A Comparison of Course Completion, Satisfaction, Achievement, and Performance Among Non-Profit Professionals Who Complete Andragogical or Pedagogical Online Learning Modules on Grant Writing

The purpose of this study was to compare the outcomes among staff members of nonprofit social service agencies who participated in or completed an andragogicallyfacilitated or a pedagogically-conducted online learning module on foundation grant writing. The efficacy of andragogical methods is unknown and often debated due to scarce empirical research on the topic. Though most prior empirical studies revealed no significant differences in outcomes between the two methods, this is the first study of its kind to address each of the assumptions of andragogy in an online non-formal learning environment. Effectiveness was measured based on participants’ self-reported reaction to learning (course evaluation instrument), program completion rates, achievement growth (level of evaluative skill) and grant writing performance scores as a function of learning group. Two open-ended response items were also included within the course evaluation instrument to add narrative depth to the empirical results via triangulation. Fifty-two volunteer staff members of nonprofit agencies in a Southeastern state who expressed interest in participating were randomly assigned to one of two online learning modules, resulting in at least partial data on 33 participants including 16 subjects who received an andragogical learning module and 17 subjects who received a pedagogical learning module. Among 33 participants, 28 were also completers including 14 subjects who received an andragogical learning module and 14 subjects who received a pedagogical learning module. Among both participants and completers, one-way ANOVAs revealed there were no statistically significant differences as a function of learning group between each of three dependant variables: reaction to learning (course evaluation ratings), achievement growth (level of evaluative skill), and grant writing performance scores. Similarly, a chi square test of independence revealed that program completion rates did not differ significantly as a function of learning group. As such, the primary implication is that andragogical learning methods as facilitated in the current study were just as effective as pedagogical methods in online non-formal grant writing modules with respect to the aforementioned variables. Among completers, a significant positive correlation was also found between grant writing performance scores and participants’ experience writing funded grants over the last five years. Qualitative results among participants indicated that 15 of 16 subjects (93.75%) in the andragogical module and 11 of 15 subjects (73.33%) in the pedagogical module who responded to the first open-ended question, stated affirmatively their enjoyment of learning from the experiences of others while participating in non-formal non-credit learning opportunities. In addition, 13 of 14 subjects (92.86%) in the andragogical module and 14 of 16 (87.50%) in the pedagogical module who responded to the second open-ended question stated affirmatively that by participating in the online course they were more likely to pursue future educational opportunities of a similar nature. These qualitative differences, in conjunction with the clearly more favorable aggregated mean course evaluation ratings among participants in the andragogical module as compared to the pedagogical module, supported the finding of higher overall learner satisfaction levels among participants in the andragogical module

A contemporary assessment of land condition in the Northern Gulf region of Queensland

A framework using assessments of soil condition, pasture composition and woodland density was applied to describe 14 grazing land types as being in A (100% of original carrying capacity), B (75%), C (45%) or D (20%) condition. We assessed the condition of 260 sites, principally along public and some station roads, to provide a benchmark for current land condition. Land types were also assigned relative grazing values between 10 (best) and 0, reflecting soil fertility and potential biomass production. The method identifies particular, 'at-risk' land types for priority investment of resources, while the rationale behind assessments might point to management interventions to improve the condition of those land types. Across all land types, 47% of sites were in A condition, 34% in B condition, 17% in C condition and only 2% in D condition. Seventy-five percent of land types with grazing values >5 were in A or B condition, compared with 88% for those with grazing values ?5. For Georgetown granites, only 27% of sites were in A or B condition, with values for other land types being: alluvials 59%, black soils 64% and red duplex soils 57%, suggesting that improving management of these land types is a priority issue. On land types with high grazing value, the major discounting factor was pasture composition (72% of sites discounted), while increasing woodland density was the main discount (73% of sites discounted) on low grazing value land types

Adoption, profitability and future of leucaena feeding systems in Australia

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala ssp. glabrata) is a highly palatable and productive forage used mainly by beef producers on extensive properties in northern Australia. When sown into native or sown grass pastures, leucaena provides significant production, economic, environmental and social benefits. Adoption of leucaena was slow initially due to a range of technical, agronomic and landscape factors. These have now been largely overcome through extensive research, development, producer experience and other advances, resulting in around 130,000 ha of cultivated leucaena being utilized across northern Australia. A range of aspects will need to be addressed if the adoption of leucaena is to be accelerated into the future. These include environmental concerns, especially potential weediness, and a range of technological needs, including soil nutritional requirements, grazing and toxicity management, opportunities for companion fodder systems and conservation options. Advances in technology and the ongoing need for a high-quality, profitable and sustainable perennial forage will ensure the continued adoption of leucaena across northern Australia for the foreseeable future. © 2019, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)

