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This study aims to discuss the case of the Università degli studi di Milano in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic as a point of departure for a new concept of digital library that is closer to users and publishers.

In this case study, processes and statistical data related to the library system and its usage and digitization at the Università degli studi di Milano during and immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic were analyzed with focus on users’ behavior regarding access to and usage of digital library. The outcome of the innovative measures implemented by the university was analyzed, including the procedures for purchasing bibliographic material, the organization of work in libraries, the management system of bibliographic resources and their monitoring, teaching, communication and the organization of knowledge in general.

The library system of the Università degli studi di Milano has responded effectively and efficiently to the pandemic crisis by creating a collaborative network with publishers, teachers and students. The awareness of the central role of the Digital Library as the primary place for accessing content, an environment of carefully curated resources and a place for individual and collaborative studies to support learning has increased.

This analysis charters the effects of the lockdown, which has accelerated digital transformation and created an innovative model of academic libraries more connected to community goals. This study points toward the good practices resulting from the COVID-19 experience: closer relationship between users and publishers, change in organizational flow and the relevance of communication in creating a closer connection with users.

Ghana's economy is largely agrarian, and the business of agriculture is dominated by smallholder farmers who are predominantly rural dwellers. As a result, efforts to lift rural farming households from poverty have been narrowed to the promotion of agricultural development to the neglect of the rural non-farm sector. However, this is fast changing in the advent of a burgeoning rural nonfarm economy and must engage the attention of policy actors. This study thus assesses the effect of non-farm participation on households' level of commercialization of agricultural crops in Ghana.

The study applies a generalized structural equation model (GSEM) to the Ghana Living Standards Survey round 6 dataset, a stratified and nationally representative random sample of 16,772 households in 1,200 enumeration areas.

This study finds that non-farm participation increases the produce sold to output ratio. It is concluded that non-farm engagement by farmers boosts commercialization in Ghana. Thus, for the Ghanaian and similar contexts, agricultural development interventions that incorporate non-farm activities are more likely to be successful in improving livelihoods.

The study uses only the ratio of sales value to output value definition for commercialization and acknowledges use of multiple definitions could be superior.

Various empirical studies have examined the link between the farm and nonfarm sectors. This paper is original in its approach as it tackles an aspect of the subject that has been understudied, namely, an exploration of nonfarm and farm linkages from the perspective of agricultural commercialization.

This study aims to investigate the growth of Indonesian Islamic banks and explores organisational growth determinants from different perspectives, namely, organisational climate, intellectual capital (IC) and organisational service orientation. The study also attempts to develop a model to measure the growth of Islamic banks and uncovers the root causes of the stagnancy in Indonesian Islamic banking.

The study used survey questionnaires distributed to Islamic bank managers, who were considered representative experts in the field of Islamic banking. The data collected were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 21.0), and two analyses were performed with different strategies to build the regression model, namely, multiple linear regression and automatic linear regression.

The study found that IC significantly affected Islamic banks’ growth in Indonesia; however, organisational climate and service orientation did not predict such growth. Concerning service orientation as a mediating model, climate or IC had no indirect effect on growth.

This study’s results contribute to fill the gap by analysing the growth of Islamic banks. Hence, the study results will be especially practical and helpful for Islamic bank managers and policymakers to help develop mechanisms for Islamic banks in Indonesia.

By combining the aspects of organisational climate, IC and service orientation from earlier studies and categorising them by organisational growth, together with a comprehensive literature review, the study proposes a model specific to Islamic banks. It also offers new insight and discussion for determining organisational growth in Indonesian Islamic banks.