scholarly journals Transformation of Traditional Silvo-Pastoral Home-Gardens: A Case Study in Southern Sri Lanka

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Mangala De Zoysa
Keyword(s):  
Milk Production ◽  
Organic Fertilizer ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Home Gardens ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Pastoral System ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
Market Surplus

The Pasture Development Program on silvo-pastoral system in traditional home-gardens in Matara district was commenced with the aim of increasing milk production and income of the small-scale cattle farmers. The objectives of the study were to analyze ecosystem changes, economic trade-offs and social breakthroughs taken place in home-gardens after the program, with the aim of expanding the program coverage. The study was conducted through a field survey interviewing 34 farmers randomly selected from the participants. Tthe farmers have changed the composition of eco-systems in their home-gardens, replaced traditional grasses with CO3 fodder, and removed number of trees disturbing fodder cultivation. They have significantly lost some traditionally cultivated crops and trees due to competition with fodder during dry seasons. The farmers have significantly increased the milk yield per cow, market surplus and income, increased the amount of fodder sufficient to feed their cattle and little market surplus, and gradually adapted to cow-done as organic fertilizer. The social breakthroughs are identified as: reduced risk of conflicts with neighbors and theft of cattle, controlled damages caused by cattle to agricultural crops, reduced time spent on feeding cattle during dry seasons, increased domestic milk consumption, and increased the number of milk collecting centers induced by increased milk production. Although the Pasture Development Program have transformed the traditional home-gardens to improved silvo-pastoral system, community governance yet to be developed in order attract externalities particularly land use planning, technology development and policy support. 

Renewable Energy on Tribal Lands: A Feasibility Study for a Biomass-to-Energy Plant on the Cocopah Reservation in Arizona

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Lauren K. D’Souza ◽  
William L. Ascher ◽  
Tanja Srebotnjak
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
The United States ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Energy Plant ◽  
Energy Projects ◽  
Alternative Investment

Native American reservations are among the most economically disadvantaged regions in the United States; lacking access to economic and educational opportunities that are exacerbated by “energy insecurity” due to insufficient connectivity to the electric grid and power outages. Local renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and biomass offer energy alternatives but their implementation encounters barriers such as lack of financing, infrastructure, and expertise, as well as divergent attitudes among tribal leaders. Biomass, in particular, could be a source of stable base-load power that is abundant and scalable in many rural communities. This case study examines the feasibility of a biomass energy plant on the Cocopah reservation in southwestern Arizona. It considers feedstock availability, cost and energy content, technology options, nameplate capacity, discount and interest rates, construction, operation and maintenance (O&M) costs, and alternative investment options. This study finds that at current electricity prices and based on typical costs for fuel, O&M over 30 years, none of the tested scenarios is presently cost-effective on a net present value (NPV) basis when compared with an alternative investment yielding annual returns of 3% or higher. The technology most likely to be economically viable and suitable for remote, rural contexts—a combustion stoker—resulted in a levelized costs of energy (LCOE) ranging from US$0.056 to 0.147/kWh. The most favorable scenario is a combustion stoker with an estimated NPV of US$4,791,243. The NPV of the corresponding alternative investment is US$7,123,380. However, if the tribes were able to secure a zero-interest loan to finance the plant’s installation cost, the project would be on par with the alternative investment. Even if this were the case, the scenario still relies on some of the most optimistic assumptions for the biomass-to-power plant and excludes abatement costs for air emissions. The study thus concludes that at present small-scale, biomass-to-energy projects require a mix of favorable market and local conditions as well as appropriate policy support to make biomass energy projects a cost-competitive source of stable, alternative energy for remote rural tribal communities that can provide greater tribal sovereignty and economic opportunities.

