Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: KerryByrnes1 Document Number: D01286
Notes:
Kerry J. Byrnes Collection, United States Agency for International Development. A.I.D. evaluation special study, no. 67. 43 pages., A.I.D.'s experience with farming systems research and extension (FSR/E) has been mixed. FSR/E projects have provided opportunities for developing country professionals to acquire training and field experience in this new approach to research. However, most projects have bot had the impact on technology development and transfer or institutionalization of FSR/E as had been assumed in project designs. This report, based on a case study review of evaluations of 12 A.I.D.-funded projects, synthesizes the Agency's experience with FSR/E from the mid-1970's to the mid-1980's and assesses the impact of these projects on agricultural development.
Online ISSN: 1876-4525
Print ISSN: 1876-4517, Via online journal., Despite recent improvements in the national average, stunting levels in Afghanistan exceed 70% in some Provinces. Agriculture serves as the main source of livelihood for over half of the population and has the potential to be a strong driver of a reduction in under-nutrition. This article reports research conducted through interviews with stakeholders in agriculture and nutrition in the capital, Kabul, and four provinces of Afghanistan, to gain a better understanding of the institutional and political factors surrounding policy making and the nutrition-sensitivity of agriculture. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 46 stakeholders from central government and four provinces, including staff from international organizations, NGOs and universities. We found evidence of interdisciplinary communication at the central level and within Provinces, but little evidence of vertical coordination in policy formulation and implementation between the centre and Provinces. Policy formulation and decision making were largely sectoral, top-down, and poorly contextualised. The weaknesses identified in policy formulation, focus, knowledge management, and human and financial resources inhibit the orientation of national agricultural development strategies towards nutrition-sensitivity. Integrating agriculture and nutrition policies requires explicit leadership from the centre. However, effectiveness of a food-based approach to reducing nutrition insecurity will depend on decentralising policy ownership to the regions and provinces through stronger subnational governance. Security and humanitarian considerations point to the need to manage and integrate in a deliberate way the acute humanitarian care and long-term development needs, of which malnutrition is just one element.
Beall, Deborah Lane (author), Foerster, Susan (author), Knobel, Susan (author), Livingston, Sally (author), and Magnuson, Helen (author)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07875
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., Fruit and vegetable consumption by children falls well below recommended levels. NCI's 5 A Day Program targets adults only. California's health department, produce industry, education department and American Cancer Society are reaching 4th and 5th graders with a child-driven campaign that offers adult intermediaries new, easy ways to engage kids. It applies resiliency theory (used in substance abuse) to help kids manage negatives in their food environment. Research and development, testing, revision, implementation, evaluation, and institutionalization will conclude by mid-1995. A 3-year marketing plan mobilized partners' efforts. Initial research with children and adult opinion leaders determined the focus, design, and elements of the campaign. "Turnkey" Idea and Resource (I&R) Kits were devised as vehicles to deliver the program in schools, community youth organizations (CYOs), and markets, complemented by state-level media. A "grants" program helped underwrite television PSAs, print media, and the kits. Research findings received considerable press attention. Pilot testing of the School I&R in nearly 50 classrooms revealed high student, teacher, and foodservice acceptability. ACS volunteers will provide outreach and additional feedback from more school districts statewide. Process measures with supermarkets and CYOs will be collected later in 1994. Children's 5 A Day is a large-scale program suitable for state 5 A Day, comprehensive school, health, and USDA school meal improvement initiatives. Despite clear public health need and widespread popularity, substantial advocacy is needed if such programs are to reach all children.
Braun, Kathryn (author), Derrickson, Joda P. (author), and Maeda, Iris (author)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07873
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., Many food stamp recipients either run out of foods stamps before the end of the month or are unable to follow the Food Guide Pyramid to make healthy food choices. Food and nutrition education opportunities for food stamp recipients are often limited to written literature available at food stamp offices. The purpose of this report is to compare the effectiveness of three methods of nutrition education service delivery to food stamp recipients : 1) a series of nine cards sent along with monthly "authorization to purchase" cards, 2) a video and interactive handout shown to all food stamp participants when they are recertified for food stamps, and 3) a series of eight group lessons. Our hypothesis is that participants receiving either the more intensive group lessons or a combination of delivery methods will demonstrate greater improvements in knowledge gains and behavior changes. The goal of each intervention is to help participants eat better for less. Subjects in each intervention, as well as those in a non-intervention control group, were given a pre-test and a post-test. Subjects receiving the cards and the video, as well as the control group, were chosen using stratified random sampling methods. Subjects enrolled in the eight group lessons are self-selected EFNEP clients. We will report gains in knowledge of low-fat alternatives and healthy food choices, changes in eating behaviors and food resources management practices of subjects in all three delivery groups and the non-intervention group. Results of this project can assist nutrition educators nationwide in planning effective food and nutrition education programs for food stamp recipients.
Manahan, Laurie (author / Yummy Designs, Walla Walla, WA )
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07891
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., Games are frequently used to teach a variety of subjects in schools and adult training programs. Games enhance learning by holding attention, encouraging interaction and discussion, and adding variety, creativity, and enjoyment. A game format seemed to offer potential for teaching the USDA's new Food Guide Pyramid. My objective was to develop an educational and entertaining Food Pyramid Game. After researching educational games, I developed "Food Pyramid Lotto", with 4-colored Pyramid Playing Boards and 100 colored Food Cards. Players use the Food Cards to build balanced menus on their pyramid boards. To test out the game, 100 games were produced and distributed to nutritionists and teachers in a variety of programs. Feedback was extremely positive, and indicated that: 1) the game was effective in teaching the Food Guide Pyramid; 2) the game was appropriate for school children, as well as for teens, WIC, NET, home ec, extension, food service training and adult health promotion. After revisions, the game was reprinted and is now being marketed to nutrition educators and teachers nationwide. My conclusion is that a game can be a very effective and enjoyable approach to teaching the Food Guide Pyramid.
