A career with Extension can be very rewarding, but also very demanding, as employees have to balance job stress and time demands with family goals and demands. The very nature of Extension work brings some tension between the job and family, and employees need to be equipped to make decisions about personal and work time. If the Extension System is to be a leader of positive change for individuals, families and communities, its employees must be able to find that balance. Previous research with 4-H agents has identified 23 job responsibilities that were stressors, with some studies showing a direct relationship between Extension work and family problems. To build on these studies and establish the current situation among Extension agents with 4-H responsibilities in the Southern Region, this correlational study examined the relationships and differences between job characteristics and marital satisfaction, how agent characteristics directed those relationships, and what coping mechanisms agents used to ameliorate negative workamily interactions. The study instrument utilized the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test (LWMAT) to arrive at a global score that represented the distress level of the relationship for each agent. Demographic information and work-related information was also gathered from the agent responses to the instrument, and then used to develop relationships among variables. The findings of the study were that agents experience the stressors in similar ways and amounts, but their perceptions of those stressors and how they affect marital satisfaction differ. The group experiencing the stressors to the most detrimental level was the members of the “Sandwich Generation,” which include employees aged 35-54, and who find their careers sandwiched between raising children and caring for aging parents. They, along with other agents, need to employ numerous strategies to cope with the stresses they experience, including prioritizing, planning, and building a strong social support system as the top strategies.

The purpose of the study was to explain the proportion of the variance in the level of implementation of the Performance Planning, Counseling, and Evaluation (PPC&E) program that could be attributed to the nine Probability of Adoption of Change (PAC) model constructs. Level of implementation was operationally defined as the degree to which county directors implemented the many elements of the PPC&E program. The nine PAC model constructs included: advantage probability, championship, circumstances, idea comprehensibility, opposition, practicality, strategies, superintendency, and value compatibility. / Ph. D.

This study determined the attitudes of part-time and full-time beef producers in southwest Virginia toward the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service and their assessment of the methods used by the agency in disseminating information to its clientele. Descriptive research design was utilized for this study. The population consisted of 1202 beef producers located in Carroll, Grayson, Russell, Washington, and Wythe counties in southwest Virginia. Beef production is their main source of farm income. A random sample of 300 beef producers was systematically selected for the study. Based upon the percentage of annual gross income from beef production, the producers were categorized as part-time and full-time producers. Data were collected by use of a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher with assistance from a panel of experts. The instrument was divided into three parts; part one was used to obtain background information, part two (Likert-type scale) was used to measure respondents' attitudes, and the third part was used to measure respondents' assessment of the methods of disseminating Extension information. Mailed instruments were returned by 201 producers (67%) in usable form. Information collected from the survey instruments was transferred to the computer and analyzed via the SPSSX program at the Virginia Tech Computer Center. Statistical procedures used in analyzing the data included frequencies, measures of central tendency, an independent t-test, and the Pearson Product-Moment Coefficient of Correlation. Six research questions were used as a guide for analyzing and reporting the data. The following major conclusions were reached: (1) that both parttime and full-time beef producers possessed a slightly unfavorable attitude toward the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service beef cattle program; (2) that both part-time and full-time beef producers had a slightly unfavorable attitude toward the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service overall agricultural program; (3) that both part-time and fulltime beef producers possessed a slightly unfavorable attitude toward the qualifications of the local Virginia Cooperative Extension Service agricultural agents; and (4) that both part-time and full-time beef producers assessed the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service methods of disseminating information to farmers as more effective than ineffective. / Ed. D.