Planning Replicable Small Flow Wastewater Treatment Facilities in Developing Nations

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Gaber ◽  
M. Antill ◽  
W. Kimball ◽  
R. Abdel Wahab
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Development Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Technology Choice

The implementation of urban village wastewater treatment plants in developing countries has historically been primarily a function of appropriate technology choice and deciding which of the many needy communities should receive the available funding and priority attention. Usually this process is driven by an outside funding agency who views the planning, design, and construction steps as relatively insignificant milestones in the overall effort required to quickly better a community's sanitary drainage problems. With the exception of very small scale type sanitation projects which have relatively simple replication steps, the development emphasis tends to be on the final treatment plant product with little or no attention specifically focused on community participation and institutionalizing national and local policies and procedures needed for future locally sponsored facilities replication. In contrast to this, the Government of Egypt (GOE) enacted a fresh approach through a Local Development Program with the United States AID program. An overview is presented of the guiding principals of the program which produced the first 24 working wastewater systems including gravity sewers, sewage pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants which were designed and constructed by local entities in Egypt. The wastewater projects cover five different treatment technologies implemented in both delta and desert regions.

scholarly journals Development and comparative evaluation of a stochastic analog method to downscale daily GCM precipitation

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 4481-4502 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Hwang ◽  
W. D. Graham
Keyword(s):  
Bias Correction ◽  
Daily Precipitation ◽  
Transition Probabilities ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Analog Method ◽  
Dry Spell ◽  
Spatial Disaggregation ◽  
Dry Seasons ◽  
Stochastic Analog ◽  
Wet And Dry Seasons

Abstract. There are a number of statistical techniques that downscale coarse climate information from general circulation models (GCMs). However, many of them do not reproduce the small-scale spatial variability of precipitation exhibited by the observed meteorological data, which is an important factor for predicting hydrologic response to climatic forcing. In this study a new downscaling technique (Bias-Correction and Stochastic Analog method; BCSA) was developed to produce stochastic realizations of bias-corrected daily GCM precipitation fields that preserve both the spatial autocorrelation structure of observed daily precipitation sequences and the observed temporal frequency distribution of daily rainfall over space. We used the BCSA method to downscale 4 different daily GCM precipitation predictions from 1961 to 1999 over the state of Florida, and compared the skill of the method to results obtained with the commonly used bias-correction and spatial disaggregation (BCSD) approach, a modified version of BCSD which reverses the order of spatial disaggregation and bias-correction (SDBC), and the bias-correction and constructed analog (BCCA) method. Spatial and temporal statistics, transition probabilities, wet/dry spell lengths, spatial correlation indices, and variograms for wet (June through September) and dry (October through May) seasons were calculated for each method. Results showed that (1) BCCA underestimated mean daily precipitation for both wet and dry seasons while the BCSD, SDBC and BCSA methods accurately reproduced these characteristics, (2) the BCSD and BCCA methods underestimated temporal variability of daily precipitation and thus did not reproduce daily precipitation standard deviations, transition probabilities or wet/dry spell lengths as well as the SDBC and BCSA methods, and (3) the BCSD, BCCA and SDBC methods underestimated spatial variability in daily precipitation resulting in underprediction of spatial variance and overprediction of spatial correlation, whereas the new stochastic technique (BCSA) replicated observed spatial statistics for both the wet and dry seasons. This study underscores the need to carefully select a downscaling method that reproduces all precipitation characteristics important for the hydrologic system under consideration if local hydrologic impacts of climate variability and change are going to be reasonably predicted. For low-relief, rainfall-dominated watersheds, where reproducing small-scale spatiotemporal precipitation variability is important, the BCSA method is recommended for use over the BCSD, BCCA, or SDBC methods.

Non-Linear Stress Analysis of Complex Umbilical Cross-Sections

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svein Sævik ◽  
Knut I. Ekeberg
Keyword(s):  
Cross Section ◽  
Axial Force ◽  
Plastic Material ◽  
Axial Strain ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Applied Theory ◽  
Element Formulation ◽  
Material Models

