Determinants of artificial insemination use in cattle in northern Sinaloa, Mexico

Objective: To identify the factors that determine the use of artificial insemination by cattle producers in northern Sinaloa. Design/methodology/approach: We used a discrete-choice logit model for 200 cattle producers from northern Sinaloa. Results: Four variables were significant (p£0.05): two of them reduce the probability that the farmer will adopt the artificial insemination technology (age and distance from the ranch to the municipality), while the other two increase the probability of adoption (income from the sale of calves and machinery and equipment index). Limitations/implications: The results only apply to the sample from three municipalities in northern Sinaloa, although they may be useful for other regions with similar characteristics. Findings/conclusions: Farmers with a higher rate of machinery and equipment have a 36.43% probability of adoption.

“Cursed is the ground because of you”:

This paper analyses culture as a determinant of technology adoption in a developing country. While the literature discusses the influence of culture upon economic growth, little attention has been paid to the mechanisms at the micro level. Therefore, we postulate that culture plays a crucial role in hindering or fostering the diffusion of innovation, a key trigger of the engine of growth. This empirical study uses the Ethiopia Rural Household Survey to disentangle between individual cultural traits, namely, ethnicity and religion, and the cultural homogeneity of the environment as co-determinants of fertiliser adoption. To examine our hypotheses, we apply a multivariate survival model for clustered and correlated observations to account for time and location effects. The results reveal significant differences in the probability of adopting fertiliser among cultural groups. Moreover, habits and social norms, proxied by ethnicity, provide a better explanation for the role of culture, than religious beliefs, as usually posited in the literature. Also, the cultural environment turns out tobe a decisive trigger. The probability of adoption is higher in rural societies with a homogeneous ethnic environment but distinct religious variety.

Hospitalists, two decades later: Which US hospitals utilize them?

Hospitalists, or specialists of hospital medicine, have long been practicing in Canada and Europe. However, it was not until the mid-1990s, when hospitals in the U.S. started widespread adoption of hospitalists. Since then, the number of hospitalists has grown exponentially in the U.S. from a few hundred to over 50,000 in 2016. Prior studies on hospitalists have well documented benefits hospitals gain from adopting this innovative staffing strategy. However, there is a dearth of research documenting predictors of hospitals’ adoption of hospitalists. To fill this gap, this longitudinal study (2003–2015) purposes to determine organizational and market characteristics of U.S. hospitals that utilize hospitalists. Our findings indicate that private not-for-profit, system affiliated, teaching, and urban hospitals, and those located in higher per capita income markets have a higher probability of utilizing hospitalists. Additionally, large or medium, profitable hospitals, and those that treat sicker patients have a higher probability of adoption. Finally, hospitals with a high proportion of Medicaid patients have a lower probability of utilizing hospitalists. Our results suggest that hospitals with greater slack resources and those located in munificent counties are more likely to use hospitalists, while their under-resourced counterparts may experience more barriers in adopting this innovative staffing strategy.

Determinants of adoption of modern rice varieties in rural Vietnam: a double-hurdle approach

PurposeThis article aims to examine the determinants of farmers' decisions on the adoption of modern rice varieties in two stages, including whether to adopt and, if so, how much to adopt.Design/methodology/approachThe Double-Hurdle and Tobit models are applied to determine whether farmers make their two-stage decisions separately or simultaneously.FindingsThe findings reveal that farmers make their decisions on the probability of adoption and the intensity of adoption separately. Ethnicity, agricultural labor, land, rice production asset and non-farm self-employment are determinants of the farmers' decision on the adoption of modern rice varieties in both stages. Previous adoption, gender and an irrigation program only have a significant effect on the farmers' probability of adoption, while the market only significantly explains the farmers' decision on the intensity of adoption.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the unavailability of data, this article does not include the attributes of the rice varieties or farmers' perception about the varieties in the model.Originality/valueThe uniqueness of this research is that it attempts to examine the determinants of farmers' two-stage decisions on whether to adopt and how much to adopt the modern rice varieties by application of the Double-Hurdle method.

