Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse knowledge systems and channels of innovation diffusion in Tajikistan. In particular, I look at the formation of agricultural advisory services (AASs) and how these provide a vital source of knowledge and innovation for farmers during the transition process. Methodology: Empirically, this paper draws…

New venture activities and diversification at farms seem to be perceived as inherently beneficial both to farmers and to rural development. However, the benefit of such efforts and the critical resources and capabilities leading to them seem not to be well understood yet. The purpose of this paper is therefore to explore critical resources and…

The limited effectiveness and fiscal unsustainability of professional-led public sector extension systems in developing countries have aroused considerable interest in Farmer-led Extension (FLE) approaches in the recent decades. A key challenge facing these initiatives is a lack of sustainability of the farmer groups developed through project or…

Describes computer Industrial Impact Model used by Texas Agricultural Extension Service rural planners to assess potential benefits and costs of new firms on community private and public sectors. Presents selected data/results for two communities assessing impact of the same plant. (NEC)

Through discussion and a test of theoretical models, the need to consider nutrition in development planning for rural areas is addressed, and the complex interaction of agricultural and food policies on family nutrition is described. Chapter I indicates the extent and types of malnutrition and discusses both the relationship of nutrition to…

The purpose of this presentation is to examine changing perspectives of rural development in an effort to better understand change in rural social systems and to analyze interactions between systems in general. The 1st section of this report is devoted to an analytic framework for intersystem interaction which entails a donor/recipient construct…

The purposes of this report are: to describe the main elements of the U.S. agricultural extension model and its effects on the agricultural revolution; to analyze attempts to extend this model to non-agricultural technology and/or to less developed countries; and to draw general conclusions about the diffusion of technological innovations, with…

Whether large-scale or small farms dominate, a county's farm structure is influenced not only by changes within farming but also by key factors such as nonfarm economic activity, geography, and population growth. Large-farm counties where agriculture dominates the economy are concentrated in the Plains, Midwest, and Mississippi Delta. Small-farm…

The utility of Rothman's three ideal types of social action as applied to community issues and Extension agents were explored via analysis of condensed case study materials describing decisions and activities surrounding a specific issue in the target county of a Title V (Rural Development Act of 1972) Project in South Carolina. The three Rothman…

Taking the position that the Classical Experimental Evaluation (CEE) Model does not do justice to the process of acquiring information necessary for decision making re planning, programming, implementing, and recycling program activities, this paper presents the Inductive, System-Process (ISP) evaluation model as an alternative to be used in…

A system of social indicators for the integrated and systemic study of rural socioeconomic development was constructed. Specific features of the system were that it: (1) embraced nearly all aspects of life activity of the rural population, ranging from work in the public sector to leisure behaviour; (2) included social indicators which measured…

Support for public education wavers in a number of states due to a lack of evidence indicating that increased funding is associated with increases in output. Maintaining and increasing this support, however, is critical for rural communities as they seek to strengthen their human capital base as a strategy for economic growth and development. The…

A major issue in Information Systems (IS) research is how to combine relevance and rigor (Benbasat & Zmud, 1999) and reduce the widening gap between research results and adoption (Dunn, 1994). Qualitative researchers make use of interpretivist methods to add richness and depth to their understanding of user problems. Interpretivist methods…

The major goals of the Partnership for Rural Improvement (PRI) are to explore models for rural development and planning and to engage institutions of higher learning in progressively greater collaboration in delivering services to rural areas. Knowledge of rural planning in a PRI area exists at three scales: planner-educator-facilitators, local…

Documenting several elements relative to regional research on community services in 10 northeastern states as experienced in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Regional Research Project NE-77 (1971), this monograph represents the NE-77 technical committee's effort to identify basic research issues re: the delivery of community services in rural…