7,719 research outputs found
Beyond recurrent costs: an institutional analysis of the unsustainability of donor-supported reforms in agricultural extension
International donors have spent billions of dollars over the past four decades in developing and/or reforming the agricultural extension service delivery arrangements in developing countries. However, many of these reforms, supported through short-term projects, became unsustainable once aid funding had ceased. The unavailability of recurrent funding has predominantly been highlighted in the literature as the key reason for this undesirable outcome, while little has been written about institutional factors. The purpose of this article is to examine the usefulness of taking an institutional perspective in explaining the unsustainability of donor-supported extension reforms and derive lessons for improvement. Using a framework drawn from the school of institutionalism in a Bangladeshi case study, we have found that a reform becomes unsustainable because of poor demands for extension information and advice; missing, weak, incongruent, and perverse institutional frameworks governing the exchange of extension goods (services); and a lack of institutional learning and change during the reform process. Accordingly, we have argued that strategies for sustainable extension reforms should move beyond financial considerations and include such measures as making extension goods (services) more tangible and monetary in nature, commissioning in-depth studies to learn about local institutions, crafting new institutions and/or reforming the weak and perverse institutions prevailing in developing countries. We emphasize the need to address three categories of institutions – regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive – and call for an alignment among them. We further argue that, in order to be sustainable, a reform should take a systemic approach in institutional capacity building and, for this to be possible, adopt a long-term program approach, as opposed to a short-term project approach
The use and effectiveness of the eLib subject gateways: a preliminary investigation
Internet subject gateways were set up under the Electronic Libraries Programme (eLib) in order to address some of the problems of searching the Internet which have been identified by information professionals, i.e. locating relevant, good quality information. This preliminary study examines the extent to which academics in two universities use three eLib subject gateways (EEVL, OMNI and SOSIG). The results are generally encouraging for the eLib programme, but it is necessary for the gateways to be more effectively promoted. The study also found that academics do not have the same misgivings about the general search engines as the information professionals and seem to use them more readily than the gateways
Non-ideal artificial phase discontinuity in long Josephson 0-kappa-junctions
We investigate the creation of an arbitrary -discontinuity of the
Josephson phase in a long Nb-AlO_x-Nb Josephson junction (LJJ) using a pair of
tiny current injectors, and study the formation of fractional vortices formed
at this discontinuity. The current I_inj, flowing from one injector to the
other, creates a phase discontinuity kappa ~ I_inj. The calibration of
injectors is discussed in detail. The small but finite size of injectors leads
to some deviations of the properties of such a 0-kappa-LJJ from the properties
of a LJJ with an ideal kappa-discontinuity. These experimentally observed
deviations in the dependence of the critical current on I_inj$ and magnetic
field can be well reproduced by numerical simulation assuming a finite injector
size. The physical origin of these deviations is discussed.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. B (12 figures). v 2: refs updated, long eqs
fixed v 3: major changes, fractional vortex dynamics exclude
Physics Analysis Expert PAX: First Applications
PAX (Physics Analysis Expert) is a novel, C++ based toolkit designed to
assist teams in particle physics data analysis issues. The core of PAX are
event interpretation containers, holding relevant information about and
possible interpretations of a physics event. Providing this new level of
abstraction beyond the results of the detector reconstruction programs, PAX
facilitates the buildup and use of modern analysis factories. Class structure
and user command syntax of PAX are set up to support expert teams as well as
newcomers in preparing for the challenges expected to arise in the data
analysis at future hadron colliders.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 7 pages, LaTeX, 10 eps figures. PSN
THLT00
Quantum Symmetries and Strong Haagerup Inequalities
In this paper, we consider families of operators in
a tracial C-probability space , whose joint
-distribution is invariant under free complexification and the action of
the hyperoctahedral quantum groups . We prove a strong
form of Haagerup's inequality for the non-self-adjoint operator algebra
generated by , which generalizes the
strong Haagerup inequalities for -free R-diagonal families obtained by
Kemp-Speicher \cite{KeSp}. As an application of our result, we show that
always has the metric approximation property (MAP). We also apply
our techniques to study the reduced C-algebra of the free unitary
quantum group . We show that the non-self-adjoint subalgebra generated by the matrix elements of the fundamental corepresentation of
has the MAP. Additionally, we prove a strong Haagerup inequality for
, which improves on the estimates given by Vergnioux's property
RD \cite{Ve}
The Active Traveling Wave in the Cochlea
A sound stimulus entering the inner ear excites a deformation of the basilar
membrane which travels along the cochlea towards the apex. It is well
established that this wave-like disturbance is amplified by an active system.
Recently, it has been proposed that the active system consists of a set of
self-tuned critical oscillators which automatically operate at an oscillatory
instability. Here, we show how the concepts of a traveling wave and of
self-tuned critical oscillators can be combined to describe the nonlinear wave
in the cochlea.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Plantain (\u3cem\u3ePlantago lanceolata\u3c/em\u3e) Outperforms Chicory (\u3cem\u3eCichorium intybus\u3c/em\u3e) under Moisture Stress in Glasshouse
Forage chicory (Cichorium intybus) and plantain (Plantago lanceolata) are now widely used throughout the world as high feed quality perennial herbage (Sanderson et al. 2003; Labreveux et al. 2006; Li et al. 2010; Golding et al. 2011; Hutton et al. 2011). Both are taprooted plants and are thus likely to confer a degree of drought tolerance through accessing water deeper in the soil profile (Kemp et al. 2010). Nie et al. (2008) reported chicory can tolerate moisture stress to a greater degree than plantain. However, overall little is known about the effect of moisture stress on plantain and chicory persistence under defoliated conditions.
The objective was to compare plantain and chicory un-der moisture stress and defoliation under glasshouse conditions
Plantain (\u3cem\u3ePlantago lanceolata\u3c/em\u3e) in Herb and Legume Pastures Increases Lamb Growth Relative to Perennial Ryegrass and White Clover Pasture
Increased use of plantain (Plantago lanceolata) by New Zealand farmers has created a demand for a more complete understanding of the performance and manage-ment of plantain by itself and in various combinations with chicory (Cichorium intybus) and legumes such as white clover (Trifolium repens) and red clover (T. pratense). The objective of this study was to evaluate lamb finishing on plantain by itself and combined with chicory, white and red clover as part of a research programme to develop a temperate perennial pasture superior in animal performance to perennial ryegrass and white clover pasture for sheep production systems (Kemp et al. 2010)
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