Developing effective learning programs : what extension can learn from the fields of adult education and learning communities

Learning is an investment in capacity building that has and will continue to reap rewards for primary producers and government in terms of increased sustainable production, profitability, exports, jobs and sustainable rural communities. Primary production operates in a context of continual change and requires up to date, complex and varied skills of primary producers and land managers.

A recent national research project funded by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Australia confirmed that application of best practice from the theory of adult education in designing and developing learning programs in primary industry results in learning activities that provide information that is relevant to farmers’ needs, delivered in an entertaining way, and that draws on examples directly relevant to the participants. As a result, the training often exceeds the expectations of the participants.

The project produced a self-assessment checklist to identify ways of improving the development and delivery of training for extension practitioners and training providers. The key issues include continuous monitoring of client’s needs, and actively seeking opportunities to meet and work with industry organisations, other training providers and funding bodies.

There appear to be two drivers for the development of learning programs. One is problems or opportunities identified by people and organisations that could be termed ‘scanners’ and who tend not to be potential participants, the other is learning needs expressed by individuals or enterprises who want to participate in learning activities (participants). Scanners are typically industry organisations, government agencies and researchers, but may include providers and participants. Extension practitioners are well-placed to act as scanners.

It is very important that farmers and farmer organisations contribute to the development of new learning programs. Without industry input and support, extension practitioners and training providers cannot be expected to ensure they meet client needs. In other words, to develop effective learning programs, there must an industry learning community of producers, industry organisations, extension practitioners and training providers and other stakeholders such as supply chain enterprises, government and researchers.

How farmers learn : different approaches to change

This paper presents findings of an Australian study that investigated how farm- management teams go about learning to manage their businesses, including how they learn in order to make strategic and tactical changes. The Australian farming context is one of increasing complexity and risk that demands greater sophistication and professionalism in farm management. Learning is related to increased capacity to manage successful change. Farm-management teams employ four different learning patterns when making changes to their management and marketing practices. Learning patterns are termed local focussed, people focussed, outward looking and extensive networking. These patterns appear to be related to ongoing learning practices of farm-management teams as well as to learning for change. Local focussed management teams learnt for change by accessing only local sources (including government extension services) or a single individual. People focussed farm-management teams preferred to learn for change principally by seeking information and advice on a one-to-one basis from more than one person, most frequently experts, but often other farmers. The remaining farm businesses accessed a variety of sources. The group classed as extensive networkers accessed a large number of varied sources in learning for change. Others who used a less extensive range were termed outward looking.

Integrative catchment modelling of land use, turbidity, flow and geology

The thesis outlines and demonstrates the various aspects that contribute towards water quality management systems and the important use of storage/water quality models. The application of models is demonstrated through the functions that modelling components have on sustainable regional development, and through linkage with water quality systems.

Overcoming systematic rural poverty : lessons from the Yunnan Upland Management Program

Sustainable poverty alleviation means more than the relief of poverty. It means attention to the systemic foundation of poverty and enhancement of local community and household capacity for self-reliance to sustain the improvement. This thesis assesses the record left behind by the Yunnan Upland Management Program (YUM) among rural households in remote and isolated southwestern China. Poverty is many faced and cannot be resolved without the active participation of the victims.

Knowledge distribution nodes and home based businesses : role of business associations and local council in Casey LGA

This paper examines the stmcture, function and role of local business associations in home based business development within an urban region. Casey local government area (LOA), Victoria, is the focus, where nine local business associations in the area (as well as the local council) are evaluated in the context of support for local-based business development. The evaluation draws upon primary data co llected by surveys of local home based businesses, and follows up by semi-stmctured interviews of representatives from these business associations and the local council. This paper identifies that local business associations are fragmented and have significant overlap in their activities of which the commonest activity is acting as a knowledge distribution node. The cash strapped local council is the most important node. All are restricted by vision and resources. As a result, the services provided have little impact on sustainable business development in Casey.

Sui Generis protection for plant varieties and traditional knowledge in biodiversity and agriculture : the international framework and national approaches in the Philippines and India

The so-called ‘biotechnology clause’ of Article 27.3(b) of the WTO-TRIPS Agreement requires from member states protection for plant varieties either via the patent system or via an ‘effective sui generis system’ or by a combination of the two. Many developing countries prefer forms of sui generis protection, which allow them to include exceptions and protection measures for traditional agricultural practices and the traditional knowledge of farmers and local communities. However, ‘traditional knowledge’ remains a vaguely defined term. Its extension to biodiversity has brought a diffusion of the previously clearer link between protected subject matter, intellectual property and potential beneficiaries. The Philippine legislation attempts a ‘bottom-up’ approach focusing on the holistic perceptions of indigenous communities, whereas national economic interests thus far receive priority in India’s more centralist approach. Administrative decentralisation, recognition of customary rights, disclosure requirements, registers of landraces and geographical indications are discussed as additional measures, but their implementation is equally challenging. The article concludes that many of the concepts remain contested and that governments have to balance the new commercial incentives with the biodiversity considerations that led to their introduction, so that the system can be made sufficiently attractive for both knowledge holders and potential users of the knowledge.

