A Systems Approach to Identify Skill Needs for Agrifood Nanotechnology: A Mixed Methods Study A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Robert Mayfield Yawson IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Bradley G. Greiman, PhD, Adviser May, 2013 © Robert M. Yawson May, 2013 i Acknowledgements The completion of this thesis marks the end of a journey. The journey was long and zig zag with all its ups and downs. However, it also means a task accomplished and a job duly done, as it were “the sailor home from sea and the hunter home from the forest” This gives a deep sense of gratification along with gratitude for those who offered co-operation and assistance. My greatest gratitude goes to the almighty God who in diverse ways has shown his loving kindness to me throughout my life. I gratefully acknowledge my advisor, Prof. Bradley G. Greiman for giving me the opportunity to work under him and also the rest of my Committee: Prof. James Brown; Prof. Alex J. Lubet; and Prof. James Leising; their mentorship, cultivation, commitments and endurance are highly appreciated. I also wish to acknowledge the enormous contribution of Prof Alexandre ‘Sasha’ Ardichvili to my successful completion of the PhD program as a mentor. The successful use of mixed method research approach in this dissertation, in a large part, can be attributed to Prof. Joseph Gaugler in his guidance and critique of my research proposal. I will always be indebted to my late father who even in death continues to be my best teacher and inspirer and my dear mother, who reared and nurtured me throughout the years of growing to be who I am today. Their vision, wisdom, encouragement and unfaltering support were essential in the success of my academic life as well as many things in my life. I am also proud of my sisters and brothers; their emotional support and care are irreplaceable. I also wish to leave on record, my deepest appreciation to Mrs. Ivy Yawson nee Johnson-Kanda, my love, for giving me the drive to achieve my dearest and her tireless effort in transcribing all my interviews; Mr. Duncan Okello, always being there for me and my family in times of all kinds of emergencies; Ms. Sherry Oleson for her friendship and affection to my family; Prof. Alex Lubet and his family for being constant pillar of support and making Minnesota feel like home; ii Mr. Felix Amenumey and family for their friendship and advice; and Mr. Daniel Ofori-Som and his family for their moral and material support, I am most grateful, may God bless them all. I wish to sincerely acknowledge my profound appreciation to the entire Headwaters/ Partners for Change team, especially Ms. Gayle Peterson and Mr. John Sherman for their support and keen interest in the wellbeing of myself and family throughout the doctoral program. This work could not have been completed if not by the constant encouragement from my colleagues especially, Daniel Woldeab, Orkideh Anderson, Sanam Ghandehari, and all those wonderful colleagues of mine too numerous to mention. Finally, it is a great pleasure to acknowledge my gratitude to Mrs. Victoria Lily Kanda, my mother-in-law, her prayers and fasting for me and the wellbeing of her daughter and grandchildren and her plain and sincere enthusiasm was essential and gave me the impetus for the completion of the thesis and so many things in life. This work was partly funded by Graduate Assistantships from the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development; and Leadership Education and Development - Undergraduate Programs (LEAD-UP) of the Office of Student Affairs. I also enjoyed the following fellowships: Turner/Oleson Fellowship for Leadership in Agricultural Education; Gary N. McLean Legacy Fellowship in Human Resource Development; and The Camille S. Wall Endowed Fellowship for Workforce Education. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this dissertation are mine and do not necessarily reflect the views of individuals, group of persons, and the organizations or agencies aforementioned that provided me with support for the completion of this thesis. iii Dedication To Ivy, Eli and Kekeli for all the time I was not present in their lives even though I was mostly physically present. For their understanding, this thesis is dedicated! iv Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify skill needs for the emerging agrifood nanotechnology sector and to determine how agricultural education can contribute to human resource and workforce development for this sector. As nanotechnology continues to advance in food and agriculture, there is the need for pragmatic decisions as to how to prepare the workforce. This mixed methods study incorporated disparate fields of systems and complexity theories; nanoscience and nanotechnology; science policy; agricultural education; human resource development and workforce education. The study followed a four-step process involving different methods and approaches. The first phase involved a comprehensive systematic evidence review (SER) and analysis of the literature. This phase of the study also helped to identify key experts and formulate questions for the in-depth and semi-structured interviews and also quantitative survey instruments. A comprehensive stakeholder analysis was done using primary data obtained from experts. The second phase of the study used multi-criteria approaches for value elicitation (which included qualitative and quantitative data) from key stakeholders and experts to identify current and future skill needs in the agrifood nanotechnology sector. The third phase of the study included quantitative analysis, Qualitative Systems Analysis (QSA) and Strategic Flexibility Analysis (SFA) of evidence from the literature review and the multi-criteria value elicitation of experts and stakeholders. The final phase of the study created a generic systems model from the quantitative analysis, QSA and SFA to describe holistically the current and future skill needs for agrifood v nanotechnology workers as well as how educational practice and policy can meet these needs. The main conclusions from this study are that: (1) future shortages and skills gaps in agrifood nanotechnology are expected to increase but at the same time there is still quite a lot of uncertainty about future developments and impacts of nanotechnology in the agrifood sector to accurately determine future demand and supply of agrifood nanoskilled workforce. (2) Extra demands in high qualified workers with a background in sciences and engineering (PhD, MSc) will be needed. (3) STEM education at the K- 12 levels is even more important than ever and that K-12 nanotechnology programs should be a seamless part of the overall STEM initiative. And most importantly STEM education should not be devoid of employability skills. (4) In addition to various types of technical skills that come with advances in any technology, and thus nanotechnology, employability skills and competencies such as problem solving and ability to work in an interdisciplinary context are considered very important. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... i Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 – General Aspects of Study ............................................................................. 1 Background of Study .................................................................................................... 2 Overview of Agrifood Nanotechnology and Identification of Skill Requirements...... 3 The History of Nanotechnology ............................................................................... 3 Agrifood Nanotechnology ........................................................................................ 4 Skill Needs Identification and Workforce Development ......................................... 7 Theoretical Framework .............................................................................................. 10 Justification of study ................................................................................................... 14 Problem statement ...................................................................................................... 17 Conceptual Framework .............................................................................................. 18 Outline of Dissertation ............................................................................................... 19 Chapter 2 – Literature Review ....................................................................................... 21 Review of Key Terms and Concepts .......................................................................... 21 Nanoscience and Nanotechnology ........................................................................