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Frank James Smith
Professor of Psychology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
fjsmith@ncsu.edu
(919) 515-1723

Biographical Summary

A native of Iowa, Professor Smith received a B.S. and M.S. in Psychology from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Michigan State University.  In 1972 he joined the faculty at North Carolina State University where he has helped build the graduate programs of Industrial/Organizational Psychology and an innovative program, Psychology in the Public Interest.   His teaching and research is concerned with individual and organizational adaptation to changing social,  technological and market conditions.    He has worked extensively with U.S. and international development organizations to help develop human resources, improve organizational capacities, and measure program performance.

Courses:

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Psy 312, Applied Psychology  (Syllabus for Spring 2001)
Psy 714, The Social Psychology of Groups (Syllabus for Spring 2001)
Psy 751, Human Resource Planning and Evaluation (Syllabus for Fall 2000)
Psy 755,  Cross-cultural Research and Development (Syllabus for  Fall 2000)
Psy 756,  Consumer Research (Syllabus for Spring 2000)

Current Research Projects:

Develop, disseminate and evaluate decision aids for integrated soil nutrient management. The project involves close collaboration between biological and social scientists working with client groups including national and international research organizations, universities, non-government organizations to develop, desseminate and evaluate new tools and technology for integration of diverse information for decision-making. Program impact assessments in intensive testing areas in Costa Rica, Mali and the Philippines will measure changes including: 1) awareness and familiarity with various decision support products; 2) the capacities of users to use the decion tools to simulate different agronomic, social and economic conditions; and 3) changes in farming practices, policies, diagnosis and planning methods. The work is funded in part by a contract from the U.S. Agency for International Development and collaborating institutions.

Evaluate research and extension systems for farmers in the Chapare region of Bolivia who have been forced out of coca production and are attempting to establish legitimate farming systems.  In cooperation with the Government of Bolivia and with funds from the U.S. Agency for International Development, research and extension services are being restructure to better assist farmers and farmer organizations to overcome their technical and organization problems.   Social science research has developed indicators that are being used to monitor and evaluate the program's social and economic impacts.

Professional Experience:

Professor of Psychology,  North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
Industrial/Organizational Psychology
Psychology in the Public Interest

Coordinator, 17-country APEC/USAID/Industry funded project entitled, Human resource development for the food industry in the Asian-Pacific region: A need assessment and policy review. (1994-1997).

Principal Investigator, USAID funded project entitled, Socio-economic impact analysis of technologies generated by the Soil Management and other CRSPs in the humid tropics of Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines, and Thailand. (1990 - 1993).

Principal Investigator, USAID funded project, Socio-economic impact analyses of technologies generated by the Soil Management and other CRSPs for the savannas of Brazil, Kenya, Paraguay and Zambia. (1991 - 1992).

Education Advisor, USAID/North Carolina State University REE Project, and Honorary Professor of Economics and Planning, Universidad Nacional Agraria, Lima, Peru. 1984-1986.,

Selected Publications:

Bhandari, R. & Smith, F. (2000) Education and food consumption behavior in China: Household analysis and policy implication. Journal of Nutrition Education. 32,(4), 214-224.

Smith, F.J. & Schwartz, S.J. Eds. (2001, in press) Human Resource Development for the Food Industry in Asia and the Pacific. Conference report for United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

Smith, F.J. (2000) Analysis and design of systems for monitoring and evaluation of research and extension services and impacts. Report prepared for the USAID/Bolivia, CONCADE project.

Bhandari, Rajika & Smith, Frank (1997). Rural women in India: Assessment of educational constraints and the need for new educational approaches. Journal of Research in Rural Education. 13(3), 183-197.

Sturm, L. and Smith, F. J. (1993). Bolivian farmers and alternative crops: Some insights into innovation adoption. Journal of Rural Studies. 9(2), 141-151.

Smith, F. & Estrada, J. (1993). The revitalization of universities in developing countries: The case of research management at the National Agricultural University, La Molina, Peru. Prepared for the International Institute for Educational Planning. UNESCO: Paris.

Pomareda, C. & Smith, F. J. (1985). Returns to investments in human capital in Peruvian agriculture. Proceedings of the 5th. World Congress of the Econometric Society, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Smith, F. J. & Hester, R. (1982). Community Goal-Setting. Stroudsburg, Pa.: Hutchinson Ross Publishing Div., Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc., New York.

Smith, F. J. & Crano, W. D. (1977). Cultural dimensions reconsidered: Global and regional analyses of the Ethnographic Atlas. American Anthropologist, 79(2), 364-387.

Smith, F. J. & Crano, W. D. (1977). Patterns of cultural diffusion: Analyses of trait associations across societies by content and geographical proximity. Behavior Science Research, 12(3), 145-167.