Knowledge distribution nodes and home based businesses : role of local business associations and local council in Casey LGA

This paper examines the structure, function and role of local business associations in home based business development within an urban region. Casey local government area (LGA), Victoria, is the focus, where nine local business associations in the area (as well as the local council) are evaluated in the context of support for local-based business development. The evaluation draws upon primary data collected by surveys of local home based businesses, and follows up by semi-structured interviews of representatives from these business associations and the local council. This paper identifies that local business associations are fragmented and have significant overlap in their activities, of which the commonest activity is acting as a knowledge distribution node. The cash strapped local council is the most important node. All are restricted by vision and resources. As a result, the services provided have little impact on sustainable business development in Casey.

Japanese lesson study : teacher professional development through communities of inquiry

Japanese Lesson Study has come under increasing attention from educators in the West and throughout South-East Asia since it was revealed outside Japan through the release of the TIMSS Video Study. In this paper we argue that Japanese Lesson Study provides a model for large scale, sustainable professional development. In particular, we draw on our own experience of Japanese Lesson Study and the research literature to describe its characteristic features and examine some of the cultural assumptions that underpin its implementation.

The traditional decision-making process of Berkaul in Tanjung Emas, West Sumatra : its nature and significance

Berkaul is a traditional practice associated with the rice cultivation cycle in West Sumatra, Indonesia, intended to seek consensus within the local community about agricultural practices and management of water for irrigation. Berkaul is deeply rooted in the adat and worldview of the region but is much less commonly practiced today than in the past and has disappeared in many parts of the region. This article describes the process of berkaul in Tanjung Emas, West Sumatra, places it within the context of Minangkabau adat and tradition, and considers its value in fostering participation, empowerment, and social inclusion in the context of rural development.

Using strategic philanthropy to improve heritage tourist sites on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey : community perceptions of changing quality of life and of the sponsoring organization

This paper examines the “Respect for History” project on Turkey's Gallipoli Peninsula sponsored by a Turkish oil company, OPET. The project sought to enhance and protect the cultural and historical experiences of tourists visiting Gallipoli, and to bring direct and indirect benefits to local communities through enhancing tourism-related business opportunities and improving community infrastructure. This research investigates the project's impact on residents’ perceived social and economic wellbeing, using a quality of life framework, and also ascertains residents’ views of the sponsoring firm. The context illustrates key differences between pure philanthropy and strategic philanthropy; the latter defined as doing good by purposefully achieving corporate and civic benefits. The role of strategic philanthropy as a sustainable tourism development tool, and its impact on tourism governance, are considered. Data were collected from 674 residents on the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula in areas impacted by OPET's investment program. The results, using structural equation modelling (SEM), identify that respondents generally believe that both their economic and social quality of life have improved. This, in turn, has positively influenced respondents’ views of the sponsoring organization. The concept of strategic philanthropy appears valuable as a private sector, non-tourism, sustainable tourism development tool in some circumstances.

Financialisation of official development assistance

Official Development Assistance is a significant global enterprise. Organsiations engaged in funding and implementing ODA (the bilateral donors, multilateral organsiations such as the World Bank and IMF) have unprecedented political and economic influence over a large number of sovereign developing countries. This paper analyses if, and how financialisation impacts on development aid, and implications for effective aid policy agendas, drawing on and linking critical debate on finacialisation, and ODA. Subsequent to the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the persistence of the European Monitory Crisis (EMC), specific needs of developing countries became increasingly sub-ordinated to political and ideological power relations between ‘real’ economics and financial economics otherwise known as financialisation. The paper finds ‘financialisation’ as the ideological, political and economic catalyst for economic growth potentially confusing long-term development to combat poverty, and a short term need to overcome the lack of financial capacity in developing recipient countries. Sustainable economic development requires developing countries to forsake the pursuit of financialisation and to re-delineate their national finance, trade and investment regimes, and re-state it in a balanced manner as to take into account their unique economic development needs rather that the donor agencies’ demands and to advance their own ‘real’ economies.