Ahmad, Mahassen (author / Texas Department of Human Services, Austin, TX)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1994
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 97 Document Number: C07872
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Ham, Mimeographed, 1994. 1 p. Presented at the Society for Nutrition Education, Portland, OR, July 16-20, 1994., The Nutrition Education and Training (NET) program is the educational component of the USDA's Child Nutrition Programs. The goal of the program is to promote optimal health and well-being of the nation's children through improved nutrition. In Texas, this goal is being achieved by developing and delivering workshops on nutrition, nutrition education, and food service management to educators and food service personnel in schools and child care facilities; circulating a library collection of print and audiovisual materials; and developing and distributing instructional materials to schools and child care facilities. Other program activities include awarding funds for the development of innovative nutrition education projects conducting presentations to children and adults, participating in health fairs and exhibits, and coordinating efforts with related public nutrition programs. The purpose of this poster session is to highlight methods used in evaluating the processes and outcomes of these interventions and the utilization of the evaluation results in program development and improvement. The poster will include methods used and problems faced in evaluating immediate, end-of-treatment, and long-term outcomes, with suggested solutions. The audience will be able to discuss the applicability of the evaluation methods to their programs, the plausibility of the suggested solutions to evaluation problems, and decisions made based on the results of evaluation. The presenter will prepare handouts of methods and instruments used in the NET program evaluation. Evaluation reports of the program will be available for review.
14 pages., Food ecologies and economies are vital to the survival of communities, non-human species, and our planet. While environmental communication scholars have legitimated food as a topic of inquiry, the entangled ecological, cultural, economic, racial, colonial, and alimentary relations that sustain food systems demand greater attention. In this essay, we review literature within and beyond environmental communication, charting the landscape of critical food work in our field. We then illustrate how environmental justice commitments can invigorate interdisciplinary food systems-focused communication scholarship articulating issues of, and critical responses to, injustice and inequity across the food chain. We stake an agenda for food systems communication by mapping three orientations—food system reform, justice, and sovereignty—that can assist in our critical engagements with and interventions into the food system. Ultimately, we entreat environmental communication scholars to attend to the bends, textures, and confluences of these orientations so that we may deepen our future food-related inquiries.
11 pages, via Online journal, The Soil Vulnerability Index (SVI) was developed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to identify inherent vulnerability of cropland to runoff and leaching. It is a simple index that relies on the SSURGO database and can be used with basic knowledge of ArcGIS. The goal of this study was to investigate a relationship between constituent (sediment and nutrient) loadings and fraction of the watershed in each SVI class. The SVI maps were developed for each of the seven subwatersheds of the Mark Twain Lake watershed in Missouri, which were similar in soil conditions and climatic variability. The SVI assessment was performed by investigating if the distribution of the SVI for cropland in each subwatershed could help explain measured 2006 to 2010 sediment and nutrient loads better than crop distribution alone. Regression analyses were performed between annual loads of sediment and nutrients exported from the watersheds and a composite number that included either cropland distribution alone, or cropland distribution combined with the SVI. Coefficients of determination and p-values were compared to assess the ability of land use and SVI distributions to explain stream loads. Integrating the SVI in the land cover variable improved the ability to explain constituent loads in the watersheds for sediment, total nutrients, and dissolved nitrogen (N). Regression results with and without the SVI were identical for dissolved phosphorus (P), potentially indicating that SVI was not indicative of dissolved P transport at the current site. Overall, the application of the SVI at watershed scale was not perfect, but acceptable at correctly identifying cropland of greatest vulnerability and linking with transported constituent loads.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 84 Document Number: D10845
Notes:
178 pages., OCLC No. 950952213, Via UI Library Catalog., America has a perplexing, multifaceted problem that combines hunger, obesity, and unhealthy food. This book examines how this situation was created and shows how people working together can resolve this longstanding issue. The United States--one of the world's wealthiest and resource-richest nations--has multiple food-related problems: declining food quality due to industrialization of its production, obesity across all age groups, and a surprisingly large number of households suffering from food insecurity. These issues threaten to shorten the lives of many and significantly reduce the quality of life for millions of others. This book explores the root causes of food-related problems in the 20th and 21st centuries and explains why collective impact--the social form of working together for a common goal--is the method that needs to be employed to reach a successful resolution to hunger, obesity, and the challenges of the industrial food system. Authored by Mark Winne, a 45-year food activist, the book begins with background information about the evolution of the U.S. food movement since the 1960s that documents its incredible growth and variety of interests, organizations, and sectors. The subsequent sections demonstrate how these divergent interests have created a lack of unity and constitute a deterrent to achieving real change and improvement. Through examples from specific cities and states as well as a discussion of group dynamics and coalition-building methods, readers will come away with an understanding of a complicated topic and grasp the potential of a number of strategies for creating more cohesion within the food movement--and realizing meaningful improvements in our food system for current and future generations
