Via online. 1 page., Announcement of Leigh Radford, retired national head of rural and national programs with Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Regional, as recipient of the 2019 Order of Australia Medal(OAM).
8 pages., via online journal., Recent research and practice in environmental management suggest sentiment analysis of social media communication can be a useful tool in stakeholder analysis of environmental policy. This is certainly the case when it comes to the controversial use of biological controls in dealing with invasive species. Current numerical scored approaches of sentiment may not reveal the reasons for support or opposition to environmental policies in this and other areas. In this study, we examine how the use of more in-depth analysis based on what key stakeholders say about this issue in media at a national, city or regional geographic level. The analysis reveals quite different reasons for support and opposition to the biological control of carp in Australia, and that within each stakeholder group it is possible for individuals to hold conflicting views and attitudes on this issue. We find that there are concerns at the national and city level about the impact of the virus and mistrust of government and science and that the carp species may be viewed as a valuable resource. Those responding to regional media expressed hope that the virus may lead to the elimination of the carp problem, however, they were more interested in the possible impact on the local environment. The multi-scaled social media analysis of stakeholder views about the potential biological control of carp in Australia demonstrated how social media comments can be used to explore the nuanced and multidimensional nature of community attitudes and preferences.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 12 Document Number: D10405
Notes:
4 pages., Online from Australian Broadcasting Corporation website., During a severe drought, a Queensland grazier decided to share her story on a social media post that included distressing images of livestock. Unintended consequences included accusations of animal abuse and investigation by Biosecurity Queensland.
9 pages., via online journal., Cross-property cooperation has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of environmental management actions that cut across property boundaries. Online tools can facilitate this and overcome barriers to landholder engagement in collaborative management. However, collaborative online tools need to be designed and tailored to users' needs and values, and landholder participation in the development process is critical to ensuring uptake and long-term use.
This article presents a case study from the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, where landholders have been involved in participatory development of a new online collaboration tool. The case study results highlight the significance of issues such as internet access, privacy, technical proficiency and differing stakeholder objectives. A landholder survey identified mapping and the uploading of monitoring data as important functions for the online tool, but these were not rated as highly as functions relating to data security, sharing settings and key term searches. Consequently, we recommend that a future online collaboration tool for the region is not framed specifically as a mapping or citizen science tool, but rather as an adaptive collaboration and communication tool that can incorporate a variety of data types and formats and be modified over time in line with changing landholder needs.
Kite, James (author), Gale, Joanne (author), Grunsell, Anne (author), Bellew, William (author), Lee, Vincy (author), Lloyd, Beverley (author), Maxwell, Michelle (author), Vineburg, John (author), and Bauman, Adrian (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2018-06
Published:
Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 12 Document Number: D10376
Huth, Neil I. (author), Cocks, Brett (author), Dalgliesh, Neal (author), Poulton, Perry L. (author), Marinoni, Oswald (author), and Navarro Garcia, Javier (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2018-03
Published:
Australia: Springer
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 6 Document Number: D10211
Article first online 13 June 2017, Via online journal., The Coal Seam Gas (CSG) extraction industry is developing rapidly within the Surat Basin in southern Queensland, Australia, with licenses already approved for tenements covering more than 24,000 km2. Much of this land is used for a broad range of agricultural purposes and the need for coexistence between the farm and gas industries has been the source of much conflict. Whilst much research has been undertaken into the environmental and economic impacts of CSG, little research has looked into the issues of coexistence between farmers and the CSG industry in the shared space that is a farm business, a home and a resource extraction network. We conducted three workshops with farmers from across a broad region undergoing CSG development to explore farmers’ perceptions of some of the issues arising from large scale land use change. Workshops explored the importance of place identity and landscape aesthetics for farmers, farmers’ acceptance and coping with change, and possible benefits from off-farm income. We found that farmers believed that place identity was not well understood by CSG staff from non-rural backgrounds and that farmers struggled to explain some concerns because of the different way they interpreted their landscape. Furthermore, high staff turnover, and the extensive use of contractors also impacted on communications. These factors were the cause of much frustration and farmers felt that this has led to severe impacts on mental health and wellbeing. Farmers felt that a change in culture within the CSG companies will be required if engagement with farmers is to improve and that efforts to employ local people in these communications was helping this. The workshops also identified a range of issues perceived by farmers arising from increased traffic volumes, impacts to mental health and wellbeing, place identity and loss of water resources for farmers. Finally, it was suggested that scientists and agricultural industry groups will need to work closely with farmers to develop understanding of these emerging issues and to develop solutions that are timely and relevant.
Available online at www.centmapress.org, Authors examine ways in which club theory can help provide an alternative approach to recognizing and overcoming market failure in agricultural and food value chains.
Report of the Online Farm Trials Project developed to "bring national grains research data and information directly to the grower, agronomist, researcher, the grains industry, and the community through through innovative online technology."
14 pages., Online via UI e-subscription, This critical review examined the role that country image and country of origin play in food retailing within the context of international trade in food. Authors developed a research agenda, highlighting several major avenues and methodological approaches with the aim of enhancing the relevance and validity of COO research in food retailing and promotion management.
