Shors, Benjamin (author) and Jones, Lisa Waananen (author)
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
USA: Journalism and Media Production Department, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11227
Notes:
Via online. 10 pages., "In the context of post-secondary journalism education, we investigated whether community guidance and involvement can improve 'parachute' journalism to create meaningful coverage in rural areas." Findings offered strong evidence of benefits for student learning, as well as interest from regional news organizations in greater collaboration with student journalists and need for a complete and ongoing assessment of information needs of rural communities in the region during a time of rapidly changing technology and loss of local news resources.
Via online UI subscription, Recent research suggests that Internet usage can positively influence social capital in
rural communities by fostering avenues for voluntary participation and creating social
networks. Most of this research has examined whether Internet use is associated
with participation in local organizations and social networks but not the means by
which residents use the technology to learn about local activities. To address this
gap in the literature, the authors use a mixed-methods approach in an isolated rural
region of the western United States to evaluate how residents use their connections
to maintain local social networks and learn about local community events and
organizations. The authors show that Internet usage can play an important role in
building social capital in rural communities, thus extending the systemic model of rural
voluntary participation and community attachment. Implications for rural community
development are addressed.
Studies of the demography of disability in rural America show that non-metropolitan areas have the highest percentage of people with disabilities, including people with severe disabilities. What are the barriers to dissemination of information to rural people with disabilities? This brief article outlines several barriers, including rural isolation, which can create communication barriers when the sources of information are people perceived as "outsiders."
5 p., Ari Mwachofi, Ph.D., principal investigator of the research project titled "Developing a Rehabilitation Service Delivery Model for Minority Farmers With Disabilities," describes how personal contact, developing trust with farmers, and collaborating with community leaders enhances his study. The project's purpose is to build an effective model of service delivery to minority farmers who have traditionally been underserved. The study involves farmers from the Lower Mississippi Delta states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