Nexans Norway is, together with Marintek, currently developing a software for detailed analysis of complex umbilical cross-section designs. The software development project combines numerical methods with small-scale testing of involved materials, as well as full-scale testing of a wide variety of umbilical designs, essential for calibration and verification purposes. Each umbilical design is modelled and comparisons are made with respect to global behaviour in terms of: • Axial strain versus axial force; • Axial strain versus torsion; • Torsion versus torsion moment for various axial force levels; • Moment versus curvature for different tension levels. The applied theory is based on curved beam and curved axisymmetric thin shell theories. The problem is formulated in terms of finite elements applying the Principle of Virtual Displacements. Each body of the cross-section interacts with the other bodies by contact elements which are formulated by a penalty formulation. The contact elements operate in the local surface coordinate system and include eccentricity, surface stiffness and friction effects. The software is designed to include the following functionality: • Arbitrary geometry modelling including helical elements wound into arbitrary order; • The helical elements may include both tubes and filled bodies; • Elastic, hyper-elastic, and elastic-plastic material models; • Initial strain; • Contact elements, including friction; • Tension, torsion, internal pressure, external pressure, bending and external contact loading (caterpillars, tensioners, etc.). The paper focuses on the motivation behind the development program including a description of the different activities. The theory is described in terms of kinematics, material models and finite element formulation. A test example is further presented comparing predicted behaviour with respect to full-scale test results.

No bush foods without people: the essential human dimension to the sustainability of trade in native plant products from desert Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Walsh ◽  
Josie Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Ecological Sustainability ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Plant Products ◽  
Trade Offs

Improvement in Aboriginal people’s livelihoods and economic opportunities has been a major aim of increased research and development on bush foods over the past decade. But worldwide the development of trade in non-timber forest products from natural populations has raised questions about the ecological sustainability of harvest. Trade-offs and tensions between commercialisation and cultural values have also been found. We investigated the sustainability of the small-scale commercial harvest and trade in native plant products sourced from central Australian rangelands (including Solanum centrale J.M. Black, Acacia Mill. spp.). We used semi-structured interviews with traders and Aboriginal harvesters, participant observation of trading and harvesting trips, and analysis of species and trader records. An expert Aboriginal reference group guided the project. We found no evidence of either taxa being vulnerable to over-harvest. S. centrale production is enhanced by harvesting when it co-occurs with patch-burning. Extreme fluctuations in productivity of both taxa, due to inter-annual rainfall variability, have a much greater impact on supply than harvest effects. Landscape-scale degradation (including cattle grazing and wildfire) affected ecological sustainability according to participants. By contrast, we found that sustainability of bush food trade is more strongly impacted by social and economic factors. The relationship-based links between harvesters and traders are critical to monetary trade. Harvesters and traders identified access to productive lands and narrow economic margins between costs and returns as issues for the future sustainability of harvest and trade. Harvesters and the reference group emphasised that sustaining bush harvest relies on future generations having necessary knowledge and skills; these are extremely vulnerable to loss. Aboriginal people derive multiple livelihood benefits from harvest and trade. Aboriginal custodians and harvester groups involved in recent trade are more likely to benefit from research and development investment to inter-generational knowledge and skill transfer than from investments in plant breeding and commercial horticultural development. In an inductive comparison, our study found there to be strong alignment between key findings about the strategies used by harvesters and traders in bush produce and the ‘desert system’..

scholarly journals KINERJA KELOMPOK USAHA BERSAMA (KUB) NELAYAN GILLNET DI BARSELA ACEH

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Muhammad Rizal ◽  
Budy Wiryawan ◽  
Sugeng Hari Wisudo ◽  
Iin Solihin ◽  
John Haluan
Keyword(s):  
Gap Analysis ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Economic Aspect ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Cultural Economic ◽  
Environmental Aspect ◽  
Purposive Sampling ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Cultural Aspects

