Interdisciplinarity and education: towards principles of pedagogical practice

Abstract

Purpose:

This article contributes new empirical evidence and nuanced analysis on the gender difference in access to extension services and how this translates to observed differences in technology adoption and agricultural productivity.     

The contribution of the University of California Cooperative Extension to California's agricultural production

ABSTRACT

Purpose

This paper is concerned with the impact of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) on regional productivity in California agriculture. UCCE is responsible for agricultural research and development (R&D), and dissemination of agricultural know-how in the state.     

Circles and Communities,Sharing Practices and Learning: Looking at New Extension Education Approaches

Abstract

Purpose

Information technology (IT) has tremendous potential for fostering grassroots development and the Indian government has created various capital-intensive computer networks to promote agricultural development. However, research studies have shown that information technology investments are not always translated into productivity gains due to poor computer use by employees. In this context, a research investigation was conducted to develop a Computer Utilization Model that explains how individual and organizational factors influence computer utilization in extension organizations in India.     

How Dynamics of Learning are Linked to Innovation Support Services: Insights from a Smallholder Commercialization Project in Kenya

Abstract

Purpose

The important role of learning is noted in the literature on demand–driven approaches to supporting agricultural innovation. Most of this literature has focused on macro-level structural perspectives on the organization of pluralistic innovation support systems. This has provided little insight at the micro-level on the dynamics of demand articulation, and the related interplay of matching farmers' demand with supply of innovation support services. This paper contributes to understanding this interplay using the concept of the dynamic learning agenda.     

Gender-Sensitive Approaches to Extension Programme Design

Abstract

Purpose:

Though women are engaged in farming and play a major role in almost every agricultural operation, they continue to receive very limited extension support. While several interventions have been made to address this ‘gender’ bias in extension delivery, there continues to be a shortfall between the kind of support that is provided and the needs and demands of rural women. This gap between supply and demand needs to be addressed in order to improve the lives and livelihoods of women in the rural farming sector.     

Field Note: Standard Web Application for Information Exchange on Agroforestry in India

Abstract

Purpose

To explain how training and education events (TEEs) can be designed to increase the likelihood of achieving behavioural objectives.     

A Review of Innovation Systems Framework as a Tool for Gendering Agricultural Innovations: Exploring Gender Learning and System Empowerment

Abstract

Purpose:

To reflect on the opportunities that a systems understanding of innovation provides for addressing gender issues relevant to women, and to provide some insight on how these might be tackled.     

Agricultural development; Opportunities and threats for farmers and implications for extension organisations

Abstract

In many countries agriculture is in a process of rapid change,

• - it has to meet a growing demand for food in a sustainable way,

• - the international competition is increasing,

• - the increase in labour productivity is decreasing the employment opportunities in agriculture,

• - agricultural research is offering many new opportunities to increase productivity,

• - government price support for agricultural products in industrial countries is decreasing.

These changes have many implications for agricultural extension, such as:

• - the knowledge and capabilities of farmers has become a major factor in their ability to compete in national and international markets,

• - advice is not only needed on the adoption of new technologies, but also on many other decisions farmers have to make, such as the choice of their farming system and the decision whether or not to earn an income from outside agriculture,

• - this requires a change in extension methods and in the information sources extension agents use,

• - agricultural development demands painful changes in the way of farming and of living for many farm families. It is a challenge for extension agencies to help farm families to realise this,

• - a major task for leaders of extension organisations is to manage a process of change in agricultural extension. Often the role extension has to play in agricultural development can not be performed by one extension organisation, but only by a pluralistic extension system.

Agricultural extension is often expected to contribute to a reduction of poverty among farmers and farm labourers. One has to think seriously how one can realise this objective.     

Powering the Women in Agriculture: Lessons on Women Led Farm Mechanisation in South India

Abstract

Purpose:

This article analyses how an initiative on farm mechanisation by a local government in Kerala in South India evolved into a formal organisation that provides sustainable livelihood options to women and small and marginal farmers and revived the rice production system.     

Construction and validation of a psychometric scale to assess extension agents’ beliefs about extension and innovation

ABSTRACT

Purpose

This article aims at designing and validating a psychometric scale to assess extensionists’ and advisors’ beliefs about extension and innovation.     

Evaluation of Information and Communication Technology Utilization by Small Holder Banana Farmers in Gatanga District,Kenya

Abstract

Purpose

The study was carried out to identify information communication technologies (ICTs) used in production and marketing of bananas, to determine factors influencing intensity of use of ICT tools and to assess whether use of ICT has a significant influence on adoption of tissue culture bananas by small-scale banana farmers in Gatanga District, Kenya.     

