Adaptive structured parallelism

Algorithmic skeletons abstract commonly-used patterns of parallel computation, communication, and interaction. Parallel programs are expressed by interweaving parameterised skeletons analogously to the way in which structured sequential programs are developed, using well-defined constructs. Skeletons provide top-down design composition and control inheritance throughout the program structure. Based on the algorithmic skeleton concept, structured parallelism provides a high-level parallel programming technique which allows the conceptual description of parallel programs whilst fostering platform independence and algorithm abstraction. By decoupling the algorithm specification from machine-dependent structural considerations, structured parallelism allows programmers to code programs regardless of how the computation and communications will be executed in the system platform.Meanwhile, large non-dedicated multiprocessing systems have long posed a challenge to known distributed systems programming techniques as a result of the inherent heterogeneity and dynamism of their resources. Scant research has been devoted to the use of structural information provided by skeletons in adaptively improving program performance, based on resource utilisation. This thesis presents a methodology to improve skeletal parallel programming in heterogeneous distributed systems by introducing adaptivity through resource awareness. As we hypothesise that a skeletal program should be able to adapt to the dynamic resource conditions over time using its structural forecasting information, we have developed ASPara: Adaptive Structured Parallelism. ASPara is a generic methodology to incorporate structural information at compilation into a parallel program, which will help it to adapt at execution

Characteristics of Facilitators: The Ecuador Project and Beyond

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of effective facilitators of nonformal education (NFE) in Ecuador in order to (a) more completely understand the nature of NFE; (b) evaluate the success of the Project; and (c) develop guidelines for training facilitators in other countries. Thirteen experts (six Ecuadorian and seven North American staff members of the Project) brainstormed a list of skills, knowledge areas, and attitudes, of effective facilitators of NFE in community-based learning groups. The responses combined with items found in a review of literature of NFE, the Ecuador project, community development, and teacher effectiveness, became the Preliminary List of Facilitator Characteristics. This list, consolidated into sixty general characteristics, was divided into (a) criteria for selecting facilitator trainees and (b) characteristics of facilitators after training. The sixty items became a second questionnaire. Each expert rated the appropriateness and importance of each item. The results of this second questionnaire were resubmitted to the experts to reconsider and rate a second time. At least one-half of the experts agreed to the degree of importance of all except one item. Weighting the expert\u27s responses resulted in a rank order of the relative importance of each item. Two comparison groups with similar experience but little or no knowledge of the Ecuador Project also rated each item. The comparison groups confirmed the ratings of importance given by the experts. Variations between groups which occurred in the rank order of items are apparently a result of experience with the Ecuador Project. A process was also used to demonstrate how the general skills, knowledge areas, and attitudes, can be stated as observable behaviors for particular settings. Through this process, the operationalization of the goal or intent, the results of the study can be adapted to diverse settings and facilitator training programs can be elaborated for particular geographic and cultural situations. The study also confirmed the utility of the Delphi in clarifying a group opinion. By providing feedback on the response to a previous questionnaire and by asking the respondents to reevaluate their individual opinions, a group consensus develops which research has shown to be more useful than an individual opinion, a single questionnaire, or a group discussion

South Dakota Farm and Home Research

In This Issue Flax Seedling Blight [p] 3 Improve Alfalfa Yields [p] 5 Estrus Synchronization [p] 7 The Old Element Nitrogen [p] 10 Decay in Seed Potatoes [p] 16 Comparing Genetic Differences of Laying Hens [p] 19https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_sd-fhr/1053/thumbnail.jp

South Dakota Farm and Home Research

In This Issue Flax Seedling Blight [p] 3 Improve Alfalfa Yields [p] 5 Estrus Synchronization [p] 7 The Old Element Nitrogen [p] 10 Decay in Seed Potatoes [p] 16 Comparing Genetic Differences of Laying Hens [p] 19https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/agexperimentsta_sd-fhr/1053/thumbnail.jp

Agricultural extension for women farmers in Africa

Women are responsible for at least 70 percent of food staple production in Africa. They are also important in other agricultural activities, including food processing and marketing, cash cropping and animal husbandry. Women's involvement is significant not only in terms of their labor input, but also in terms of their decision-making authority. This paper proposes a series of operational guidelines on how to provide agricultural extension services in a cost-effective way to women farmers. All small-scale farmers, regardless of gender, face constraints, but the focus here is on women farmers in order to foster a better understanding of the particular gender-related barriers confronting women and the strategies needed to overcome them. Attention is concentrated on sub-Saharan Africa in view of the crucial role of women in agriculture throughout the sub-continent. This paper addresses the question of why women need help -- the role women have in agriculture and the particular constraints they face in terms of access to resources and information. It examines the information needed to modify extension systems to better reach women farmers, to modify the focus of research to address women's activities and to monitor and evaluate programs. The paper also deals with the transmission of the extension message to women farmers and the formulation of the message to be delivered, and the linkage between extension and agricultural research and technology.Agricultural Research,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Crops&Crop Management Systems,Primary Education,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems

Gettin\u27 Some Age on Me: Social Organization of Older People in a Rural American Community

The social life of older rural Americans is made up of relationships formed through kinship, their neighborhoods, and the organizations to which they belong. These social institutions are shaped by the ways people use them, and therefore change through time. In this precedent-setting study, John van Willigen uses the concept of social network to investigate life-course changes in the relationships of older people within the context of community history. Gettin\u27 Some Age on Me grew out of a study of more than 130 older people in a rural Kentucky county. They were interviewed concerning their relationships with others, and data were collected on the give and take of support that is part of their social life. An understanding of community life and history, developed through interviews and period documentation, provided a context for understanding the changes these people have experienced over time. Finally, related studies by other researchers provided a framework for interpreting rural and urban differences. Van Willigen skillfully interweaves these various accounts to reveal fundamentally important patterns. It is clear that these other people should be viewed not as dependent and isolated but as important sources for social support; that even though their social relationships decline in number late in life, early in the post retirement period there is an apparent increase in social involvement; and that older people are much less isolated in the rural community studied than in many urban areas. This book makes a substantial contribution to the very limited literature on aging in rural America. It is important reading for social gerontologists and for all social scientists with an interest in American communities. John van Willigen is professor of anthropology at the University of Kentucky and the author of many books, including Tobacco Culture: Farming Kentucky\u27s Burley Belt and Food and Everyday Life on Kentucky Family Farms, 1920-1950. One of the standards in the study of social-network analysis. —American Journal of Sociology Well written and rich in empirical material. —American Anthropologisthttps://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_gerontology/1004/thumbnail.jp

Social science perspectives on managing agricultural technology

TechnologyAgricultural researchResource managementFarmer participationEvaluation

Social science perspectives on managing agricultural technology

Experiences of 15 social science research fellows who recount their roles in particular research projects at the International Agricultural Research Centers they were appointed. In addition to highlighting the contributions social scientists can make in the field of agricultural research, their papers offer a candid look at the kinds of work in which the Centers currently are engaged.Technology, Agricultural research, Resource management, Farmer participation, Evaluation, Farm Management, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,