Requirements for the development of sustainable farm systems include the generation of site-specific management practices and heightened levels of awareness and empowerment within the farming community. The current model of technology development and transfer does not adequately facilitate the development of these characteristics. This study elaborates an alternative, participatory approach for agricultural extension, and presents the experiences of a group consisting of six farmers and a university co-research team, who employed this approach over a 17-month period to develop more ecologically sustainable farm systems. / The stages of a "process of development model" are: General Systems Description, Convergence, Implementation, Exchange, and Monitoring and Evaluation. This model is proposed as a means to expand the potential of participatory extension strategies to facilitate the development of sustainable agricultural systems. The primary implications of the participatory extension approach for the future roles of agricultural extension workers are outlined.

No description available.

Efforts to keep children in their own homes when they are found to be at risk within the meaning of child protection legislation have resulted in the creation of family preservation programs. Typically, these services are crisis-oriented. Short-term, intensive work with families is offered with a goal of maintaining the child in his or her own home. A family support program which provides these services in the anglophone community of Montreal was examined. / The data for this qualitative study were obtained through indepth interviews with the program staff and through an examination of agency files. The findings suggest that service is limited to those families who are assessed to be motivated--that is compliant with the objectives of the program and accepting of the intensive nature of the service. The interventions focus on individual parenting, most often the mother's parenting. For the workers, the dual role of support and scrutiny is managed within a relationship of trust. / The findings further indicate that families who are experiencing severe problems, often related to alcoholism, family violence and extreme poverty are not served by this program.

No description available.