61,145 research outputs found
Agri-food Trade Specialisation Pattern in the New EU Member States
No full textThe paper analyses development of agri-food trade specialisation pattern in eight EU Member States of the 2004 and 2007 enlargements (NMS) during the period 2000 – 2005. Over the period analysed, the NMS were not able to hold trade positions in the most competitive commodities, but on the other hand, positions of a number of previously uncompetitive commodities improved. We show convergence of dynamism of agri-food trade specialisation across NMS in trade with the partners/groupings investigated.agri-food trade, specialisation, EU Member States of 2004 and 2007 enlargements, International Relations/Trade,
AN EVALUATION OF THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE NATIONAL FADAMA DEVELOPMENT PROJECT III IN BENUE STATE
No full textGovernment over the years have embarked on programmes and projects to boost agriculture in Nigeria, yet most of these projects fold up once funds are not forth coming from donor agencies. The Planner of Fadama III project incorporated sustainability in its component to ensure continuity. The thesis evaluated the sustainability of the National Fadama Development Project III in Benue State via assessing the projects’ implementation, income, savings, efficiency of production and adoption of technology by Fadama III farmers. Data were collected during a survey through the use of a well-structured questionnaire administered to 556 Fadama III beneficiaries grouped into Fadama User Groups and Individual Crop Farmers. Logit regression analysis and the Stochastic Frontier analysis were used to analyze the data. The sustainability index was measured using the Sustainability Assessment of Farming and the Environment framework. The result indicated that even though Fadama III project was not fully implemented in Benue State, there was a significant increase in the average income of the beneficiaries from baseline income. Findings also show that average savings were below 10% for more than 70% of the beneficiaries. Estimates of the stochastic frontier production function analysis showed that Fadama III beneficiaries were not efficient in their productive activities. Finally, the sustainability index was below 50% for all beneficiaries, the indicators that contributed more to low sustainability were savings and economic efficiency. The study concluded that even though the Fadama III project was beneficial to most farmers in Benue State, it is not sustainable. It was recommended that there is need for Deposit Money Banks or Micro-finance Banks to be established in all the Local Government Areas and farmers encouraged to save. Also, the full implementation of project in subsequent Fadama project will go a long way in sustaining the gains of the Fadama project for Benue State and Nigeria at large
Opportunities for linking young surveyors across professional surveying member organisations and FIG
No full textShared leadership and member engagement in Western Protestant house churches: a naturalistic inquiry
No full text2013 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Western Protestant churches measure success through member engagement. Waning church member engagement has led some to argue that ineffective leadership structures are to blame. While the possibility of shared leadership has been advanced to this end, its use in Western Protestant Church settings has yet to be explored and understood. Thus, this study sought to inform and illuminate how member engagement occurred in Western Protestant house churches that practiced shared leadership. This study was conducted within the Naturalistic paradigm, utilizing the embedded methodologies of hermeneutic phenomenology and ethnography to (a) understand the lived experience and in situ culture of individuals who attend Western Protestant churches where shared leadership is practiced and its perceived effect on their resulting engagement as members of those churches and (b) based on these findings, offer thick description for deep understanding, informed action, and further study as to how shared leadership might be utilized within Western Protestant churches to foster member engagement. Findings indicated that he culture of the house churches selected could best be described through the practiced mediums of the house church including meeting in homes, fellowship time, the physical set up, the flexible structure, and the study of scripture. These mediums were indicative of the underlying beliefs, values, and assumptions of the house church culture. Additionally, the adaptive nature of the church has, in notable part, instigated this shift towards house churches. Some of the manifestations of this shift are seen through the enactment of shared leadership as visible through decision-making and the ways in which church members take initiative to be involved. Additionally, the manifestation of church member engagement is visible through how these members construct, shared and individual, the experiences of participation in the weekly gatherings, interaction throughout the week, and an increased sense of ownership and responsibility. Finally, the themes that had emerged were predominantly confirmed via a final quantitative member checking survey and enabled me to develop contextualized definitions for shared leadership and engagement
Enhancing sustainability in Nigerian agricultural supply chains through fair trade practices
No full textNigeria's agricultural sector, contributing 22.7% to GDP and employing over 70% of the population, faces critical sustainability challenges that directly impact multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals. This study evaluates fair trade practices as a comprehensive management strategy for enhancing sustainability across Nigerian agricultural supply chains, addressing the persistent challenges smallholder farmers face, including market volatility, environmental degradation, and social inequity.
Purpose: This research aims to assess the transformative potential of fair trade mechanisms in achieving sustainable agricultural supply chain management in Nigeria, specifically focusing on policy frameworks and governance structures that support SDG implementation.
Methodology: A systematic literature review was conducted, analyzing 45 peer-reviewed studies, policy documents, and case studies from fair trade initiatives across sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis employed a triple-bottom-line framework to evaluate economic, environmental, and social sustainability dimensions within supply chain management contexts.
