Necessity Is the Mother of Invention for Research and Extension Agenda of Rubber Smallholders

Researchers and extensionists would pursue their interests to develop new inventions and encourage rubber smallholders to adopt new technology and practices to increase production of their holdings. Three interrelated systems, research and development （R＆D） system, extension/delivery system and client （smallholders） system, are responsible to make the rubber industry viable and dynamic. The extension system is also encouraged to identify and carry out related research activities besides its own core function to enhance clients＇ understanding and to use the findings as basis to plan effective strategies for implementation. Knowledge acquisition among clients is critical in capacity building process. With knowledge, clients tend to develop favorable attitude and use it to develop specific skill to practice recommended technology and new practices. Necessity is the mother of invention in times of need, especially when rubber price is low. Researchers, extensionists and smallholders are ＂forced＂ to collaborate and become creative to fred alternative ways and uses of natural rubber to increase demand of the commodity. When natural rubber price is low, funding for research needs to be maintained at current level, or in some cases, funding is increased to ensure that the industry is not void of new technology and new products. The main goal of the rubber industry is to ensure that new technology and practices are continuously being generated and developed by researchers to be adopted by rubber smallholders. The adoption of new technology and practices by smallholders ensures that production of natural rubber continues to increase, while income of smallholders is maintained or increased at an appreciative level to offset low rubber prices. There is an inclination in the rubber industry that when the commodity＇s price is low, activities and programs related to research and dissemination of research results would follow to be reduced, resulting in stagnation and opportunities for future growth of the industry. The National Blue Ocean Strategy （NBOS） should be used to harness expertise in research among researchers of local universities, as well as to cooperate among extensionists from agencies at state and national levels to help disseminate research results. The NBOS can reduce cost, and has bigger impacts and wider applications of natural rubber for local and international markets.

Narrowband speech wideband extension algorithm research

To reduce the spectral distortion,a Hidden Markov Model-based narrowband speech bandwidth extension algorithm is presented.Firstly,the parameters which have higher mutual information with wideband envelope were extracted to constitute the feature vector,and then a posterior probability was calculated via the joint probability of the partial observation feature vector sequence and the markov states.Secondly,based on the posterior probability,the wideband envelope was estimated using Bayesian parameter estimation method and minimum mean square error criteria.For estimation of wideband excitation signal,intermediate frequency extension algorithm is proposed based on the harmonic correlation between the low frequency and high frequency.The experimental results show that,compared with the traditional bandwidth extension algorithm based on Hidden Markov Model,the average spectral distortion is reduced by 0.187 dB and the number of speech frame with spectral distortion over10dB is decreased by 34.3%.

Agricultural extension approach:evidence from an Integrated Soil Fertility Management Project in Ethiopia

Agricultural extension is an approach to rural development and agricultural transformation in which training,demonstration and technology transfer are key to reducing rural poverty,ensuring food security,and sustainably managing natural resources.During recent decades,different extension approaches have been tested and validated by the Ethiopian government and nongovernmental organizations to stimulate participation in the agricultural extension system(AES).The most recent was a German-funded project entitled“Integrated Soil Fertility Management Project”(ISFM+),which employed a novel approach to piloting and upscaling proven technology and best practice.The purpose of this study was to analyze and document the modalities of ISFM+and illustrate its effects on technology uptake and dissemination.The study used a mixed methods approach to collect data.ATLAS.ti and SPSS were used for data management and analysis.Farmer Research and Extension Groups and Farmer Field Schools were found to be central to the participation process.Also,the ISFM+was found to aid technology transfer and helped to increase grain and residue yields as well as farmer livelihoods.Based on these empirical findings,it is argued that the ISFM+approach and technology should be integrated and institutionalized in the mainstream AES in order to promote their extensive application.