Factors Affecting Adoption of Sustainable Soil Management Practices among Fluted Pumpkin Producers in Ikorodu, Lagos State

Proper soil management is germane to sustainable vegetable production. The greatest threat to sustainable agricultural productivity is the declining soil productivity. The reason for this declining soil productivity might not be unconnected with the soil management practices by farmers. This study attempts to isolate factors that are contributing to vegetable farmers’ adoption of soil management practices. Primary data were collected from purposively selected 120 fluted pumpkin vegetable farmers, adopting pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule in Ikorodu Local Government Area. This is predicated on the facts that Ikorodu environment seems to be well adapted for fluted pumpkin production as many hectares of land are cultivated to fluted pumpkin by hundreds of small holders. Probit regression model was used to isolate factors affecting the adoption of sustainable soil management practices. Overall, the model predicted 85.76% of the sample correctly. The findings of the study revealed that number of economically active family members, farmers’ education, livestock holding, membership in farmer's group and credit availability were significantly positive while age of farmer negatively affect adoption of sustainable soil management practice. A unit increased in economically active family members, years of education and livestock standard unit would increase the probability of adoption of technology by 21.3, 5.8 and 7.6% respectively. Likewise, if farmers were made member in the groups and credit made available, the probability of adoption of technology would increase by 46.2 and 46.3% respectively. But a unit increase in the age of household head would decrease the level of adoption by 1.4% indicating old aged farmers do not adopt innovative technologies in agriculture.Keywords: Lagos, adoption, probit, sustainable soil management, vegetable, fluted pumpkin

Factors affecting adoption of agricultural water-saving technologies in Heilongjiang Province, China

This study aimed to find key factors influencing the decisions of farmers regarding the adoption of water-saving practices including the rice-controlling irrigation technique, drip irrigation under plastic film, and sprinkling irrigation in Heilongjiang Province, China. It was found that reliability of the water source and government promotion had very significant and positive associations with the probability of adoption. The number of household adults was a slightly significant factor that was positively associated with the probability of adoption. Risks of agricultural water-saving technologies, educational level of the respondents, soil texture, oil price, access to electric power, and access to labor were potential factors affecting the choice of agricultural water-saving technologies. Technical complexity, investment, water source, soil texture, oil price, and lack of electric power also impacted the adoption of these three agricultural water-saving technologies. These conclusions were obtained from a binary logistic model estimated from the results of a survey of 97 smallholder farmers from two typical cities in Heilongjiang Province. Finally, some recommendations are made to promoters of agricultural water-saving technologies.

The Adoption and Use of Smart Card Technology in Banking

The electronic purse is one of the latest smart card applications. It handles small payments and is complementary to other payment cards. However, there have been considerable obstacles to its widespread adoption and use by customers and retailers. This chapter explores and models the factors - economic, technological and social - and forces driving the adoption and use of the Moneo electronic purse in the South of France. An empirical study on 200 individuals allows us to analyse the determinants of the probability of adoption for consumers and retailers (Logit models) and of the frequency of use for consumers (Poisson model). The latter is found to be significantly explained by four factors (relative advantage, cost, visibility and security), income and gender with the expected sign. Finally, the reasons why Moneo’s introduction seems to have met with failure are determined, and potential solutions to help reach the required critical mass by redirecting marketing strategies are proposed.

M-Commerce Technology Perceptions on Technology Adoptions

This article presents a tool for assessing the probability of adopting a new technology or product before it is marketed. Specifically, the research offers managers in firms dealing with mobile electronic commerce a way of measuring perceptions of technology usage as an index for assessing the tendency to adopt a given technology. The article is based on an ongoing study dealing with m-commerce in Israel and internationally. It is centered on creating a research tool for predicting the usage of m-commerce in Israel, based on the PCI model. The suggested model is based on a questionnaire presented to the potential consumer, containing questions linking the consumer’s perception of the various aspects of the technological innovation offered, together with his tendency to buy and therefore adopt it. The tool was found to possess high reliability and validity levels. The average score in the questionnaire is used to predict the probability of adoption of the mobile electronic commerce technology. Implications related to m-commerce technology in Israel and worldwide are discussed.

On the Analysis of Qualitative Data in Marketing Research

Logit and log-linear models are new techniques for analyzing categorical data. Each of these models is described and applied to a problem involving consumer adoption of a new telecommunications service. The models provide probability-of-adoption predictions that can be used to select favorable market areas for promoting the service.