Attitudes and Family Farm Business Performance

This study aimed to identify the top performing and the bottom performing family farm businesses based upon business performance, and then compare and contrast the perceptions and attitudes towards acquiring management skills and attributes that lead to improved business performance. Using extensive interviews data were obtained from 200 family farm businesses from New South Wales and Victoria covering a range of enterprises. The key findings were, firstly, that for all farmers the maintaining of a stable family relationship was of paramount importance in the running of the farm business. Secondly, that the Top 20% of farmers had high levels of self-efficacy and thus possessed the capability and the competence to perform tasks successfully. High performers also were more committed to the creation of long-term wealth and viewed business skills as a higher priority for training. Low performers were more highly committed to the farm's environmental health, placed a greater emphasis on production and sustainability for training and were more likely to give a lower priority to business issues. Both groups agreed that formal training that involved practical farmers with education skills providing them with tailor-made modules were best suited to their personal learning needs. The consistently high priority of family and business issues suggests that the opportunity exists to integrate the training of attitudes and skills with family, sustainable business practices and community issues. The study was funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation.Farm Management,

Farm Management in Australia: The Way Forward

This paper summarises the outcomes of a National Workshop in Farm Management, 5-6 December 2002, organised by the University of Sydney, Faculty of Rural Management, Orange. At this Workshop leading farmers, industry leaders, corporate representatives, academics, researchers and extension officers explored the future of farm management (education, research and consultancy) in Australia. Major outcomes were that farm management practice is proceeding informally to undertake decisions supporting socially and ecologically friendly, sustainable commercial production agriculture. However the risks of lack of integration, a reductionist approach to only on-farm practice, stagnation of academic programs to respond to leading edge industry initiatives, as well as ill-defined boundaries for farm management research were identified. The analysis indicated that formal educational models, research and extension-consultancy frameworks of an holistic nature, and a multiple bottom line perspective, were appropriate avenues for the future development of farm management practice and research. Workshop participants perceived that a farm management strand emphasising business management rather than technology could be a better educational model. Also there was an emphasis in highlighting the importance of linked development and partnership amongst the different players. The Workshop created the conditions for development of networks among industry, education and consultative research.Farm Management,

Model Pembelajaran Berbasis Masalah pada Pelajaran IPA Materi Hubungan Ketergantungan Makhluk Hidup dan Lingkungannya

Pembelajaran Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam (IPA) di tingkat sekolah dasar memerlukan strategi pembelajaran yang inovatif untuk meningkatkan keterlibatan siswa dan pemahaman konsep. Artikel ini membahas implementasi model pembelajaran berbasis masalah pada materi hubungan ketergantungan makhluk hidup dan lingkungannya di SD Al Ittihadiyah. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan fokus pada peningkatan keterlibatan siswa dan pemahaman konsep melalui penerapan model pembelajaran berbasis masalah. Model pembelajaran berbasis masalah digunakan sebagai pendekatan untuk merancang pembelajaran yang memicu pemikiran kritis siswa dalam memahami hubungan ketergantungan antara makhluk hidup dan lingkungannya. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa model ini efektif dalam meningkatkan keterlibatan siswa, memungkinkan mereka untuk aktif berpartisipasi dalam menyelesaikan masalah seputar materi IPA. Selain itu, penerapan model pembelajaran berbasis masalah juga memberikan dampak positif pada pemahaman konsep siswa. Mereka mampu mengaitkan konsep-konsep IPA dengan situasi nyata, menggambarkan pemahaman yang lebih mendalam. Dengan demikian, model pembelajaran ini tidak hanya meningkatkan motivasi belajar siswa tetapi juga memperkaya pemahaman konsep mereka. Penelitian ini memberikan kontribusi pada pengembangan metode pembelajaran IPA di tingkat sekolah dasar, khususnya dalam konteks materi hubungan ketergantungan makhluk hidup dan lingkungannya. Hasilnya dapat menjadi referensi bagi guru-guru IPA untuk lebih mengintegrasikan model pembelajaran berbasis masalah dalam proses pembelajaran guna mencapai tujuan pembelajaran yang lebih holistik

The aged care industry in regional Australia: will it cope with the tsunami to come?

