Dealing with Drought: A Comparison of Perceptions and Coping Strategies of Iranian Farmers from Regions with Different Drought Intensities     

Kiumars Zarafshani  Marjan J. Gorgievski  Ghossein H. Zamani 《The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension》2013,19(1):69-80

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a study to understand why some New Zealand dairy farmers are changing from twice-a-day (TAD) to once-a-day (OAD) milking. Increasing herd size, unavailability of suitable labour and changing lifestyle expectations from farmers and their staff have led some to explore OAD milking as a means of alleviating these issues. A convergent interviewing process was used with 21 dairy farmers who had all adopted OAD milking. A marketing approach, based on consumer behaviour theory and farming systems theory, was used to classify farmers into segments based on their different reasons for adoption. Six segments were identified, viz., herd expansion, time needed to build capital, decreasing labour, increasing labour flexibility, feed shortfalls, and herd health, motivating farmers to adopt OAD milking. Farmers in some segments such as herd expansion and feed shortfalls indicated that they were less likely to be long-term adopters than those in the other segments. Farmers interviewed unanimously understood that OAD milking led to reduced milk yield but were generally prepared to tolerate this to achieve their short-term or long-term goals.  相似文献   

What International Aid Organizations Can Learn From International Adult Learning: Experiences From Cambodia     

Kiumars Zarafshani  Amir Hossein Ali Baygi 《The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension》2013,19(4):347-357

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Teachers and students’ perception of competence-based education in the agricultural higher education system (Case of a student cooperative in Iran)     

Mahsa Saadvandi  Homayoun Farhadian  Kiumars Zarafshani  Harm Biemans 《The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension》2019,25(4):307-322

Purpose: This quantitative study sought to investigate the perceptions of teachers and students regarding competency-based education (CBE) principles at the College of Agriculture at Razi University.

Design: This research is a comparative analysis of two groups. The first group consists of undergraduate and graduate students majoring in agriculture who are members and non-members of student cooperatives (n?=?256). The second group consists of agricultural faculty members (n?=?59).

Findings: The results of this study show that students and teachers have different views with regard to the extent to which CBE principles are practiced in the College of Agriculture. Moreover, students with different learning patterns had different perceptions regarding the extent to which CBE is practiced, whereas teachers with different teaching patterns had the same perception of the application of CBE principles in the College of Agriculture.

Practical implications: This study has practical implications for agricultural higher education in general and colleges of agriculture in particular. Colleges of agriculture across Iran could encourage their students to establish and engage in student cooperatives so that the ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects of CBE are put into practice.

Theoretical implications: This study has theoretical implications for CBE principles. For example, student cooperatives can be utilized by faculty members as one of the main strategies for developing CBE in agricultural colleges.

Originality/value: This study is original in that it moves from theory to practice when considering CBE.  相似文献