Agriculture and Soils of Palestine

In a first of its kind, this paper tries to explore the relationship between investors sentiment and BSE Sensex return over the period January 2010 to December 2021 and under different market and economic conditions. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper uses 32 market and macroeconomic variables as proxy to the investor sentiment. Principal component analysis has been used and the first 11 principal components with eigenvalue more than 1, have been selected to create investor sentiment sub-indices. Weighted/generalized least squares (GLS) method has been used to achieve the objectives of the study. Findings: We find that the impact of sentiment was significantly positive on portfolio return over the period of study. Furter, the slope of fivesentiment sub-indices increased in the boom period and the slope of two sub-indices increased significantly in the bull period. Research Implications: Findings of the study are helpful for retail investors, policy makers and other decision makers in the Indian stock market. Results are helpful for retail investors as guidelines for decision making and; also, they learn about the association between sentiment and portfolio return under different economic and market conditions. Originality/Value: The study contributes to the existing literature by exploring the relationship of sentiment and portfolio return in the Indian stock marketover different economic and market conditions.

In diesem Beitrag werden die Bestimmungsfaktoren der Entwicklungen auf den Weltagrarmarkten untersucht und deren Auswirkungen auf die EU Landwirtschaft fur den Zeitraum 2003/05 - 2013/15 quantifiziert. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die weltweite Nachfrage nach Agrargutern starker steigt als das Angebot, so dass der Trend der Weltagrarpreise positiv ist. Die gegenwartig (Mai 2008) sehr hohen Preise werden indes nicht von Dauer sein. Vielmehr ist mittelfristig mit einem eher moderaten Preisanstieg von etwa 15-30 % im Untersuchungszeitraum zu rechnen. Bei Weizen und anderem Getreide (auser Mais) wird die Europaische Union wieder zu einem Nettoimporteur. Die zu erwartenden Entwicklungen auf den Weltagrarmarkten und die dadurch steigenden Preise fur Nahrungsguter werden zu einer ernsthaften Verscharfung der Welternahrungslage fuhren. Da die Flachen, die weltweit fur die Nahrungsguterproduktion verfugbar sind, begrenzt sind, muss die Steigerung des Angebots, die notwendig ist, um die rasch wachsende Weltbevolkerung in hinreichendem Umfang mit Nahrungsgutern zu versorgen, weitgehend uber eine Steigerung der Produktivitat derjenigen Flachen erreicht werden, die bereits heute landwirtschaftlich genutzt werden. Eine Steigerung der Produktivitat in der Weltlandwirtschaft fuhrt zu geringeren Nahrungsguterpreisen. Sie verringert daher auch die Anreize auf dem Weg der Brandrodung zusatzliche landwirtschaftliche Nutzflachen zu erschliesen. Gegenwartig tragen diese Brandrodungen 18 % zum anthropogenen Klimawandel bei. Dies ist mehr als der Klimaeffekt der weltweiten Industrieproduktion. Damit ist das landwirtschaftliche Produktivitatswachstum nicht nur zentral im Kampf gegen den Hunger auf der Welt, sondern es leistet auch einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Verringerung des Klimawandels.

Purpose. Research on the transformation of e-commerce business models in the conditions of the digital economy, analysis of the main directions of changes in business processes, as well as the determination of key differences between Internet commerce, e-commerce and online commerce, substantiation of the difference in the sources of generation of added value and identification of the factors that facilitate the transition from traditional e-commerce business models to digital ones. Methodology. When conducting the research, the trends of the development of electronic commerce and the factors contributing to their transformation in the conditions of the digital economy were revealed by the method of formal analysis. Findings. This study presents an analysis of trends and factors affecting the development of digital commerce and the transformation of digital commerce business models. The directions of integration of digital technologies into business processes and strategic aspects of the implementation of digital solutions into business practice are substantiated. The key factors that contribute to the transformation of e-commerce business models into digital commerce business models are identified, in particular, in the creation and implementation of new business models that allow for effective adaptation to the conditions of the digital economy. It is found that the economic basis of transformations of business models is the sources of creation of added value. It has been proven that digital technologies, which form the basis of e-business, are carriers and main sources of added value creation, which is reflected in business monetization models. The impact of artificial intelligence on the prospects and further development of digital commerce business models is analyzed. Originality. The scientific novelty obtained as a result of this research consists in the definition and substantiation of a new factor – added value, which is the main factor influencing the transformation of e-commerce business models into a digital commerce business model, which takes place under the influence of the digital economy. The novelty of the obtained research results in terms of substantiation of added value as a factor of transformation is proven by confirming the hypothesis that the formation of e-commerce business models and their transformation into digital commerce models take place under the influence of digital sources of added value creation.

