Browsing by Subject "international development"
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Item Building Toward a Consistent Program Evaluation: A Qualitative Study of Community Reaction to Development Programs in Lim?n, Costa Rica(2012-10-19) Shane, Caleb JonathanEnvironmental education has been a prominent approach to achieve sustainable development and counteract the megatrend of environmental degradation. In Costa Rica, environmental education has been adopted as an essential tool for protecting and improving the natural environment. The people of Costa Rica have emphasized an awareness of environmental issues and an ability to actively engage in environmental education and sustainable development programs. International development organizations have invested in development programs to establish or improve sustainable development. In order to understand whether international development organizations are achieving their stated mission and goals for implementing development programs, donors and funding agencies usually require that the sponsored programs be evaluated. Unfortunately, there is a growing concern that the current practice of development evaluation limits the reporting of impacts to be fundamentally inconsistent which has created incentives for evaluations to include positive bias instead of serving the purpose to improve organizational decision-making. This research study proposed to evaluate the reaction of a community in Limon, Costa Rica to development programs using an operational framework of evaluation and logic models found in the review of literature. The researcher adopted a naturalistic case study approach intended to retain the natural context of the community setting and provide a holistic understanding of community perceptions. Qualitative methods based in rapid rural appraisal were used to collect data from a purposeful sample and a stratified purposeful sample within the population. Data analysis was conducted at both the research site during data collection and after all data was collected. The researcher incorporated the constant comparative method to determine consistencies, anomalies, patterns, and emerging themes during data analysis. Three overarching themes emerged as a result of the study: (a) community development with subcategories describing community improvement, collaboration with the international development organization, integration of individuals and groups within the community, and the sustainability of projects, (b) education with subcategories expanding on ideas and motivation, learning, and inspiration for the children, and (c) culture with subcategories that discussed community culture, the organizational culture of the international development organization, and relationships.Item Education, research, and extension: an evaluation of agricultural institutions in Tunisia(Texas A&M University, 2004-09-30) Bedo, Shannon HajdikTexas A&M University of the United States and the Institute National Agronomique de Tunisie (INAT) of Tunisia established a collaborative relationship of mutual exchange of information and ideas for the further advancement of both universities. The researcher worked closely with these universities to conduct a qualitative study in Tunisia to determine the effectiveness of agricultural institutions working to further development in that country. The emphasis of the study was on the transference of knowledge and innovations from the research level through extension to the farmers and other end users. The triangle of teaching, research, and extension provided a base perspective. The researcher interviewed 37 respondents, including researchers, extension personnel, administration, professors, and farmers. From data that respondents provided, the researcher used a constant comparative method to organize results into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the agricultural institutions as a system. Overarching themes included a pointed focus on meeting farmer needs, but this desire was hindered from being carried out fully due to complex communication systems and an organizational structure that did not facilitate change. Hope did abound for Tunisian agriculturalists because the opportunities available through globalization and international collaboration far outweighed any possible threats to development, such as fierce competition in trade and lack of quality water. The researcher also made specific recommendations based on the information gathered in the study. These recommendations were based on the findings of the study, and they were directed to leaders within the Tunisian agriculture system and other agriculturalists wishing to further development in countries facing similar situations as Tunisia.