Grace, Margaret (author / Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane, Australia)
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
1998-06-13
Published:
Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 147 Document Number: C23536
Notes:
In "Conference Proceedings of the International Symposium on Learning Communities, Regional Sustainability and the Learning Society (June 13-20, 1998)." Edited by Ian Falk., 7 p., In Australia, as in other parts of the world, there is considerable interest in many quarters in the potential of new communication and information technologies to contribute significantly to the revitalization of regional communities. However, much remains to be understood about the social factors, which affect the success of innovative technology applications. Research conducted by the Queensland University of Technology indicates that gender significantly affects not only access and use of communication and information technologies, but also rural community development. By focusing on rural women's perspectives on communication issues, this research has revealed a need for the development of "soft" technologies to ensure that both social and economic development occurs in an integrated way in regional, rural and remote communities.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 172 Document Number: C28979
Notes:
Knowledge Share Fair for Agricultural Development and Food Security at FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy, January 20-22, 2009. 6 pages., Notes from a session at the Knowledge Share Fair about the role and unique value of radio in rural development.
21 pgs., CTs (Communications technologies) have revolutionized agricultural information services at every level in the agricultural sector, thus impacting rural development and catalysing poverty alleviation strategies. This has largely been the case with small-scale farmers in rural areas in developing countries where mobile technologies have penetrated more than most other ICT tools. However, in some of the farming environments, mobile phone use is largely driven by agricultural extension workers. This paper seeks to examine the way mobile phones are used for information access in situations where agricultural extension workers are a critical intermediary in the agricultural information services. Interviews were conducted with 10 randomly selected farmers who were part of the Dzindi irrigation scheme. The findings were that from the variety of information available to the farmers the most important source was the extension officer. The extension officer and the radio were indicated to be the most reliable independent sources of information. The other sources, such as the radio, family members, and friends, suppliers of chemicals, books and magazines, were only considered reliable if the information could be verified or vouched for by the extension officer. Increasing the information handling skills of extension officers, training of farmers to use smart features of their phones and promoting the usual face-to-face communication use of conventional methods, which is what usually gives rise to the mediation of mobile phones, were recommended.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12621
Journal Title Details:
Online
Notes:
3 pgs, A new mapping tool shows where households have taken advantage of a federal stimulus program that defrays some of the cost of broadband for lower-income Americans.The tool, which was created through a partnership between Rural LISC and the nonpartisan nonprofit Heartland Forward, was designed to help target families that may qualify for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) but who aren’t participating.
