No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1961. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 134-137).

Children, Youth and Families at Risk (CYFAR) is a national program developed by Cooperative Extension’s federal partner, Cooperative State, Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES). In collaboration with its federal partner and in concert with state extension systems across the nation, UVM Extension conducted an organizational change survey in 1998, 2000, and 2004 with a selected sample of UVM Extension professionals to determine the organization’s capacity to address issues of CYFAR. Findings from these three surveys showed that Extension had not substantively altered its organizational practices in alignment with the goals of the national program. In order to stimulate new strategic planning for the program, this study set about to assess the capacity of staff from UVM Extension to promote organizational learning. Grounded in the literature of organizational learning, this study administered a 43 item survey instrument called the Dimension of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) to Extension employees. As a strategic planning tool, the survey identifies organizational learning opportunities at the individual, team, and organizational level. Following the Total Design Method, the web-based survey was launched September 2006, with a response rate of 68% (n=63). Findings from the new survey continue to indicate limited organizational capacity to meet national goals for CYFAR program. Interestingly, nearly 70% of survey respondents reported participation in programming for children, youth and families at risk, a percentage greater than those formally assigned to CYFAR activities. Regardless of formal assignment, however, CYFAR employees and non-CYFAR employees did not significantly differ in their survey responses across a variety of organizational measures. Prior training to develop organizational capacity in line with national goals appears to be falling short of expectations. Implications for these shortcomings are discussed and used to frame an action plan for development of this program.

As Extension begins to develop educational program delivery strategies for Emergency Preparedness and Management education, the major challenge will be to establish a culture among county agriculture and natural resources (ANR) Extension agents to integrate this educational programming into ongoing programming to ensure added value to this innovation and its unit of adoption. The attitudes and perceptions of these ANR agents in overall programming efforts will be extremely important for adoption and further dissemination of Emergency Preparedness and Management education to all clientele; therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine what Extension ANR agents perceived as advantages and obstacles associated with the organization and implementation of Emergency Preparedness and Management education and the necessity for establishing local animal issues committees. The study population was Texas AgriLife Extension Service ANR agents. The agents were from both rural and urban counties, in various stages in their careers and various stages of the organization, facilitation and implementation of Emergency Preparedness and Management education and animal issues committee establishment. An online instrument was developed based on a review of related literature. The instrument had 19 total question sets pertaining to the 4 objectives of the study and included matrix, multiple choice and yes/no questions. Questions to obtain demographic information (gender, age, Extension affiliation, years of employment with Extension, and county size) were also asked. Results indicated ANR agents felt Extension should be involved in the organization, planning and implementation of educational efforts in Emergency Preparedness and Management and also the establishment and maintenance of Animal Issues Committees. ANR agents indicated Extension?s best approach would be to help identify innovators, adopters and the resources needed for Emergency Preparedness and Management and Animal Issues Committees. The success or failure of educational programming for Emergency Management depends on the help or assistance that is provided by the key stakeholders and agencies in counties. From this study, it is apparent local stakeholder and agency involvement has been an advantage and obstacle for Texas AgriLife Extension ANR agents in the state of Texas.

The objective of the study was to determine and evaluate county extension agents' perceptions on volunteer management competencies related to their county program. General perceptions related to volunteer management were also assessed. The research was conducted on Texas county extension agents working in the fields of agriculture and natural resources and family and consumer sciences. The purpose of this study was to make inferences concerning volunteer management based on self assessment data gained from study participants. The secondary purpose was to identify concerns and provide solutions for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service to enhance this organization. Five research questions were examined by the researcher: 1) What are the demographics of county extension agents working for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, 2) What are the county characteristics of extension volunteers and volunteer programs in Texas, 3) What are the differences in volunteer management based on location factors such as population size and staff size, 4) Is the ISOTURE model for volunteer management utilized by county extension agents working for the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, and 5) How do county extension agents perceive their volunteer programs are viewed by the clientele they serve? The population of county extension agents was 451 at the time of data collection. Two hundred seventeen (217) responses were collected. The instrument for this study was in electronic format and was divided into three sections; general volunteerism, specified volunteerism as it relates to "Your Volunteer Group," and demographic data. The participant was asked to select a specified volunteer group which had eight predefined groups and one blank for "Other." The results of this study identified seven significant findings with seven recommendations for Texas AgriLife Extension Service regarding professional development, volunteer utilization, and volunteer structure. Conclusions reached from this research show county extension agents utilize the volunteer management model adopted by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Furthermore, differences in environment such as population, staffing pattern, and volunteer utilization have influence on how volunteers are utilized in different counties. Finally, the researcher identified seven areas of further research.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 58 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-38).

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1961. / Extension Repository Collection. Typescript (photocopy). eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 91-94).

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 191 p. : ill. (some col.), col. map. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 111-116).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1969. / Extension Repository Collection. Typescript (photocopy). Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-168).