Search results

This study investigates the impact of contract farming in onion, okra and pomegranate production on profits of smallholder farmers in India. It also investigates the determinants of farmers’ participation in contract farming. The study is based on a survey of 1,131 farmers from Maharashtra, India engaged in the cultivation of these three crops.

This study uses instrumental variable regressions and quasi-experimental methods to decipher the impact of contract farming.

The study reveals that contract farming ensures higher returns for smallholders, enables their access to high-end markets and brings in risk-sharing with protection during price fluctuations. Farm size and farmers’ risk perceptions are significantly associated with their participation in contract farming.

The study is based on cross-sectional data, which presents limitations on considering unobserved farmer-level individual heterogeneity.

The study shows that contracts highlight the functioning of the contractor/integrator on both the input and output sides of the market. By providing better-quality inputs on credit and at discounted prices and by providing training, the integrator helps small farmers meet international food safety and quality standards, a historically difficult challenge for smallholders in India.

The goal of this research is to look at how urban microfinance affects livelihood transformation in terms of poverty reduction, living standards, social well-being, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

This paper analyses the role of urban microfinance towards livelihood with special reference to Western Uttar Pradesh. Primary data were collected from 321 respondents who are users of a microfinance programme using a standardised questionnaire. The data were collected using a stratified random sampling technique, and the data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Urban microfinance has a considerable impact on poverty reduction, the standard of living, social well-being, empowerment and entrepreneurship in the urban poor, according to the findings.

The fact that the majority of the borrowers were uneducated was the most significant barrier to them filling out the questionnaire. Their anxiety was the most significant psychological obstacle to successfully answering the questions, and it took time. As a result, it is urged that proper counselling be conducted before the poor borrowers fill out the questionnaire.

The current study highlights the factors that lead to the utilisation of microfinance services. This research will aid MFIs in selecting the appropriate products and services for the urban poor. The results of this study will aid them in understanding and meeting the expectations of microfinance CEOs.

This is a first study conducted in Northern zone of India measuring the roles urban microfinance institutions (MFIs) in uplifting the livelihood of urban poor.

This paper aims to analyze the nature, magnitude and determinants of access to food among rural households in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study is based on the World Bank’s Rural Impact Survey, which has documented the shocks of COVID-19 among 2,787 rural households across six states in India. The chi-square test and binary logistics regression have been used to analyze the data.

About 49.7 % of rural households have reported the incidence of food inaccessibility and shortage, and the majority of them reported a reduction in food intake during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the magnitude of food accessibility varied across the states and the sociodemographic characteristics of the households. Furthermore, regression analysis indicates that family size, social category and occupation as sociodemographic variables and membership in self-help groups, wage employment under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and Cash transfer under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi and Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana as institutional support factors have a significant effect on access to food among rural households.

The findings of the study have far-reaching policy implications for developing an effective food distribution system in crisis situations like the COVID-19 outbreak. The study also provides directions for extending the research on determinants of access to food during crisis.

The study is based on a large survey data from the rural households in India and provides empirical evidence on access to food faced by rural communities during the COVID-19 lockdown.

This study aims to identify the most important factors affecting the usability of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and present these factors in the form of a comprehensive and practical framework and validate the framework.

In this research, a mixed research method and sequential exploratory research design were used. In the qualitative section, the qualitative meta-synthesis method was utilized to extract usability factors from the research literature and formulate the framework of factors, and in the quantitative section, the survey method was employed to validate the framework. In the qualitative section, the research field included the research available in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, and the data collection tool included electronic and printed documents on the usability factors of LMSs. To validate the findings, in addition to citing research literature and theoretical foundations, the audit trail, consensual validity and expert peer review methods were used. Also, to analyze the data, the thematic analysis method and thematic network via MAXQDA 2020 software were used. In the quantitative section, the statistical population was students of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at Allameh Tabatabai University in Iran, and the sample included undergraduate students of this faculty with a volume of 200 people. The tool for collecting information was a researcher-made questionnaire that was provided to students in the first half of the academic year 2022–2023. To validate the findings, content-related validity through Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content Validity Index (CVI) and construct validity through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Convergent Validity were examined. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and Composite Reliability (CR) were also used to check reliability. To analyze the data one-sample T-test via SPSS 27 software was used, and the PLS-SEM was utilized via SmartPLS 4 software to validate the framework proposed by the researcher.

The findings from the qualitative part of this research include basic themes and organizing themes related to the global theme of usability. Based on the findings from the qualitative part, it can be concluded that the factors in terms of frequency in the research literature have the following ranks: interaction (first rank), ease of use and usefulness (second rank), learnability (third rank), navigation (fourth rank), satisfaction and enjoyment, visual design and accessibility (fifth rank), help and assessment and feedback (sixth rank) and content, errors correction and privacy and security (seventh rank). The findings of the quantitative part include the external fit indexes of the framework and the internal fit index of the framework; based on the obtained values, it can be concluded that the framework of LMS usability factors has a good fit.

This research is the first comprehensive study of all theories on the usability of LMSs, in which a framework is proposed that combines the important factors mentioned in the relevant theories and models for the first time. Additionally, practical and applicable suggestions are provided in this study to enhance each of the usability factors of LMS.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research presents a framework for the first time in which all important factors of usability theories and models are combined and prioritizes these factors based on their importance in relevant research. It also provides practical recommendations for enhancing these factors in LMSs for system developers and instructional designers.

Blockchain technology (BT)-based halal discussions have gained momentum as their significant benefits have become evident. However, explaining the halal compliance of blockchain-based products remains insufficient. This study attempts to confront this deficiency and promote a thorough understanding of halal compliance using BT.

The research design emphasized the relationship between theoretical and empirical evidence in adopting BT to produce novel knowledge for halal compliance. Furthermore, this study formulated a model resulting from an iterative process between theoretical and empirical evidence, as confirmed by multiple case studies. To produce solid findings, the data were collected using a few approaches involving key actors in halal-specific areas in Indonesia, such as in-depth interviews, direct observations and documentation.

The study shows that the developed model elucidates the synthesis of BT and halal compliance. BT’s features can facilitate the dimensions of halal compliance and can be applied in multiple cases. The BT features work complementarily, and it was found that some features work dominantly in each dimension for halal compliance, while other features accentuate a minor role. Other findings identified discrepancies among the cases since they had different characteristics.

This study initiates an integrative model combining BT features and halal compliance dimensions, including traceability, integrity and authenticity. The model, along with the study’s implications and contributions, is then explained in detail in this article.