A Longitudinal Study of the Local Community Perspective on Ecotourism Development in Lombok, Indonesia

This study examined stakeholders’ perception related to the Korea–Indonesia international ecotourism official development assistance project in Tunak, Lombok, Indonesia. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 local community members, government officers, and project executors in 2014 and 2020. Six themes arose from the respondents’ perceptions: nature appreciation, enhancement of sociocultural development, prospect of stakeholder involvement, boosting environmental conditions, present economic contributions for conservation, and project deficiencies. The results showed that the project was carried out in line with the initial plan and emphasized local community involvement. However, the community’s dependence on external help could lead to unsustainable ecotourism practices in the future. Through various project programs, the local village’s economy and infrastructure started to develop. Education and direct local community involvement positively affected the local community conditions, both in sociocultural and economic terms.

An Analysis of the Cooperation between Social Organizations and Enterprises to Promote the Employment of the Disabled Take the Nuanxi Disabled Assistance Project in D City as an Example

With the development of the theory of multiple governance, the methods and methods of collaborative governance of multiple subjects have been widely used in the treatment of social problems and the subjects that solve the employment problem of the disabled are gradually diversifying. This study takes the Nuanxi Disabled Assistance Project in D City as an example, with the cooperation between social organizations and enterprises as an entry point of view. The study found that in the process of social enterprise cooperation to promote the employment of persons with disabilities, there are problems such as insufficient attention to details of cooperation, unstable employment of persons with disabilities, limited and single participation of social organizations, and unsatisfactory cooperation effects, and put forward perfect countermeasures and suggestions for these problems.

Technology Transfer Assistance Project Brings VA Health Care Ideas to Life

Clinicians and staff of the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VA), who provide services to veterans, have invented many devices and methods for improving veterans' lives. However, translating those inventions to the market has been a challenge due to limited collaboration between the clinical inventors and the scientists, researchers, and engineers who can produce the prototypes necessary for licensing the technology. The VA Technology Transfer Program office and the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, a research laboratory with experience with developing prototypes and licensing technology, jointly developed a program called the Technology Transfer Assistance Project (TTAP) to bridge the gap between clinical inventors and prototypes ready for licensing. This paper describes TTAP and provides examples of the first inventions that were developed or enhanced through TTAP.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Risk Assessment Based on SORA for First Responders and Disaster Management

Worldwide, there is a significant increase in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by emergency services. They offer a lot of possibilities during rescue operations. Such a wide application for various purposes and environments causes many threats related to their use. To minimize the risks associated with conducting air operations with UAVs, the application of the SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment) methodology will be important. Due to its level of detail, it is a methodology adapted to civilian use. In this article, the authors’ team will try to develop guidelines and directions for adapting SORA to the requirements of the operational work of emergency services. Thus, the following article aims to present the most important risks related to conducting operations with the use of UAVs by first responders (FRs), and to show the sample risk analysis performed for this type of operation on the example of the ASSISTANCE project. The paper describes, on the one hand, possibilities offered by UAVs in crisis or disaster management and step-by-step Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA), and on the other hand, presents possible threats, consequences and methods of their mitigation during FR missions.

VA TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROGRAM RESPONDS TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic stressed healthcare systems all over the world. Two primary challenges that healthcare systems faced were a shortage of personal protective equipment and the need for new technologies to handle infection prevention for staff and patients. The Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Technology Transfer Program responded by prioritizing the development of innovations in the Technology Transfer Assistance Project which addressed the pandemic. This paper describes several innovations that addressed the needs of the VA healthcare system during the pandemic and how they were rapidly developed.

Regional Digital Business Platform

The article considers the importance of entrepreneurship development both for the region and for the country as a whole. The relevance of digitalization in Belarus is described. Some results of a questionnaire survey conducted with the participation of the author of small and medium-sized businesses of the Vitebsk region to study problems and necessary directions of regional entrepreneurship development were analyzed, carried out within the framework of the international technical assistance project. The necessity and prerequisites of creating a digital platform within which the management bodies interact with entrepreneurs are justified. The main goals of digital business platform creation, its ecosystem and main functions are presented, the conclusion on expediency of business platform functioning is made.

ALOKASI FAKTOR PRODUKSI DAN SISTEM PEMASARAN PADI ORGANIK DI KABUPATEN LAMPUNG TENGAH

This research aims to analyze the factors that affect organic rice production, determine the level of efficiency of organic rice production, find out the marketing chain of organic rice and the prospects for sustainability of the organic rice program after the assistance project was completed. The research was conducted in Central Lampung Regency on March-May 2018. The research sample consisted of 32 organic rice farmers using a census method. Data were analyzed using Cobb-Douglass production function method, frontier production function, and S-C-P (Structure, Conduct, Performance) method. The results showed that the prospect of the sustainability of the program with the SRI method was not successfully implemented and the factors that affected the organic rice production were seeds and compost fertilizer. Farmers in CentralLampung Regency from year to year have always experienced a decline in organic rice production, which has an effect on the level of farming efficiency. The value of technical efficiency obtained was 86.21% and the value of Σbi≠1, so that farming has not been efficient. Organic rice at the research site was marketed from farmers to farmer groups and directly to consumers. The RPM value obtained was equal to 3.74%.Key words: analyze, efficiency, marketing, production, organic rice

Leucaena feeding systems in Paraguay

Keynote paper presented at the International Leucaena Conference, 1‒3 November 2018, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.Leucaena leucocephala became naturalized in Paraguay long ago. However, due to cases of toxicity in horses and cattle, now identified as mimosine toxicity, leucaena was considered a weed until the beginning of this millennium. At this time the mimosine toxicity problem was overcome by the introduction of ruminal fluid from Australia containing the mimosine-degrading and -detoxifying bacterium Synergistes jonesii. As long as an internationally funded technical assistance project was operating (offering technical advice, provision of seed, seed scarification service and transmission of ruminal fluid containing Synergistes), the area sown to leucaena (either in twin rows into grass pastures or as fodder banks) increased rapidly in Paraguay, particularly in the Chaco area. However, the powdery fluvisols of the drier parts of the Chaco were not well suited to growth of leucaena, as persistence was restricted due to the impact of rodents, termites and also leaf-cutting ants, which prosper particularly well in this part of the Chaco. In more humid areas with usually heavier soils, currently leucaena represents an integral part of the feeding systems in hundreds of Paraguayan farms (large-scale as well as smallholders), mainly for steer fattening and dairy cow supplementation. After taking into account the above-mentioned setbacks, the total area of leucaena is currently estimated at about 10,000 ha.