704 research outputs found
The cost and performance of paid agricultural extension services : the case of agricultural technology transfer in Nicaragua
Budgets for extension services have been reduced in many countries. One response to these reductions in public services in some countries has been to privatize extension services - with extension services provided for a fee, by either public agencies or private companies. Under the new approach, producers become clients instead of beneficiaries. The authors examine ways to measure the cost of providing paid-extension services and its performance and apply these indicators to data on Nicaragua, where paid extension has existed for several years. Data were insufficient to compare the quality of privately and publicly provided extension services, but available data suggest that the costs of extension have declined over time. Results suggest that paid extension is feasible and has a positive impact, even in a relatively poor country such as Nicaragua. The national system for agricultural technology-transfer services was redesigned to include three main modules: mass media and free demonstrations; cofinanced extension services; and private extension services. The relatively high cost recovery rates in Nicaragua and the economic performance of the two paid programs show that even poor farmers are willing to pay for a service that improves their economic efficiency and ability to earn a living. To the surprise of everyone involved, Nicaragua's producer clients understood that without cost-sharing, the system would not endure.ICT Policy and Strategies,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Environmental Economics&Policies,Enterprise Development&Reform,Montreal Protocol,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,ICT Policy and Strategies,Environmental Economics&Policies,Governance Indicators,General Technology
Citizenhood: Rethinking Multicultural Citizenship
In its comprehensive meaning, citizenship should ideally bestow a sense of belonging in the large social group, as well as a stake in the state's cultural, political and economic life, topped by a sense of solidarity, which transcends ethno-religious differences. Unfortunately, many nation states fail these tasks and not all of their citizens are offered such an embracing welcome. Because of the massive immigrations of the last decades this difficulty has intensified and many states struggle with the problem of maintaining a sense of belonging of its citizens with the state. This article proposes a named new concept, “Citizenhood”, which may provide a better way to reconcile ideas of cultural and social rights with the idea of citizenship in contemporary multicultural liberal and democratic nation states. In particular, the new concept strives to alleviate the situation of groups upon whom citizenship does not confer the sense of 'being at home'. Improving the feelings of these groups is important not only for their own well-being, but for the state as well, since their feeling of alienation from the community at large weakens social cohesion and may fuel continuous tensions. Scholars have suggested different alternatives to overcome these difficulties but a solution is not yet in sight. This paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of previous suggestions and elaborates on the benefits of the proposed new concept
Examining stereotypes of fatherhood according to the Stereotype Content Model
This study examined participants\u27 stereotypic views of fathers. The analysis used the Stereotype Content Model as a focus. Participants (Ps) first rated men in general and then different types of fathers (3 types) on 62 traits (e.g., open, caring) on a 6-point scales (0 = not all like to 6 = most like). The father types measured included: married father, divorced non-resident, divorced resident, stepfather, never married, adoptive, and gay fathers. These ratings were compared to what participants believe is typical of men and will assess the extent that each type of father is in the domains of warmth and competence. Based on the stereotype content model, it was hypothesized that more typical fathers (married fathers) will be rated higher across both warmth and competence in comparison to the other typical of fathers. Results concur with the hypothesis, that the married fathers are rate highest across both warmth and competence. While divorced non-resident fathers were rated lowest across both warmth and competence. This point to a alignment with cultural perception of the nuclear family stereotype
Defining the Good Citizen: Online Conceptions of American Members of the Yahoo! Answers Community
Educators invest serious effort in bringing their students to adopt the notions of the 'good citizen'. Based on the growing impact of informal learning through social media, especially when asking for online help in civic education assignments, previous studies called for investigating the role of online platforms as arenas of informal civic education. This paper takes up this gauntlet, analyzing inputs of American members of the Yahoo! Answers online community in response to students' queries concerning the definition of the 'good citizen'. The results show a passive and conformist concept of the 'good citizen' that corresponds with previous studies' findings about this image in educational programs and among pre-service teachers, contrary to formal statements regarding the goal of civic education. The paper suggests that there is a feedback loop between offline and online platforms concerning the 'good citizen', which calls for the attention of educators and researches.
