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We use panel data models to examine variations and changes in faculty employment at four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The share of part-time faculty among total faculty has continued to grow during the last two decades, while the share of full-time lecturers and instructors has been relatively stable. Meanwhile, the share of nontenure track faculty among full-time faculty has been growing, especially among the professorial ranks. Dynamic panel data models suggest that employment levels of different types of faculty respond to a variety of economic and institutional factors. Colleges and universities have increasingly employed faculty whose salaries and benefits are relatively inexpensive; the slowly deteriorating financial situations at most colleges and universities have led to an increasing reliance on a contingent academic workforce. A cross-sectional comparison of the share of full-time nontenure track faculty also reveals significant variations across institutions.

This study investigates the relationship among preference for full-time employment, primacy of part-time employment, and work-related outcomes in a nationally representative sample of part-time college instructors. Results based on multilevel cross-classified random effects models indicate that part-time faculty who prefer full-time positions report working on average more hours per week and express greater work-related dissatisfaction than those who choose reduced work hours. Individuals whose part-time jobs are their primary jobs have less job satisfaction but work longer hours than those who treat part-time work as secondary. Finally, those who prefer full-time employment report more negative job satisfaction when the primacy of their part-time jobs is high.

This paper aims to propose a method for finding the maximum rotational speed of an inclined turntable at which the stability of the bearing oil film is maintained.

The finite difference method was used to solve the Reynolds equation. Variation of bearing capacity of a tilted hydrostatic turret over time was determined. The combined effect of tilt and rotational speed of the turret on the oil film stability was also analyzed.

When the turntable is operated at low speeds with only small angle of tilt, stability of the oil film is maintained. At lower rotational speeds, a smaller angle of tilt improves the bearing capacity and ensures stability of the oil film. Whereas, higher rotational speeds can have a considerable influence on the bearing capacity.

The results demonstrate that the inclination or tilt of the turntable significantly affects the stability of the oil film.

This study aims to investigate the effects of different search and browse features in digital libraries (DLs) on task interactions, and what features would lead to poor user experience.

Three operational DLs: ACM, IEEE CS, and IEEE Xplore are used in this study. These three DLs present different features in their search and browsing designs. Two information‐seeking tasks are constructed: one search task and one browsing task. An experiment was conducted in a usability laboratory. Data from 35 participants are collected on a set of measures for user interactions.

The results demonstrate significant differences in many aspects of the user interactions between the three DLs. For both search and browse designs, the features that lead to poor user interactions are identified.

User interactions are affected by specific design features in DLs. Some of the design features may lead to poor user performance and should be improved. The study was limited mainly in the variety and the number of tasks used.

The study provided empirical evidence to the effects of interaction design features in DLs on user interactions and performance. The results contribute to our knowledge about DL designs in general and about the three operational DLs in particular.

As one of its major strategies, China has made a new plan to further expand High Standard Farmland (HSF) to all permanent basic farmland (80% of total farmland) for grain security over the next decade. Yet, what will be the impact of farmland infrastructure investment on agrifood systems? The paper aims to systematically evaluate the multiple effects (food security, economy, nutrition and environment) of expanding HSF construction under the context of the “Big Food vision” using an interdisciplinary model.

An interdisciplinary model – AgriFood Systems Model, which links the China CGE model to diet and carbon emission modules, is applied to assess the multiple effects of HSF construction on agrifood systems, such as food security and economic development, residents’ diet quality and carbon emissions. Several policy scenarios are designed to capture these effects of the past HSF investment based on counterfactual analysis and compare the effects of HSF future investment at the national level under the conditions of different land use policies – restricting to grain crops or allowing diversification (like vegetables, and fruit).

The investments in HSF offer a promising solution for addressing the challenges of food and nutrition security, economic development and environmental sustainability. Without HSF construction, grain production and self-sufficiency would decline significantly, while the agricultural and agrifood systems’ GDP would decrease. The future investment in the HSF construction will further increase both grain production and GDP, improve dietary quality and reduce carbon emissions. Compared with the policy of limiting HSF to planting grains, diversified planting can provide a more profitable economic return, improve dietary quality and reduce carbon emissions.

This study contributes to better informing the impact of land infrastructure expanding investment on the agrifood systems from multiple dimensions based on an interdisciplinary model. We suggest that the government consider applying diversified planting in the future HSF investment to meet nutritional and health demands, increase household income and reduce carbon emissions.

The purpose of this study is to review the effect of usability factors on e-learning user relationships, namely, student–student interaction (SSI), student–instructor interaction (SII) and student–content interaction (SCI), in the existing e-learning literature. Further, this study intended to identify whether usability contributes to the satisfaction of e-learners.

This study has undertaken a systematic review using the PRISMA methodology to filter the literature in the domain of e-learning with respect to usability concerns using six databases. An analytical framework has been formulated to evaluate the literature against different dimensions of interactions and usability.

Results reveal that while SSI has grabbed 71.4 per cent research attention with respect to usability factors of e-learning systems, SCI has been given the least focus, i.e. 26.6 per cent. According to the results, e-learning systems’ usability issues influence the user relationships and affect the user satisfaction, which will lead to lack of user continuity.

The findings of this review will provide insights to instructional designers to construct more satisfied learning content for the users. The analysis framework of this study will encourage researchers to drive future research in e-learning along with the concern of usability.

This research emphasizes on the importance of SCI to focus future e-learning research on a different angle, in addition to SSI and SII. The analysis framework of this study will provide different dimensions, specifically for the empirical research in the domain of e-learning.