An embedding approach to the stability of some nonlinear discrete systems

An embedding approach is proposed to investigate the stability of some nonlinear sampled data systems. It is shown that the stability criterion so obtained may conclude for stability when other criteria do not apply. The approach could be extended in a more general way.     

Estimating audiences: sampling in television and radio audience research

Cultural consumption is problematic from a number of different perspectives, but certain responses from producers, regulators and commentators depend on the measurement of consumption according to quantitative and qualitative parameters. The reliability of the data can vary widely, not least because in certain areas consumption is invisible to those who would measure it, and so they must make estimates based on assumptions about methodology and sampling techniques. Whereas in auditoria, turnstiles may quite accurately quantify footfall through the premises, and sale or return inspires high levels of confidence in circulation figures for certain types of publication, broadcasters perform to intangible audiences who can be neither counted nor observed en masse. This article considers the appropriateness of sampling techniques used to produce audience research data for the broadcasting industries, for the programmers and advertisers who need detailed ‘knowledge’ about their audiences. It draws on the contextualization in Cultural Trends 45 (Starkey, 2003), which examined the debate around competing methodologies using either innovatory electronic devices for the measurement of consumption or more traditional human recall. The article raises important questions for those who use sampling techniques in the cultural sector and those who would interpret their data.     

Communication between Participants and Non-participants in Analytical Capacity Building Projects: Management Advice to Family Farms in Benin

Purpose: Approaches to build farmers' analytical capacities are said to trigger wide-ranging changes. This article reports on the communication process between participants and non-participants in one such approach, related to the technical and management skills learned by participants and the changes these participants subsequently made, and the outcomes in terms of non-participants' learning.

Design/Methodology/Approach: In this study, we analysed the following: (1) participants' learning and changes in social practices; (2) communication between participants and non-participants regarding technical and management skills and changes in social practices; (3) non-participants' learning and changes in social practices. The case study was a management advice to family farm project in three villages in Benin.

Findings: Most participants learned management skills, which led them to reassess their objectives and to reduce traditional social practices they now considered unproductive. Even in the case of frequent communication, non-participants found it difficult to learn management skills, which hindered their experiential learning. Non-participants consequently had difficulty understanding why participants changed their social practices such as reduction of their traditional gift giving, leading to limited well-argued discussion about these changes in practices between participants and non-participants.

Practical Implications: This study shows that, due to the limited learning process of non-participants communicating with participants, there is a need to design and test approaches to achieve capacity-building while including more participants at a similar cost, and to stimulate explicit discussion at village level about the changes in values and social practices that these approaches may trigger.

Originality/Value: The article analyses both participants and non-participants' experiential learning, and looks at the two sides of the interaction between the communication processes and non-participants' learning.