Purpose: Considering current debates on ecosystem services' effectiveness and the AIS/AKIS functioning, in this study we suggest a new, systemic way to evaluate extension systems (ESs). Using this model, we compared the effectiveness of ESs in three countries with essential differences but also characteristic similarities in their agricultural…

Lack of adequate access to capital is a major barrier for rural entrepreneurs. Washington State University Extension and the Association of Washington Cities partnered to explore and test an innovative local investment approach that provides access to capital and engages the community in the success of individual businesses. The approach offers…

This article describes Marathon Month, a workplace wellness program for Extension employees. The program promoted physical activity by challenging employees to walk or run the length of a marathon (26.2 mi) or half marathon (13.1 mi) over the course of 1 month. Of the 317 participants, 90% achieved a self-set goal of completing a full or half…

Purpose: This paper explores the concept of peer-to-peer learning (P2PL) in the context of North-European small-scale forest owners. The aim is to develop a framework for initiating new and evaluating already existing forest owners' P2PL communities. Design: Previous studies of peer-learning are used to determine and justify eight dimensions for…

The purpose of this paper is to describe an educational partnership experience between rural retailers and graduate students in a Merchandising, Apparel and Textiles program. Students were afforded an opportunity to work with small business owners in rural communities, giving them real world exposure to the actual challenges being faced by…

In order to realise the strategic aim of constructing new socialist rural communities in the 21st century, "new farmers' education" has been placed on the Chinese government's agenda and will soon become a very important issue of Chinese adult education in both research and its practice. As an adult educational researcher I first…

In a rapidly changing society like Botswana, the competition for employment, training and progression on the job has become very high. The development of skills is therefore a crucial and integral part of nation building, which needs a direct link to a training programme to continuously help staff to cope with the different needs they meet in the…

Guided by research and the experiences of judges nationwide, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges made a commitment in 1998 to improve community response to families experiencing domestic violence and child maltreatment. A year later, the council's work culminated in a set of recommendations commonly called the "Greenbook,"…

North Carolina State's humanities-extension program operates through the university's cooperative-extension service. The program was begun when there was a realization that future interest in the humanities might drop, and the university wanted to find outreach outlets for the school's faculty members. (MLW)

Following a description of the misfortunes Jamaican agriculture has faced in the past decade, this article focuses on the nonformal adult education program and its relationship to long-range stabilization of agricultural production. (LRA)

Presents a brief description of the designs and strategies of three agricultural and extension education programs and three occupational training programs in lesser developed countries. Specific details of each program are presented in a summary table. (LRA)

Describes an instructional telephone network at Kirkwood Community College (Iowa) which involves a four-wire telephone system allowing two-way conversations between the instructor and an unlimited number of outlying class meeting sites. Discusses the advantages and successes of the program. (AYC)

A study was conducted to examine possible problems in the information dissemination of social aid programs for the poor. Two samples of 141 community leaders and 143 low-income families were selected from a New York county with a high percentage of households in relative poverty and a low percentage in relative affluence. Data gathered from the…

Reports on the efforts of five village-level promoters of nonformal education who are part of the Guatemalan program of "Education Extraescolar." The program is aimed at improving the quality of life, increasing educational opportunities, making more efficient use of resources, and training in the performance of production and social…

To strengthen extension programs in the six-county Meramec area of Missouri, the University of Missouri extension staff used Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) funds to train people to survey area rural residents, to provide jobs for CETA workers, and to present extension programs to residents, meshing extension and CETA programs.…