The Tuesday Letter
Agricultural Experiment Station & Cooperative Extension Service
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
(Vol. 18 No. 15)
IN THIS ISSUE...
WORD FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR - EXTENSION AND APPLIED RESEARCH
You may have heard that the House Agriculture and Natural Resources
committee has introduced HB2654, a bill amending the withdrawal procedure for
counties as members of extension districts. We are currently in communication with the chair and members of that committee regarding our concerns with its action. Following is a link to that bill:
http://kslegislature.org/li/b2011_12/measures/hb2654/
We are opposed to this bill for the following reasons:
- In the
history of Extension districts, never has there been any attempt made to
withdraw a county from an Extension District. As such, this amendment is addressing a
problem that has not existed.
Further, the amendment removes local citizen input within the
Extension District. Voters elected their representatives onto the
Extension district governing board, and this amendment excludes those
representatives from the process of managing the affairs of the Extension
district.
- Current
law provides a process by which an individual county can withdraw from an
Extension District. That process is
essentially identical to the process of forming a district. In forming a district, agreement must be
reached by majority vote of the board of county commissioners, the County
Extension governing board, and the Director of Extension for each county
entering into the formation of the district. The majority of the board of county
commissioners for the county wishing to withdraw, the Extension District
governing board, and the Director of Extension must vote in favor of that
county to withdraw. Withdrawal
significantly affects the operations of all 3 entities, and as such they
should all be involved in any such decision process.
Additional talking points are being discussed with the State Extension Advisory Council. If any further action is needed, we will let you know how that might proceed. In the mean time, please adhere to the guidance provided in the January 10 Tuesday letter message regarding faculty and staff involvement in the political process. Know that if a legislator should contact you regarding this legislation, you should feel welcome to provide the talking points above.
Thanks and have a great week! --Daryl Buchholz dbuchhol@ksu.edu
CENTRAL PLAINS IRRIGATION CONFERENCE HOSTED AT COLBY
The Central Plains Irrigation Conference and Exposition will
be held February 21-22 at the City Limits Convention Center in Colby. The
conference is sponsored by Kansas State University, the University of Nebraska,
Colorado State University and the Central Plains Irrigation Association.
Tracy
Streeter, director of the Kansas Water Office, will represent Kansas Gov. Sam
Brownback in giving the general session address, “Legislative Initiative to
Manage the Ogallala,” on February 21. Currently, there are five bills in the
legislature that appear to be progressing through the legislative process.
These new policies could affect irrigation water
management options for producers.
The
conference begins with registration and the opening of the expo at 9 a.m. on
February 21. Technical sessions start at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. The February 22 program
begins earlier, with registration at 8 a.m. and technical sessions starting at
8:30 a.m. All technical sessions will be offered both days, but in different
order.
Speakers
from several universities, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk
Management Agency will present eight technical sessions, including:
•
Crop Water Budget – Effects of Tillage Systems;
• Crop Water Budget – Effects of Irrigation Management;
• Optimizing Crop Water Productivity When Irrigation Water is Limited;
• Optimizing Crop Water Productivity Using Center Pivot Irrigation;
• Optimizing Crop Water Productivity Using Subsurface Drip Irrigation;
• Emerging Irrigation Scheduling Technologies;
• Decision Support Software for the Irrigation Manager; and
• Crop Insurance and Economic Issues.
The
cost to attend the conference and expo is $85 for participants who are not
seeking crop consultant advisor continuing education unit credit. For those
seeking CEU credits, the cost is $100.
More
information is available on the Central Plains Irrigation Association website, http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/irrigate/cpia.htm, or by contacting Donna Lamm, Executive Director of the CPIA, at 785-462-3833, or donnalamm@yahoo.com; or Danny Rogers, KSRE Agricultural Engineer at droger@ksu.edu. --Danny Rogers
COMMUNITY HEALTH NEEDS ASSESSMENT UNDERWAY
Federal health care
legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, has imposed new
requirements for 501(c)(3) hospitals (non-profit hospitals). At the same time,
efforts to implement an accreditation program for local health departments are
underway. Both of these initiatives require completion of a periodic community
health needs assessment (CHNA).
