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A Second Harvest: Privately Held Farmland and Its Portfolio Diversification Impact
No full textThis study examines the portfolio impact of privately held farmland to determine its diversification benefits within mixed asset portfolios. Using Markowitz mean-variance optimization over a 56-year period from 1969 to 2024, we analyze optimal portfolio weights under both constrained and unconstrained allocation assumptions. Our findings demonstrate that privately held farmland largely improves portfolio outcomes, with the strongest benefits emerging under constrained allocations. Farmland exhibits attractive investment characteristics, including high average annual returns, low risk, and negative to low correlations with other assets. We conclude that portfolios incorporating privately held farmland deliver superior risk-adjusted returns and higher expected returns for given risk levels
Promoting Social Cohesion Through Innovative Human Resource Practice: The Carris Community of Companies
No full textThis paper traces the evolution of how one sole entrepreneur owner of a corporation promoted social cohesion through his determination to sell his company to his employees at below market price, while engaging in an extensive training and employee empowerment program so that the new owner-employees can effectively manage the business, while also being good corporate citizens in society at the local and global levels. These missions are accomplished through an employee corporate committee which receives and distributes grants taken from corporate profits to worthy local charitable institutions as well as the Full Circle Program where employees are granted travel-learning sabbaticals to developing nations to perform service work for those communities
Diversity at a Crossroads: A Study of Public Company Audit Partners
No full textIn light of recent pushback against DEI initiatives, this study benchmarks diversity among public company audit partners prior to a potential inflection point. Using PCAOB AuditorSearch data from 2019 and 2023, we find that in 2023, 68% of SEC audit partners were white males, 21% white females, and 11% from racial or ethnic minority groups. SEC engagements are among the most prestigious and lucrative in public accounting. Our findings reveal a modest increase in partner diversity since 2019 and aim to inform discussions on current levels and trajectories along with the impact of DEI policy changes in the accounting profession
Care Matters: Reflections on the Conservation of Rice Landraces in Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems
No full textThis paper responds to Annemarie Mol's invitation in The Logic of Care, drawing upon and expanding Fisher and Tronto's concept of care. Through practices surrounding rice landraces in a village in Yunnan Province, China, it elaborates on three dimensions of care. The article argues that care acknowledges heterogeneous temporal regimes, treats non-human actors as community members, and as dynamic relational process characterized by openness and complexity—one that avoids fixing caregivers and recipients of care in rigid, static positions. It also reflects on the limitations of the dynamic conservation discourse within Agricultural Heritage Systems, advocating for thinking and acting alongside care to explore alternative possibilities for Agricultural Heritage Systems research
Sustainability, Business Ethics, Environmental Justice and Place-brand Strategy: Interdisciplinary Reflections Between Anthropology and Economics
No full text‘Sustainability’ has become a widespread buzzword (mantra) in almost all spheres of human activity, including business. In the business world, this term denotes corporate social responsibility and ethical practice. Business ethics refers not only to the fair treatment of directly involved human subjects (employees, suppliers, intermediaries, customers etc.) but also to the fair use/share of environment considering all contemporary human beings and forthcoming generations as well as other living beings and their offspring who are going to face degradation and scarcity that are being left behind after having relentlessly pursued material economic growth. This paper intends to share some reflections based on business ethics and environmental justice in different cultural contexts
COVID-19-Shock: Considerations on Socio-Technological, Legal, Corporate, Economic and Governance Changes and Trends
No full textConcurrent with an already ongoing digitalization trend, the COVID-19 pandemic implies widespread changes for individual decision makers in their adoption of technological assistance but also in giving up decision making to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Economic facets of collective learning processes during the coronavirus crisis are outlined with a special emphasis on the currently ongoing digital disruption. As a widespread external shock to the world economy and legal order, COVID-19 affects corporate conduct profoundly. The legal implications and societal changes’ impetus on corporate conduct are depicted in order to derive future corporate governance prospects. From an evolutionary dynamics market perspective, a trends prediction sheds light on what kind of firms are likely to fail and which may survive and which ones could thrive in the following years and decades to come. International differences in the handling of COVID-19 are highlighted in order to envision future global public healthcare. The recommendations address the importance of well-calibrated goals to cure our contemporary humankind and protect our future common world population
State of Persistence: Unemployment Hysteresis in Ten U.S. States: Bootstrap Nonlinear Unit Root Tests in Regional Labor Markets
No full textThis study examines the extent to which the hypothesis of hysteresis holds across different U.S. states by analyzing unemployment data. Implementing advanced nonlinear unit root tests, in combination with bootstrap techniques, the analysis investigates whether temporary shocks—such as recessions or the COVID-19 pandemic—can result in permanent changes in unemployment and other labor market outcomes.
Our results reveal mixed outcomes consistent with recent literature on the hysteresis hypothesis in the U.S. The LNV and Sollis tests generally support the natural rate hypothesis. In contrast, the KSS and Kruse tests provide evidence of permanent effects in several states
Closing the Knowledge Gap: Reluctance in the Accounting Industry to Engage in the Blockchain Market
No full textBlockchain, introduced with Bitcoin in 2008, enhances transparency, security, and efficiency in financial transactions (Nakamoto, 2008). Though its potential spans industries, the accounting sector lags in adoption due to regulatory uncertainty and limited expertise (Dai & Vasarhelyi, 2017). This study surveys California’s Central Valley accounting professionals, finding reluctance to engage with blockchain clients due to poor understanding and regulatory concerns. This hesitation highlights a leadership gap and missed opportunities to enhance accountability and ethical practices through blockchain’s transparency. Firms should invest in blockchain education, develop tailored auditing frameworks, and adopt compatible software to stay competitive as regulations evolve and demand grows
When the Flood Wasn’t Real: How a Tenured Professor Fought Back Against a Manufactured Lawsuit: Legal Ethics, Self-Representation, and the Weaponization of Civil Procedure
No full textThis article concludes with three specific reforms for preventing abuse of process and strengthening protections for pro se litigants. This article presents a critical reflection on the author’s experience navigating a civil lawsuit based on fabricated claims of property damage. Drawing on legal documents, procedural records, and personal narrative, the article examines systemic vulnerabilities in civil litigation that allow baseless lawsuits to proceed — particularly when unethical counsel is involved. The case is explored through the lens of legal ethics, power asymmetries, and the resilience of self-representation, offering insights for legal reform and professional accountability
Taking Flight: Impact Learning by Empowering Learner Agency
No full textEmpowering learners through agency addresses modern educational challenges. This article examines its implementation in two diverse school districts, highlighting student voice from thousands of interviews and its impact on engagement and outcomes. It defines learner agency, outlines seven enabling conditions for supportive environments, and introduces the Sustaining Innovation Model to sustain efforts. Three core practices—clarity, feedback, and proving learning—foster agency. The article emphasizes efficacy in cultivating a culture that sustains learner agency, offering practical insights for educators to enhance student-driven learning and equity