From Exclusion to Leadership
Israel comprises diverse groups (mostly Jewish), between whom the differences are sometimes greater than the similarities. This frequently leads to social exclusion and discrimination that damages the very basic sense of human security. Scholars agree that cultural misrecognition or exclusion has a deeply negative impact on a person’s mental well-being and sense of security. In this paper, we show how the case of the Ethiopian community in Israel reinforces the understanding that a cultural group’s experiences of exclusion and non-belonging undermine its members’ sense of personal security and has detrimental effects on their well-being. Groups however can sometimes change the course of development. We show that 40 years after the first wave of immigration (Operation Moshe), the Ethiopian community in Israel has chosen a track of change, in which it slowly moves from exclusion to leadership. This idea calls for further study
Immunogenetic Factors Associated with Severe Respiratory Illness Caused by Zoonotic H1N1 and H5N1 Influenza Viruses
Following the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and ongoing sporadic avian-to-human transmission of H5N1 viruses, an emphasis has been placed on better understanding the determinants and pathogenesis of severe influenza infections. Much of the current literature has focused on viral genetics and its impact on host immunity as well as novel risk factors for severe infection (particularly within the H1N1 pandemic). An understanding of the host genetic determinants of susceptibility and severe respiratory illness, however, is currently lacking. By better defining the role of genetic variability in influenza infection and identifying key polymorphisms that impair the host immune response or correlate with protection, we will be able to better identify at-risk populations and new targets for therapeutic interventions and vaccines. This paper will summarize known immunogenetic factors associated with susceptibility or severity of both pH1N1 and H5N1 infections and will also identify genetic pathways and polymorphisms of high relevance for future study
Advancing group epistemic practices in the resolution of interdisciplinary societal dilemmas
The present paper inquires whether a meticulous program designed to resolve Interdisciplinary Societal Dilemmas through dialogic argumentation advances epistemic practices. To delineate how epistemic practices are manifested in classroom discussions, we adopted the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), which explores the interactions and agencies of human and non-human actors. ANT analyses uncover the power these actors exert on each other and help recognize the networks that these actors create or dissolve. They also delineate how epistemic practices emerge and are shaped in these networks. We identified four epistemic practices in the discussions: (1) taking a reasoned position, (2) integrating knowledge from different disciplines, (3) weighing pros and cons before taking a complex position, and (4) role-playing in a democratic game. We show that the type of discourse developed in the program was mostly dialogic argumentation. In addition, we demonstrate how teachers often inhibit these advancements. Indeed, in the case of integrating knowledge from different disciplines, teachers’ role is central, but the emerged actors’ network is often non-dialogic. Moreover, we show how non-human actors shape the interactions in networks as well as the formation of knowledge and agency. We conclude that: (a) the design of activities for resolving interdisciplinary societal dilemmas provides many opportunities for advancing epistemic practices, (b) these practices are mostly advanced through dialogic argumentation, but (c) more efforts should be invested in affording interdisciplinary argumentation
Looking for Evidence of Public Health's Role for Long-Term Evacuees
Many Canadians have had personal experience of a major emergency or disaster at some point in their lifetime and close to a third of those affected were evacuated from their homes or communities. Most evacuations have lasted less than 2 weeks, but in some instances, people have been displaced for months or years. For example, hundreds of residents evacuated following flooding in Lake St. Martin, Manitoba in 2011, remain displaced today. In order to learn more about the roles and responses of public health for long-term evacuees (LTEs) in Canada, we conducted a narrative review of published English-language documents, beginning with literature specific to Canada and then expanding to include literature on other high-income countries. We found that while researchers have explored public health considerations in emergency preparedness, acute disaster management, and resettlement in these contexts there is a dearth of published evidence regarding the public health implications of prolonged evacuation and the public health responses to long-term evacuation in Canada and in other high-income countries. Because the public health needs of diverse populations of LTEs have not been fully investigated, it is likely that they are neither well-understood nor adequately addressed in public health policy and practice
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