On the application of CRAVED to livestock theft in Malawi

Livestock theft is common in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Experience of theft can deplete household assets and food resources. This article reports the findings of an exploratory study to investigate whether livestock theft patterns in Malawi reflect variations in the extent to which different animals are “CRAVED” (Concealable, Removable, Available, Valuable, Enjoyable, and Disposable), Clarke's mnemonic to explain preferences for items to steal. Measures of the elements of CRAVED were correlated with self-reported levels of theft for seven species of livestock using data from a cross-sectional, nationally representative survey of 11,280 households. Higher availability and disposability of livestock were significantly associated with higher levels of theft. Livestock displaying more CRAVED attributes were also stolen in greater numbers. The findings are cautiously interpreted as suggesting that livestock theft in Malawi is largely opportunistic. Implications from and for the application of CRAVED to livestock theft in Malawi are discussed.     

Comptes Rendus Book Reviews

This article follows the efforts of white settlers to impose cotton as an export crop in Natal and Zululand. Touted as a commodity capable of remaking land and life in the region in the 1850s, the 1860s, and again in the 1910s and 1920s, cotton never achieved more than marginal status in the region's agricultural economy. Its story is one of historical amnesia: although faith in the region's cotton prospects dipped following each spectacular failure, it was routinely resurrected once previous failures had been accounted for, or memories of them had faded.

Two crucial issues are at the centre of this episodic history. First, I explore the logistics of planned expansion, and the reasons for the repeated collapse of cotton-growing schemes. Second, I unravel the side effects of these difficult and disappointing efforts and argue that, despite repeated failure, cotton facilitated important structural changes to the region's agricultural, political and economic landscape.     

Land Acquisition,Investment, and Development in the Lao Coffee Sector: Successes and Failures

ABSTRACT

Despite the increasing acknowledgment of scholars and practitioners that many large-scale agricultural land acquisitions in developing countries fail or never materialize, empirical evidence about how and why they fail to date is still scarce. Too often, land deals are portrayed as straightforward investments and their success is taken for granted. Looking at the coffee sector in Laos, the authors of this article explore dimensions of the land grab debate that have not yet been sufficiently examined. Coffee concessionaires in southern Laos often fail to use all of the land granted them and fail to produce high yields on the land they do use. Thus, the authors challenge the often-assumed superiority and effectiveness of large-scale versus small-scale production, specifically the argument that they modernize agricultural production and optimize land use. They argue that examining failed investments is as important as studying successful ones for understanding the implications of the land grabbing phenomenon for social, economic, and environmental outcomes. Knowledge about the scale of “failed land deals” provides important motivation for national governments to close the gap between intentions and actual outcomes. This article engages with the current debate on quality of investment and challenges the approach of employing land concessions as a vehicle for economic development in the Lao coffee sector and in other sectors and countries.     

“三化”统筹背景下加快吉林省农业现代化建设发展思考

推进农业现代化建设,实现"三化"同步发展是实现整个国民经济现代化的基本保障。吉林省农业现代化建设拥有丰富的天然禀赋、发展迅速的县域经济、突出农业优势的"工业反哺农业"、稳定的农业核心地位和农业科技投入等优势,但同时又面临着工业化结构失衡、城镇化制度缺失、生态环境恶化、农业基础设施薄弱、农业科技转化与推广能力不足等劣势。因此,吉林省在坚持同步性、创新性、特色化、低碳化四大原则的前提下,提出通过"三化"统筹发展来加快农业现代化的建设。     

重构我国用益物权体系的几点思考

我国现行的用益物权制度存在问题较多,严重影响了其实践作用的发挥。在重构我国用益物权体系时,不仅应对实践中争议较大的问题作出合理的解释,也要对缺漏之处及新情况、新问题做出积极的反映,最终形成以地上权、农用权、地益权、用益权为基础的民事基本法中的用益物权与特别法相辅相成的现代用益物权体系。     

对“统筹城乡经济社会发展”问题的认识

“统筹城乡发展”,全党务必统一认识,务必确立工农业协调发展的新思路。打破城乡二元经济结构体制,为解决“三农”问题提供政策和财力支持。着重处理好工业化与农业现代化、城乡经济发展与保护生态环境、发展大中城市与发展小城镇等关系。     

Managing the Goal-Setting Paradox: How to Get Better Results from High Goals and Be Happy

Many negotiation teachers share the same tip early on: negotiators who set higher goals "do better." It turns out that one of the most empirically supported "truths" about negotiation comes with a big "but." Negotiators who set higher goals are likely to feel worse. In other words, negotiators who set optimistic goals are likely to obtain better objective outcomes but worse subjective outcomes.
We call this empirical finding the "goal-setting paradox." This article considers sources of and explanations for the goal-setting paradox and suggests how negotiators and negotiation teachers may better manage this paradox through mindfulness and other techniques.     

农产品质量安全的立法研究

《农产品质量安全法》的颁布和实施,填补了我国调整农业初级产品法律上的空白,基本形成了"从农田到餐桌"的农产品质量安全法律体系。但目前我国的农产品质量安全立法还存在着农产品范围不明确、禁止生产区域界定不清、法律责任规范不足等诸多不足,必须针对这些问题进行深入分析,进而构建出适合我国农产品质量安全运行规律的法律体系,才能从根本上提高我国农产品质量安全水平。     

Perceptions of Time and Their Impact on Negotiations in the Arabic-Speaking Islamic World

This article examines how perceptions of time affect Arabic-speaking Islamic negotiators and how their attitudes about time, and their corresponding behaviors, may differ from those of their Western counterparts. We begin by identifying cultural differences in the conceptualization of time and then comment on the role of time in negotiations, discussing how time influences bargaining, trust, and negotiation tactics. In the section on tactics, we discuss stall-and-delay tactics, the use of the past as an objective standard, and limits on negotiating the future. Our purpose is to encourage negotiators from the West to be knowledgeable about the way they, as well as negotiators from Arabic-speaking Islamic cultures, conceive of and use time in negotiations. We believe that understanding that the very concept of time is often quite different in these two cultures is an important step in facilitating negotiations that cross these cultural boundaries.     

对农业产业化制度创新问题的思考

农业产业化作为增加农民收入的有效形式 ,一直受到广泛关注。本文认为 ,农业产业化的根本问题是制度创新问题 ;积极实现创新重点由微观领域向宏观领域的转变 ,是推进农业产业化的当务之急。