Conference Proceedings: 34th Annual Conference of AIAEE Celebrating the Intersection of Human, Natural, and Cultural Systems April 16 - 20, 2018 Merida, Yucatan, Mexico Poster Abstracts from the 2018 Annual Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education ....................................................................................... 7 A Critical Exploration of the Transformative Discourse of 4-H Youth Development in International Contexts ..................................................................................................................... 8 A Hands-on Approach to Training International Development Workers in Sustainable Tropical Agriculture appropriate to Small-Scale Farmers .......................................................................... 11 A Paradigm in Assessing Community Needs ............................................................................... 13 Advancing Use of Appropriate Farm Mechanization Adoption Among Small-Scale Malawian Farmers ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Agricultural Literacy at the Intersection of Human, Natural, and Cultural Systems Introduction and Review of Literature .............................................................................................................. 18 An Expertise-Oriented Evaluation of Development Agent Preparation in Ethiopia .................... 21 An Overview of Urban Water Conservation Practices in Selected Countries .............................. 23 Building the Teaching Capacity of African Plant Breeding Program Faculty through E-learning resources and a Communities of Practice. .................................................................................... 26 Comparing African Student Perceptions of Their African College Experience and Their U.S. Experience..................................................................................................................................... 28 Diffusion in Action: A Look into Water Treatment Technology Adoption ................................. 30 Disposition Towards Critical Thinking: A Longitudinal Study of Latin American Undergraduate Interns at a U.S. College of Agriculture ....................................................................................... 33 Do Cultural Dimensions Impact Leadership Styles of Mexican Project Managers? .................... 36 Enhancing Interactions in Online Learning Environments for Taiwanese Agriculture and Natural Sciences Students .......................................................................................................................... 38 Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Farmer Field School in Northern Uganda Through the Adoption of Improved Ox Yokes ................................................................................................. 41 Experiences of an AgriCorps Fellow in Ghana ............................................................................ 43 Extension’s Role in Farmer-focused Value Chain Development in Developing Countries ......... 46 Factors Influencing Interactions of Taiwanese Agriculture and Natural Sciences Students’ Perceptions of Satisfaction, Quality, and Learning in Online Courses ......................................... 49 Influence of Smallholder Farmer Groups on the Application of Best Horticultural Farming Practices in Kenya......................................................................................................................... 52 Informative Examples of Seed-to-Supper Programs in Caribbean Areas .................................... 54 Measuring Impact of Training to Facilitate the Implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in Honduras.............................................................................................................. 57 Nutritional Quality of Two Tomato Varieties Costoluto Genovese (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and Wild (Solanum pimpinellifolium) Cultivated in an Aquaponic System ................................ 60 2 Program of Academic Practices for the Management of an Integrated Agro-ecological Production System for the Graduates Training in Management of Natural Resource Managers . 63 Ruralization and Urbanization: Sustainability Issues in West Africa ........................................... 65 Serving Across the Divide: Mentorship Needs for College Students and Peer Mentors.............. 68 Spatial-Temporal Analysis of Green Space in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ........................................ 71 Technology Transfer-Appropriation Model of an Integrated System of Food Production for Human Development. An Approach in a Shelter of Adolescents at Risk of Social Exclusion .... 72 The Impact of Purposeful Learning Activities on an International Experience ........................... 75 The Influence of Policy on Adoption: A Case Study of Chinese Agricultural Extension ............ 78 Training USDA Cochran Fellows to Improve Mozambique’s Child Nutrition Programs ........... 81 Understanding Internal and External Motivation Factors in Youth and Adults Participating in Farm Financial Recordkeeping Workshops in Nicaragua ............................................................ 83 Using a Triple Helix Model to Increase Competitiveness in the Avocado Industry: The Case of Atlixco, México ............................................................................................................................ 86 Using GPS Herding Data as a Teaching Tool in Segou Region, Mali ......................................... 89 Using Photographs as a Tool to Document Outcomes of Study Abroad Experience ................... 91 3 Oral Abstracts from the 2018 Annual Conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education ..................................................................................... 94 A Comparative Analysis of Students’ Perceived Agripreneurship Competencies ....................... 95 A U.S. Fellowship’s Role in Shaping Entrepreneurs’ Perspectives on Youth Empowerment in Sub-Saharan Africa ....................................................................................................................... 98 Africa’s Preparedness for Integrating Experiential Learning into School–based Agriculture Education Programs .................................................................................................................... 101 Agroecology as a Framework for Socially Just Agricultural and Extension Education: Lessons from Cuba ................................................................................................................................... 105 An Assessment of Professional Development Needs in Andragogy of Extension Professionals in Nigeria......................................................................................................................................... 108 An Exploration of Agricultural Extension Education Graduate Degree Programs in the U.S. .. 111 An Exploration of the Relationship Between International Agriculture Students and Their Advisors ...................................................................................................................................... 114 Are Latin American Students Thinking Creatively? Evidence from Agricultural Undergraduate Majors after an Internship Program Abroad ............................................................................... 116 Assessing and Clarifying Institutional Roles for Effective Watershed Management in Trinidad ..................................................................................................................................................... 119 Attitudes and Transparency: A Case for Communication .......................................................... 121 Barriers to School Garden Program Success: Expert Consensus to Inform Policy and Practice 123 Building Capacity in Extension Professionals Through Community Development Education . 127 Building Professional Development in Haiti that Aligns Critical Thinking Styles and Philosophical Perspectives .......................................................................................................... 130 Challenges and Opportunities for Managing Green Space in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia ............... 132 Collaborative Governance in a Pluralistic and Demand Driven Agricultural Extension Services in Malawi: Influencing the Adoption of Innovation Platforms....................................................... 135 Common Goals, Different Cultures: Exploring Volunteer Development in Ghana and the U.S. ..................................................................................................................................................... 138 Communication with Farmers Post-Disaster in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States . 141 Cooperative Unions: Catalysts for Change in Least Developed Countries ................................ 144 Developing Critical Thinking and Social Capital in International Agricultural Education: A Case Study in Preparing the Next Generation ..................................................................................... 146 Drivers and Shakers of Agricultural Communications: Implications for Sustainable Agricultural Development in Developing and Developed Countries.............................................................. 149 Enhancing Global Perspectives Through International Agricultural