Cooperative Experience Research Articles

Determinants of saving mobilization by farmer cooperators in Kwara State, Nigeria

This study identified and assessed saving mobilization determinants by the farmer cooperators in Kwara State, Nigeria, Ninety (90) farmer cooperator household savers were purposively selected from 30 registered and active cooperative societies from the 4 zones of the state following the Kwara Agricultural Development Project's Zoning pattern. A well structured questionnaire was administered on the respondents and the data collected were analysed using multiple regression and descriptive statistics. The results of this study showed that the major saving mobilization determinants which were significant at 5% level from the double-log analysis include; the household annual income, farm size, household size, farmer's annual expenditure and cooperative membership experience. The value of the coefficient of multiple determination (R 2 ) was 85.5% while the value of the F-ratio was 15.048 which is also significant at 5%. The mean annual income of the respondents was N323,855.56; mean farm size holding of 1.84ha; average household size of 9 persons and annual expenditure in percentage on production activities was found to be 33.04% while consumption was 66.96%. This study therefore advocate for the establishment and nurturing of viable farmer cooperative associations in the state as well as providing loanable funds to them by Government an financing agencies to enable them to expand their productive capacity base and stimulate the rural economy. The rural saving mobilization determinants should equally be emphasized in any policy formulation and implementation affecting these rural farmers. Keywords : savings, mobilisation, determinants, cooperator, households International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development Vol. 6 2005: 66-73

A cooperative network of trained sites for the conduct of a complex clinical trial: A new concept in multicenter clinical research

The purpose of this report is to present a model of physicians in full-time clinical practice participating as investigators in multicenter clinical trials, sponsored by a pharmaceutical or medical device company. This gas-exchange substudy was conducted as a pilot study to establish the feasibility of the 10-member EXERcise testing group of the Duke University Cooperative Cardiovascular Society (EXERDUCCS) consortium to perform a complex multicenter trial using cardiopulmonary exercise testing. An active interchange of information was established involving the principal investigator for the substudy, a dedicated full-time project coordinator, a medical director of the overall EXERDUCCS network site, the project coordinator for the sponsor, and all the participating EXERDUCCS investigators and coordinators. The sponsor set as a goal of enrollment of 6 subjects per site, and 8 of the 10 sites met this goal. As a result of the successful enrollment and completion of the study and substudy by the EXERDUCCS sites, the sponsor subsequently increased the payment stipends to the sites to compensate for the extra work and expense incurred. This cooperative experience accomplished several goals: (1) it allowed a complex clinical trial to be successfully completed in a time frame which would not have been possible using only single unconnected sites; (2) it educated the physician-investigators (and their personnel) in exercise cardiopulmonary; and (3) it prepared the sites for future clinical trials involving this methodology.

Co-Operative Studies in Australia and Beyond

Labour and working class journals, like virtually all parts of the academic world, have almost totally ignored co-operatives, co-operative thought, and the field of Co-operative Studies generally. This commentary, building on the essays in this issue, makes the case for encouraging such interests. It argues that, while 'conventional' history is useful for an understanding of co-operative organisations and the 'co-operative experience' generally, a satisfying approach must include insights and methodologies drawn from a wide range of disciplines as well as an engagement with people actively involved in co-operatives. It must also be international in perspective, employing comparative analysis in order to more fully appreciate the varieties and possibilities of co-operative activities in sustaining communities and expanding accountability. Australian researchers in the field can play an especially important role in this because of the special insights they have developed in some areas, notably central/local relationships and the process of demutualisation.

THIRD PARTY AGGRESSION: EFFECTS OF COOPERATION AND SIMILARITY TO INGROUP MEMBER

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of similarity of group member and cooperative experience on aggression by the third party person who was not personally suffered. 96 participants were assigned into one of four conditions; 2 (high similarity or low similarity) 2 (cooperative experience or non-cooperative experience). In every condition, the participants observed the victim and then, they were given a chance to retaliate against the harm-doer. The result showed that the cooperative experience increased aggressive behavior. And the perception of threat and aggressive intent mediated between them. Further, the cooperative experience directly increased the aggressive intent and the similarity prompted the aggressive response. We discussed these results from a social identity perspective.

Using Journaling To Extract Greater Meaning From The Internship Experience

Every year, over a million college students embark on an internship or cooperative experience. They do it to get experience, to explore their chosen field, as a “rite of passage”, to make professional contacts, or to put a line on their resume to help them get a job upon graduation. No matter what the primary reason, most students could get a great deal from this experience. The internship can be an unique opportunity from which the student can learn about the nature of a particular job, career, organization or industry and most importantly, themselves. One way to successfully capture this experience and extract additional meaning from it, is by keeping a journal of the internship experience. Keeping a journal develops an active and reflective learning posture rather than merely a passive one and thus aids in grasping more of what the internship experience has to offer. A three step process for journaling the internship is presented. Excerpts from a student's journal, the identification of student and faculty benefits from this exercise as well as suggestions and recommendations for faculty are also presented.

