22 pages., via online journal, Agritourism is recreational travel for agricultural activities. While it provides many benefits, such as rural development and heritage preservation, many agritourism operators express challenges in marketing their operations. Social media is increasingly common in tourism marketing, but little research exists describing current marketing practices. Quantitative content analysis was used to describe 174 Oklahoma agritourism operations’ Facebook page activity in June 2018. Original posts created by the agritourism operations and community posts created by the general public had similar amounts of public interaction. Post interactions were not related to post length, and original post interactions were also not related to overall page likes. Live videos and traditional posts received the most interaction amongst types of original posts. Facebook event posts made by the agritourism operation received more public interaction than event posts made by the general public. Agritourism operators should focus on quality over quantity of information and be wary of creating posts in an “echo chamber” as only a small proportion of a large page following interact with posts. Marketing practitioners should avoid providing one-size-fits-all advice in Facebook marketing, as there was a large variety of Facebook activity observed. Future research should more specifically describe content of posts and consider perspectives of agritourism operators and visitors towards current Facebook marketing strategies.
14 pages., via online journal., Parks and protected areas can be ideal settings for climate change communication since many visitors have an affinity for natural and cultural settings, and an interest in resource protection. However, climate-based education efforts in the Midwestern United States may need a slightly different approach since this region lacks obvious indicators, such as sea level rise and melting glaciers. Interpretation, an informal communication process designed to transmit scientific information to visitors in leisure-based settings, could be a useful strategy for engaging visitors in climate change discussions. Few studies have assessed perceptions of interpreters on this topic, much less, their willingness to communicate such information. To address this issue, a mixed methods approach (surveys, interviews, photovoice) was used to examine interpreters’ perceptions of climate change and its impacts in Missouri State Park and Historic Sites. Although nearly 70% of interpreters were either alarmed or concerned about climate change, many of them were unsure about its causation. Interpreters report observing impacts such as flooding, earlier plant blooming, high temperatures, extreme weather, and invasive species, but were uncertain about attributing these impacts to climate change. Interpreters did not believe that visitors would be responsive to climate-based education per se but thought the topic could be addressed in pre-existing programs and activities. Rather than discussing complex science with visitors, interpreters felt more comfortable with conveying the significance of resources at their sites. Implications from this study include acknowledging multiple viewpoints, framing strategic messages, and developing place-based educational materials.
21 pages., via online journal., Agricultural and forestry advisers and other technical service providers play an important role in supporting farmers and foresters to adapt to climate change. However, not all agricultural and forestry advisers are comfortable talking about climate change with land managers. While there is a demonstrated interest related to climate-related professional development, few examples of curricula developed with the express purpose of serving this audience and a systematic review of these curricula has not been conducted. To address this gap, we reviewed 12 curricula which were developed and implemented between 2001 and 2017. The goal of this review is to apply the lessons learned from a range of climate change-focused curricula to new, regionally or sector-specific educational programs targeting both agricultural advisers and innovative farmers. Our findings suggest that developers of future educational programs consider the following: (a) the specific needs of their audience, including topical interests and learning needs; (b) the use of interdisciplinary teams for curricula development; (c) trade-offs associated with inclusivity and depth of course content; and (d) the advantages of project-based education approaches suited for adult learning audiences. By applying these concepts to future curricula, these curricula are likely to have the greatest level of impact.
7 pages., via online journal., Climate services entail providing timely and tailored climate information to
end-users in order to facilitate and improve decision-making processes.
Climate services are instrumental in socio-economic development and
benefit substantially from interdisciplinary collaborations, particularly
when including Early Career Researchers (ECRs). This commentary
critically discusses deliberations from an interdisciplinary workshop
involving ECRs from the United Kingdom and South Africa in 2017, to
discuss issues in climate adaptation and climate services development in
water resources, food security and agriculture. Outcomes from the
discussions revolved around key issues somewhat marginalized within
the broader climate service discourse. This commentary discusses what
constitutes “effective” communication, framings (user framings, mental
models, narratives, co-production) and ethical dimensions in developing
climate services that can best serve end-users. It also reflects on how
ECRs can help tackle these important thematic areas and advance the
discourse on climate services.
5 pages., Article #: 3TOT6, via online journal., A statewide need for Latino cultural competency training for Utah State University (USU) Extension personnel was identified. The solution involved the collaborative efforts of our team of two USU Extension faculty members and one Washington State University (WSU) Extension faculty member on adaption and customization of a needs assessment tool and a training program originated at WSU. Our collaboration leveraged important limited resources such as subject-matter expertise, training materials, time, and funding while providing a venue for feedback and ideas to improve, update, and enhance an existing program. Garnering administrative support from the start is key to successful cross-state collaborative work and implementation of specialized training to expand Latino outreach capacity in Extension.