Results: Fairtrade implementation demonstrates significant potential for sustainable supply chain transformation through: (1) price stabilization mechanisms reducing farmer income volatility by up to 40%; (2) environmental stewardship practices that decrease chemical inputs by 35% while improving soil health; (3) social empowerment initiatives that increase women's participation in decision-making by 60%. However, critical barriers include certification costs (averaging $2,000-5,000 per cooperative), inadequate infrastructure investment (less than 15% of rural areas have adequate storage facilities), and limited government policy support.
Theoretical contribution: This study advances supply chain sustainability theory by proposing an integrated fair trade-governance framework specifically designed for developing economies, linking microeconomic farmer decisions with macroeconomic policy outcomes in pursuit of SDG targets1.
Practical implications: The research provides actionable policy recommendations for Nigerian policymakers, including establishing government-subsidized certification programs, creating public-private partnerships for infrastructure development, and integrating fair trade principles into national agricultural policies. These findings offer a replicable model for other sub-Saharan African countries pursuing sustainable agricultural transformation
Leadership identity: an interpretive phenomenological analysis of how undergraduate fraternity New Member Educators understand and experience leadership
No full text2021 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.The purpose of this study was to focus on how New Member Educators understand and experience their role as a leader within their organization as well as how they perceive their role in leading their organization into the future. Overall, the overarching question of this study is the following: What is the experience of undergraduate fraternity New Member Educators concerning their leadership identity in relation to their organization? Additionally, research questions focused on how these men experience and identify themselves as leaders, how they understand their leadership as it relates to their organization, how they experience their leadership influencing the congruence of the behavior with the stated values of their organization and finally, how they perceive their role in leading their organizations into the future. To examine the development of leadership identity for undergraduate fraternity New Member Educators and their understanding of the way their role and experiences relate to their organization, this research study utilized an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2009). Through choosing IPA, the researcher made a commitment to explore and interpret the way participants made meaning of their own experiences through gaining access to detailed personal accounts (Smith et al., 2009) of nine New Member Educators concerning their leadership identity in relation to their organization. The analysis detailed several themes in which the participants provided a broad range of perspectives on their experience concerning their leadership identity related to their organization, Delta Delta Alpha. There were four superordinate themes that emerged from the analysis. These included: being able to comprehend leadership, being conferred to lead, being compelled to lead, and understanding and experiencing congruent leadership. Within each superordinate theme, two to three ordinate themes were identified. The themes identified and derived through the interpretive phenomenological analysis of the data lead to the development of the essence of the experience of undergraduate fraternity New Member Educators. This essence of the experience of these men concerning their leadership identity in relation to their organization subsequently created the findings within this study. The findings within this study led to the identification of five components that could be considered for use in future research, investigation, action and practice. This study focused on one organization (Delta Delta Alpha) and one position within the organization (New Member Educator). Thus, these five components could be explored further in terms of how fraternity men (and perhaps, more specifically New Member Educators) consider their leadership identity in relation to their organization. These five components were: modeling, reflection, experience, motivation and congruence. These components could potentially be used within leadership practice in terms of how men in fraternal organizations consider their leadership identity
How the European Union Interacts with its Member States. IHS Political Science Series: 2003, No. 93
No full textThe paper seeks to identify concepts and theories to analyze and explain the relationship between the Member States and the European Union. It mainly adopts a top-down perspective looking at how the European Union has affected the Member States and to what extent it has changed their domestic institutions, policies and political processes. What is the effect of the European Union on the Member States? The paper reviews the existing literature, which offers different insights on each of the three questions. While by now most students of the European Union agree that its effect on the Member States is differential, there is still little consensus on how to account for variation in the processes, degrees and the outcomes of domestic change. Nor has the literature paid much attention to how the Member States have responded to the increasing effect of the European Union on their domestic institutions, policies and political processes. The paper therefore concludes with some considerations on how to conceptualize the feedback loops between ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ dynamics in the relationship between the EU and its Member States
[[alternative]]Wen’s Town and Talent Member School Project: Idea and Practice
No full text[[abstract]]The goal of ‘Town and Talent Member School Project’, which Sayling Wen and Kenny Lin launched into, is using modern technology and the internet to develop a knowledge-based economy in the Chinese western region for a bright future. The author tries to make a thorough inquiry to understand how member schools in the town and talent project could lead local economic development and thereby digs out educational significances within. According to the research results:
(1) Through e-charity platform member schools can bring more moral education into practice;
(2) By practicing town and talent project member schools can expand their social functions;
(3) To educate is the most fundamental work to change impoverished situations in the world;
(4) The development of educational technology will promote the transition of learning styles.
In this paper the author also points out that town and talent member school project begins with technical interest, and grow up with practical interest and emancipatory interest. Finally, comments for and against town and talent member school project are offered.
Author Peter FitzSimons speaking at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 13 November 2012 /
No full textTitle from acquisitions documentation.; Part of the collection: Portraits of author Peter FitzSimons speaking at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 13 November 2012.; Acquired in digital format; access copy available online.; Mode of access: Online.; Photographed by a staff member of the National Library of Australia
Portrait of author David Foster at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 8 June 2011 /
No full textTitle from acquisitions documentation.; Part of the collection: Portraits of author David Foster at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 8 June 2011.; Acquired in digital format; access copy available online.; Mode of access: Online.; Photographed by a staff member of the National Library of Australia
- …
