A Comparison of the Technical Communications Practices of Japanese and U.S. Aerospace Engineers and Scientists

To understand the diffusion of aerospace knowledge, it is necessary to understand the communications practices and the information-seeking behaviors of those involved in the production, transfer, and use of aerospace knowledge at the individual, organizational, national, and international levels. In this paper, we report selected results from a survey of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists that focused on communications practices and information-seeking behaviors in the workplace. Data are presented for the following topics: importance of and time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, need for an undergraduate course in technical communications, use of libraries, the use and importance of electronic (computer) networks, and the use and importance of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. The responses of the survey respondents are placed within the context of the Japanese culture. We assume that differences in Japanese and U.S. cultures influence the communications practices and information-seeking behaviors of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists

Regional integration and warlord politics : the case of West Africa

Includes bibliographical references.This research thesis is a critique of the main explanations of regional integration in West Africa. In critiquing West African regional integration, this research introduces and integrates the growing literature on the concept of warlords with theory of regional integration. The main explanations of West African regional integration are functionalism and federalism respectively. The critique in this study is informed by the practical lack of successful regional integration in West Africa, i.e. the failure to merge West African states and establish regional co-operation through regional integration. With regards to West African regional integration, the conventional, also known as the traditional view, argues and maintains that on practical and theoretical levels, integrationist approaches are inherently inappropriate to such integration because they ignore complex realities faced by states that are integrating or wish to integrate. According to the conventional argument, these realities include forces such as globalisation, the nature of North-South trade relations, the colonial experience, which today is responsible for the chaotic social-political and economic landscape in regions such as West Africa This landscape is characterised by economically, politically and institutionally weak countries

Sustainable Transformation of South Africa’s Agri-food System through Statutory Incentives: Evidence from Agricultural Industries

Transformation towards sustainable agri-food systems remains a hot topic due to the pressing need to attain sustainable development-related goals. The paper was designed to uncover the impact of statutory incentives on sustainable transformation of agri-food system in South Africa. We apply behavioural economic method, comprising of psychological attributes and economic- related measures on cross-sectional data obtained from farmers supported through statutory levies and trust funds collected and administered by 14 agricultural industries. The results show that participants are appreciative, socially pressured, and possess high perception of their ability to perform sustainable transformation. Hence, we found a positive endorsement for the impact of statutory incentives on sustainable transformation in agri-food system, regardless of gender distinction. This endorsement is high among older farmers compared to their younger counterparts, and also high in horticulture and field crops compared to livestock sector. Finally, results reveal that sustainable transformation is consistently determined by attitudes, present time, and agreeableness. We conclude that multidisciplinary approach avails more insights on the research agenda for transformation of agri-food systems and tends to yield to better policy options for selection of beneficiaries towards driving sustainable transformation of agri-food system within agricultural industries in South Africa