A broad coalition of public
and private entities has been working to create online tools to assist hospital
administrators and public health officials to conduct their own CHNA through
the Kansas Health Matters Website, www.kansashealthmatters.org. There, you
will find an impressive array of information and tools that will facilitate a
"self-help" approach to completing the CHNA. As useful as that
resource is, some may feel they need assistance.
The Kansas Rural Heath Works
program offered by the Office of Local Government (OLG), K-State Research and
Extension, has offered rural counties and communities facilitation assistance
for CHNA since 2004.
In light of these new
requirements to perform CHNAs, OLG has revised and refined it's outreach program
to offer this service to a larger number of communities at a lower overall
cost. The entire process can be completed in 2-3 meetings.
A mailing is being sent to
all hospital and health department administrators this week to inform them
about the services available.
Additional information about
the program and meeting process is available at the Kansas Rural Health Works
Website, www.krhw.net.
For more information about the
Kansas Rural Health Works Facilitated Community Health Needs Assessment
program, contact John Leatherman, 785-532-4492. --John Leatherman jleather@k-state.edu
PROPOSED NATIONAL 4-H LEADERSHIP CIRCLE DISCUSSION
This is a reminder to encourage you to join in the discussion regarding the proposed National
4-H Leadership Circle, February 21, at 10 a.m. (CST). The discussion will be led by Dr. Elbert
Dickey, Dean & Director, Cooperative Extension Division, University of
Nebraska-Lincoln; and Chuck Morris, Director, 4-H Youth Development, Iowa State
University. Both Dr. Dickey and Dr.
Morris are on the working group proposing the new structure.
Date: Tuesday,
February 21, 2012
Time: 10 – 11
a.m. Central Time
Call in information: 1-866-620-7326
Conference Code: 479-963-8009
This workshop is sponsored by Kansas Association of
Extension 4-H Agents (KAE4-HA) and the Department of 4-H Youth Development,
K-State Research and Extension. We encourage you to explore the 4-H Summit
website, http://www.4-hsummit.net/,
where there are a number of presentations, recorded conference calls by
Extension, letters from key leadership and blog posts related to the proposed
structure. --Barbara Stone bjstone@ksu.edu and Sarah Maass semaass@k-state.edu
WEBINAR: YOUR LOCAL 4-H WEBSITE, EASY AS 1-2-3
The new local 4-H website template is now available! Join us on Wednesday, February 29, at 10 a.m. to learn how to put it in place. We've created all the pages you'll need, complete with wording and graphics. Learn how to cut and paste the various pages onto your own site, then add your local contact information. We've designed it to be simple, yet have the flexibility for you to continually add news and information, if you want -- or leave it as is, if you don't.
We'd like to have one person per unit on the line, so choose your 4-H webmaster and register for the webinar by Monday, February 27, on the google form at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHZKVzlRaFRWUHdEY0JyNVFIbElnSXc6MQ.
After you register, we’ll send you the information on how to connect.--Diane Mack dmack@ksu.edu
WORKSHOP - HOW TO WORK WITH LOGIC MODELS
You will learn a method to help with: . Designing strategic plans . Writing concise grant applications . Decision-making . Planning . Evaluation . Writing Action Plans
When: March 2
Where: Salvation Army, 216 N. 9th,Garden City Time: 9:30 a.m to 3 p.m. Cost: $20 for materials and lunch Presented by: Debra Bolton, Ph.D. Extension Specialist Deadline to Register: February 27 - - - - - Call now to register at 620-275-9164
(Please provide your name/phone number/address)
Please send payments to: K-State SW Research and Extension Center, 4500 E Mary Street, Garden City, KS 67846 Receipts will be provided for you at the workshop. Great workshop for all Agents to attend! --Norma Cantu cantu@ksu.edu
HEALTHY YOU WELLNESS TIP
Healthy Foods Agreement
Eating
is one of life’s greatest pleasures. In K-State Research and Extension, we
often gather around a meal or snacks at meetings, events and celebrations. Providing
food is one way to make everyone feel welcome and to bring people together.