The degradation of ground water quality due to human activities is a widespread environmental problem. Furthermore, coastal aquifers are threatened by sea water intrusion as a result of increasing water exploitation. The investigation area near Dortyol is located at the Mediterranean coast, southern Turkey, and dominated by agricultural land use. Drinking, domestic and agricultural purposes require different amounts of uncontaminated water. In this study the hydrogeological characteristics of the coastal plain were investigated. Discharge and ground water level measurements as well as geological investigations were undertaken in field in addition to anion and cation analyses of ground and surface water. The results show geological and anthropogenic influence on ground and surface water composition. In spite of a large number of wells in the coastal area sea water intrusion was not detected. With the goal of devising sustainable water use regulations, more emphasis and research needs to be directed to the long-term observation of ground and surface water quality as well as the detailed investigation of hydraulic characteristics of the local aquifer.

This paper investigates the important factors influencing capital structure decisions. The study focuses on the bank leverage of thirty-one Vietnamese commercial banks from 2009 to 2014, because they play a key role as financial catalysts in the growing economy of Vietnam. The analysis employs multiple linear panel regression models, namely, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fixed Effects (FE), and Random Effects (RE). This research examines five bank-specific factors (i.e., size, profitability, growth rate, taxation and business risk), and three financial market and economic variables (i.e., stock market condition, economy, and inflation) influencing capital structure with debt ratio as the dependent variable. Both the OLS and FE models agree that a Vietnamese bank’s size positively affects leverage, which means that the larger the bank, the more debt is incurred. Both models also determine that stock market and economic conditions have negative effects, which implies that in good market conditions, banks lessen their debt loads. In dividing Vietnamese commercial banks into three groups of sizes (i.e., large, medium-sized and small banks) based on chartered capital, both the OLS and RE models agree that size is a positively contributing factor to leverage. However, unlike large Vietnamese banks, medium-sized and small-sized banks tend to still carry a relatively high amount of debt because they are commonly ignored by the equity markets for reasons of illiquidity and instability, pushing them to rely on borrowing funds even to the point of having higher interest rates. Another interesting finding of this paper is that, only small-sized Vietnamese banks’ leverage is negatively affected by stock market and economic conditions. Findings of this paper are robust in using two panel regression models, and can help Vietnamese banks’ managers have a general perspective regarding capital structure determinants. This study also offers insights in creating appropriate strategies to controlling factors affecting banks’ leverage to achieve the target capital structure that minimizes the cost of capital and maximizes profitability.

In this paper we develop an agent-based model to explore a feasible way of simultaneously providing sufficient food and bioenergy feedstocks in China. Concerns over the competition for agricultural land resources between food and bioenergy supply hinder the further development of bioenergy, especially in China, the country that needs to feed the world’s largest population. Prior research has suggested the introduction of energy crops and reviewed the resulting agricultural land use change in China. However, there is a lack of quantitative studies which estimate the value, contribution, and impact of bioenergy for specific conditions at the county level and provide adequate information to guide local practices. To fill this gap, we choose the Jiangsu Province in China as a case study, build up a spatial-agent dynamic model of agricultural land use, and perform a sensitivity analysis for important parameters. The simulation results show that straw from conventional crops generally dominates Jiangsu’s biomass supply with a contribution above 85%. The sensitivity analyses reveal severe consequences of bioenergy targets for local land use. For Jiangsu Province, reclaimed mudflats, an alternative to arable lands for energy crop plantation, help to secure the local biomass supply and to alleviate the land use conflict between food and biomass production.

