Henk Mutsaers's Books

Soil and Soil Fertility Management Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

Fifty years of shifting visions and chequered achievements

By: Henk Mutsaers,Danny Coyne,Stefan Hauser,Jeroen Huising,Alpha Kamara,Generose Nziguheba,Pieter Pypers,Godfrey Taulya,Piet van Asten,Bernard Vanlauwe

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Soil and Soil Fertility Management Research in Sub-Saharan Africa

Fifty years of shifting visions and chequered achievements

By: Henk Mutsaers,Danny Coyne,Stefan Hauser,Jeroen Huising,Alpha Kamara,Generose Nziguheba,Pieter Pypers,Godfrey Taulya,Piet van Asten,Bernard Vanlauwe

Judicious soil fertility management is crucial for sustainable crop production and food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This book describes the various concepts and approaches underlying soil and soil fertility management research in SSA over the last fifty years. It provides examples of important innovations generated and assesses the position of research within the research-to-development continuum, including how innovations have been validated with the intended beneficiaries. Using the experience of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as a case study, the authors analyse how processes, partnerships and other factors have affected research priorities, the delivery of outputs, and their uptake by farming communities in SSA. They evaluate both successes and failures of past investments in soil fertility research and important lessons learnt which provide crucial information for national and international scientists currently engaged in this research area. The book is organised in a number of chapters each covering a chronological period characterised by its primary research content and approaches and by the dominant research paradigms and delivery models.

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Page Count

362

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1315518848

ISBN 13

9781315518848

The Social Embeddedness of Media Use

Action Theoretical Contributions to the Study of TV Use in Everyday Life

By: Henk Westerik

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The Social Embeddedness of Media Use

Action Theoretical Contributions to the Study of TV Use in Everyday Life

By: Henk Westerik

Scholars in the field of communication research have extensively studied television viewing in general and watching television news in particular. The book looks at the subject from an integrative theoretical perspective. Based on Schutzean sociology and action theoretical approaches to media use, the author argues that immediate social influences and other everyday life situations largely determine television use, and that the influence of short-term situational characteristics are often overlooked in person-centered explanatory models. In three empirical studies, the role of short-term situations and the influence of immediate social surroundings is analyzed. The use of Discrete Time Event History Analysis is an innovative way to look at household diary data. Findings reveal how family members influence each other in many ways. Watching television turns out to be an integral part of everyday life in the family, but also a force that may reduce family interaction. It is shown that television may serve as a surrogate for those family members that are not present, and that family members while present at home follow each others example. Partners are shown to mimic each other, children to mimic their parents, and parents follow the example set by their children. Television news viewing, in contrast to general television viewing is less determined by the immediate influence of others. Also, the individual motivations for news viewing vary throughout the day. First exposure to television news appears to be motivated by other factors than subsequent exposure. A need for ‘surveillance’ dominates first exposure, but subsequent exposure appears to be governed by other, more ‘ritualistic’ motivations. The book is important to scholars, graduate-level students, and practitioners who are concerned with theoretical and methodological insights in the phenomenon of television viewing in everyday life.

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