From "best practice" to "best fit": a framework for designing and analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services worldwide

"The paper develops a framework for the design and analysis of pluralistic agricultural advisory services and reviews research methods from different disciplines that can be used when applying the framework. Agricultural advisory services are defined in the paper as the entire set of organizations that support and facilitate people engaged in agricultural production to solve problems and to obtain information, skills and technologies to improve their livelihoods and well-being... To classify pluralistic agricultural advisory services, the paper distinguishes between organizations from the public, the private and the third sector that can be involved in (a) providing and (b) financing of agricultural advisory services. The framework for analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services presented in the paper addresses the need for analytical approaches that help policy-makers to identify those reform options that best fit country-specific frame conditions. Thus, the paper supports a shift from a “one-size-fits-all” to a “best fit” approach in the reform of public services... Based on a review of the literature, the paper presents a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches derived from different disciplines that can be applied when using the framework in empirical research projects. The disciplines include agricultural and institutional economics, communication theory, adult education, and public administration and management. The paper intends to inform researchers as well as practitioners, policy-makers and development partners who are interested in supporting evidence-based reform of agricultural advisory services. from Authors' AbstractAgricultural extension work, Pro-poor growth, Capacity strengthening,

From "best practice" to "best fit": a framework for designing and analyzing pluralistic agricultural advisory services

"Agricultural advisory services play an important role in supporting the use of the agricultural sector as an engine of pro-poor growth and enabling small farmers to meet new challenges, such as accessing export markets, adopting environmentally sustainable production techniques, and coping with HIV/AIDS and other health challenges that affect agriculture...There is now renewed interest in agricultural advisory services in many countries.... The questions under debate include: What should be the roles of the public sector, private sector, and civil society? How can we ensure that agricultural advisory services are demand-driven and meet the diverse information needs of farmers? How can advisory services be made efficient and financially sustainable? How can we ensure that female farmers, the poor, and other marginalized groups have access to agricultural advisory services?" from Authors' SummaryAgricultural extension work, Pro-poor growth, Capacity strengthening,

The coexistence of peace and conflict in South America: toward a new conceptualization of types of peace

South America's predominant democratic regimes and its increasing interdependence on regional trade have not precluded the emergence of militarized crises between Colombia and Venezuela or the revival of boundary claims between Chile and Peru. This way, how can we characterize a zone that, in spite of its flourishing democracy and dense economic ties, remain involved in territorial disputes for whose resolution the use of force has not yet been discarded? This article contends that existing classifications of zones of peace are not adequate to explain this unusual coexistence. Thus, its main purpose is to develop a new analytical category of regional peace for assessing this phenomenon: the hybrid peace. It aims to research the evolution of security systems in South America during the previous century and build a new, threefold classification of peace zones: negative peace zones, hybrid peace zones, and positive peace zones

U.S. consumer attitudes and expectations about energy

Understanding public perceptions of energy is important for informing energy-related business, research and policy strategies. To this end, a new U.S. consumer survey probes core attitudes about the reliability, affordability and environmental impact of energy. Appended quarterly to the long-running monthly survey of 500 households that produces the Index of Consumer Sentiment, this instrument inherits the sample design and statistical rigor of that household economic survey. First-year results yield several notable findings. Home energy bills are viewed as unaffordable if they were to double for consumers in the lower income tercile but only if they were to triple for consumers in the upper income tercile. Regarding the cost increases deemed unaffordable, consumers report much greater sensitivity to higher gasoline prices than to higher home energy bills. Moreover, consumers express at least as much concern about the environmental impact of energy as they do about its affordability, a result that shows some regional variation but which holds across income brackets. Several other findings are of likely interest to energy researchers and policymakers, and the unique data series generated by this survey will enable deeper analyses of attitudinally related energy topics as time goes on

Marketing experiencial y su influencia en la demanda educativa de la escuela de profesional de administración

El propósito de este estudio fue determinar la influencia del marketing experiencial en la demanda educativa de la Escuela de Administración de la UPAO. Se aplicó la encuesta a 144 estudiantes de la escuela de Administración; para contrastar la hipótesis se usó el análisis estadístico del “Chi cuadrado” y las medidas de Kendall; dentro de los resultados más importantes se pudo encontrar que la estrategia de mayor influencia fue Descubre UPAO puesto que esta se basa en dar un servicio más personalizado al usuario, esto hizo que se despejaran sus dudas y puedan escoger la universidad y la carrera que estudiarán con mayor facilidad. Se concluyó que el marketing experiencial sí influye sobre la demanda educativa de la escuela de Administración

Resistencia a clindamicina inducida por eritromicina en Staphylococcus aureus aislados de tres hospitales de Lima, Perú

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is an important pathogen envolved in many infections, and it has a greater impact because of its many virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance. Erythromycin-induced clindamycin resistance in S. aureus is an increasing problem in different parts of the world. Objectives: To determine the frequency of Erythromycin-induced clindamycin resistance in S. aureus isolates from three hospitals in Lima, Peru. To determine the presence of MRSA-MLSBi among these strains and their relationship with the biological origin of the resistant strains. Material and methods: 272 Staphyloccus aureus strains were isolated in Cayetano Heredia National Hospital, The National Institute for Cancer, and The Children National Health Institute between May 2005 and September 2006. Resistance to methycillin resistance was determined using the Oxacillin Agar Screen, and erythromycin-induced clindamycin resistance was assessed using the dual-disc agar diffusion methods (D-test). MLSBi phenotypes were also identified. Results: We found 13 D-test positive S. aureus strains, 9 (3.3%) of them were MSSA and 4 were MRSA (1.5%). Total resistance to clindamicyn (constitutive and inductive) was found in 48.2% of the total Straits tested. Conclusion: The frequency of Erythromycin-induced clindamycin resistance in S. aureus strains in our country is still low in both methycillin-susceptible and methycillin-resistant strains.Introducción: Staphylococcus aureus es un importante patógeno involucrado en una serie de infecciones cuyo impacto se incrementa por sus múltiples factores de virulencia y su resistencia a los antimicrobianos. La resistencia a clindamicina inducida por eritromicina constituye un problema creciente en diversas partes del mundo. Objetivos: determinar la frecuencia de resistencia a clindamicina inducida por eritromicina en Staphylococcus aureus aislados de 3 hospitales de Lima Metropolitana, la presencia de de cepas SAMR MLSBi y su relación con el origen biológico de las cepas. Material y método: entre mayo del 2005 y septiembre del 2006, se estudiaron 272 cepas de Staphylococcus aureus procedentes del Hospital Nacional Cayetano Heredia, Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Neoplásicas e Instituto Nacional de Salud del Niño. Se determinó la resistencia a meticilina por el método Oxacillin Agar Screen, y la resistencia inducida a clindamicina usando el ensayo de inhibición por doble disco difusión en agar (D-Test). Se determinaron los fenotipos de MLSBi Resultados: se detectaron 13 cepas D-Test positivo, de las cuales 9 (3,3%) fueron SAMS y 4 cepas fueron SAMR (1,5%). La resistencia total a clindamicina (constitutiva e inducida) representa el 48,2% del total de cepas evaluadas. Conclusiones: la frecuencia de resistencia inducida a clindamicina en cepas de Staphylococcus aureus nuestro país es aún baja tanto en cepas sensibles como resistentes a meticilina