This paper reports on a pilot project to map the aged care industry in the Bathurst region of Central West New South Wales. The purpose of the project is to inform the future efforts of government, community based providers (CBPs) and private agencies in the sustainable development of the aged care industry. Early data suggest that the fragmented industry structure of CBPs, funded through asynchronous, disjointed state and federal funding programs, will be unable to respond to the increased demand for aged care services during the next decade. Initial findings also suggest that market tensions between CBPs and commercial providers will increase as they engage in competitive tendering for federal and state funding, and directly compete for scarce labour in a tight regional labour market. This paper explores these issues through a case study of a regional city (Bathurst), a nearby regional town (Blayney) and a rural village (Wattle Flat). The study draws on: interviews with community based service providers, commercial providers, seniors‘ organisations, and local, state and federal government agencies; and, focus groups with seniors (aged 60+ years) in each of the localities

A 'how-to' guide and checklist for peer appraisal of teaching

In tertiary teaching it can be quite rare for academics to talk to each other about their actual teaching: their practices, motivational techniques, approaches to students and methods of assessment. By this we mean focused discussion about personal teaching practices as distinct from discussion revolving around student performance or the type of 'jockeying for position' which is part of the political process. Given that teaching is considered to be an important element of the academic role and institutions are under increasing pressure to better serve their clients, it is necessary for academics to engage in discussion and evaluation of their teaching performance. Peer appraisal is one method of evaluation which can provide feedback on teaching for both personal development and provide information for institutional or personnel purposes. The following paper provides a step-by-step guide for peer appraisal that has been developed and used successfully by the authors. While this process has been designed principally for self-development purposes, if each stage is documented and justified the outcomes may be useful, in conjunction with other material, for institutional purposes such as promotion and grant applications. The paper is written as a form of checklist for academics wishing to engage in peer appraisal and includes some notes based upon our personal experiences

Attitudes and Family Farm Business Performance

This study aimed to identify the top performing and the bottom performing family farm businesses based upon business performance, and then compare and contrast the perceptions and attitudes towards acquiring management skills and attributes that lead to improved business performance. Using extensive interviews data were obtained from 200 family farm businesses from New South Wales and Victoria covering a range of enterprises. The key findings were, firstly, that for all farmers the maintaining of a stable family relationship was of paramount importance in the running of the farm business. Secondly, that the Top 20% of farmers had high levels of self-efficacy and thus possessed the capability and the competence to perform tasks successfully. High performers also were more committed to the creation of long-term wealth and viewed business skills as a higher priority for training. Low performers were more highly committed to the farm's environmental health, placed a greater emphasis on production and sustainability for training and were more likely to give a lower priority to business issues. Both groups agreed that formal training that involved practical farmers with education skills providing them with tailor-made modules were best suited to their personal learning needs. The consistently high priority of family and business issues suggests that the opportunity exists to integrate the training of attitudes and skills with family, sustainable business practices and community issues. The study was funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

Farm Management in Australia: The Way Forward

This paper summarises the outcomes of a National Workshop in Farm Management, 5-6 December 2002, organised by the University of Sydney, Faculty of Rural Management, Orange. At this Workshop leading farmers, industry leaders, corporate representatives, academics, researchers and extension officers explored the future of farm management (education, research and consultancy) in Australia. Major outcomes were that farm management practice is proceeding informally to undertake decisions supporting socially and ecologically friendly, sustainable commercial production agriculture. However the risks of lack of integration, a reductionist approach to only on-farm practice, stagnation of academic programs to respond to leading edge industry initiatives, as well as ill-defined boundaries for farm management research were identified. The analysis indicated that formal educational models, research and extension-consultancy frameworks of an holistic nature, and a multiple bottom line perspective, were appropriate avenues for the future development of farm management practice and research. Workshop participants perceived that a farm management strand emphasising business management rather than technology could be a better educational model. Also there was an emphasis in highlighting the importance of linked development and partnership amongst the different players. The Workshop created the conditions for development of networks among industry, education and consultative research