E-commerce is rapidly gaining popularity and is a dynamically developing industry in the global economy. With the help of information technologies, Internet companies are open to opportunities to develop new markets, providing the Internet consumer with great potential for product research. For the further effective development of commercial activity, an important condition is fulfilling the need to assess the main trends and changes in the development of electronic commerce.The purpose of the study is to analyze the development and current state of electronic commerce in the world, as well as develop methods and recommendations for participants in foreign economic activity doing business through the Internet in the interests of expanding companies and increasing the efficiency of their activities. Results. A study of the basic principles of electronic commerce and the factors affecting it. E-commerce systems are presented that enable buyers not only to interact with the seller, but also to receive the most complete information about the goods sold and the services provided. Using the results of the analysis, the state and main trends in the development of electronic commerce are determined. A system of indicators has been supplemented to assess the level of development of international electronic commerce.

The Pandoteira project (LIFE IP Physis LIFE18 IPE/CY/000006), consists of a group of actions all interlinked in a framework with the purpose of making the Natura 2000 network in Cyprus more effective and functional, as well as sustainable. The overarching goal of the project is to achieve a favourable conservation status for habitats and species of community importance. The project also aims to positively influence land users, owners, local population and other stakeholders in understanding the importance of the Natura 2000 network and embracing it.Environmental education, especially in the form of non-formal learning, has long been recognized as critical for achieving environmental awareness and increasing ecological consciousness.One of the emblematic species that the project is focusing on is the Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus). It is the only pinniped species found in the Mediterranean Sea and is considered as one of the most endangered mammals in the world. Recently, the species was assessed as vulnerable under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is included in Annex II of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC). The species uses sea caves (partly submerged underwater) for resting that are protected under the Habitats Directive and national legislation, and are established as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) within the Natura 2000 network. Moreover, the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFMR) performs regular monitoring of the species at the areas where the species is found through a dedicated monitoring program.As part of the Pandoteira project, educational material dedicated to the Mediterranean monk seal has been prepared by the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research (DFMR) and Frederick University (FU). The two organizations have joined forces to create five different educational board games that are presented to schools all over Cyprus.These interactive educational games, are fun, promote collaboration, enhance memory, boost motivation, encourage critical thinking, engage all students, increase attentiveness, and help develop and build social skills. Children are playing together and learn in an interactive way about this protected species, and can better understand the threats and problems that affect species’ survival. In this way children not only learn general information about the Mediterranean monk seal but also gain more knowledge about its life cycle, its diet and the pressures it faces in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition, the children are informed about the actions taken by DFMR to protect both the species and its habitats. At the same time, children learn simple practices that they can follow to contribute to the protection of the Mediterranean monk seal and the marine environment in general.Encouraging results are evident from the degree of friendly attitudes and behaviors towards marine protected species and the marine environment. By educating children, the next generation of potential ambassadors for marine issues is created. The games have also been presented in festivals to promote public awareness and to ensure people of all ages are informed. More material is expected to be developed for kindergarten levels in the upcoming months, fostering marine sustainability.

We established indices of mottled duck (Anas fulvigula) diurnal habitat use and densities in the agricultural areas of southwestern Louisiana during 9 aerial surveys, May 1984-April 1985. We identified 15 habitats on the area. Habitat composition of transects varied among months. We observed fewest ducks and smallest flocks (ducks observed/observation) in June, highest counts of ducks in August, and largest flocks in July. Flock size was greatest in July on ponds. Habitats used most frequently were fresh marsh, rice, and flooded harvested fields. Density indices stratified by habitats differed (P < 0.05) among surveys and varied from 0.23 ? 0.04 (SE)/km2 during June to 2.65 ? 1.23/km2 during August. The most precise density indices of mottled ducks were made during March, April, and June surveys. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 53(1):110-114 Mottled ducks historically resided in the coastal marshes adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico (Sincock et al. 1964). Within the last 2 centuries, over 90% of the native prairie land adjacent to the coastal marshes of southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas has been converted to agricultural land. Numbers of mottled duck may be declining in Louisiana, Texas (Stutzenbaker 1985), and Florida (Johnson et al. 1984). Mottled ducks breed in this area (Stutzenbaker 1985), but breeding densities have not been determined and no information is available on habitats used by mottled ducks in agricultural land. Our objectives were to determine indices of habitat use and densities for mottled ducks in the agricultural area of southwestern Louisiana. Research was conducted under the auspices of the Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Louisiana State University, and Wildlife Management Institute cooperate with the Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit. We thank J. R. Nassar and D. C. Hayden for assisting with aerial surveys and G. C. Daigle, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, for piloting the survey aircraft. This project was funded by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to Louisiana State University and is Contribution 87-22-1390 of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station.

