Will future land based food and fibre production be in family or corporate hands? An analysis of farm land ownership and governance considering farmer characteristics as choice drivers. The New Zealand case

Family farming in various guises has been the dominant ownership and governance system in primary production over recorded history. This outcome has been controlled by farmers and their families, possibly due to tradition, opportunities, personal characteristics, skill sets and the nature of primary production. Of these, it is hypothesised that the farmers’ personal characteristics play a major part in the choice, and continuance, of current ownership and governance systems. Equally as important, they, and therefore the land ownership system, play a part in the efficiency of production systems and improvement of the biological and production environment.The benefits and difficulties of commonly used ownership systems in Western society are reviewed. Using a sample of New Zealand (NZ) farms, a comparison of the managers’ features for owner/operator, partnership and corporate based systems is presented. There were significant differences in many variables including the farmers’ age, education, number of children, asset levels, years on the current farm, and similar, but more importantly, the farmers in the ownership system groups had differing personal characteristics. Significantly, despite the corporate based farms employing more professional assistance, the profit levels were similar across ownership systems leaving the farmers’ characteristics the main factors correlating with system choice. However, governance systems per se are only marginally correlated with production systems and efficiency.As successive generations of farmers are unlikely to have different characteristics, and corporate based systems continue to exhibit similar profit levels, relatively simple family based systems will continue to dominate farm land ownership and control. The trends suggest family farms will increase in size and involve family conglomerates facilitating the management of larger, and in many cases multiple, farms. While currently there are few differences in biological efficiency between ownership systems, given the efficiency benefits of size and scale, this could well change with the increase of family conglomerates. Relative to increasing corporatisation, the continuance of family based ownership and governance will also be of benefit to the environment. When developing land policies, these highlighted relationships should be taken into account. This study is a first to consider personal characteristics relative to ownership.     

农村中小学生场认知风格、学业成绩与家庭社会经济地位（SES）的关系

目的研究场认知风格、学业成绩与家庭经济地位的关系。方法用镶嵌图形测验（简称EFT）和自编的家庭SES问卷对553名中小学生施测,并收集期终考试成绩。结果①母亲职业、父母职业总分、家庭SES总分与EFr得分在9年级呈显著正相关（P〈0．01）。父亲职业与EFT得分在4、5、9年级呈显著正相关（P〈0．05）;父母学历与EFT得分各年级相关均未达到显著。②家庭SES得分与学习成绩总分各年级相关均未达到显著。结论家庭经济地位对场认知风格的形成和学业成绩有影响,但是在不同的年龄阶段影响不同。     

Notes on some present day Questions regarding Mortality

Abstract

In the absence of any definite development of actuarial science in Great Britain which would be a suitable subject for this paper I considered that the most useful course would be to discuss some of the problems which are at present exercising my own mind, and no doubt the minds of many of my colleagues. Probably, many of these questions are akin to others which arise in other countries, so that their discussion at a meeting such as this may prove of mutual interest, while even if they are peculiar to ourselves, a disclosure of our doubts and difficulties will indicate the directions in which future developments may be expected. I must, however, emphasize that any views expressed are purely personal, and do not in any way pretend to represent a consensus of British actuarial opinion. Throughout this paper only Ordinary (as opposed to Industrial) business in considered.     

家族企业创业导向和企业绩效的关系

目前家族企业的相关研究还主要集中于治理模式、代际传承、资本管理与融资等方面,而家族企业的创业研究并不常见。本研究以家族企业为背景,对家族企业创业导向和绩效各维度进行梳理,并提出相关研究假设,为今后对家族企业创业导向和家族企业绩效之间的内在关系和作用机制的进一步研究做铺垫。     

Re‐gendering consumer agency in mid‐nineteenth‐century America: A visual understanding

The re‐gendering of consumer agency in the middle decades of the nineteenth century, from being a male to an increasingly female prerogative and responsibility, marked an important milestone in the history of American consumer culture. Art from this period can provide a visual understanding of this ideological and social transformation. Accordingly, this paper examines the lives and selected works of two intriguing genre painters, Francis W. Edmonds (1806–1863) and Lilly Martin Spencer (1822–1902), using concepts and methods from art history, visual culture, and postmodern theory. Implications for household consumption history and theory are also discussed.     

家族企业所有者与职业经理人关系研究

企业主与职业经理人信任问题在工业化后的美国、日本等发达国家已不复存在,但在我国仍然困扰家族企业的发展。究其原因,一是企业主"家文化"观念根深蒂固,不相信外人;二是企业主受经理人败德行为打击,心有余悸。为了突破管理瓶颈,提升企业竞争力,引进职业经理人成为家族企业必然的抉择。事实上,规范的企业主与经理人关系是正和博弈,互信是前提,互补是条件,互托是基础,互惠是目的。     

Holiday taking decisions – The role of spouses

Grounded in part the previous literature on household decision making and in part in the literature on tourism decision making, this paper tries to add to the literature by surveying Turkish academics with respect to spousal purchase decisions. In particular, the study assesses the decision tactics used for several consumer goods including vacation and travel and the link between decision tactics and consumer satisfaction/likelihood to produce positive word of mouth. The study findings confirm that spousal opinions matter and that compromise is a commonly used tactic, regardless of their features of durability (e.g. car, furniture) or non-durability (e.g. vacation, eating out), followed by the introduction of persuasion as the next most powerful tactic. Compromise is also positively associated with the level of consumer/tourist satisfaction with the product and the intention to recommend.     

中西女性主义社会学的差异研究

本文从社会学角度分析了中西女性主义的差异,分别探讨了哲学层面、家庭观念、个人价值追求等方面的差异,并进一步阐述了西方女性主义对中国女性主义发展的影响。     

中国最佳上市家族企业50强中医药类企业财务评价

本文选取了福布斯中国最佳上市家族企业50强中8家医药类家族企业近5年的财务数据为样本。一方面,通过分析家族企业自身优势和特点来阐述家族企业的自身发展潜力;另一方面,从比率分析和业绩指标等财务视角分析我国医药类上市家族企业的成长能力。从财务角度剖析医药类上市家族企业成功的内在驱动力,并为企业内外投资者提供借鉴。