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A potential farm policy concern is that if nontraditional (vendor/point-of-sale) financing represents increased risk, it may have an aggregate effect on sector-wide farm financial risk. This analysis examines the use of nontraditional lender credit among borrowers in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s Farm Service Agency (FSA)'s direct farm loan programs.

Data source included the USDA FSA direct operating loan program for 2011–2020. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to estimate the occurrence of default over seven-year term direct operating loans.

Results indicated that point-of-sale financing has a significant and positive relationship with risk for FSA direct operating loan borrowers. The presence of intermediate point-of-sale financing (mostly from machinery and equipment vendors) is associated with an increased probability of default of 9%, and the presence of such loan balances in the amount of $50,000 or more had a higher probability of default of 21%. Short-term nontraditional financing (for example from fertilizer vendors) was found to be positively related to borrower risk of default as indicated by a 22–25% increase in the likelihood of loan default.

Through FSA Farm Business Plan data, the authors were able to distinguish specific vendors and their loan purpose, which advances the knowledge beyond what is currently available through survey data. Findings indicate a minor increase in borrower risk for those with intermediate-term nontraditional financing. However, borrowers with short-term nontraditional financing and having large balances or greater number of nontraditional loans had increases in risk of default by substantive amounts.

The purpose of this paper is to examine credit usage by beginning farmers and ranchers (BFR). BFR credit usage is stratified by location (state) and by socially disadvantaged farmer and rancher (SDFR, also known as historically underserved) status. SDFR groups are defined to include women; individuals with Hispanic, Latino or Spanish Origin; individuals who identify as American Indian or Alaskan Native, Black or African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. Non-SDFR is defined as individuals who identify as non-Hispanic, White men.

The US Department of Agriculture’s Census of Agriculture, Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) is linked with Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan program administrative data to estimate shares of BFR operations using FSA credit. Census data provided information on population changes in total farms and BFR operations from 2012 to 2017 which are compared by SDFR status.

Results reveal differences among BFR operations active in agricultural credit markets by SDFR status and state. BFR were more common among SDFR groups as well as in regions where farms tend to be smaller, such as the Northeast, compared to a more highly agricultural upper Midwest. Among BFR, non-SDFR are more likely to utilize credit than SDFR, however, FSA appeared to be crucial in enabling BFR and especially beginning SDFR groups to access loans.

The results are timely and of keen interest to researchers, industry and policymakers and are expected to assist in developing and adjusting policies to effectively promote and improve BFR success in general and for beginning SDFR groups.

The purpose of this paper is to speculate how recent and emerging trends in information and communication technology (ICT) could change the way tourism businesses and organizations communicate with and manage their guests.

This paper applies elements of futures and design thinking to analyze current tourism management practices and identify critical touchpoints that link tourist decisions to management strategies.

Fictional travel stories were used to identify and analyze how technology might affect tourism through five touchpoints– choice, connection, co-creation, customization and compliance. These stories were analyzed to identify changing forces and suggest potential paradigm shifts that tourism managers need to consider. These included increasingly complex content, the importance of compatible connections, and the critical role of coordination and cooperation in future tourism systems.

While there have been numerous discussions of how tourists and tourism businesses access and use technology, there is little evidence of scholars and practitioners applying formal futures thinking to ICT and tourism. This paper used design thinking and stories to predict and illustrate ways in which technology could be embedded into tourism experiences and services. It suggests that technology can, and probably will, fundamentally change the way in which we manage tourists and their experiences.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for understanding tourist experiences based on concepts from evolutionary, cognitive and social psychology. This framework integrates concepts from mindfulness theory and story-telling theory and seeks to better explain the nature of tourist experiences.

The paper reviews some core conceptual approaches to understanding the concept of experience as a psychological driver in tourism. It will then set a series of research questions and explore some of these through a qualitative analysis of tourist stories and experiences in two South African destinations – Kruger National Park and Soweto. This analysis combines participant observation, content analysis of promotional literature and tourist blogs.

Evidence supports a set of propositions derived from integrating mindfulness and storytelling theory. Stories do play a significant role in encouraging mindful visitors and supporting more positive tourist experiences.

This paper combines two different approaches to understanding tourist experiences to create a new framework for understanding the cognitive processes involved in tourist experiences and how these link to outcomes.

Green building, which is also commonly referred to as sustainable building, is focused on the processes implemented that are environmentally efficient and responsible throughout the life cycle of the building. This accounts for the time of manufacturing of materials, to the erection of these materials, on-site, to the operation of the building and how these efficient materials assist in the operation and running of the building daily, all the way through to the demolition. There are many aspects of the building process that can be switched to green. For the construction industry, the change to green design although the complex is nonetheless necessary. This study thus aims to focus on supporting the knowledge surrounding green buildings in high-rise construction. This research will undertake a comparative analysis and review of one case study in Melbourne, Australia.

The direction of this study commences with an introductory section on what it means to build green. This section is further brokendown to evaluate what factors are involved in constructing a green building. The work then shifts towards the green building from a sustainability point of view, touching base with the level of awareness that is surrounding the green building and the level of ignorance that goes with this. Furthermore, the research includes specific pointers which are strategically placed to directly grab the attention of those who lack knowledge in the area of green building by offering a brief, yet in-depth, discussion of possible materials that can be incorporated in the construction phase and will, in turn, create for a more efficient building. As such, life cycle energy is then introduced and calculations are carried out. These calculations offer a more logical form of validation to the previous points and issues raised, with the hope to achieve a more in-depth grasp of the process involved with green building.

