Thesis (M.A.)--University of Florida, 2001. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 112 p.; also contains graphics; Microsoft Excel spreadsheet linked to PDF file. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-111).

Thesis (MS)--Montana State University--Bozeman, 2010. / Typescript. Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Shannon Arnold. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-95).

Thesis (M.Sc.(Agric.))(Agricultural Extension)--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Calvin Theological Seminary, 1985. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-108).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1961. / Typescript. Title from title screen (viewed July 27, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (leaves [126]-128). Online version of the print original.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1981. / Bibliography: leaves 309-311.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture and Natural Resources / Cheryl R. Boyer / Gregory L. Davis / Kansas State University Research and Extension is an educational network sharing unbiased, research-based information and expertise with Kansas residents. To improve quality of life, residential landscape design is an important educational topic for homeowners. The objective of this project is to update a Kansas State University Research and Extension Publication, Residential Landscape Design (publication number: S-4), which was published in 1980. Content, text and graphics need to be updated to address contemporary learner needs. An updated resource also needs to display a modern aesthetic, since the original graphics were created almost four decades ago. In order to understand the process and experience of updating an educational landscape design resource, similar publications from other land-grant universities were reviewed. This study discusses, compares, and contrasts the contents, range of page numbers, graphic styles, color, publication versions, and publication date among other similar types of university Extension publications.

The educational aspect of the work of the District Agriculturist is not well defined. The problem was to develop a system of defining, measuring and portraying the educational work of agricultural extension that would be considerably more meaningful than present day attendance records, would relate quality to the quantity of work, would enable extensiveness of use of the extension service to be related to socio-economic characteristics of farmers and would enable the testing of the hypothesis that socioeconomic characteristics differ between extensive and nominal users of the service. The work of one District Agriculturist in the Peace River Extension District in Northern Alberta, Canada was studied for the period of one year, March 1968 to March 1969. All individual and group contacts were recorded and classified according to function of the contact, instructional level achieved, method employed and time involved. Two hundred farmers were interviewed regarding certain socioeconomic characteristics. A numerical score indicating extensiveness of use was related to socio-economic characteristics using Chi-square, T test and correlation procedures. The measurement system developed for the study was found to be operational and yielded considerably more information than common annual reports and could be a basis for evaluation. It was found that the extension agent accomplished his work by making a large number of face to face contacts with about a third of the potential clientele. About half of the contacts were educational and most of these were at the lower instructional levels. Group contacts reached higher instructional levels than individual contacts and farm visits reached higher levels than office visits. The small group meeting was found to be superior to other methods. Extensiveness of use of the service was found to be more meaningful when instructional quality of the contacts was considered rather than numbers of contacts. Little difference was found relating age, education, tenure, experience and area of farm to extensiveness of use. Extensive users of the service were found to have spent significantly less time at off farm work and earned a significantly greater proportion of their income from the farm. They had significantly greater capital assets and significantly higher gross sales than the nominal users indicating that extensive users of the extension service differed significantly from nominal users of the service with respect to certain socio-economic characteristics. The description of the educational role of the District Agriculturist relating quantity, quality, extensiveness of use and socio-economic characteristics, contains information that would lead to more accurate determination of program priorities and would be a useful measure of achievement on a regional basis. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar (Extension))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

There is growing consensus on the importance of agricultural extension support services as an integral component of ensuring effective implementation of government policy interventions and efficient facilitation of development programmes in rural areas. Agricultural extension service provision is part of a wide range of services required to help producers acquire relevant knowledge and skills to increase and sustain the productivity and competitiveness of their enterprises. Agricultural extension support is viewed by many as an enabler on food security. Improved agricultural extension support leads to increased production and improved processing in all the sub-sectors of agriculture (i.e. crop, livestock, forestry and fisheries), improvement of quality of life and promotion of environmental friendly practices and other objectives. However, literature reveals that the public sector extension in South Africa is not yet geared to satisfy the needs of resource-poor smallholder producers to break away from the bondage of poverty and food insecurity. This dissertation is aimed at reviewing public expenditure on agricultural extension support services so as to provide evidence-based recommendations to inform implementation of the newly developed national policy on extension and advisory services. The study also provides an initial baseline for future review and tracking of public expenditure on agricultural public extension support and the quality and quantity of the human capital of agricultural extension personnel. The study was conducted using budget allocation and expenditure data collected through a survey questionnaire directed at provincial departments of agriculture. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, narrative interpretation and t-Tests of differences in means. Descriptive statistics focused more on counts of extension personnel according to qualifications, years of experience, age and gender. The narrative analysis focused on classifying the narrative information into similar themes and patterns. A Paired Samples t-Test was run to determine significance in differences between the mean of budget allocation and the mean of expenditure on Extension Practitioners and farmer programmes. Zero-based budgeting system was used to determine whether the current budget allocated was sufficient for implementation of the newly developed national policy on extension and advisory services. Results of the survey revealed that although the ratio of Extension Practitioner to farmer is still low in South Africa, particularly for smallholder producers, there has been an increase in the number of Extension Practitioners since the implementation of the ERP in 2008. Recruitment of additional Extension Practitioners increased human capacity on the ground. More than 70% of current extension personnel complied with the minimum norms and standards of having at least a four year degree, which is a considerably good indicator of the quality of extension service rendered. Budget execution rates were high for both the Extension Practitioners and the farmer programmes, with budget execution for farmer programmes better than Extension Practitioners. Such trends indicate an efficient system of budget execution for the benefit of the farmers. Furthermore, there were statistically significant differences between mean budget allocation for Extension Practitioners and farmer programmes. Differences between the mean expenditure on Extension Practitioners and mean expenditure on farmer programmes were also statistically significant. The mean budget for farmer programmes was greater than the mean budget for Extension Practitioners for the five years leading to the conclusion that farmer programmes received significantly more budget allocation compared to the budget allocated to Extension Practitioners. Consistent to budget allocation, mean expenditure on farmer programmes was higher than mean expenditure on Extension Practitioners leading to the conclusion that expenditure on farmer programmes was significantly higher than expenditure on Extension Practitioners in the five financial years. Hence, it can be concluded that farmers received value for money. The cost of implementing the newly developed national policy on extension and advisory services was found to be far higher than the current budget allocation. It is recommended that government allocates more funds to public extension service provision. The implementation process could be phased with short-term, mediumand long-term implementation plans. Provincial departments of agriculture should make available a percentage of funds through their equitable share. Additional financing to solve the problem of fiscal sustainability through a user-pay principle, cofinancing of services and private funding is also recommended. / Dissertation (MInstAgrar)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / MInstAgrar / Unrestricted