<p align="center"><strong><em>ABSTRACT</em></strong></p><p><em>Nowadays, the development of f</em><em>isheries strategic issues </em><em>is related to </em><em>poverty and welfare of fishermen. In 2010 - 2014, Ministry of Marine and Fisheries implemented Business Development Program of Rural Area by creating a Joint Business Group (</em><em>J</em><em>B</em><em>G</em><em>) to help traditional and small scale fishermen who categorized as poor. This study aimed to determine the performance of JBG of gillnet fishermen and to identify the attributes of performance (aspects of institutional, socio-cultural, economic, environmental and policy) in Barsela Aceh. Data was collected by purposive sampling method from 13 JBG of gillnet fishermen. IPA analysis and gap analysis were performed to measure each attribute and attribute's performance. The results showed that the value of the gap in the aspect of the institution of 1.87, and socio-cultural aspect of 1.91, which are categorized as good enough. Furthermore, the value of the economic aspect (2,12), environmental aspect (2,43) and policy aspect (2.21) are categorized as less good</em><em>. </em><em>The attributes which categorized as </em><em>a top priority</em><em> (in quadrant A) are the aspect of institution, namely; human resources quality of JBG, the level of utilization of information technology and marketing, participation in training event, frequency of training held by related agencies and traditional institutions and the effectiveness of PPTK. Socio-cultural aspects are the desire to be independent culture, work ethic culture, group cohesiveness, and JBG assets are jointly managed. In economic aspect are active savings and loan activities, the level of turnover development of JBG and the level of market opportunities for JBG fishermen's business. Environmental aspects are the effectiveness of target fish species catch, high economic value of fish and environment-friendly technologies. Policy aspects are sanctioned policies for fictitious JBG, policies about who can become a member of JBG, policy management in preparing a joint business plan and sanctions for members who violate the rules.</em><em></em></p><p class="TubuhTulisanAll"><strong><em>Keywords:</em></strong><strong><em> </em></strong><em>Barsela Aceh, </em><em>JBG</em><em>, gillnet</em><em> fishermen</em><em></em></p><p align="center"><strong>ABSTRAK</strong></p><p class="Abstrakisi">Perkembangan isu strategis perikanan saat ini adalah kemiskinan dan kesejahteraan nelayan. Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan Tahun 2010-2014 melaksanakan Program Pengembangan Usaha Mina Perdesaan (PUMP) dengan membuat Kelompok Usaha Bersama (KUB) untuk membantu nelayan tradisional dan kecil yang masih tergolong miskin. Penelitian ini bertujuan yaitu mengetahui kinerja KUB nelayan <em>gillnet</em> dan mengidentifikasi atribut kinerjanya (aspek lembaga, sosial budaya, ekonomi, lingkungan dan kebijakan) di Barsela Aceh. Metode pengambilan data <em>purposive sampling, </em>dimana<em> </em>data diambil secara sengaja pada 13 KUB nelayan <em>gillnet</em>. Analisis data yang digunakan yaitu analisis IPA untuk menilai setiap atribut dan analisis kesenjangan (gap) untuk menilai kinerja setiap atribut. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa nilai kesenjangan pada aspek lembaga (1,87) dan aspek sosial budaya (1,91) yaitu katagori cukup baik. Selanjutnya nilai pada aspek ekonomi (2,12), aspek lingkungan (2,43) dan aspek kebijakan (2,21) yaitu katagori kurang baik. Serta atribut yang prioritas yaitu posisi atribut kuadran A (diprioritaskan) pada aspek lembaga adalah kualitas SDM KUB, tingkat pemanfaatan akses informasi teknologi dan pemasaran, keikutsertaan kegiatan pelatihan, intensitas pembinaan dari instansi terkait dan lembaga adat dan keefektifan PPTK. Aspek sosial budaya adalah budaya ingin mandiri, budaya etos kerja, kekompakan kelompok, dan aset KUB dikelola secara bersama. Aspek ekonomi adalah aktifnya kegiatan simpan pinjam, tingkat perkembangan omset KUB dan tingkat peluang pasar untuk usaha KUB nelayan. Aspek lingkungan adalah efektivitas jenis ikan target yang tertangkap, ikan ekonomis tinggi dan teknologi ramah lingkungan. Aspek kebijakan adalah aturan sanksi bagi KUB fiktif, kebijakan tentang yang bisa menjadi anggota KUB, kebijakan manajemen dalam menyusun rencana usaha bersama dan aturan sanksi bagi anggota yang melanggar.</p><strong>Kata kunci:</strong>  Barsela Aceh, KUB, nelayan <em>gillnet</em>

scholarly journals Pelatihan Pembuatan dan Pengembangan Pupuk Organik Cair Biokultur dan Biourin untuk Mendukung Sistem Budidaya Sayuran Organik