Nanostructured liquid crystalline particle assisted delivery of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid to weeds, crops and model plants

Routine agricultural practices are heavily dependent on the use of surfactants, many of which are toxic to humans and detrimental to the environment. In proof of concept work we have previously shown the potential of nanostructured liquid crystalline particles (NLCP) to safely interact with plant leaf cuticular surfaces with minimal impact on epicuticular waxes. Here we demonstrate the use of NLCP to effectively deliver the auxin herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) to plant leaves in laboratory and field studies. In the laboratory, the physiological stress responses of lupin, Lupinus angustifolius (L.) (Fabaceae) towards NLCP spray applications were shown to be much reduced in comparison with application of two common surfactants. Phytotoxicity assays of 2,4-D loaded NLCP were used to validate the herbicidal effects on Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynth. (Brassicaceae) and established a similarity with that of surfactant assisted 2,4-D delivery when tested at a concentration of 0.1%. Field trials were conducted to test the efficacy of NLCP-assisted delivery of 2,4-D in comparison with commercial surfactants for the control of the invasive weed wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum (L.) (Brassicaceae), in wheat, Triticum aestivum (L.) (Poaceae) crop fields. Compared against Estercide 800, a commercially available 2,4-D formulation, NLCP assisted delivery of 2,4-D was effective at low concentrations of 0.03% and 0.06%. The crop yield remained similar for all the tested concentrations and formulations of 2,4-D loaded NLCP and Estercide 800. This is the first report to directly show that, as an alternative to conventional methods, NLCP can be used under both laboratory and field conditions to successfully delivery an agrochemical.

Responsabilidade social da Light e suas contribuições para comunidade: um estudo de caso sobre desenvolvimento humano sustentável, inclusão social e cidadania

Esta dissertação apresenta a responsabilidade social das organizações, mais especificamente as contribuições para a comunidade na qual está inserida, tomando-se como estudo de caso a LIGHT. Elementos concernentes à referida responsabilidade social e ao 'programa de normalização de áreas informais' são analisados por meio da metodologia grounded theory. Desta forma, o objetivo maior do estudo é aumentar o entendimento acerca dos valores substantivos gerados no processo estabelecido entre a organização e a comunidade, na busca pelas dimensões da responsabilidade social e seu relacionamento com desenvolvimento humano sustentável, inclusão social e cidadania

Sustentabilidade e Desenvolvimento Local: Estudo de Projeto na Formação da Ecovila Viver Simples em Itamonte - MG

Eco-villages are considered models of intentional communities or sustainable communities and have been incorporated by the United Nations in the Sustainable Communities Development Programme (SCDP) as a human scale settlement. They are characterized by human activities being integrated in a non-damaging way into the natural world in such a way as to give support to healthy human development so as to be able to continue indefinitely into the future. This text assesses the extent to which a project to create the Eco-village for Simple Living in Itamonte - Minas Gerais" is successful, based on the concepts of sustainability and local development succeeds, by examining the indicators and attributes that are able to be measured in the planning phase, describing the stages and discussions of the project, as well as assessing the members 'perception of "the concepts of the Eco-village", "sustainability" and "local development". Subsequent analysis of the degree of sustainability (ecological, social, economic, spacial and cultural / spiritual) and local development, based on the social economy, demonstrated the presence of a number of aspects used to support, guide, discuss, plan and implement actions in the creation of the Eco-village being studied. This work could be used as a guide to Eco-villages during the planning phase, indicating the importance of the concepts studied, especially for some communities which are self-proclaimed "Eco-villages" but which in fact do not show even the slightest structural aspects which would describe them as such, like solidarity in the relations between participants, or construction oriented with a view to the precepts of environmental preservation. "

O estado indutor: um olhar fenomenológico-existencial sobre o programa comunidade ativa.

O Programa Comunidade Ativa foi criado pela Comunidade Solidária como uma estratégia para induzir o Desenvolvimento Local Integrado e Sustentável em pequenos municípios brasileiros por meio da formação de fóruns comunitários e da capacitação desses fóruns. O Programa pretende favorecer que as pessoas se tornem mais ativas, participantes e responsáveis pela resolução de seus problemas comuns e incentivar a valorização das culturas locais. O presente estudo investiga as possibilidades e as limitações de o Programa Comunidade Ativa favorecer que os membros das comunidades em que atua apropriem-se de sua liberdade, assumindo a responsabilidade pela construção de sua realidade social. A fim de responder a esta questão recorreu-se neste estudo ao pensamento de Martin Heidegger e de Hanna Arendt. O referencial teórico desta dissertação está dividido em duas partes. Na primeira parte são abordados os seguintes temas: reforma do Estado e políticas sociais; cidadania; desenvolvimento local; espaços públicos de participação; formação humana; e capital social. A segunda parte do referencial teórico apresenta a Fenomenologia Existencial e suas concepções sobre conhecimento, homem, mundo, liberdade, política e educação. A metodologia de investigação inclui coleta e tratamento dos dados provenientes de estudo de documentos e de palestra e de trinta e sete entrevistas realizadas com atores situados desde o âmbito nacional até a esfera local. No último capítulo os dados coletados são interpretados segundo o referencial teórico adotado - o que permite apontar diversas limitações e algumas possibilidades do Programa Comunidade Ativa favorecer que os membros da comunidade em que atua apropriem-se de sua liberdade - e são realizadas reflexões sobre o papel, os desafios e as possibilidades do Estado indutor.