Conceptualisation of family farms’ flexibility

Agricultural enterprises in transition countries face dynamic changes in the prevailing economic, legal and political conditions. The success of an enterprise depends on its ability to adjust its farming system in response to these changing conditions. To meet this challenge, flexible and adaptable production technology is required. Thus, the farm’s choice of technology is an important decision which determines its future performance. Although the concept of a firm’s flexibility is widely analysed in microeconomics literature, there is no comprehensive framework to facilitate the analysis of family farms’ flexibility, especially considering market imperfections and other obstacles associated with the transition process. In this paper we formulate the theoretical framework for flexibility analysis in order to investigate the impact of farm-specific characteristics on optimal flexibility design and to explain the differences between farms using different production technologies. In a simplified formal model, a competitive risk-averse firm producing one product is assumed to face fluctuating demand under uncertainty. By choosing the level of flexibility, the decision-maker determines the technology of the firm, expressed by the cost function. The optimal level of flexibility will be found by backward induction in the two-stage decision-making process, including ex ante technology decision and ex post output level decision. Using comparative statics and existing theoretical literature, some hypothesis about the relationship between flexibility and other firm characteristics will be formalised. Some possible model extensions that account for specific characteristics of the family farm business in transition countries, as well as future empirical analysis are discussed.flexibility, output price risk, family farms, Farm Management,

Weaving creativity into the Semantic Web: a language-processing approach

This paper describes a novel language processing ap- proach to the analysis of creativity and the development of a machine-readable ontology of creativity. The ontol- ogy provides a conceptualisation of creativity in terms of a set of fourteen key components or building blocks and has application to research into the nature of cre- ativity in general and to the evaluation of creative prac- tice, in particular. We further argue that the provision of a machine readable conceptualisation of creativity pro- vides a small, but important step towards addressing the problem of automated evaluation, ’the Achilles’ heel of AI research on creativity’ (Boden 1999)

Are geographical indication products fostering public goods? some evidence from Europe

Within the framework of multifunctional conceptualisation, the authors have investigated the level of public goods embedded in Agri-food geographical indication productsPostprint (published version

Integrating contested aspirations, processes and policy: development as hanging in, stepping up and stepping out

There are continuing disagreements regarding aspirations and processes in development and appropriate policies for promoting these. This paper proposes a dialogue around a conceptualisation of development as involving three complementary processes: ‘hanging in’, ‘stepping up’ and ‘stepping out’. It argues that these can describe different types of structural change operating at different scales and affecting national and sub-national societies and economies, different sectors within these economies, and people’s evolving livelihoods. The simplicity of this conceptualisation and its strong theoretical, empirical and experiential content make it a powerful framework both for inter-disciplinary, inter-sectoral, multi-scale analysis of dynamic development processes, and for structuring dialogue about contested aspirations, assumptions, modalities and constraints among development analysts and stakeholders with different interests and paradigms

Theories of identity and the analysis of face

This paper explores the insights that theories of identity can offer for the conceptualisation and analysis of face. It argues that linguists will benefit from taking a multidisciplinary approach, and that by drawing on theory and research in other disciplines, especially in social psychology, they will gain a clearer and deeper understanding of face. The paper starts by examining selected theories of identity, focusing in particular on Simon's (2004) self-respect model of identity and Brewer and Gardner's (1996) theory of levels of identity. Key features from these theories are then applied to the conceptualisation and analysis of face. With the help of authentic examples, the paper demonstrates how inclusion of these multiple perspectives can offer a richer and more comprehensive understanding of face and the frameworks needed for analysing it

Inclusive Development: Two Papers on Conceptualization, Application, and the ADB Perspective

This compendium brings together two companion papers on inclusive development. The first paper uses the global literature to formulate a conceptualisation of inclusive development and inclusive growth, and to put the conceptualisation through its paces by applying it to the specific case of donor assistance to rural infrastructure. The second paper conducts a detailed review and a synthesis of Asian Development Bank literature on inclusive growth and inclusive development, to see how one particular international organization has addressed, and attempted to resolve, the analytical and operational issues associated with inclusive development.International Development, International Relations/Trade,

Conceptualising sustainability in UK urban Regeneration: a discursive Formation

Despite the wide usage and popular appeal of the concept of sustainability in UK policy, it does not appear to have challenged the status quo in urban regeneration because policy is not leading in its conceptualisation and therefore implementation. This paper investigates how sustainability has been conceptualised in a case-based research study of the regeneration of Eastside in Birmingham, UK, through policy and other documents, and finds that conceptualisations of sustainability are fundamentally limited. The conceptualisation of sustainability operating within urban regeneration schemes should powerfully shape how they make manifest (or do not) the principles of sustainable development. Documents guide, but people implement regeneration—and the disparate conceptualisations of stakeholders demonstrate even less coherence than policy. The actions towards achieving sustainability have become a policy ‘fix’ in Eastside: a necessary feature of urban policy discourse that is limited to solutions within market-based constraints

Epistemology and conceptual resources for the development of learning technologies

The issues raised by the design and development of technologies to enhance learning has led to a demand for an appropriate language and form of conceptualisation. However we are insufficiently familiar with the way in which different types of mediated tool use occur, to develop the theoretical models needed for the development of this language and form of conceptualisation. In its absence a somewhat eclectic variety of concepts and research, such as the concept of affordance, are recruited in accounts of learning with new technologies. In looking briefly at the relevant area in philosophy this paper will consider whether or not the use of concepts such as affordance give adequate weight to social practice, meaning and knowledge in the design of educational technology. A fruitful source for work in this field which has not been sufficiently exploited is philosophy, particularly recent work in epistemology

The power of creative thinking in situations of uncertainties: the almost impossible task of protecting critical infrastructures

A good and scientific analysis starts with a closer look at the conceptualisation at hand. The definition of CIP is not easy because of its wide range. This paper examines infrastructures that are critical and need protection. Each word entails a specific connotation and is characterized by several components

Beyond books: the concept of the academic library as learning space

© 2016, © Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Purpose: The paper aims to explore the issues surrounding the user conceptualisation of academic libraries. The paper will solidify the role of academic libraries as learning spaces and problematise how libraries are conceptualised by users. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is a literature-based conceptual paper and draws on a wide range of literature to challenge the concept of academic libraries and presents how they are becoming reframed as different spaces. Findings: The paper argues that the concept of a library is at risk. While libraries have undergone substantial changes, the concept of a library has lingered. This paper demonstrated that libraries need to proactively engage users in this debate. Originality/value: The spatial approach taken by this paper demonstrates the complicity behind the user conceptualisation of libraries. Developing an understanding of this process is an important foundation for libraries to develop their user engagement