A Survey of the Literature on Human Capital-Intensive Firms

The aim of this chapter is to provide a survey of the academic research dedicated to human capital-intensive firms (HCIF) both at a theoretical and empirical level. The authors conduct a thematic inventory of the published works in this area to assess the dynamism of the field research and provide an exploratory analysis. They develop a bibliometric analysis based on the three widely used databases (Econlit, Science Direct, and Wiley) over the time period 1992-2018. From a cluster analysis, the chapter draws a portrait of HCIF based on the highlighted distinctive features. It also gets more information on the scope of existing research and the issues, limits, and prospects involved.

HRM Practices in Human Capital-Intensive Firms

This chapter focuses on examining the human resource management (HRM) practices that are used in human capital-intensive firms (HCIFs). In the specialized literature on HCIFs, human resources (HR) are recognized as constituting an infinite value potential. Nevertheless, we know little in the literature about “how to manage” these HR in the specific context of HCIFs. First of all, in this chapter, a literature review provides a clarification of the HR's key concepts (human capital, competence, and talent) on the one hand and introduces the relevance to study HRM practices underlying human capital management on the other hand. Then, based on the case study of IBM Corporation, a synthesis of the wide variety of HRM practices is proposed into three processes: identifying, assessing and developing, and finally, motivating and retaining human capital. The IBM case is representative of the HCIFs insofar as the company puts its human capital at the heart of its overall strategy and, in order to do this, provides a sophisticated HRM policy and, in addition, has implemented formalized HRM practices. For IBM, the aim is to improve resource assets of its employees necessary to generate innovation, value, and performance.

Talking about trees: the territorial classification of native forests in the Argentinian Chaco

Deforestation represents an important contributor to climate change. For this reason, identifying conditions that enable the adoption of policies halting or reversing this process is crucial to avoid catastrophic climate change. The Argentinian Gran Chaco is a hotspot of deforestation, mainly due to the expansion of capital-intensive agriculture. In Argentina, the introduction of the national forest law (NFL) represents an important step to protect the remaining forests. However, in the Chaco ecoregion, the implementation of the NFL by the different provinces is extremely heterogeneous. Previous research has provided rich descriptions of the dynamics behind the implementation of the NFL. Yet this research, mainly based on qualitative approaches, does not allow for a systematic analysis of the conditions leading to more or less stringent implementations of the NFL. To address this gap, we first combine the socio-ecological systems (SES) framework with historical materialism (HM) to generate a plausible hypothesis for the heterogeneous implementation of the NFL across he twelve different provinces of the Argentinian Chaco. Specifically, we hypothesise that it is the differences in contextual factors (i.e., differences in forest cover), material/economic conditions (i.e., presence and extent of capital-intensive agriculture) and strength of pro- and anti-deforestation coalitions, which lead to a heterogeneous territorial classification of native forests across the various provinces. Subsequently, we test the hypothesis by developing thick case-studies via qualitative comparative analysis. This approach allows to study in a more systematic way the reasons for the observed institutional heterogeneity. The results show that the proportion of native forests characterised as of low conservation value reflects both the environmental context (i.e., the extent of native forests) as well as the material/economic conditions (i.e., the extent of capital-intensive agriculture) and the presence of strong pro-deforestation cultures, expressed via pro-deforestation coalitions.

Livelihoods, Technological Constraints, and Low-Carbon Agricultural Technology Preferences of Farmers: Analytical Frameworks of Technology Adoption and Farmer Livelihoods

In the context of achieving carbon neutrality, it is scientifically important to quantitatively explore the relationships among livelihoods, technological property constraints, and the selection of low-carbon technologies by farmers to promote agricultural modernization and carbon neutrality in the agricultural sector of China. Based on the scientific classifications of farmer capital and low-carbon agricultural technologies, a farmer technology selection theory model considering capital constraints was developed in this study. Microcosmic survey data were collected from farmers in the Jiangsu province for empirical testing and analyses. A total of four low-carbon technologies related to fertilizer usage and three types of farmers’ livelihoods and their relationships were examined by using a logistic model. The results showed the existence of a significant coupling relationship between the intrinsic decision mechanism involved in selecting low-carbon agricultural technology and the properties of low-carbon agricultural technology for different types of farmers. Significant differences exist in the selection of different low-carbon technologies among large-scale farmers, mid-level part-time farmers, and low-level (generally small) part-time farmers. (1) When selecting technology, large-scale farmers are more inclined to accept capital-intensive, low-carbon technologies, such as new varieties, straw recycling, soil testing, and formulated fertilization. Mid-level part-time farmers are more inclined to accept capital intensive, labor saving, or low risk low-carbon agricultural technologies. In contrast, low-level part-time farmers are inclined to accept labor intensive technologies to reduce capital constraints and agricultural risks. (2) Large-scale farmers and low-level part-time farmers are influenced by household and plot characteristics, while mid-level part-time farmers are more influenced by plot characteristics. (3) Households with capital constraints created by differentiated livelihoods face challenges adopting capital-intensive low-carbon agricultural technologies, such as straw recycling, new varieties, soil testing, and formulated fertilization. However, farmers with stronger constraints in the areas of land and labor are more inclined to accept labor-saving technologies, such as soil testing and formulated fertilization technology. Moreover, farmers with stronger risk preferences tend to accept high-risk technologies, such as new technologies like straw recycling. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for formulating carbon emission reduction policies and low-carbon technology policies for the agricultural sector.