Through comprehensive research, this paper has found the following outcomes. (1) A detailed insight into the contributing factors to green building in high-rise construction and the construction industry in general. (2) An increased understanding of the current status of green buildings within the construction industry. (3) The creation of an effective research methodology plan to implement throughout this research. The appropriate steps and measures, that were required to deliver a successful research piece, included all relevant information. (4) The level of involvement required when calculating the energy levels, including how to perform these calculations when given the correct data, and what these calculations mean concerning what they are defining.

The potential contribution that can be gained from this research is the awareness that is raised in the research and development of green buildings in high-rise construction. This can be achieved by the use of certain materials such as new energy-efficient building materials, recycled materials, etc. Through the incorporation of certain green building methods, an opportunity for cost savings becomes an incentive for the client and builder as the chance for a larger profit margin becomes readily available. In addition to these issues that are anticipated for the potential contribution through this research, the sustainability aspects are also expected to prevail as the construction industry is likely to evolve with changing standards and expectations due to the publicity high-rise buildings achieve, it is more than likely that this research discussion will be adopted willingly and positively promoted for all those involved within the construction industry to get involved. The intention remains that this research paper will be able to contribute a new way of thinking and a new approach to the way of building in the 21st century. As this would be the ideal outcome, the aim remains to portray and deliver information surrounding the views that remain for and against the implementation of green buildings in high-rise construction.

This paper aims to address the question – is heritage interpretation an effective tool in tourism?

The author takes a critical stance seeking to identify and evaluate key assumptions and questions about the nature and effectiveness of heritage interpretation as a tourism management tool.

There are significant gaps in the available research into interpretation and in those areas that have been studied, there is only limited evidence that interpretation is effective. There are few important findings in this area and even where there are some sound and useful conclusions, they still do not address some of the more fundamental concerns about interpretation more broadly.

The paper identifies a set of topics for future research based on the outcomes of the review and consideration of the critiques of interpretation that could be used to improve and extend interpretation in tourism.

By taking a critical perspective on interpretation and questioning the untested and implicit assumptions about the nature and role of this activity within tourism, the paper identifies issues relevant to the conduct of tourism research more generally that have been given little attention in the academic literature to date.

Stories are at the heart of tourist experiences and, not surprisingly, there is increasing use of accounts by tourism businesses and destination marketing organizations in their promotions. The use of stories within experiences is also beginning to emerge, although to date the focus has been on telling destination or business stories to tourists, who are cast in the role of an audience member. But a comprehensive model of tourist stories offers a wider range of innovative ways in which tourists can be involved in − and create − their own stories. This chapter uses such a model to generate and apply principles for tourism practice through a case study of an Australian island destination.

The paper seeks to concern itself with the research field of public sector performance measurement and to introduce the national identity as a performance factor, through a case study.

The paper attempts an innovative presentation and identification of the attitudes, motivations and beliefs of both Greek people and the volunteers regarding the organisation, the success and the benefits of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. The paper reviews the literature on the relation of national identity and sports and analyses the opinion polls on the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

The paper demonstrates that national identity has been the major motivational factor for the volunteers, whose contribution represented a significant added value to the success of the Olympics. The measurement of performance in such a qualitative analysis is supported by self‐reported customers' satisfaction.

It is not a quantitative, structured and executed initial survey, but a secondary, qualitative one.

The paper suggests the re‐definition of the usually negatively conceived notion of national identity, in a new managerial framework, as a performance factor.

This paper is original in its conception, when linking national identity/patriotism with sports and volunteerism in the context of performance measurement, and has a practical dimension, since it proposes tools for measuring performance in cases where a qualitative analysis is appropriate.

We present a critical literature review debating Brazilian research on social and environmental accounting (SEA). The aim of this study is to understand the role of politics in the construction of hegemonies in SEA research in Brazil. In particular, we examine the role of hegemony in relation to the co-option of SEA literature and sustainability in the Brazilian context by the logic of development for economic growth in emerging economies. The methodological approach adopts a post-structural perspective that reflects Laclau and Mouffe’s discourse theory. The study employs a hermeneutical, rhetorical approach to understand and classify 352 Brazilian research articles on SEA. We employ Brown and Fraser’s (2006) categorizations of SEA literature to help in our analysis: the business case, the stakeholder–accountability approach, and the critical case. We argue that the business case is prominent in Brazilian studies. Second-stage analysis suggests that the major themes under discussion include measurement, consulting, and descriptive approach. We argue that these themes illustrate the degree of influence of the hegemonic politics relevant to emerging economics, as these themes predominantly concern economic growth and a capitalist context. This paper discusses trends and practices in the Brazilian literature on SEA and argues that the focus means that SEA avoids critical debates of the role of capitalist logics in an emerging economy concerning sustainability. We urge the Brazilian academy to understand the implications of its reifying agenda and engage, counter-hegemonically, in a social and political agenda beyond the hegemonic support of a particular set of capitalist interests.