Adoption, profitability and future of leucaena feeding systems in Australia

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala ssp. glabrata) is a highly palatable and productive forage used mainly by beef producers on extensive properties in northern Australia. When sown into native or sown grass pastures, leucaena provides significant production, economic, environmental and social benefits. Adoption of leucaena was slow initially due to a range of technical, agronomic and landscape factors. These have now been largely overcome through extensive research, development, producer experience and other advances, resulting in around 130,000 ha of cultivated leucaena being utilized across northern Australia. A range of aspects will need to be addressed if the adoption of leucaena is to be accelerated into the future. These include environmental concerns, especially potential weediness, and a range of technological needs, including soil nutritional requirements, grazing and toxicity management, opportunities for companion fodder systems and conservation options. Advances in technology and the ongoing need for a high-quality, profitable and sustainable perennial forage will ensure the continued adoption of leucaena across northern Australia for the foreseeable future. © 2019, Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT)

Phosphorus nutrition and management – overcoming constraints to wider adoption

The importance of phosphorus nutrition for cattle grazing northern Australian rangelands has been well documented and demonstrated. Phosphorus is clearly one of the most important nutritional deficiencies, within the limitations of potential metabolizable energy intakes, of grazing cattle in the seasonally dry tropics. Nevertheless it appears that only a small proportion of cattle grazing phosphorus deficient pastures are supplemented or otherwise managed to alleviate phosphorus deficiency. Estimated requirements for dietary phosphorus by various classes of cattle grazing tropical pastures have recently been revised (CSIRO 2007). The development of faecal near infrared spectroscopy (F.NIRS) allows the routine estimation of metabolizable energy and nitrogen concentrations in the diet, and thus the potential productivity, of cattle grazing northern rangelands. The concentration of phosphorus in the diet of grazing cattle can be estimated from the concentration of phosphorus in the faeces, at least in cattle not fed phosphorus supplements. Combining estimates of diet metabolizable energy, nitrogen and phosphorus allows estimation whether current needs of the animal are supplied by the diet. Phosphorus-replete cattle have substantial body reserves of phosphorus which can be mobilized, especially in late pregnancy and lactation, to alleviate a dietary deficiency. However, these body reserves need to be replenished in late lactation or post-lactation if mobilization occurs each year. Diagnosis of subclinical phosphorus deficiency in grazing cattle, and prediction of animal responses to phosphorus supplements is difficult. In growing cattle the concentration of inorganic phosphorus in blood (Pi), in the late wet or early dry season, combined with information on diet metabolizable energy and nitrogen concentrations obtained by F.NIRS, provides the most reliable test. In pregnant or lactating cows measurements of faecal phosphorus concentration and F.NIRS provide the best estimate of whether phosphorus intake meets the current needs of the animal. However, estimates of adequacy of phosphorus supply need to also consider possible mobilization of body phosphorus reserves. Indicative responses to provision of phosphorus supplements by cattle grazing pastures ranging from marginal to acute deficiency are summarized. Economic evaluation of benchmark enterprises where cattle are expected to be phosphorus deficient indicate that phosphorus supplementation is highly cost-effective. Major obstacles to more widespread adoption of phosphorus supplementation appear to be lack of knowledge and appreciation by managers of the phosphorus status of their cattle, lack of appreciation of the cost-effectiveness of a phosphorus supplementation particularly for some classes of cattle, and the practical difficulties in implementing phosphorus supplementation during the wet season

Practicalizing the Theories of Organizational Culture: The Exemplar of a Sales Team

Business applications of the concepts based on theories of organizational culture abound in the literature but in piecemeal. Not unexpectedly, applications of the concepts based on the totality of the theory on all 3 aspects of organizational culture, namely artifacts, espoused values and shared assumptions are hard to stumble upon. Added to this gap is the fact that mixed methods approach to the study of organizational culture is scarce. The objective of this study therefore was to explain the relationships amongst the concepts identified in the organizational culture setting using theory and then also explain the relationship between the core element of organization culture (OG) and Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO). A mixed method approach involving a concurrent nested model was used. In the first part, qualitative approach was used through Field work study of the sales team of a manufacturing company. The research was guided by theoretical propositions. In the second part, a quantitative approach was used to assess the relationship between the central phenomenon of OG, which is values of trust and EO. The theoretical propositions sufficiently “pattern matched” the actual results whilst the bivariate relationship between Trust and EO was positive and significant. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed at the tail end of the article. Keywords: Organizational culture theory, trust, sales team, concurrent nested strategy, pattern matching

Real Time Grid Reliability Management 2005

The increased need to manage California?s electricity grid in real time is a result of the ongoing transition from a system operated by vertically-integrated utilities serving native loads to one operated by an independent system operator supporting competitive energy markets. During this transition period, the traditional approach to reliability management -- construction of new transmission lines -- has not been pursued due to unresolved issues related to the financing and recovery of transmission project costs. In the absence of investments in new transmission infrastructure, the best strategy for managing reliability is to equip system operators with better real-time information about actual operating margins so that they can better understand and manage the risk of operating closer to the edge. A companion strategy is to address known deficiencies in offline modeling tools that are needed to ground the use of improved real-time tools. This project: (1) developed and conducted first-ever demonstrations of two prototype real-time software tools for voltage security assessment and phasor monitoring; and (2) prepared a scoping study on improving load and generator response models. Additional funding through two separate subsequent work authorizations has already been provided to build upon the work initiated in this project