Esssential ethics--embedding ethics into an engineering curriculum.

Ethical decision-making is essential to professionalism in engineering. For that reason, ethics is a required topic in an ABET approved engineering curriculum and it must be a foundational strand that runs throughout the entire curriculum. In this paper the curriculum approach that is under development at the Padnos School of Engineering (PSE) at Grand Valley State University will be described. The design of this program draws heavily from the successful approach used at the service academies--in particular West Point and the United States Naval Academy. As is the case for the service academies, all students are introduced to the "Honor Concept" (which includes an Honor Code) as freshmen. As an element of professionalism the PSE program requires 1500 hours of co-op experience which is normally divided into three semesters of full-time work alternated with academic semesters during the last two years of the program. This offers the faculty an opportunity to teach ethics as a natural aspect of professionalism through the academic requirements for co-op. In addition to required elements throughout the program, the students are offered opportunities to participate in service projects which highlight responsible citizenship. These elements and other parts of the approach will be described.

The ACCEND program: a combined BS and MS program in environmental engineering that includes co-operative work experience

Environmental engineering education has rapidly expanded in recent years and new teaching methods are needed. Many professionals and educators believe that a MS degree in environmental engineering should be the minimum in order to practice the profession, along with practical training. This paper describes an innovative program being offered at the University of Cincinnati that combines an integrated BS in civil engineering and an MS in environmental engineering with extensive practical co-operative education (co-op) experience, all within a five-year period. The program includes distance learning opportunities during the co-op periods. The result is a well-trained graduate who will receive higher pay and more challenging career opportunities, and who will have developed professionalism and maturity beyond that from traditional engineering programs.

Working Through a Psychotherapy Group’s Political Cultures

Macropolitical evolution, starting with authoritarian monarchism, has moved through anarchistic transitions either to the totalitarianism of fascism and communism or to liberal and social democracy. We posit analogous micropolitical development in process-oriented therapy groups: “dependence” and “counterdependence” corresponding to monarchism and anarchism; and “independence” and “interdependence” to liberal and social democracy, respectively. Transition from counterdependence to independence and interdependence may be: (1) facilitated through group members’ cooperative experience of rebellion, or (2) blocked by collective identification, the internalization of dystopian or utopian fantasies that coalesce as “group–self” perceptions. We explore how group therapists work clinically with and through these several “political cultures” in the service of group and self transformation.

LIBER Workshop "Microfilming and Digitisation for Preservation"

The Workshop on "Microfilming and Digitisation for Preservation" which is presented here through papers brought forward held at The Hague on 14-15 April 2003 in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, the National Library of the Netherlands, was the outcome of a long process which started nearly three years ago. Cooperation is a good thing - the right thing, hélas! - in all circumstances of life. For libraries, the European Union has been an elected stage to perform all sorts of alliances. We all have memories of successful partnerships; we all have tried to learn from each others 'projects' which swept over Europe. This Workshop was the result of our previous cooperative experience, but also of our conviction about library needs. The LIBER Preservation Division together with the Koninklijke Bibliotheek and European Commission on Preservation and Access (ECPA) elaborated a programme based on different inputs and viewpoints which after long discussions via e-mail finally built up a structure. To identify the appropriate speaker, and to guarantee his/her presence was another organizational level not less arduous, though. Sharing the same commitment was decisive to the success of the Workshop.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN READING ATTITUDES, ACHIEVEMENT, AND LEARNERS PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR JIGSAW II COOPERATIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

This study investigated the relationship between reading attitudes, achievement, and learners perceptions of their Jigsaw II cooperative learning (CL) experience. One hundred eleven (n = 111) eighth grade students of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) enrolled in four sections in two branches of a middle school in Lebanon participated in the study. The participants completed two questionnaires and a semantic differential scale that assessed their reading attitudes and perception of their Jigsaw II CL experience. In addition, the participants took a pretest and a posttest specifically designed for the purpose of the study. Descriptive statistics and correlation coefficients were computed and two multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) tests were conducted in order to address the questions raised in the study. Results indicated that reading attitudes and reading achievement were positively internally related, but not related to the perception of the Jigsaw II cooperative experience. Furthermore, the results revealed certain statistically significant differences between high and low achievers and between males and females across the variables of reading attitudes, achievement, and perception of the Jigsaw II cooperative experience. The results are discussed in light of previous research findings and with reference to the cultural context of the present study.

