The Farmer Life School: experience from an innovative approach to HIV education

The Farmer Life School (FLS) is an innovative approach to integrating HIV education into life skills and technical training for farmers. This study aims to gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of this relatively new approach, through the implementation of an adapted version in South Africa. The results are presented of a pilot with three groups of community gardeners, predominantly women, attending weekly sessions. Impact was assessed in terms of three key elements: participation, learning, and empowerment. Data were collected through extensive session reports, follow-up interviews, and reflection exercises with facilitators and participating groups and individuals. The results suggest that a group-based discovery learning approach such as the FLS has great potential to improve food security and wellbeing, while allowing participants to explore issues around HIV/AIDS. However, the analysis also shows that HIV/AIDS-related illness and death, and the factors that drive the epidemic and its impact, undermine farmers\' ability to participate, the safety and trust required for learning, and the empowerment process. Participatory approaches such as the FLS require a thorough understanding of and adaptation to the context. Keywords: Farmer Life School, HIV/AIDS, participation, learning, empowerment.SAHARA J Vol. 5 (2) 2008: pp. 56-6

Photopolymerization study of composites

Tato bakalářská práce zkoumala vliv keramických nanovláken a částicového plniva na kinetiku vytvrzování kompozitních materiálů s dimetakrylátovou matricí. Rovněž byly sledovány změny viskoelastických vlastností materiálů v průběhu polymerace. V rámci této práce byly připraveny čtyři typy materiálů: částicový kompozit, vláknový kompozit, hybridní kompozit a čistá matrice. Kompozitní systémy o různém složení byly charakterizovány pomocí fotoreologie, diferenční kompenzační fotokalorimetrie (DPC) a dynamicko-mechanické analýzy (DMA). Pomocí fotoreologie byl zkoumán vliv intenzity světla a doby ozařování na změny reologických vlastností materiálů, ke kterým dochází během fotopolymeračních reakcí. Na základě výsledků DPC analýzy u testovaných vzorků byly vytvořeny závislosti konverze na čase a polymerační rychlosti na konverzi. Viskoelastické vlastnosti vytvrzených kompozitů byly stanoveny DMA analýzou v trojbodovém uspořádání.This bachelor thesis investigated the influence of ceramic nanofibers and particle filler on the curing kinetics of composite materials with dimethacrylate matrix. Changes in viscoelastic properties of materials during polymerization were also monitored. Within this work, four types of materials were prepared: particle composite, fiber composite, hybrid composite and pure matrix. Composite systems of different compositions were characterized by photorheology, differential photocalorimetry (DPC), and dynamic-mechanical analysis (DMA). The effect of light intensity and irradiation time on changes in the rheological properties of materials that occur during photopolymerization were investigated using photorheology. Based on the results of DPC analysis of the tested samples the dependencies of conversion on time and polymerization rate on conversion were created. The viscoelastic properties of the cured composites were determined by DMA analysis in a three-point arrangement.