Beyond recurrent costs: an institutional analysis of the unsustainability of donor-supported reforms in agricultural extension

International donors have spent billions of dollars over the past four decades in developing and/or reforming the agricultural extension service delivery arrangements in developing countries. However, many of these reforms, supported through short-term projects, became unsustainable once aid funding had ceased. The unavailability of recurrent funding has predominantly been highlighted in the literature as the key reason for this undesirable outcome, while little has been written about institutional factors. The purpose of this article is to examine the usefulness of taking an institutional perspective in explaining the unsustainability of donor-supported extension reforms and derive lessons for improvement. Using a framework drawn from the school of institutionalism in a Bangladeshi case study, we have found that a reform becomes unsustainable because of poor demands for extension information and advice; missing, weak, incongruent, and perverse institutional frameworks governing the exchange of extension goods (services); and a lack of institutional learning and change during the reform process. Accordingly, we have argued that strategies for sustainable extension reforms should move beyond financial considerations and include such measures as making extension goods (services) more tangible and monetary in nature, commissioning in-depth studies to learn about local institutions, crafting new institutions and/or reforming the weak and perverse institutions prevailing in developing countries. We emphasize the need to address three categories of institutions – regulative, normative, and cultural-cognitive – and call for an alignment among them. We further argue that, in order to be sustainable, a reform should take a systemic approach in institutional capacity building and, for this to be possible, adopt a long-term program approach, as opposed to a short-term project approach

The Facilitation of Learning Groups: A Study of a Dairy Discussion Group Facilitator

Farm Management,

RCCZ4: A Reference Metric Approach to Z4

The hyperbolic formulations of numerical relativity due to Baumgarte, Shapiro, Shibata & Nakamura (BSSN) and Nagy Ortiz & Reula (NOR), among others, achieve stability through the effective embedding of general relativity within the larger Z4 system. In doing so, various elliptic constraints are promoted to dynamical degrees of freedom, permitting the advection of constraint violating modes. Here we demonstrate that it is possible to achieve equivalent performance through a modification of fully covariant and conformal Z4 (FCCZ4) wherein constraint violations are coupled to a reference metric completely independently of the physical metric. We show that this approach works in the presence of black holes and holds up robustly in a variety of spherically symmetric simulations including the critical collapse of a scalar field. We then demonstrate that our formulation is strongly hyperbolic through the use of a pseudodifferential first order reduction and compare its hyperbolicity properties to those of FCCZ4 and generalized BSSN (GBSSN). Our present approach makes use of a static Lorentzian reference metric and does not appear to provide significant advantages over FCCZ4. However, we speculate that dynamical specification of the reference metric may provide a means of exerting greater control over constraint violations than what is provided by current BSSN-type formulations.Comment: 19 pages, 18 figure

The spectroscopic binary system Gl 375. I. Orbital parameters and chromospheric activity

We study the spectroscopic binary system Gl 375. We employ medium resolution echelle spectra obtained at the 2.15 m telescope at the Argentinian observatory CASLEO and photometric observations obtained from the ASAS database. We separate the composite spectra into those corresponding to both components. The separated spectra allow us to confirm that the spectral types of both components are similar (dMe3.5) and to obtain precise measurements of the orbital period (P = 1.87844 days), minimum masses (M_1 sin^3 i = 0.35 M_sun and M_2 sin^3 i =0.33 M_sun) and other orbital parameters. The photometric observations exhibit a sinusoidal variation with the same period as the orbital period. We interpret this as signs of active regions carried along with rotation in a tidally synchronized system, and study the evolution of the amplitude of the modulation in longer timescales. Together with the mean magnitude, the modulation exhibits a roughly cyclic variation with a period of around 800 days. This periodicity is also found in the flux of the Ca II K lines of both components, which seem to be in phase. The periodic changes in the three observables are interpreted as a sign of a stellar activity cycle. Both components appear to be in phase, which implies that they are magnetically connected. The measured cycle of approximately 2.2 years (800 days) is consistent with previous determinations of activity cycles in similar stars.Comment: 10 pages, including 11 figures and 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Angular diameters, fluxes and extinction of compact planetary nebulae: further evidence for steeper extinction towards the Bulge

We present values for angular diameter, flux and extinction for 70 Galactic planetary nebulae observed using narrow band filters. Angular diameters are derived using constant emissivity shell and photoionization line emission models. The mean of the results from these two models are presented as our best estimate. Contour plots of 36 fully resolved objects are included and the low intensity contours often reveal an elliptical structure that is not always apparent from FWHM measurements. Flux densities are determined, and for both H-alpha and O[III] there is little evidence of any systematic differences between observed and catalogued values. Observed H-alpha extinction values are determined using observed H-alpha and catalogued radio fluxes. H-alpha extinction values are also derived from catalogued H-alpha and H-beta flux values by means of an Rv dependent extinction law. Rv is then calculated in terms of observed extinction values and catalogued H-alpha and H-beta flux values. Comparing observed and catalogue extinction values for a subset of Bulge objects, observed values tend to be lower than catalogue values calculated with Rv = 3.1. For the same subset we calculate = 2.0, confirming that toward the Bulge interstellar extinction is steeper than Rv = 3.1. For the inner Galaxy a relation with the higher supernova rate is suggested, and that the low-density warm ionized medium is the site of the anomalous extinction. Lowvalues of extinction are also derived using dust models with a turnover radius of 0.08 microns.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS. 17 pages, 9 figures (including 36 contour plots of PNe), 5 Tables (including 2 large tables of angular diameters, fluxes and extinction