Learners' perceptions of their STAD cooperative experience

Cooperative learning (CL) has been proven to be superior to individualistic and competitive forms of instruction in improving the cognitive and non-cognitive outcomes of schooling. However, less is known about the learners' perceptions of their CL experiences and the conditions under which CL enhances achievement. The present study investigated the perceptions of the CL experience of a group of middle school learners who studied the rules and mechanics of English as a foreign language (EFL) according to the dynamics of the Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD) cooperative strategy. Sixty one Lebanese EFL learners responded to a semantic differential scale to express their perceptions of the enjoyableness and effectiveness of STAD after a 12-week period of cooperative study. The results indicated that the learners were generally positive about their experience and willing to recommend the use of STAD in other classes. The results, however, indicated that the male learners were more clear than the females about the procedure of STAD and that they perceived that they had learned more than the females. The results also indicated that the high achievers felt that they had contributed to the learning of others more than their low-achieving counterparts. The pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed.

An Application of a Basic Quality Management Approach in a Higher Education Environment

ABSTRACT The Grand Valley State University Engineering Cooperative Education Program (ECEP) was able to utilize simple quality principles and tools for improving the program process. The main goal was to utilize a basic quality management approach to improve the efficiency of the engineering cooperative education program placement and evaluation process. After two years of redesign and implementation the efficiency of the program was considerably improved. All students participating in the program received competent training before the first cooperative experience and all were placed in cooperative positions on time. Furthermore, proactive measures were instituted as a continuous improvement measure to insure the efficiency of the process with the expected growth of the Grand Valley State University Padnos School of Engineering program.

A Cooperative Experience in Rural Health Education for Medical Students

ABSTRACT A cooperative venture in medical student education between a rural school of medicine and the county Cooperative Extension service was undertaken. First-year medical students were introduced to health hazards associated with farming via lecture and slide presentations. They then visited farm and agribusiness sites to identify potential work health risks, using a, written checklist. Observation sites were identified by Cooperative Extension agents, who accompanied the student groups and a clinical faculty member on each visit. This experience is described, and practical suggestions are offered regarding implementation of a farm visit program for students.

Locally-advanced breast cancer: the EORTC-Breast cancer cooperative group experience

Locally-advanced breast cancer: the EORTC-Breast cancer cooperative group experience

The Indo‐US cooperative experience

The Indo‐US cooperative experience

P24 a quality assurance monitoring system: The national cancer institute clinical cooperative oncology group experience

P24 a quality assurance monitoring system: The national cancer institute clinical cooperative oncology group experience

Assessing the Value of Client-Based Group Projects in an Introductory Technical Communication Course

This article argues for the long-term value of client-based group projects in an introductory technical communication course. Survey results are presented from 73 former technical communication students with two to seven years of workplace experience. Lasting five to six weeks, these projects are a compromise between a briefer conventional case method and a more lengthy individualized internship or cooperative education experience. The projects reinforce research, analysis, and reporting skills, such as interviewing specialists and conducting survey research, that graduates continue to value highly even after years of workplace writing. When framed as such, client-based projects also encourage students to define and debate public policy issues.

R&D/Marketing Interface in a Firm's Capability-Building Process: Evidence from Pharmaceutical Firms

A considerable number of studies have been assembled over the last decade on the management of the R&D/marketing interface in product innovation. Most of these studies focus on the R&D/marketing interface as a self-contained unit of analysis, offering little explanation of the interface's contribution to a firm's competence building in ways essential to innovation success. This paper is based upon research that demonstrates that the importance of the R&D/marketing interface lies in its dynamic capability in influencing the direction of product development projects towards enhancing existing, or building new, competencies. The case study results show that the shared tasks performed by R&D and marketing departments are concentrated in three areas, i.e. corporate conceptual development (CCD), product conceptual development (PCD) and project implementation (Ip). The results reveal that the performance of the cross-functional team in general, and the R&D/marketing interface in particular, during a project's implementation, is heavily dependent on earlier activities in the areas of CCD and PCD. The former usually involves a sustained period of company-wide strategic preparation, which may or may not be directly targetted at a specific project, whilst the latter refers to previous co-operative experience at the project level. The evidence shows that, even when top management attempts to build an instant platform (e.g. by means of heavyweight project management), in the absence of such earlier activities, the effectiveness of this kind of platform has been far from satisfactory, thus pinpointing the vital importance of learning-before-doing in the innovation process.

Influence of a cooperative early field experience on preservice elementary teachers' science self‐efficacy

Influence of a cooperative early field experience on preservice elementary teachers' science self‐efficacy

The effect of engineering cooperative experience on graduate starting salaries

The paper explores the effect of cooperative engineering experience on graduate starting salaries for all civil, industrial, mechanical, and electrical engineering graduates for two consecutive academic years. The primary data (gathered from various sources) were used to conduct 12 major statistical analyses. The tests of significance give rather inconclusive results in terms of a correlation between cooperative experience and the starting salaries of graduates. The strongest relationship existed for industrial engineering graduates, and the weakest relationship emerged for civil engineering majors. The mechanical and electrical graduates ranked second and third, respectively.