Chapter 5 - Evolutionary Diet and Evolution of Man

The purpose of the article is to highlight and substantiate the theoretical provisions of land relations in improving agricultural production. Research methods. The research was based on theoretical provisions on the characteristics of land relations in market conditions and agricultural land use in the agro-industrial sector of Ukraine. The research goal was to achieve general scientific methods of production management and knowledge of the processes of formation of industrial land relations. Research results. Knowledge of the specifics of the agricultural sector, the actual state of rural life, involvement in the process of a qualitatively new state of the economy - the land market is evidence that the market economy is self-supporting and determines: comparison of costs with sales revenue; allows free enterprise, independence, responsibility and interest of the manufacturer; carrying out the activities of the business entity in the centre of which the person works and his vital social protection. Scientific novelty. Strategic principles of reforming land relations in the country's agricultural production have been developed as prerequisites for their rational organization at the current management stage in rural areas. Practical significance. Application of theoretical provisions of land relations, their reform and formation as a transformation process in agricultural production. The study results are identified as influential factors in the formation of the land market in the new economic conditions. Refs.: 21.

Introduction., The organization of the resource management system of an agricultural enterprise is subject to both requirements for ensuring the competitiveness of the adopted resource use regime in market conditions and requirements for ensuring the ecological balance of man-made load on agricultural land in today's economic conditions. That is why, it is necessary to ensure the interdisciplinary nature of the formation of the enterprise's management system. This approach makes it necessary to consider analytical support for management decisions in finding a compromise between the environmental and economic interests of sustainable development of the enterprise. Purpose. Development of a system for assessing the current state of the organization of resource potential management to ensure a scientifically based classification of management approaches of agricultural enterprises to resource use. Methods. Studies were conducted on the basis of the use of abstract and logical, statistical, economic and mathematical methods. The methodological basis in preparing the material made dialectical method of knowledge of social and economic phenomena. Results. In the course of scientific research, it was established that the classification functions of discriminant analysis are an effective basis for scientific substantiation of the system of assessment and differentiation of approaches to managing the resource potential of an agricultural enterprise. The main advantage of the discriminant analysis apparatus in this particular situation is the possibility of statistical and mathematical modelling of the principle of classification of the studied objects by an expert group. The obtained models can be used to identify the effectiveness of resource potential management by business entities to diagnose problems and identify sources of resource use efficiency. The quality of the obtained models depends on the correct choice of a set of indicators for evaluating and taking into account business conditions in the parameters. Discussion. The results of testing the proposed approach using statistical data of the Lugansk region allowed us to identify the main prerequisites for improving the efficiency of resource potential management, the main of which is to ensure a balance of the crop production system through regulating the intensity of resource use. Management of mainly market principles has unbalanced the mechanisms of self-recovery of land resources, which, accordingly, requires replacement agrotechnical measures. This requires appropriate investment resources, and resource potential management projects are treated as promising investments. Keywords: management, resource potential, resource use, discriminant analysis, classification functions.