A Feature Movie of SiO Emission 20-100 AU from the Massive Young Stellar Object Orion Source I

We present multi-epoch VLBA imaging of the 28SiO v=1 & v=2, J=1-0 maser emission toward the massive YSO Orion Source I. Both SiO transitions were observed simultaneously with an angular resolution of ~0.5 mas (~0.2 AU for d=414 pc). Here we explore the global properties and kinematics of the emission through two 19-epoch animated movies spanning 21 months (2001 March 19 to 2002 December 10). These movies provide the most detailed view to date of the dynamics and temporal evolution of molecular material within ~20-100 AU of a massive (~>8M_sun) YSO. The bulk of the SiO masers surrounding Source I lie in an X-shaped locus; emission in the South/East arms is predominantly blueshifted and in the North and West is predominantly redshifted. In addition, bridges of intermediate-velocity emission connect the red and blue sides of the emission distribution. We have measured proper motions of >1000 maser features and find a combination of radially outward migrations along the four arms and motions tangent to the bridges. We interpret the SiO masers as arising from a wide-angle bipolar wind emanating from a rotating, edge-on disk. The detection of maser features along extended, curved filaments suggests that magnetic fields may play a role in launching and/or shaping the wind. Our observations appear to support a picture in which stars with M ~>8 M_sun form via disk-mediated accretion. However, we cannot rule out that the Source I disk may have been formed or altered following a close encounter. (Abridged).Comment: Accepted to ApJ (January 2010); a full resolution version along with two accompanying GIF movies may be found at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/kalypso

Maser emission from SiO isotopologues traces the innermost 100 AU around Radio Source I in Orion BN/KL

We have used the Very Large Array (VLA) at 7 mm wavelength to image five rotational transitions (J=1-0) from three SiO isotopologues towards Orion BN/KL: 28SiO v=0,1,2; and 29SiO and 30SiO v=0. For the first time, we have mapped the 29SiO and 30SiO J=1-0 emission, established the maser nature of the emission, and confirmed association with the deeply embedded high-mass young stellar object commonly denoted radio Source I. The 28SiO v=0 maser emission shows a bipolar structure that extends over ~700 AU along a northeast-southwest axis, and we propose that it traces a bipolar outflow driven by Source I. The high-brightness isotopic SiO maser emission imaged with a ~0.2 arcsec resolution has a more compact distribution, generally similar to that of the 28SiO v=1,2 emission, and it probably traces bulk gas flows in a region of diameter <100 AU centered on Source I. On small scales of <10 AU, however, compact 29SiO/30SiO v=0 and 28SiO v=1,2 emission features may be offset from one another in position and line-of-sight velocity. From a radiative transfer analysis based on a large velocity gradient (LVG) pumping model, we derive similar temperatures and densities for the optimum excitation of both 29SiO/30SiO v=0 and 28SiO v=1,2 masers, significantly higher than required for 28SiO v=0 maser excitation. In order to account for the small-scale differences among the isotopologues (v=0) and the main species (v=1,2), follow-up radiative transfer modeling that incorporates non-local line overlap among transitions of all SiO isotopic species may be required.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication by Ap

Management of Pasture Quality for Sheep on New Zealand Hill Country

The control of pasture quality over spring is central to the achievement of high levels of sheep performance on hill country. Despite this, with the exception of the work of Lambert et al. (2000), little is known about how farmers actually manage pasture quality. The purpose of this research was to describe how a high performing hill country farmer manages pasture quality on their sheep area over spring and from this develop a framework that will assist other farmers improve their pasture management

The effect of the systemic inflammatory response on plasma vitamin 25 (OH) D concentrations adjusted for albumin

&lt;b&gt;Aim&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; To examine the relationship between plasma 25(OH)D, CRP and albumin concentrations in two patient cohorts.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Methods&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; 5327 patients referred for nutritional assessment and 117 patients with critical illness were examined. Plasma 25 (OH) D concentrations were measured using standard methods. Intra and between assay imprecision was &#60;10%.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Result&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; In the large cohort, plasma 25 (OH) D was significantly associated with CRP (rs = −0.113, p&#60;0.001) and albumin (rs = 0.192, p&#60;0.001). 3711 patients had CRP concentrations ≤10 mg/L; with decreasing albumin concentrations ≥35, 25–34 and &#60;25 g/l, median concentrations of 25 (OH) D were significantly lower from 35 to 28 to 14 nmol/l (p&#60;0.001). This decrease was significant when albumin concentrations were reduced between 25–34 g/L (p&#60;0.001) and when albumin &#60;25 g/L (p&#60;0.001). 1271 patients had CRP concentrations between 11–80 mg/L; with decreasing albumin concentrations ≥35, 25–34 and &#60;25 g/l, median concentrations of 25 (OH) D were significantly lower from 31 to 24 to 19 nmol/l (p&#60;0.001). This decrease was significant when albumin concentration were 25–34 g/L (p&#60;0.001) and when albumin &#60;25 g/L (p&#60;0.001). 345 patients had CRP concentrations &#62;80 mg/L; with decreasing albumin concentrations ≥35, 25–34 and &#60;25 g/l, median concentrations of 25 (OH) D were not significantly altered varying from 19 to 23 to 23 nmol/l. Similar relationships were also obtained in the cohort of patients with critical illness.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusion&lt;/b&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Plasma concentrations of 25(OH) D were independently associated with both CRP and albumin and consistent with the systemic inflammatory response as a major confounding factor in determining vitamin D status.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt