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1. Asia. Rice Facts. Keeping Ahead. Genetic Improvement. Production Technology. On-Farm Research. Training. Lessons -- 2. Brazil. Contrasts. Developments. Rice in Brazil. Santa Catarina. Rio Grande do Sul. A Walk. The Cerrado. Solutions -- 3. Chile. Working with Farmers. Rationale -- 4. Colombia. Rice in Colombia. Tropical Pastures. Caqueta. Detours -- 5. Conclusions. One Size Fits All. Models. Back to the Future. Developments

AbstractThis exploratory study reports inductive efforts to ground complacency in the reality of practical observation. Based on detailed interviews with the directors of 12 Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), and 8 retrospective cases, it demonstrates the dynamics of complacency as a context of decline of small firms, and the role of key stakeholders in the reversal of decline. The interviews and cases illustrate the pervasive role of complacency, which manifests in managerial weaknesses and operational malfunctioning, and leads to decline. Moreover, an analysis of both interviews and cases reveals that concessions extracted from key stakeholders through third‐party negotiations help declining small firms to survive.RésuméCette étude préliminaire rend compte d'une démarche inductive visant à fonder le concept de l'autosatisfaction (complacency) sur la réalité observée. Partant de dix entretiens en profondeur menés avec les responsables de douze centres de développement de la petite entreprise et de huit études de cas rétrospectives, l'étude démontre la dynamique de l'autosatisfaction comme vecteur du déclin des petites entreprises et le rôle des principaux intéressés dans leur redressement. Les entretiens et les études de cas illustrent le rôle considérable de l'autosatisfaction qui se manifeste dans les failles de gestion et les dysfonctionnements d'exploitation et, ultimement, dans l'effritement des entreprises. En outre, l'analyse des entretiens et des cas révèle que les concessions obtenues des principaux intéressés lors de négociations trilatérales permettent à l'éntreprise en difficulté de survivre.

AbstractUsing a sample of 172 publicly traded, small manufacturing firms drawn from four industry groups, this study examined the moderating effects of two contingency variables on the relationships between short‐term turnaround actions and financial performance. Results provide evidence of moderating effects of slack and capital intensity. The average improvement in estimation stemming from a high versus low split of sample turnaround firms was also found to be notable in both cases. Implications for researchers and practitioners are suggested.RésuméÀ partir d'un échantillon de 172 petites entreprises manufacturières, provenant de quatre secteurs d'activité différents et dont les actions sont émises dans le public, les auteurs examinent les effets modérateurs de deux variables contingentes sur les relations entre les mesures entraǐnant un revirement de situation à court terme et la performance financière. Les résultats obtenus permettent de tirer des conclusions en ce qui a trait aux effets modérateurs de l'excédent organisationnel et du capital. Les auteurs constatent également une amélioration moyenne notable de l'estimation découlant de la segmentation de l'échantillon d'entreprises ayant opéré un virage en deux groupes distincts, en fonction de la mesure des deux variables. Enfin, diverses pistes de réflexion sont suggérées à l'intention des chercheurs et des praticiens.

The 4‐H youth development program of the nation's 109 land‐grant universities and the Cooperative Extension System is one of the largest youth development organization in the United States serving approximately six million youth. The 4‐H Healthy Living initiative began in 2008 to promote achievement of optimal physical, social, and emotional well‐being for youth and families. In 2013, the National 4‐H Council sought to identify 4‐H Healthy Living programs in the domains of healthy eating and physical activity that adhered to the national 4‐H Healthy Living mission and were ready for comprehensive outcome evaluation or replication at a national level. This chapter shares findings from an environmental scan of 4‐H programs and (a) identifies programs with evidence of promoting a healthy diet and physical activity, (b) describes program impacts related to healthy diet and physical activity, and (c) clarifies select program characteristics associated with reported healthy eating and/or physical activity outcomes. The RE‐AIM evaluation framework is introduced as an effective approach to assessing program impact for 4‐H Healthy Living and similar out‐of‐school time programs.

Within Extension, environmental scans are most commonly used to assess community or organizational issues or for strategic planning purposes. However, Extension has expanded the use of environmental scans to systematically identify "what programs exist" on a given topic or focus area. Yet, despite recent attention to the topic of environmental scanning in Extension, survey instruments used to conduct environmental scans have not been published. Given the emphasis on implementation of evidence-based practices and programs, having a ready-made survey that can be used to identify programs on a specific topic and that could subsequently lead to an evaluability assessment of those programs would be a useful resource. To encourage the use of environmental scans to identify existing evidence-based programs, this article describes a survey instrument developed for the purpose of scanning for 4-H Healthy Living programs ready for rigorous outcome evaluation and/or national replication. It focuses on the rationale for survey items, as well as provides a summary and definition of those items. The survey tool can be easily adapted for future programmatic environmental scans both within and outside Extension.