Digital Learning in Russian Higher Education: What Are Lecturers Attitude and Fears Toward Online Courses Adoption?

Online courses changed the landscape of higher education in the World, but their acceptance by lecturers in Russian universities is incomplete. The study aims to reveal a general attitude of online courses among lecturers in Russian universities; to quantify factors that motivate lecturers to create and modify online courses; to identify lecturers' fears regarding their employment status due to the widespread adoption of online courses into the practice of higher education. The quantitative study is based on the results of a lecturers’ survey, which was conducted in 2020 in Russian universities. We filled 134 questionnaires using the Google form. The result contributes to (i) a scientific discussion about the role, meaning, and effects of online courses inclusion into educational programs (in the context of factors and motives for creating and addressing them by the lecturers), and it enriched the scope of scientific literature, dedicated to e-learning in higher education, and (ii) empirical results confirmed that acceptance of online courses in the systems of higher vocational education is viewed through the prism of employment threats

Agribusiness social responsibility in emerging economies: Effects of legal structure, economic performance and managers’ motivations

While corporate social responsibility (CSR) in emerging and developing countries has attracted increased attention, most research still focuses on firms that conduct CSR under pressure from the West (e.g., through the dominance of Western firms or of certification in global value chains). This article studied how CSR takes shape domestically in an emerging economy (Russia), in remote rural areas, outside the reach of international mechanisms enforcing CSR. Specifically, it investigated corporate support for social and technical infrastructure for rural communities, based on a survey of 110 farms and qualitative interviews with farm managers in the Altai region, Siberia. It showed that many farms continue Soviet-era support for infrastructure, but unevenly. Farms with the legal form of a production cooperative and those with good economic performance were most likely to conduct CSR. Most farm managers expressed care for the local community but instrumental motivations, such as keeping good relations with local authorities to ensure access to land also featured

Revealing the Determinants of Wheat Yields in the Siberian Breadbasket of Russia with Bayesian Networks

Higher crop yields are critical to satisfy the rising global food demand. Russia holds untapped potential for increasing agricultural production because current grain yields are often far below the potentially attainable yields. Western Siberia is an important breadbasket in Russia, where wheat yields fall particularly short of their potential. Our goal was to assess the determinants of yield variations among farmers in the province of Altai Krai in Western Siberia. We conducted 67 structured in-person interviews with corporate farm managers and individual farmers about the potential determinants of wheat yields and complemented these data with 149 additional observations obtained from the provincial agricultural extension service. We used Bayesian networks (BNs) to represent the relationships between the explanatory parameters and contemporary wheat yields and to examine qualitative future scenarios of future yields. The results revealed higher yields on larger farms than on medium and small farms. Our results corroborated that the application of fertilizers and herbicides and the implementation of new equipment had large positive impacts on the yields. The scenario of higher future production costs and lower precipitation resulted in a yield reduction from 7.6 dt/ha to 5.3. Overall, our results suggest that policies aimed at increasing wheat yields should concentrate on the education of farmers and encourage higher input applications, particularly for small-scale farms. Additionally, policies should address concurrent challenges, such as a higher drought frequency, through the application of new equipment, seed material and tillage practice

Restoring steppe landscapes:patterns, drivers and implications in Russia’s steppes

Context: Agricultural land abandonment across the steppe belt of Eurasia has provided an opportunity for the restoration of steppe landscapes in recent decades. However, global food demands are about to revert this trajectory and put restored steppe landscapes at risk. Objectives: We analysed steppe development in southern Russia in the last 40 years, assessed its spatial patterns and drivers of change for several periods. Methods: Using Landsat imagery, we mapped the permanent steppe and steppe restoration from 1990 to 2018. Based on regression tree models, we evaluate and explain its dynamics. Results were compared with district-level trends in land-use intensities of cropland. Results: We found 70% of the steppe in 2018 represented permanent steppe and 30% of former cropland dominantly abandoned in the postsocialism (1990–2000). The permanent steppe and steppe restored in the postsocialism (1990–2000) were located far from settlements, on rough terrain and in districts of the Virgin Land Campaign (1954–1963). In recent decades, the patterns of steppe restoration (2000–2018) were mostly determined by unfavourable agroclimatic conditions and distance from grain storage facilities. The restoration pattern reflects regional differences in land-use intensities, e.g., isolated steppe patches mostly appeared in areas of intensive agricultural land-use. Conclusions: Steppe restoration has appeared in areas marginal for agricultural production, with poor natural conditions and little human footprint. Consequently, the permanent steppe became less fragmented and a more continuous steppe landscape resulted. The remaining isolated steppe patches require attention in restoration programs as they are mostly located in areas of intensive agricultural land-use