15 pages., via online journal., This paper presents selected highlights from the ‘Engaging with society’ session of EFSA's third Scientific Conference ‘Science, Food and Society’ (Parma, Italy, 18–21 September 2018). The social dimension for scientific advisory bodies largely concerns science communication and public engagement. The political, economic and technological transformation of contemporary societies is challenging conventional structures and approaches in these areas. The disintermediation of communication and the proliferation of misinformation, it is argued, herald the onset of the post‐truth society. A better understanding of the way individuals consume information today has led to the development of tools to guide mediators such as journalists and communication specialists in countering these trends. Public engagement can reinforce confidence in regulatory bodies and potentially contribute to the quality of the scientific process. Scientific advisory bodies in Europe have created strategies and mechanisms to engage the public that are designed to increase transparency and representativeness. To be effective, several engagement mechanisms are needed, although factors such as resource constraints, institutional culture and public/stakeholder attitudes may limit their development. In conclusion, a more vigorous role for social research is needed to place scientific risk assessment within broader socio‐economic and political contexts. Social science expertise can help to define more impactful public information strategies and to explore the potential opportunities that engaged stakeholders and citizens can make to sustain and strengthen regulatory science.
22 pages, via online journal, Traditionally, 4-H agents have been communicating with stakeholders through newsletters; either in print or online. 4-H agents have used social media as an additional tool to communicate with their stakeholders since its introduction. Social media communication can help maintain or increase stakeholder involvement in the 4-H program because a large percentage of the population is active on social media. Using Uses and Gratifications Theory and Diffusion of Innovations Theory as frameworks, this study sought to determine how Florida 4-H agents engaged with their stakeholder audiences using social media, and vice versa. The uses and gratifications motivations for engaging in media were used to understand what motivations were used to engage their audience and what type of posts (according to motivation) stakeholders were engaged in most. The diffusion of innovations innovation-decision process helped to understand the audiences’ decision to engage in posts dependent upon the motivation used. The results of this study concluded the selected 4-H programs differed in the content that they posted but the 4-H stakeholders did not differ in how they engaged in their respective programs posts.
30 pages., via online journal., Effective communication requires a good message delivered through an effective channel and received by a receptive individual. When that communication is successful, the result is enhanced credibility and trust between the sender and the receiver. Telling the Extension story effectively requires both relevant, credible data to compose a clear message and appropriate communication channels to deliver the message to various audiences. This article describes the approach taken by Florida Extension to gather better statewide data to improve communication about the impact of its Extension work, primarily through the use of infographics. With credible data, and working together, Extension data analysts and communicators can enhance Extension’s reputation, trust, and support with key stakeholders.
20 pages., via online journal., For over 70 years the use of opinion leaders in a two-step communication process has been employed and validated. However, despite the accepted importance of communicating with opinion leaders as a means to cascade information to opinion leaders’ networks of influence there have been few empirical studies specifically examining agricultural and natural resource opinion leader communication channel preferences, particularly from an audience segmentation perspective. The results reported in the study capitalize on previous research data examined from a unique perspective. Specifically, communication channel preferences were analyzed according to opinion leader self-reported demographic categories serving as audience segments. Associations between sex, age, level of employment, level of education and geographical region and communication channel preference were analyzed. The results of the study are descriptive and foundational in nature. Overall, the results indicate a dedicated web page or blog is the most preferred communication channel across all audience segments and conference calls are the least preferred communication channel across the majority of audience segments. The Facebook group communication channel had the most variability between audience segments and the LinkedIn group communicational channel had the largest observed effect sizes among audience segments.
6 pages., via online journal., This research was conducted to find out the influence of agents on the results of empowerment of farmers, the effect of recipients on the results of the farmer empowerment, the effect of agricultural extension on the results of the farmer empowerment, and the influence of agents, recipients, and agricultural extension on the results of farmer empowerment. This research was carried out in May to July 2017. Quantitative descriptive method was applied by using primary and secondary data. Primary data obtained from interviews with 24 respondents who applied integrated crop management technology (PTT) on paddy fields. Technique of interview was guided with questionnaires while secondary data was taken from some literature work and relevant agencies. The results showed that: there is positive and significant influence between the agents and farmer empowerment, there is positive and significant influence between the recipients on the farmer empowerment, there is positive and significant influence between agricultural extension on the results of the farmer empowerment, and there is positive and significant influence between the agents, recipients, and agricultural extension on the results of farmer empowerment.