Because there is a strong link between what we eat and
our health, KSRE supports guidelines to help us choose foods and beverages that
are health-giving. These guidelines promote choices that are lower in fat,
sugar and calories and offered in appropriate portion sizes. As KSRE employees
follow these guidelines, we model a commitment to better health.
In January, KSRE administrators signed a “Healthy Foods
Agreement” and local/area units are encouraged to make this same commitment.
The agreement is posted on the Healthy You website, www.healthyyou.ksre.ksu.edu, under Healthy Eating. You can personalize it with local information and ask
employees and/or board members to sign. For more explanation, see the Healthy Meeting Guide from North Carolina. --Sharolyn Jackson sharolyn@ksu.edu
DIVERSITY PROGRAMS OFFICE UPDATE
The Diversity Programs Office would like to encourage everyone to celebrate Black History Month throughout February.
The Diversity Programs office has started the year in a grand way, by hosting the 8th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Diverse Student Leader Luncheon for the College of Agriculture, along with the KSU MANRRS chapter and Cargill, Inc. This luncheon was a part of the university's annual Dr. MLK Jr. Observance Week. It took place Monday, January 23, in the K & S Room in the K-State Student Union. The luncheon speaker was Dr. Bernard Franklin, Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Life at Kansas State University, K-State Alumni and the first African American Student Body President.
Dr. Franklin’s address, entitled "Courage to Lead," discussed the life of Dr. Martin Luther King on a more personal level, allowing students to see him as a person along with being the historical figure that he is. Being able to hear about King’s journey from going to school young to having a family was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Members of the MANRRS chapter helped with the introduction of the speaker, along with the different parts of the program like the reflection and closing announcements. There were over 50 people in attendance this year. Next year we hope to have more faculty and students in attendance to double that number. You can view the 2012 MLK Student Leader Luncheon at http://www.ksre.ksu.edu/seminars/.
Februaruy 3, 2012, MANRRS members assisted with the KS Black Student Government's event that had brought in students from Independence, Topeka and Wichita, along with other high schools around Kansas.
The DPO also wishes to congratulate Dr. Myra Gordon, Associate Provost for Diversity, as she was named Chief of a Northeast Nigerian village of Alayi, December 29.
February also means Valentine's Day, Presidents' Day and Black History Month. Please support the Black History Month activities by going to www.ksu.edu/bsu. --Zelia Wiley zwiley@ksu.edu
ASK THE OEIE EVALUATOR - THE BASICS OF FOCUS GROUPS
Focus group interviews are yet another data collection
method you can employ to gather information regarding program impact, to inform
program improvements, or to assess program needs. As with all data collection
methods, there are advantages and disadvantages to focus groups. In this
installment, we briefly explore focus groups and when you should consider
conducting them.
Q: What are focus groups and how can I use them to evaluate program impacts?
Conducting focus groups is an efficient method to affirm the
value of your program, to identify improvements for the continuation of a
program, and/or to identify needs for programming. This method allows you to
gather a significant amount of qualitative data in a relatively short amount of
time. One of the major benefits of focus groups is the dialogue; participants
connect with each other and relate information that they may not have even
touched on if they were asked a similar question in a survey or an interview.
Their conversations can bring crisper details to their success stories and
provide context and specific factors contributing to issues or needs that could
be addressed in the program. If you have the feeling that the impact information
you have gathered from participants is only the beginning of what they have to
say, you may want to consider focus groups.
