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Research Paper ; Self-help groups (SHGs) have emerged as an effective mechanism of empowerment and development of women as well as being an efficient mode of promoting group action and technology dissemination. Initiatives were undertaken at the Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering and Technology (CIPHET), Ludhiana to facilitate the formation of women's SHGs and to develop their capabilities through training programmes for harnessing the benefits of value addition and processing technologies for employment and income generation. The study attempts to assess the attitude changes in women about SHGs as a result of training. The evaluation of SHGs was conducted at attitude construct. A Likert-type scale consisting of 26 items was developed, for which Cronbach's alpha coefficient of reliability was observed as 0.85. The survey instrument contained five sections; namely, socio-economic upliftment; education and training; marketing and entrepreneurship qualities; technology adoption and participatory research; and banking/credit aspects. The training group consisting of 30 participants of SHGs responded to five-section survey instrument. Significant t-test results for mean values of attitude of women before and after the training showed a significant change in attitude of women in all the five areas as a result of training. Positive orientation towards a task paves the way for success. The study exemplifies the impact of training in instilling positive orientation. For addressing the issues of rural poverty, enrichment of the system with social capital through empowerment and formation of women SHGs; provision of financial and credit support; creation of market-driven and decentralized extension system; use of media-mix for technology transfer and informal education at rural level; conduction of need-based training and strong political will need to be emphasized. ; Not Available

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "U.S. agriculture generates over $1 trillion in economic activity annually, but concerns exist about its vulnerability to foreign pests and diseases. Under the agricultural quarantine inspection (AQI) program, passengers and cargo are inspected at U.S. ports of entry to intercept prohibited material and pests. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 transferred responsibility for inspections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Customs and Border Protection (CBP). APHIS retained some AQI-related responsibilities, such as policy setting and training. This testimony is based on issued GAO reports and discusses (1) steps DHS and USDA took that were intended to strengthen the AQI program, (2) views of agriculture specialists of their work experiences since the transfer, and (3) management problems. As part of these reports, GAO surveyed a representative sample of agriculture specialists on their work experiences, analyzed inspection and interception data, and interviewed agency officials."

Testimony issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "GAO discussed before Congress the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) management and oversight of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Within USDA, the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is responsible for administering the Packers and Stockyards Act and investigating concerns about unfair and anticompetitive practices in the $90 billion livestock market. Prior reports issued by the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) and our office have identified weaknesses in GIPSA's investigation and enforcement activities, and recommended actions to address them. A more recent OIG report shows that, in several key areas, GIPSA still has not taken sufficient steps to address those recommendations. This testimony focuses on our prior work and discusses (1) factors that have affected GIPSA's ability to investigate concerns about anticompetitive practices, (2) GIPSA's actions to address our recommendations and areas where their efforts have fallen short, and (3) challenges and other issues we believe GIPSA should consider as it moves to further strengthen its capacity to address competitiveness issues."

Biotechnology policy in the United States promotes the commercial development of genetically modified crops, yet adopts a precautionary approach when it comes to stem cells and cloning. In this article, the evolution of this bifurcated policy domain is traced. A detailed analysis of congressional hearings shows how distinctions between the products of biotechnology came to be reflected in the character of committees holding hearings, the attention to risks and benefits, and the pattern of interest-group activity in different biotechnology applications. It is argued that many of the differences that separate the United States and Europe in biotechnology reflect the way institutions reinforce past policy choices.

This article examines the changes in diet and health that occur when nomadic forest dwellers settle. Examples are drawn from African Pygmy groups such as the Kola, Medjan and Baka of Cameroon, the Aka of the Central African Republic and the Efe and Mbuti of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and in Asia, the Punan, formerly nomadic forest dwellers of Borneo, in particular the Tubu Punan from the Tubu watershed of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. These formerly nomadic groups were all pushed to settle in permanent villages in the course of the twentieth century, but they still depend on hunting and gathering for their livelihoods and continue to migrate seasonally into the forest in search of forest resources.