Reflecting on food pedagogies in Canada

The original deadline for submissions for this special issue was March 1, 2020, just days before the destabilizing and disorienting first wave of pandemic-related shutdowns in many parts of Canada. The (r)evolution in food systems pedagogy we were hoping to document and celebrate was promptly preempted by an abrupt transition to virtual learning. In an instant, teachers and learners alike were attending to a pedagogical revolution of another kind altogether. The enduring impacts of this upheaval remain unclear. In the immediate term, though, the shift to online learning presented a crisis (a hasty ‘pivot’ to online teaching and learning) within a crisis (the daily reality of living within the context of a deadly global pandemic). For many critical food systems students and teachers, these new crises layered on top of the already front-of-mind crises propelled by the capital-intensive, industrialized food system. Like peering through translucent nesting dolls, we squinted through layers of pedagogical disruption and pandemic to remain focused on the economic, social and ecological devastation wrought by our dominant food system, and for glimpses of the pluriverse of food systems alternatives that inspire and nourish us.

Public Health Genomics – Treading Two Parallel Tracks

Against the backdrop of a decrepit healthcare system, where health for all is still a ‘distant’ dream, exposing stark gaps and shortfall of crucial inputs at various levels in catering to the health needs and requirements of a large population has compelled a review of the existing system and innovative course corrections. It has invoked a functional vision based on two parallel tracks; one, to rejuvenate and efficiently manage existing healthcare infrastructure and associated healthcare professionals at the village, tehsil and district level; and, the other of providing the modern facilities of diagnosis, prognosis, and preventive investigations with requisite interventions across all sections of the society. For more precise interventions to advance health the proposed two-pronged approach would ensure and safeguard the health, and inter alia reduce morbidity and mortality. Precision medicine in public health is predicated on OMICS technologies along with big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence for disease risk predictions and management in future. The capital intensive character of such technologies does raise concerns about their affordability, demanding an inter-institutional effort to generate simple and cost-effective high-throughput technology and tools for the diagnosis of diseases. The necessity to adopt modern medical biology technologies including Genomics has been amply evident in the COVID-19 pandemic through variant characterization of SARS-CoV2, and anticipated variations in the human host for differential susceptibilities and outcome of the disease.

Bolivia’s ambitious development plans face challenges

Significance The strategy, which has attracted criticism from opponents as being overly statist, is based largely on the policy orientation adopted by the Morales administrations between 2006 and 2019. Broadly, it seeks to promote economic diversification and import substitution under the aegis of an interventionist state. Impacts Import substitution will face problems arising from the scale of contraband shipped through neighbouring countries. Most of Bolivia’s main exports are capital intensive, providing only limited employment spin-offs. Fiscal constraints and lower reserves may limit the resources available for public investment.

Analysis of Solvency of A-Share Listed Companies in China’s Real Estate Industry

The real estate industry is a capital-intensive industry and capital has become a particular concern for real estate enterprises. For a long time, China’s real estate enterprises rely on high-leverage development and carry out high-debt and high-risk operations. The solvency of real estate enterprises has been the focus of stakeholders’ attention. In August 2020, China’s regulatory authorities introduced new financing regulations for real estate enterprises. They set up “three red lines,” which brought real estate enterprises’ solvency into focus once again. This article takes A-share listed companies in China’s real estate industry as an example, analyzes and evaluates its debt solvency, and gives suggestions based on new policies and regulations, hoping to provide specific references to the enterpriser’s manager and external decision-makers.

Campus Food Provision as Radical Pedagogy? Following Students on the Path to Equitable Food Systems

On campuses across North America, students are actively prefiguring alternatives to the fundamental inequities and unsustainability of the capital-intensive, industrialized food system. While rarely recognized as such, these Campus Food System Alternatives (CFSA) are intensely pedagogical spaces, and often—importantly—are student led and directed. We make the case that CFSA are sites for a “pedagogy of radical hope” that (a) centre student agency, (b) through informal and prefigurative learning. So far these spaces have received scant scholarly attention, though inasmuch as they constitute pathways toward more equitable and sustainable food systems, while informing liberatory pedagogical practice, we argue that it is high time for CFSA to be taken seriously.