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.
17 pages., via online journal, By analyzing interview and survey data from U.S. Forest Service
employees, we examined the strategies used for communicating about
climate change within the agency and their effectiveness from the
perspective of agency employees. We found a limited awareness among
employees regarding climate policy. We found that horizontal information
flow through informal social networks was an important way in which
climate-change information was communicated. We also found a lack of
confidence among employees in their ability to provide feedback to
agency leadership. Our results suggest that (1) agency leadership’s ability
to set priorities and deliver positive vision is important for increasing
employee awareness and inspiring actions, (2) the agency could play a
role in facilitating formal and informal networking among employees, and
(3) using advanced information technologies may contribute to information flow horizontally and vertically, formally and informally.
7 pages., As the information revolution sweeps through the agricultural sector, extension professionals may be lagging behind their clients in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) such as social media, which could be a valuable tool for outreach and education. We surveyed sustainable agriculture stakeholders in California - extension professionals, county agricultural commissioners, and members of farm bureaus and producer groups - to measure their ICT behavior and attitudes. Drawing on diffusion of innovation theory, we characterized the innovation attributes of ICT that may influence the adoption and use of new technology among extension professionals. We also studied their demographic characteristics to establish whether there was a connection with ICT use. The main perceived benefit of ICT was that it can quickly reach larger, more diverse and more distant audiences. The perceived challenges included lack of professional support, the potential for misinformation on social media platforms, and the time requirements and technical complexity of technology use. Extension professionals experienced these challenges more than other sustainable agriculture stakeholders, creating a technology gap between extension professionals and their clientele. An ICT community of practice and clear organizational guidelines for measuring and reporting performance relating to ICT might help extension professionals dose the gap.
Online from https://doaj.org, Authors examined extension professionals, county agricultural commissioners, and members of farm bureaus and producer groups regarding their behavior and attitudes about use of information and communication technologies (ITCs). Results indicated that extension professionals experienced challenges in using ICTs more than the other sustainable agriculture stakeholders, "creating a technology gap between extension professionals and their clientele." Authors suggested use of an ICT community of practice and clear organizational guidelines for measuring and reporting performance related to ICT.