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-104
Author(s):  
Sri Anjar Lasmini ◽  
Idham Idham ◽  
Anthon Monde ◽  
Tarsono Tarsono
Keyword(s):  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Organic Fertilizer ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Farming System ◽  
The Other ◽  
Organic Fertilizers ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers ◽  
Vegetable Farming ◽  
Synthetic Fertilizers

In the development of vegetable farming by the community, there are fundamental problems which are generally carried out conventionally with the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to determine the success of their farming. With the farming system, the community suffers a lot of losses because the inputs used are relatively expensive and on the other hand the products become cheap because the quality is not guaranteed. The solution to this problem is to develop bio-culture organic fertilizers and bio-urine whose raw materials are available in the region. The partner village development program aims to conduct training on the making and development of liquid organic fertilizer bio-culture and biourine to support the cultivation of organic vegetables. The method of approach applied is technology transfer (TT) and entrepreneurship capacity building (ECB) which is carried out with the Participatory Rural Approach (PRA) approach ) which in its implementation uses the method of lecture/discussion, training, making demo plotting, and assistance. The results achieved in the implementation of this program were that participants were able to make and develop liquid organic bioculture fertilizers and biourin and apply it to their farms as an alternative to chemical fertilizers

scholarly journals Foreign experience in the development of dairy cattle and directions of its use in domestic practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 36-46
Author(s):  
S. Shupyk
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Raw Milk ◽  
Government Support ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
State Support ◽  
The Government ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

The article analyzes the support for the US market, where the government has allocated almost $ 22.2 billion for the development of dairy cattle. direct and indirect subsidies to the country's dairy sector (35.02 c/l), which is equivalent to 73% of farmers' milk sales, showed relatively high domestic support, export subsidies, conservation programs, risk management programs, disaster relief programs, loan programs, crop insurance, livestock support. Surveys to support the Indian market, which ranks second in the world in raw milk production (9.5%), have shown that almost 80% of small-scale farmers are small-scale farmers. Milk collection is carried out by 130 thousand dairy cooperatives. NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development) under DEDS, provides for subsidies of up to 25% of costs. China is investing heavily in the construction of large dairy farms and livestock complexes with up to 100,000 cows. The Australian market produces 9.3 million tonnes of milk, of which 36% is exported and is the world's fourth exporter of dairy products (6% of the world market). Australia's dairy cattle are characterized by a small amount of direct government support. During 2015-2016, agriculture received financial and commercial assistance over $ 147 million. US in the form of payments to farms. It has been established that price forecasting plays an important role in regulating the milk market in Australia, on the basis of which the profile Ministry, taking into account world prices, generates milk price indices. Analysis of milk production in Switzerland has shown that it remains highly subsidized. In 2013, state support for milk producers amounted to CHF 1.8 billion, incl. direct subsidies are estimated at 1.5 billion Swiss francs, which is 61 thousand Swiss francs per dairy farm, or 0.41 Swiss francs per 1 liter of milk. The state support system for dairy cattle in Canada has been found to include the following instruments: import tariffs that restrict dairy imports; minimum guaranteed prices for raw milk that are set at the maximum amount of milk sold to the dairies within the quota; a system of direct payments to farmers for milk production within the quota. The amount of direct payments per 1 liter of milk is set annually by the government. In order to support Canadian producers in technological modernization aimed at improving the efficiency of milk production, a dairy farm investment program (DFIP) is implemented with state support of $ 250 million. USA According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Iceland, Japan, Norway and Switzerland, the level of support for dairy producers exceeds on average 70% of the gross income of farmers, in Canada, the EU, Hungary, Korea and the USA the amount of support is 40-55%. An analysis of the support for the development of dairy cattle in the EU countries showed that the following instruments are allocated for these purposes: production restrictions (milk production quotas); government interventions and storage; Establishment of product sales regulations / regulations; the dairy package (including regulating contractual relations in the dairy sector); foreign trade (import regulations, export subsidies); government subsidies. It is found that the main factor that increases the profitability of dairy production in developed countries is the improvement of quality and differentiation of the range. Major factors contributing to the successful development of dairy cattle are increased government support and economical use of resources. Also used are a set of financial incentives, including reducing the tax burden. Key words: Livestock, milk market, domestic support, development programs, cooperation, financial incentives, subsidies, import tariffs, quotas.