A focus group is
often envisioned as a 90-minute facilitated discussion of six to fifteen
participants. The majority of focus groups are of this formal variety. Another
option, however, is an informal focus group. If you have fifteen minutes at the
end of your program session, you can facilitate a discussion on a specific
question. An example of a question is, “What is the one thing you learned today
that you feel will have the most lasting effect on you?” As the participants
discuss this question, you can record their testimonials and use them to
enhance the quantitative data in your impact report.
When beginning to consider a focus group, keep your purpose
in mind – Are you looking for qualitative or quantitative data? Is the topic so
sensitive that people may not feel comfortable discussing it in a group? Does
the topic require confidentiality? Focus groups do not provide you with hard
numbers and percentages. In your impact report, you can note approximate
frequency using data from focus groups, for example, “majority” or “about one-half
of participants.” However, if your purpose is to gain the hard numbers,
quantitative data, a survey is more appropriate. Or, if your topic is extremely
sensitive or requires confidentiality, individual interviews, or in some cases
a survey, would be more appropriate.
One practical consideration of focus groups is personnel
resources. To conduct a formal focus group you will need at least two people, a
moderator and an assistant moderator/documenter. The other roles incorporated
into this method, such as the analyzer and writer, can be carried out by these
two people. One resolution to this possible constraint is to involve
neighboring county KSRE professionals who have experience in conducting or are
interested in learning more about focus groups. In this way, their contribution to your focus
group can be an opportunity to collaborate and mentor throughout KSRE.
Want more information on focus groups? Visit the Extension
Evaluation Resources website, http://apps.oeie.ksu.edu/extension/index.php.
We recently presented on this topic at the FCS Update and have posted our
PowerPoint presentation, along with a summary of the questions and answers that
came up during this session. Or contact Amy Hilgendorf at OEIE, aehilgen@k-state.edu, 785-532-5538.
Resource for
focus groups: Krueger, R.A., &
Casey, M.A. (2000). Focus groups: A
practical guide for applied research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications Inc. --Amy Hilgendorf
K-STATE EMAIL IS BLOCKED BY MICROSOFT (HOTMAIL, MSN, LIVE.COM)
K-State is currently unable to send
email to many external email providers, most notably Hotmail, MSN, and
Live.com, which are all operated by Microsoft. When a K-State user tries to
send email to an email address hosted by one of these providers, they will
receive a returned message stating that the email has been blocked. This is not
due to a problem with a particular mail client or user, but is actually a
problem that is affecting all of K-State.
K-State published a notice about this issue in a previous
K-State Today. Click here to read it.
In the past, this was normally due to compromised eIDs at
K-State being used to send large amounts of SPAM email to these providers, causing
our systems to be blocked temporarily, usually for a day or so.
While that may still happen, in this case there is a
different cause. Many users have their K-State email forwarded to a personal
email account, and unfortunately that means ALL the email gets forwarded,
including all the SPAM. When all that email is received by the personal email
account, it now looks like all the SPAM is coming from K-State. If enough users
mark that email as SPAM in their personal email accounts, K-State gets blocked
because it appears to be sending out large amounts of SPAM.
As of right now there isn't a good way to fix this issue
while still allowing K-State users to forward their email if they so choose.
K-State is working on a way to avoid forwarding the SPAM email, and is also
working to get us removed from the list of blocked email providers. Unfortunately, we do not have a timeline for solving this problem as we cannot
directly control when Microsoft will stop blocking these messages.
In the meantime, we have a few workarounds available to allow users to contact clients that they are unable to contact using K-State's email system. Please contact you area or departmental support staff, or KSRE Tech Support at 785-532-6270, for
more information on how to do this.
If you have any comments, questions or concerns about
this, please feel free to contact me or KSRE Tech Support at 785-532-6270 or support@ksre.ksu.edu. For issues with
K-State's Zimbra email system, you can also contact the K-State IT Helpdesk at 785-532-7722 or 800-865-6143 or helpdesk@ksu.edu. -- Russ Feldhausen russfeld@ksu.edu
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