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22. Building Bridges: improving extension support to organic growers in North Georgia
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Marabesi, Amanda Olbrick (author), Kelsey, Kathleen D. (author), Anderson, James C. (author), and Fuhrman, Nicholas E. (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-02-18
- Published:
- USA: School of Human Sciences at Mississippi State University
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12728
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Human Sciences and Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 9, N. 1
- Notes:
- 20 pages, Organic agriculture has the potential to improve the environmental performance of U.S. agriculture, supporting increasing food demand and diversification of food consumption while improving the quality of ecosystems. Organic growers are challenged by a lack of Cooperative Extension agent support as agents have not served organic growers to the same extent as conventional growers nationwide. Rogers’ (2003) diffusion of innovations theory guided our phenomenological inquiry to explore (a) what agents experienced while supporting organic growers, and (b) how agents experienced providing support to organic growers in north Georgia. According to participants, the essence of the support offered to organic growers was an uneven bridge. Agents were willing to provide growers with the resources to support organic production; however, they lacked theoretical and empirical knowledge regarding organic agricultural production that would enable them to establish stronger relationships with growers. Findings from the study and the uneven bridge metaphor led to an original model to assist Extension agents in better serving the organic agricultural community.
23. Chew On This: Investigating Public Perceptions of Lab-Grown Meat
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Boykin, Kellie (author)
- Format:
- Thesis
- Publication Date:
- 2019-12-01
- Published:
- United States: Texas Tech Univeristy, Lubbock, Texas
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12460
- Notes:
- 115 pages, Lab grown meat is a new technology being developed as a potential alternative protein source. Although some research has been done about public perception of lab grown meat, no studies to date have analyzed social media content regarding this topic. Still yet, no studies have observed the effects of message themes on public perception of lab grown meat. This two-part study first sought to analyze the Twitter messages discussing lab grown meat using Meltwater, a social media monitoring software. Secondly, the study sought to better understand measures of uncertainty and risk and benefit perceptions after viewing a themed blog post about lab grown meat. In part one, a relevant keyword search from August 28, 2018 to February 28, 2019 collected over 11,000 Twitter messages. Sentiment of messages was analyzed with 47% of messages being neutral. Meltwater identified trending themes that were all closely tied to lab grown meat, and top content posters with the most amount of potential reach were identified. All top posters were found to be news entities or organizations instead of personal Twitter accounts. In part two, participants were randomly assigned one of three themed blog posts against lab grown meat, neutral, or support lab grown meat. Perception questions were asked after viewing the blog post, and a total of 238 responses were collected. Results indicated message theme had a statistically significant effect on risk perception, benefit perception, and intention to share, but not on message evaluation or measures of uncertainty. Further discussion as well as suggestions for future research are included.
24. Citizens’ attitudes and perceptions towards genetically modified food in Chile: Special emphasis in CRISPR technology
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Tadich, Tamara (author) and Escobar-Aguirre, Sebastian (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2021-06-21
- Published:
- International: Austral Unviersity Press
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12555
- Journal Title:
- Austral Journal of Veterinary Science
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol 54 (3)
- Notes:
- 12 pages, To date, there has been an increase in genome modification biotechnologies that improve production and food security but the process has not been accompanied by the delivery of information about them intended for citizens. This is essential considering that to achieve better health, food security and sustainability these biotechnologies need to be incorporated into production systems. This study aimed to explore perceptions and attitudes of Chilean citizens towards the use of genome modifications with an emphasis on transgenes and genome editing (CRISPR). An electronic questionnaire was applied, and afterwards the results were analysed through descriptive statistics, GLM, Spearman’s correlation and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. A total of 702 questionnaires were analysed. High awareness of concepts such as transgenic and cloning was reported with CRISPR being the least known term. Most respondents perceived negative effects on health regarding the consumption of genetically modified products, with women having a significantly more negative attitude. Still, a high willingness to use CRISPR for improving animal and human health was reported. When comparing vegetable and animal products that underwent CRISPR or transgenes, the willingness to consume these products was higher for vegetables. The results show that changes in perception can be achieved after providing the definition of CRISPR and transgenic, therefore, consumer education seems to be essential. Science communication focused on making information about genome modification biotechnologies available to citizens could promote more positive attitudes and perceptions and facilitate their future implementation in the country.
