Analysis of selected factors associated with participation of Iowa young farmers in agricultural extension programs

The primary purpose of this study was to determine and analyze selected factors associated with awareness and participation of young farmers in agricultural extension activities. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine perceptions held by young farmers regarding various agricultural programs offered by the Cooperative Extension Service (CES). The study revealed information regarding the characteristics, types of contact and participation in agricultural extension activities, and needs of Iowa young farmers;The population of the study was the membership (400) of the Iowa Young Farmers Educational Association (IYFEA). A total of 102 members of IYFEA completed the questionnaires. A survey instrument was developed by the researcher and used to collect the data. A five-point Likert scale was used for the first part of the questionnaire. Descriptive statistical procedures of the subprogram for Statistical Package for Social Science was used to analyze and summarize the data. The reliability of the survey instrument was tested and an alpha score of .94 was obtained for the entire instrument on the following scales: importance of planning, program areas and extension method;The major findings of the study were: (1) the majority of the respondents had participated in meetings sponsored by the CES, (2) nearly three-fourths of the respondents indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with services/information provided by the CES, (3) the mean importance rating of all planning activities were all above 3.00, ranging from 3.44 to 4.15, (4) topics related to agribusiness education received a rating of 4 or higher, and (5) the highest rated extension methods were local community meetings, newspapers, and county meetings;The results of this study suggested that the CES should increase the involvement of young farmers in planning and conducting educational programs. More emphasis should be placed on the educational topics with the highest priority such as marketing, financial planning, and production management

The Accuracy of Temperature Monitoring of the Incubator for Newborns

The objective of this paper is to investigate the performance of the Incubator for Newborns at the departments of intensive care in Jafer Ibn Aouf Reference Children Hospital, is governmental Children specialized hospital. Using the INCUTM Incubator Analyzer to analyzing various aspects of performance of neonatal incubator and its compliance with the set requirements and regulations according to the technical standard IEC (International Electro technical Commission) 60601-2-19. The data used in this study were obtained by interpreting of the performance test results of neonatal incubator. Numerically, According to the results presented in Tables (1 & 3), the neonatal incubator have achieved acceptable performance and sustaining the requirements of the standard IEC 60601-2-19. In other words, the temperature at points T1, T2, T3, and T4 does not differ from the neonatal incubator average temperature by more than 0.8°C, and this temperature does not differ more than 1.5 °C from the incubator control temperature. Compared to the established technique, the estimation error is negligible

Perceptual model-based information hiding in audio signals

Audio data hiding is the process of embedding information into an audio signal so that the embedded information is inseparable from it and imperceptible to the listener. Information hiding is a multi- disciplinary area that combines signal processing with cryptography, communication theory, coding theory, information theory and the theory of human auditory and visual systems where information is hided within a host signal. A data hiding system should be robust, meaning that the embedded data could be decoded from the combined signal, even if it is distorted or attacked. This paper examines information hiding in speech signals. A perceptual modelbased information hiding in speech signal is developed

Learning Algorithm effect on Multilayer Feed Forward Artificial Neural Network performance in image coding

One of the essential factors that affect the performance of Artificial Neural Networks is the learning algorithm. The performance of Multilayer Feed Forward Artificial Neural Network performance in image compression using different learning algorithms is examined in this paper. Based on Gradient Descent, Conjugate Gradient, Quasi-Newton techniques three different error back propagation algorithms have been developed for use in training two types of neural networks, a single hidden layer network and three hidden layers network. The essence of this study is to investigate the most efficient and effective training methods for use in image compression and its subsequent applications. The obtained results show that the Quasi-Newton based algorithm has better performance as compared to the other two algorithms

Examining the Effectiveness of In-Service English Language Teacher Training in Khartoum State/Sudan 2011/2012

This study aims at investigating the effectiveness of in-service English language teacher training in Khartoum state: A case study of in-service teacher training programme “English for Teaching 1” (EfT1) provided by the British Council (2011-2012). The Researchers adopted the descriptive analytical method to analyze the collected data. The tool used to collect data was a questionnaire which was analyzed with the Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS). All the Hypotheses of the study were verified to be true and according to the analysis of the questionnaire. The study has come up with the following findings: Teacher training programme English for Teaching (1) (EfT(1)) has a positive impact on developing teaching process, the components of the programme satisfy the training needs of the English language teachers in Khartoum State, and the trainees who attended the programme have a positive attitude and opinions towards the programme. The study has been included with some recommendations that reflect the importance of in-service teacher training for Sudanese English language teachers and the effectiveness of partnership between national and international educational institutions in this field

Posture and Gesture Recognition for Human-Computer Interaction

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