Rural Child Labour: Views of Extension Agents in Ethiopia

Abstract

Purpose:

Whilst children working in agriculture and domestic work is an inherent part of growing up and essential for survival, if boys and girls lose out on education they are less equipped to respond to inevitable environmental shocks and to negotiate agri-food value chains. This article investigates views of extension agents on children working.     

Transformations in higher education in agricultural and food sciences in Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Current changes in agricultural and food science higher education in Central and Eastern Europe are interesting for the analysis of the repercussions of post communist economic and social transition, particularly in the adaptation and restructuring of scientific and technical education.

Using an institutional approach and referring to their experiences of these educational systems, the authors provide a Western view of current transformations and areas of development of higher education in agricultural and food sciences in the countries concerned. The emergence of a new social demand and of new systems of access to employment implies re-evaluation and adaptation of former training models. The authors suggest that the current reflection on the question should focus on three key issues:

• -redefinition of the role and function of managers in the agricultural and food economic sector;

• -replacement of a production-oriented approach by a more comprehensive approach to the problem of rural development;

• -recognition of the educational value of biological sciences as both models and tools for the acquisition of knowledge and the management of complex systems.

     

Antibacterial mechanism of high-mobility group nucleosomal-binding domain 2 on the Gram-negative bacteria <Emphasis Type="Italic">Escherichia coli</Emphasis>

Objective

To investigate the antibacterial mechanism of high-mobility group nucleosomal-binding domain 2 (HMGN2) on Escherichia coli K12, focusing on the antibacterial and antibiofilm formation effects. Its chemotactic activity on human neutrophils was also investigated.

Methods

Human tissue-derived HMGN2 (tHMGN2) was extracted from fresh uterus fiber cystadenoma and purified by HP1100 reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Recombinant human HMGN2 (rHMGN2) was generated in E. coli DE3 carrying PET-32ac(+)- HMGN2. Antibacterial activity of HMGN2 was determined using an agarose diffusion assay and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of HMGN2 was determined by the microdilution broth method. Bacterial membrane permeability assay and DNA binding assay were performed. The antibiofilm effect of HMGN2 was investigated using a crystal violet assay and electron microscopy scanning. The activating effect and chemotactic activity of HMGN2 on neutrophils were determined using a nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction assay and Transwell chamber cell migration assay, respectively.

Results

HMGN2 showed a relatively high potency against Gram-negative bacteria E. coli and the MIC of HMGN2 was 16.25 μg/ml. Elevated bacterial membrane permeability was observed in HMGN2-treated E. coli K12. HMGN2 could also bind the bacterial plasmid and genomic DNA in a dose-dependent manner. The antibiofilm effect of HMGN2 on E. coli K12 was confirmed by crystal violet staining and scanning electron microscopy. However, the activating effects and chemotactic effects of HMGN2 on human neutrophils were not observed.

Conclusions

As an antimicrobial peptide (AMP), HMGN2 possessed a good capacity for antibacterial and antibiofilm activities on E. coli K12. This capacity might be associated with disruption of the bacterial membrane and combination of DNA, which might affect the growth and viability of E. coli.

     

Comparative genomic analysis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lactobacillus plantarum</Emphasis> ZJ316 reveals its genetic adaptation and potential probiotic profiles

Objective

In previous studies, Lactobacillus plantarum ZJ316 showed probiotic properties, such as antimicrobial activity against various pathogens and the capacity to significantly improve pig growth and pork quality. The purpose of this study was to reveal the genes potentially related to its genetic adaptation and probiotic profiles based on comparative genomic analysis.

Methods

The genome sequence of L. plantarum ZJ316 was compared with those of eight L. plantarum strains deposited in GenBank. BLASTN, Mauve, and MUMmer programs were used for genome alignment and comparison. CRISPRFinder was applied for searching the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs).

Results

We identified genes that encode proteins related to genetic adaptation and probiotic profiles, including carbohydrate transport and metabolism, proteolytic enzyme systems and amino acid biosynthesis, CRISPR adaptive immunity, stress responses, bile salt resistance, ability to adhere to the host intestinal wall, exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthesis, and bacteriocin biosynthesis.

Conclusions

Comparative characterization of the L. plantarum ZJ316 genome provided the genetic basis for further elucidating the functional mechanisms of its probiotic properties. ZJ316 could be considered a potential probiotic candidate.