Short-run fluctuations in fertility and mortality in pre-industrial Sweden

We assessed agricultural land’s potential as to food supply and biofuel production. Agricultural land use has been steadily increasing worldwide as one means of feeding the burgeoning global population. If this same land, currently in agricultural production for food purposes, is diverted for biofuel production then it is most probably going to have an impact on global food supply. In this study, we first assessed the characteristics of land and where crops can be successfully grown based on the qualifications of weather, land intensification, land quality, and cropping patterns. Use of land in biofuel production, under current existing technologies, would need a significant expansion of agricultural land in both developed and developing countries from their current levels. We assessed the supply potential of the World Bank’s 25 classified regions for biofuel and also for meeting food production needs under the whole grain production, current per capita consumption, and optimal grain consumption based on vegetarian, normal and affluent diets under a variety of scenarios that encompass both increases in productivity and increases in pasture land conversion to grain crop cultivation. Results indicate that under the whole grain need criterion, the world will have a surplus balance of grains by 2050 (even if production is increased at only the 40% level). When requirements for a vegetarian diet are assumed, a productivity increase of 60% at current land levels would be required to meet global grain needs. When a moderate diet requirement assumption is made, expansion of crop production in existing pasture and meadow land would be necessary to meet food demand. An affluent diet requirement would require a fairly substantial increase in productivity and expansion of crop production to marginal land in order to meet world food demand by 2050. Plantings of switchgrass and Miscanthus on marginal lands can produce much more biofuel than needed but stress on land resources, water quality, water quantity, and the need for a huge amount of production inputs may create a hindrance for its implementation in the future. Additionally, it will require advances in cost effective technology that will then be capable of producing biofuel from lignocellulosic feedstocks. Minimally, to meet moderate diet requirements in 2050, there will be need to expand grain crops in 30% pasture land and to meet at least 10% average world biofuel mandated need additional 3.3% pasture land needs to be planted with lignocellulosic crops such as switchgrass.

During April 1984-August 1986, 101 black bears (Ursus americanus) (71 M, 30 F) were captured 120 times in the Great Dismal Swamp (GDS) National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and surrounding area, a forested wetland in eastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Males dominated the capture sample (P 9 years old were male (n = 5). Litter size (n = 12, : = 2.1), suspected modal age at primiparity (4 yr), and interbirth interval (approx 2 yr) were indicative of good-quality habitat. Estimated annual survival rates were 0.87 for females (-1.5 yr) and 0.59 for males (?2.5 yr). Causes of mortality included legal and illegal harvest, vehicle collisions, depredation permit kills, research, and intraspecific predation. Estimated bear density was 0.52-0.66 bears/km2, corresponding to 286-368 bears for the 555-km2 study area. Present population management (protection from hunting and no public vehicular access) should be continued in the GDSNWR. The small effective population size (N, = 56) in the GDS indicated the need for study of dispersal and genetics in the GDS and other southeastern wetland populations to determine the degree of isolation and extent of genetic variability. Black bear conservation strategies in the southeast are critical due to increasing habitat fragmentation. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 53(4):969-977 The ecology of black bears in southeastern wetlands has been the subject of limited study (Hamilton 1978, Smith 1985). Islands of wetland habitats, primarily swamps and pocosins (Sharitz and Gibbons 1982), provide the last remaining refuges for black bear on the Atlantic Coastal Plain (Monschein 1981, Zeveloff 1983). Large hardwood swamps and pocosins provide excellent denning habitat (Hamilton and Marchinton 1980, Hellgren and Vaughan 1989), diverse food supplies, and protection from disturbance (Hamilton 1978, Monschein 1981). However, dynamics of wetland populations remain poorly understood. The GDS, an 850-km2 forested wetland on the Virginia and North Carolina border, supports the last breeding population of black bears in eastern Virginia and extreme northeastern North Carolina. The 1973 establishment of GDSNWR, which occupies the core of the swamp, placed management responsibility for the bear population on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The need for population estimates and evaluation of habitat suitability for proper bear management in GDSNWR was ide tified (Bur. Sport Fish. and Wildl. 1974), yet bear-related research has not met this need. Management for bears in the GDSNWR is limited to protection from hunting. The GDS population, although afforded sanctuary in the refuge and unhunted in North Carolina since the early 1970's, is exploited on private swamp land in Virginia at a rate of 9.4 bears/year since refuge establishment (Anonymous 1984). The potential of the unhunted population in GDSNWR to act as a reservoir for black bear reproduction and dispersal in the Atlantic Coastal Plain is unknown. In recent years, clearing of privately-owned GDS land for agricultural or residential development has accelerated, making GDSNWR vital as a sanctuary for the bear population. Information such as sex and age distribution, age at primiparity, birth rate, survival, and density of the bear population in the GDS is necessary to predict results of bearrelated management actions. Our objective was to characterize dynamics of the black bear population in the GDS. We acknowledge the cooperation of the USFWS, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Particularly helpful were D. J. Schwab, R. D. Mc1 Present address: Campus Box 218, Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&I University, Kingsville, TX 78363.