El presente estudio planteó la identificación y selección de escuelas de Baja California con alta y baja eficacia a partir de los puntajes de ENLACE y pruebas de contexto. Se obtuvo una muestra representativa de 85 escuelas y alrededor de 7000 estudiantes en los años 2010 y 2011, y se aplicaron modelos jerárquicos lineales para el cálculo de las puntuaciones residuales en el nivel de centro. Tras el ajuste de los 8 modelos finales, que aíslan el efecto de las variables contextuales significativas, se seleccionan, bajo criterios estadísticos, 15 centros con alto y bajo residuo. Los resultados muestran que las distribuciones de las escuelas seleccionadas son similares en ambos casos a la población de referencia. Los resultados afirman la robustez del procedimiento de selección implementado y destacan la importancia del mismo para la detección de buenas prácticas en las escuelas de alta eficacia.

Smart irrigation controllers are capable of substantially decreasing landscape water applications under residential high water-use conditions in Florida. Their implementation has been incentivized by governmental agencies and water utilities in an effort to reduce public-supply water demand and conserve water resources. However, the bulk of the research on smart controllers for urban landscapes has focused on performance dimensions. To successfully promote them, feedback from end-users is critical. This paper provides an evaluation of homeowner response to evapotranspiration (ET)-based and soil moisture sensor (SMS)-based smart controllers installed as part of a pilot project conducted in Orange County, FL. The objectives of the study were to collect demographic information, assess conservation attitudes and irrigation system knowledge, and gather feedback on the use of smart controllers from the pilot project’s residential cooperators. Data were collected through an online survey and analyzed using relative frequency distributions, text analysis, independent means t tests, and logistic regression. Results indicated that a majority of survey participants were satisfied with their controllers and planned to continue using them. Both ET and SMS controllers were consistently praised for saving money and irrigating efficiently. However, the likelihood that participants would continue using their controllers after the completion of the project was only significantly predicted by their levels of technical knowledge regarding the workings of the devices and whether they had experienced any challenges operating them. Efforts to promote both initial and long-term adoption may be most effective by emphasizing the economic benefits of investing in smart irrigation controllers and by disseminating best management practices that facilitate their understanding and successful operation.

Studies throughout Florida have shown smart controllers can substantially reduce irrigation under residential high‐water use conditions. However, successful promotion requires understanding the link between controller performance and the mechanisms by which they are adopted. This article compares irrigation water‐use and survey data collected from households installed with soil moisture sensor and evapotranspiration controllers. The study investigated whether the relative change in irrigation use between two years preceding and two years following installation was a reliable predictor of a homeowner's satisfaction with the device and likelihood of continuing to use it. Results indicated relative changes in irrigation use were only significantly associated with the quality of controller programming. Satisfaction with the controller was largely attributable to satisfaction with the appearance of the landscape and the perceived water‐saving effectiveness of the controller whereas the likelihood of its continued use was only significantly predicted by the level of technical knowledge regarding its functioning and whether or not challenges were experienced with it. Targeting homeowners with supplemental user‐friendly information may best support their long‐term adoption of smart controllers while providing irrigation contractors with training in implementation techniques would represent an integrated strategy for added reductions in residential outdoor water use.

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Soil conservation is widely regarded a critical component of sustainable livelihood strategies for the hillsides of Honduras. However, neoliberal polices have reduced economic incentives for agricultural intensification. Recent studies indicate off-farm work opportunities address poverty in a way conservation and development efforts do not. Yet off-farm work may discourage poor farmers from practicing soil conservation. A middle ground is needed. This study indicates micro-credit can substitute for off-farm workand encourage soil conservation practice. Many regions throughout Honduras have had extensive contact with soil conservation programs and would benefit more from credit services than redundant technological extension.

Efforts to disseminate heat-related illness (HRI) prevention practices among Latino farmworkers represent a critical occupational safety strategy in Florida. Targeted initiatives, however, require understanding the workplace dynamics that guide agricultural safety behaviors. This article reports focus group data collected in 2018 from citrus harvesters in central Florida and provides an in-depth perspective on the workplace culture that shapes their implementation of heat safety measures. Results indicate that citrus harvesters regularly suffered HRI symptoms yet rarely reported or sought treatment for their injuries. In some cases, the risks of developing HRI were accepted as a facet of agricultural work and harvesters blamed themselves for their illnesses. Implementation of safety practices hinged less on knowledge than on the availability of water and rest breaks and the quality of employer-employee relations and exchanges. Thus, trust was a determinant of workers’ attitudes toward management that contributed to a harvesting operation’s safety climate. Results highlight the difficulties of putting into practice measures that are not rewarded by the workplace culture and suggest that the extent to which intervention strategies promote not only individual safety behaviors but organizational accountability may predict their effectiveness.

Stormwater ponds are installed in urban developments to provide the ecosystem services of flood control and water treatment. In coastal areas, these ponds are connected to watersheds that can drain directly into protected estuaries, making their design, function, and maintenance critical to environmental protection. However, stormwater ponds in residential areas are increasingly managed as aesthetic amenities that add value to real estate rather than as engineered devices with special maintenance requirements. To help extend the life of neighborhood stormwater systems and improve ecosystem services, homeowners should follow best management practices for nutrient management and add shoreline plantings and non-invasive, beneficial aquatic plants to their ponds. This study used focus group and survey research to document the knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes of homeowners living near stormwater ponds in a master-planned community in Florida. The study was designed to use a social marketing research approach to promote Extension best practices. Findings indicate that many residents were aware of the functional components of stormwater systems and respondents' receptivity to best management practices was mediated by age, their attitudes about water quality and whether their home was adjacent to a pond. These findings can be used to target Extension audiences and improve adoption of stormwater pond best management practices for increased protection of water quality.

Because farm labor supervisors (FLSs) are responsible for ensuring safe work environments for thousands of workers, providing them with adequate knowledge is critical to preserving worker health. Yet a challenge to offering professional training to FLSs, many of whom are foreign-born and have received different levels of education in the US and abroad, is implementing a program that not only results in knowledge gains but meets the expectations of a diverse audience. By offering bilingual instruction on safety and compliance, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) FLS Training program is helping to improve workplace conditions and professionalize the industry. A recent evaluation of the program combined participant observation and surveys to elicit knowledge and satisfaction levels from attendees of its fall 2012 trainings. Frequency distributions and dependent- and independent-means t-tests were used to measure and compare participant outcomes. The evaluation found that attendees rated the quality of their training experience as either high or very high and scored significantly better in posttraining knowledge tests than in pretraining knowledge tests across both languages. Nonetheless, attendees of the trainings delivered in English had significantly higher posttest scores than attendees of the trainings delivered in Spanish. As a result, the program has incorporated greater standardization of content delivery and staff development. Through assessment of its program components and educational outcomes, the program has documented its effectiveness and offers a replicable approach that can serve to improve the targeted outcomes of safety and health promotion in other states.