Scaling-up Sustainable Land Management Practices through the Concept of the Rural Resource Centre: Reconciling Farmers' Interests with Research Agendas

Abstract

Purpose: Formal agricultural research has generated vast amount of knowledge and fundamental insights on land management, but their low adoption has been attributed to the use of public extension approach. This research aims to address whether and how full participation of farmers through the concept of Rural Resource Centre (RRC) provides new insights for the development of alternative and farmers-based extension methods.

Design/Methodology/Approach: Using the Concept of RRC, this research assesses the role of farmers in on-farm demonstrations and scaling-up of land management practices, and investigates effective ways to enhance beneficial interactions between researchers, extension workers and farmers in view of improving adoption.

Findings: The findings suggest that farmers can effectively participate in demonstrations and scaling-up of agricultural practices. This participation is enhanced by judicious incentives such as higher crop yields that motivate farmers and influence adoption. The current success of the approach stems from the fact that farmers, extension workers and researchers jointly implement the activities and their different aims were achieved simultaneously: scientific results for researchers, better agricultural practices for extension workers, and economic success and free choice for farmers.

Practical implications: This research concludes that farmers have the capacities to play an innermost role in demonstrations and scaling-up of agricultural practices. However, there is a need to build and strengthen their capacities to facilitate their participation and contribution.

Originality/Value: The article demonstrates the value of the preponderant role of farmers in on-farm demonstrations and scaling-up practices by exhibiting the beneficial interactions between researchers, extension workers and farmers.     

‘Flexibility’, Community and Making Parents Responsible

This article draws on Foucault's concept of governmentality to explore how recent political moves to legalise ‘flexibility’ mobilises education authorities to make ‘community’ a technical means of achieving the political objective of schooling the child. I argue that ‘flexibility’ in this sense is a neo‐liberal strategy that shifts relations between the governed and the State. In this way, it transforms the idea of schooling from a State run institution for the purpose of ‘community building’ to a community run institution for the purpose of making parents governable by both instrumentalising and institutionalising individualism through the force of community membership. Rather than a form of liberation from bureaucratic rule, the paper exposes how ‘flexibility’ acts as a normalising strategy that works with difference to entangle parents as community members in the process of schooling the child through the moral obligation of the contract.     

A ‘whole-school/community development’ approach to preventing and countering bullying: the Erris Anti-Bullying Initiative (2009–2011)

This paper describes how a ‘whole-school/community development’ anti-bullying programme was designed, implemented and evaluated in an initiative in Erris, Co. Mayo, Ireland, involving local primary and post-primary schools and community groups. Students from seven participating schools (five primary, two post-primary) completed modified versions of the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire both prior to and following programme implementation. Thereafter, there were reductions in students' reports of involvement in bully/victim problems and increases in their reports of feelings about bullying and countering bullying that were consistent with an anti-bullying ethos. The sizes of these effects were modest, in some cases perhaps due to the significantly low incidence of students' involvement in bully/victim problems prior to the programme. This model is in continued use in Erris, and in its further development it is intended to seek out opportunities to implement and evaluate it in other locations.     

Perspectives on academic staff involvement in the acquisition and implementation of educational technologies

This article presents the results of a study using both quantitative and qualitative data to uncover the extent and nature of the involvement of academic staff in the processes of acquisition and implementation of educational technologies. Actor-network theory (ANT) is used to inform the design of the study and the analysis of the data. Three main areas of investigation are (1) issues of institutional policy and overall purpose of technology, (2) issues of staff involvement in various activities related to acquisition and use of technology and (3) issues related to the existence of arenas for dialogue and discussions of technological needs and requirements across organisational boundaries. The analysis focuses on the diffuseness of the role of academic staff in processes of development of institutional policies and technology acquisition. The article concludes with suggestions for organisational policy in higher education contexts, and possible directions for new research.     

“三位一体”社区教育队伍建设的研究

社区教育队伍是决定社区教育质量的关键要素。在明确社区教育队伍的构成和社区教育特点的基础上,指出对社区教育师资的特殊要求。通过实证研究,对目前师资队伍在组建、运行、管理方面存在的主要问题进行分析梳理,并尝试提出建立"三位一体"社区教育队伍的构想,对其在构建、运行与管理方面提出了建议,以期为社区教育队伍建设,提高社区教育质量,实现社区教育绩效最优化起到一定的指导与借鉴作用。     

昆汀电影中的“狂欢化”特征

巴赫金的＂狂欢化＂诗学理论,开辟了研究文学艺术的一个新视角。随着消费经济的逐渐发展,许多大众娱乐也都蒙上了＂狂欢＂的面纱。其中,昆汀塔兰蒂诺的电影,常被评论者赋予＂叙事狂欢＂的标签。本文试图从影像的狂欢、结构的狂欢、大众参与的狂欢三方面对昆汀电影中体现的＂狂欢化＂特征进行分析。     

辛亥革命与中国政治现代化

辛亥革命具有政治现代化的特征,它是传统中国政治现代化的一种方式。辛亥革命推翻了东方的帝王专制,造就了中华民国,变更了中国政治统治的合法基础;在中国政治舞台上引进了国会、宪法和总统等西方的新制度文明,引起了政治结构的分化;开创了中国“宪政之治”的新传统,终结了传统中国“朝代国家”的型态,造成了政治文化的世俗化;彻底变革了传统社会的政治结构,增强了国家和社会的力量,带来了政治参与的扩大化。     

从综合实践活动课程的实施看教师学习共同体的成长

本文试从如今正在进行的新课程改革中,寻找一个视点即综合实践活动课程的实施中,存在的与教师有关的问题出发,结合新课程改革的精神和教师专业发展的要求,探索教师共同体的构建与成长过程,并提出了以若干教师共同体促进综合实践活动课程发展的新思路。     

新型农村社区建设中居民社区参与的动力机制分析

新型农村社区居民在社区参与上主要存在参与内容具有明显选择偏好、参与行为具有区隔性以及参与意愿与实际参与行为不符等问题。通过建构利益驱动机制、认同驱动机制和制度驱动机制,帮助居民拓宽获取社会资本的渠道,增强居民社区认同感,搭建社区参与的制度平台,有助于增强社区居民的参与意识,改善社区居民参与状况。     

高职教师学习共同体的构建

学习共同体是一种全新的合作学习方式,是一种自主、平等和互惠的合作共同体。教师学习共同体与学校是利益共同体,学校通过搭建教学共同体、科研共同体、技术攻关共同体等合作学习的组织平台,为教师合作提供良好的空间。学校可以在合作氛围创设、平台搭建、机制完善和资源保障上发挥作用,为教师之间的合作学习和专业成长创造更多的有利条件。