corporate social responsibility activities. In the Tanzanian case, even though the land leased by the Chinese investor had been designated as general land, it had laid fallow for a long period, and smallholders had moved back onto the land, only to be displaced in 2017. Although smallholders' views on the investment were mixed, the case underscored the need for government to assess current land use before allocating it to investors - regardless of how the land is classified and especially in areas where land shortages are creating conflict. The cases show that even if communities are consulted about proposed land investments, guidelines need to include clauses that allow for ongoing communications between investors, communities and government officials such that if communities are unsatisfied with the results of the investment, renegotiation is possible. Further, in the event of crises, such as COVID-19, investors should partner with communities and government to limit the extent of harm in communities as a result of the crisis.

Lessons from the Year without Archives

[...]even when contingent scholars can take time away from teaching, they often do so without knowing whether they will have a job when they get back, or what they will be teaching. [...]the archives are always further away for scholars without the security of durable institutional affiliations. Because Covid interrupted so many projects, the argument goes, institutions should grant the affected scholars additional time on the "tenure clock"-the series of reviews that tenure-track faculty undergo in the years leading up to the decision to grant tenure.

Improving Governance of Tenure in Policy and Practice: Agrarian and Environmental Transition in the Mekong Region and Its Impacts on Sustainability Analyzed through the ‘Tenure-Scape' Approach

Land relations in the Mekong Region are marked by the densely populated and intensively cultivated lowlands and the more extensive settlement and cultivation areas in the uplands. Land-use changes in the lowlands and uplands are interlinked and are a key process of agrarian and environmental transition. The ‘tenure-scape' approach is introduced as a qualitative analysis combining integrated landscape approaches, governance and rights-based approaches, while underlining the centrality of legitimate tenure rights, limitations and obligations. This approach is used to analyze the impact of the Green Revolution and the global commodity boom, in particular the growth of rubber and coffee, on sustainability in the Mekong countries, i.e., Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam. The way forward points to the use of the elements of the ‘tenure-scape' approach to re-valuate the potential contribution of smallholder farmers to the wider physical and societal landscape. The ultimate goal is to go from transition to transformation toward a more secure, equitable future for those at risk of being excluded from effective access to, use of, and control over land, fisheries, forests and water resources, which are providing the basis for their livelihoods if the concession model of land-based investments were to be continued.

COVID-19 and pre-tenure counseling faculty: A collaborative autoethnographic investigation.

Higher education faculty worldwide experienced heightened stressors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, from completing their professional roles and responsibilities virtually to balancing personal and professional stressors. Consequently, the pandemic created many adjustments for pre-tenure counseling faculty across research, teaching, and service. In response to this pandemic, we explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the personal and professional lives of four pre-tenure counseling faculty members. Accordingly, we used collaborative autoethnography to investigate our experiences and narratives as pre-tenure counseling faculty, which resulted in seven overarching themes. We discussed the implications for practice, advocacy, education, and faculty training.

The relationship of land tenure, land use and land cover changes in Lake Victoria basin

Water basins characterise both physical and social environmental aspects such as land tenure. As such, the basins extend beyond spatial units of physical resources and human relations analysis to policy research and reform units. The comprehensive view of water basins in research goes along with an observed increase in anthropogenic-driven changes, such as land use and land cover changes, and cases of ineffective remedial measures to the adverse change, such as through applying integrated watershed management approaches. The human-induced land cover changes affect the water basin's biodiversity, for instance, contributing to an increase in zoonotic disease outbreaks like coronaviruses. The Lake Victoria basin exhibits similar patterns of change and effects due to, among other factors, land tenure, whose contribution is less known empirically. Therefore, this paper integrates satellite imagery and catchment survey data to examine the relationship between land tenure and land uses and land cover changes in the Lake Victoria basin of Eastern Africa. Additionally, explore the contextual character and role of three land tenure systems of Customary, Native freehold and Mailo found in the Uganda country segment of the basin in explaining the outcomes. The aim is to provide information that, among other benefits, improves water basin management and governance. The results indicate a statistically significant relationship exists between the perceived extent of land use and land cover change;drivers of change;the extent of adopting sustainable land-use practices, and the prevailing land tenure. Though with different tenure systems, the three case study water catchments experienced adverse land use and cover changes. The changes mainly affected land tenure indicative land use and cover classes, prominently on the Customary, Mailo, and Native freehold land tenure systems. However, marginal differences occur among the land tenure systems, as the systems feature both de jure and de facto systems and an orientation towards customary tenure characters. The situation likely explains the observed closeness in perceptions regarding the role and relationship between land tenure and land use and cover changes, tenure systems character, perceived drivers of change and eventual outcomes, including the sustainable land use practices adoption. In addition to explaining the land use and cover change, land tenure is an essential tool for restoration and sustainable basin development and sustainability. We, thus, recommend land tenure responsiveness in water basin management approaches for sustainable societal development. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd

Combating social inequality in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic - the solidarity actions of the landless rural workers movement

The main objective of this article is to present a reflection on the importance of socio-territorial movements in the face of actions to combat social inequality in this pandemic period, 2020-2021. In this sense, the article deals with a debate on COVID-19 and the impacts resulting from this pandemic. It discusses the emergence of the Landless Rural Workers Movement (MST), its solidarity actions and the debate on the Popular Agrarian Reform Plan. This study ends with a presentation of data, resulting from the result of a questionnaire applied online on society's vision of the MST. Finally, the article presents a reflection that highlights the peasantry, which, despite all the subordination that has been going through over the centuries and has been suffering from the impacts arising from the agribusiness development model, has much to contribute to the development of regions, when we see actions that guide new possibilities of producing, consuming and protecting nature, boosting the quality of life in the countryside and in the city.

A Call for Promoting Faculty Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Institutions of higher education face unprecedented challenges in serving their students and greater society. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly disrupted research and education globally, colleges and universities had been working for decades to better respond to societal, student, and faculty needs. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on future student enrollment and revenue is unknown. If universities cannot adapt rapidly and effectively, they face the risk of becoming irrelevant or, at least, serving a diminished societal role in the future. One way to respond to such concerns is by shifting foci at institutions of higher education toward programming that further enhances institutions' contributions to long-term social and economic well-being and makes this impact obvious. In this article, the authors describe a variety of faculty I&E and review results of a 2019 survey across 99 diverse U.S. institutions of higher education that found misalignment between institutional-level innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) priorities and the current reward system for university faculty. The authors argue that revisions to promotion and tenure-related structures are needed to better support faculty and help translate their I&E to enhance academia's contribution to social and economic well-being.

Maternidad Fronteriza amidst COVID-19 Pandemic: "Testimonios" of "Mami"Scholars' Resistance

Recognizing that the burdens of Women of Color and mothers were augmented by the global pandemic and by the failure of institutions of higher education to equitably accommodate the needs of these populations, we shed light on the specific struggles experienced by MamiScholars in the era of COVID-19 in this article. We share our testimonios through the documentations of our MamiScholar realities to contest dominant narratives that would otherwise continue to undermine the legitimacy of our needs and demands during COVID-19. We further coin and define the concept of maternidad fronteriza, exploring the balance of being mothers of littles ones on the tenure clock. This article advances our understandings of challenges MotherScholars of Color face in institutions of higher education while providing recommendations about specific changes universities can make to produce equitable outcomes that address their specific needs.