The Virginia Cooperative Extension Service is considering a set of procedures to evaluate agent performance. In an attempt to help this consideration process, this study was undertaken to investigate the standards of the Performance Review, Analysis and Planning (PRAP) system. Adaptations of the FRAP system have been utilized by Extension organizations in other states. However, validation procedures have not been conducted by those states. Because of the history and concerns of the Cooperative Extension Service in Virginia, this research effort focused on the effects of race and gender in assessing the level of performance described in the PRAP standards and the relevancy of the standards to the job of an Extension agent. Also studied were the effects of program area, position, and employment location of the rater. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used in the study. The sample for the quantitative portion of the study consisted of the Virginia Extension field staff population. An eighty-three percent (83%) instrument return rate was experienced. The qualitative portion involved twelve field interviews with agents in two of the six Extension administrative districts. The PRAP standards were found to be relevant to the job duties and responsibilities of Extension agents in Virginia. Furthermore, no significant differences were found by program area, position, or geographic location of employment. Significant statistical differences were found by gender and race. Qualitative evidence was found to support the race differences, however, differences by gender were not found in the qualitative data. / Ed. D.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin, 1959. / Extension Repository Collection. Typescript (carbon copy). Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-178).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1968. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Background - Consumer individualisation is a growing challenge in the fashion industry, yet it is also an area of great potential as well as a way to dampen over-consumption. The potential lays in how fashion brands can find ways to steer consumption towards a circular economy and utilise their platform to create meaningful connections with its consumers. Today the fashion industry is looking at options to the traditional take-make-dispose model where non-renewable resources are used at an ever-increasing rate. The Swedish fashion retailer Monki together with Re:textile decided to investigate if servitization could turn the above mentioned linear model into a more sustainable, circular model. They set out to develop an in-store concept where customers could customise their garments instantaneously and this formed the basis of a project brief and a Business Model Canvas which both served as the foundation and starting point of the presented research.   Purpose - The purpose of the research is to develop and test a product extension service business model that utilises a direct to garment printer to mass customise jeans in-store. The said purpose is divided into three perspectives: the design-, service provider - and customer perspective , covering four cornerstones of the Business Model Canvas. The different perspectives with their separate, but related, research questions will be unified again in the conclusion.   Methodology - To fulfill the purpose, the thesis research is relying on abductive reasoning through systematic combining, while implementing a mixed methods approach. Systematic combining works well in extensive and diversified research where the researchers shift from one type of research activity to another in a quest to match empirical observations with theory, thus, the ultimate objective of systematic combining is matching theory with reality until both come close enough to form a functional outcome. Throughout the study, both qualitative and quantitative studies are conducted through action research, a customer case study as well as experimental research in order to fulfill the purpose of the thesis.   Findings and Discussion - The conclusions and recommendations that are presented in the form of an updated Business Model Canvas all derive from the research conducted incorporating the three perspectives that have guided the thesis through all of its stages namely the design, service provider and customer perspective. A product service extension business model is proposed as a solution to the project brief that serves as a foundation for the research. The results of the research all point to the conclusion that it is indeed possible to implement the product service extension successfully. Tests relating to the customer as well as the service provider perspective have proven themselves implementable due to low overall printing costs and fast print time enhancing the customer shopping experience. Together with an indication of product satisfaction as well as creating a strong customer-product connection through the co-design experience it contributes to a circular economy. Furthermore, the overall consistent printing costs, as well as the insignificant time differences in the experiments total time, support the implementation of a PSS in a retail setting.   Research Limitations - This research is confined to, and based on, the Monki and Re:textilebrief as well as a Business Model Canvas so therefore, no other ideas than the ones stated in the brief have been explored. The research´s inferences are limited to the given conditions as well as a laboratory setting. Further, the experimental research study will only test pocket shaped artwork on 100 percent cotton denim jeans using a Brother GTX 4 printer as a chosen direct to garment printer. The scope of the customer case study can be described as surveying as well as observing 40 of the visitors of the 2018 Fashion days and Exit at the Swedish School of Textiles while they test the proposed PSS in a mock-up retail store setting without an actual sales transaction.   Further Research - The next logical step would be to run the tests in a real-life retail store as opposed to the laboratory setting. After the proposed product service extension is implemented at scale POS data could be gathered in order to establish the customers’ true willingness to participate in the customisation experience in-store. Additionally, a longitudinal continuation of the study would give answers to some of the indications arising from the case study, such as whether the mass customisation could truly serve as a brand strengthening activity or lead to an extended garment lifecycle in reality.

The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between Arkansas County Extension County staff morale and their perceived relationship county staff had with their County Staff Chair. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service (UAEX) can utilize the results from this research to identify individuals who have the capacity to build high-quality relationships with staff members, thereby promoting higher levels of morale within the organization. Administrators can use this study to identify current or future leaders within the organization by identifying those who can promote high-quality relationships with county-level staff. Results from this study may also be used to identify individuals needing training in developing high-quality relationships. It utilized surveys to collect data. Therefore, Qualtrics was used to distribute the Leader-Member Exchange-7 (LMX-7) and the Staff Morale Questionnaire (SMQ) electronically through the UAEX email distribution list of county employees. Participants were asked to provide a numeric response (1-5) for the seven statements relating to the Leader-member exchange (LMX) on the LMX-7. Each statement had a different 5-point scale, but 1 represented the lowest rated response, 3 represented the average or neutral response, and 5 represented the highest rated response. In addition, participants were asked to provide a numeric response (1-4) where 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, and 4 = strongly agree for the 27 statements relating to the three constructs (Leadership Synergy, Cohesive Pride, and Personal Challenge) of the SMQ. Overall, UAEX county employees reported moderate to high morale, which was directly related to their perceived quality of relationship with their County Staff Chair. The implications of this study suggest that leader-member relationships can affect employee morale in all three constructs measured. The higher the quality of relationship employees perceive with their staff chair, the higher their morale will be. County staff had moderate to high level of morale in each of the three constructs as measured by the SMQ. County-level staff also felt united in striving to achieve the goals and mission of their county office and Extension as a whole.

"The purpose of this study was to make a housing survey in the rural areas of Howard County to determine the needs of the farm families in order that a more adequate program for the improvement of housing conditions could be planned by the county home demonstration council with the help of the county home demonstration agent." -- leaf 10.