Revival of resource potential of cattle breeding as a competitiveness development factor for enterprises of dairy subcomplex of Ukrainian agro-industrial complex

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
V. I. Yemtsev ◽  
◽  
N. M. Slobodyanyuk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Raw Milk ◽  
Global Market ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Agricultural Enterprises ◽  
Private Households ◽  
Development Factor

Permanent crises in the Ukrainian economy, the devaluation of the hryvnia, decline in household income and purchasing power, increased competition in the global market, as well as the continuous rise in world prices for food and non-food items have created new realities for enterprise functioning in the dairy subcomplex of Ukrainian agro-industrial complex and cause its transformation. World milk production and consumption are increasing. However, there are opposite trends in Ukraine: in 1990, the country produced 24.5 million tons of milk and was the 6th in the world ranking of milk producing countries, in 2020 – 9.3 million tons and the 22nd place, respectively. Therefore, the study of the reasons for the existence of these trends is very relevant. The research was based on the following methods: qualitative analysis and synthesis, economic and statistical analysis, comparisons, analytical and logical generalizations, etc. At the beginning of 2021, the total number of cattle in Ukraine amounted to 2.874 million and over the past 10 years, this number has decreased by 1.952 million, including cows – by 0.958 million. Milk production remains a small-scale branch. In 2020, 9.263 million tons of milk were produced (17.66% less than in 2010). Of these, 29.8% – in agricultural enterprises and 70.2% – in private households. However, the sanitary quality control of milk is carried out only in 14.8% of private households, therefore, in 2020, the main milk supplier for processing were agricultural enterprises, which supplied 77.2% of the total amount of milk delivered for processing, thus ensuring an increase in quality and safety of milk obtained by processing enterprises. A significant reduction in the volume of milk supplies for processing led to a decrease in the number of processing enterprises by 69.14% in 2020 compared to 1990. The main factors of transformation of the dairy subcomplex of Ukraine include declining cow population, insufficient quality of raw milk and its non-compliance with the EU regulations and standards, low technological level of milk production, insufficient quality control of raw materials, lack of modern equipment, high capital and labor intensity of production processes, rising prices for energy and other resources, lower consumption of dairy products due to low purchasing ability, increased competition in global and domestic dairy markets, etc. Possible directions of small-scale milk producers’ integration need further research.

Repetita Iuvant? A Repeated Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effectiveness of an At-Scale Teacher Professional Development Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 0193841X2110553
Author(s):  
Giovanni Abbiati ◽  
Gianluca Argentin ◽  
Andrea Caputo ◽  
Aline Pennisi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Program Implementation ◽  
Program Effectiveness ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Professional Development Program ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
The Impact

Background A recent stream of literature recognizes the impact of good/poor implementation on the effectiveness of programs. However, implementation is often disregarded in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) because they are run on a small scale. Replicated RCTs, although rare, provide a unique opportunity to study the relevance of implementation for program effectiveness. Objectives Evaluating the effectiveness of an at-scale professional development program for lower secondary school math teachers through two repeated RCTs. Research Design The program lasts a full school year and provides innovative methods for teaching math. The evaluation was conducted on two cohorts of teachers in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 school years. The program and RCTs were held at scale. Participating teachers and their classes were followed for 3 years. Impact is estimated by comparing the math scores of treatment and control students. Subjects The evaluation involved 195 teachers and their 3940 students (first cohort) and 146 teachers and their 2858 students (second cohort). Measures The key outcome is students’ math achievement, measured through standardized assessment. Results In the first wave, the program did not impact on students’ achievement, while in the second wave, a positive, persistent, and not insignificant effect was found. After excluding other sources of change, different findings across waves are interpreted in the light of improvements in the program implementation, such as enrollment procedure, teacher collaboration, and integration of innovation in daily teaching. Conclusions Repeated assessment of interventions already at-scale provides the opportunity to better identify and correct sources of weak implementation, potentially improving effectiveness.

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