25. Cleaner and greener livestock production: appraising producers' perceptions regarding renewable energy in Iran
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Bozorgparvar, Elham (author), Yazdanpanah, Masoud (author), Forouzani, Masoumeh (author), Khosravipour, Bahman (author), and Khuzestan Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University, Mollasani, Ahvaz, Iran
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2018-08-27
- Published:
- Elsevier
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 93 Document Number: D10859
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Cleaner Production
- Journal Title Details:
- 203 : 769-776
- Notes:
- 8 pages., Via Science Direct., This paper aims to use a comprehensive modeling framework to investigate the intention of Iranian livestock producers to deploy renewable energies on their farms to mitigate climate change. A survey was conducted in southern Iran using a random sample of farmers (n = 140). Structural equation modeling showed that attitude, moral norm, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control are significant predictors of farmers' intention to use renewable energies. Attitude was determined by positive affect and perceived benefits, and moral norm was determined by perceived benefits, perceived cost, and outcome efficacy. The findings not only have public policy implications for promoting the use of renewable energies by farmers in Iran, but also contribute to the literature on environmental psychology, renewable energy, and pro-environmental behavior in a non-Western country.
26. Climate change communication in the Midwestern United States: perceptions of state park interpreters
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Balasubramanyam, Vidya (author), Stanis, Sonja Wilhelm (author), Morgan, Mark (author), and Ojewola, Ojetunde (author)
- Format:
- Online journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2019
- Published:
- Springer
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 18 Document Number: D10506
- Journal Title:
- Environmental Management
- Journal Title Details:
- 63:615–628
- Notes:
- 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.
27. Climate change vulnerability and adaptation strategies for smallholder farmers in Yangi Qala District, Takhar, Afghanistan
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Omerkhil, Najibullah (author), Chand, Tara (author), Valente, Donatella (author), Alatalo, Juha M (author), and Pandey, Rajiv (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2020-03
- Published:
- Science Direct
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 121 Document Number: D11091
- Journal Title:
- Ecological Indicators
- Notes:
- 10 pages., Smallholder farmers in Afghanistan are already facing various risks in agricultural production due to past continuous insurgencies. Climate change is likely to amplify the risk and make them even more vulnerable. The present study attempted to evaluate the vulnerability profiles of smallholder farmers due to climate change using the IPCC Framework. Primary data on relevant parameters for assessing climate change-led social vulnerability in the region were collected by classifying study region into two zones: the plain and the hills of Yangi Qala District in Takhar province, Afghanistan. Thirteen villages from each zone were selected at random, and face-to-face interviews were conducted with ten randomly selected households in each of the selected villages in both zones based on a pre-tested questionnaire. The questionnaire contained indicators for all three dimensions of vulnerability: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. The collected data were subjected to a proposed vulnerability index, after estimating the indices of the three dimensions of vulnerability. The Iyenger and Sudershan weighting method was used to assess the contribution of each vulnerability dimension. Vulnerability was classified according to different categories based on beta distribution to evaluate the villages’ vulnerability status. The results showed that about 23% of all 26 sampled villages in both zones had low exposure, 26% moderate exposure and 51% high exposure to climate-change hazards and extreme weather events. High sensitivity was observed in 51%, moderate sensitivity in 7%, and low sensitivity in 42% of villages. High adaptive capacity to climate change was observed in 38% of villages, 19% were moderately adaptive and 42% showed a low adaptive capacity. High vulnerability was observed in 50% of villages, 4% were moderately vulnerable, and 46% had low vulnerability. A high proportion of smallholder farmers in the hilly zone in the sampled district were highly vulnerable, exposed and sensitive with a low adaptive capacity to climate change compared to the plain zone. The high vulnerability in the hilly zone was attributed to limited resources with a low adjustment capability to counter the disturbances, especially in crop cultivation, in response to climate change. A handful of low-cost and local approaches such as improving farmer extension services, introducing small-scale local infrastructure projects, reinforcing informal safety nets and protecting natural ecosystems could be viable cost-effective options that would also be sustainable given their low recurring costs and the limited maintenance required.
28. Communication to public is challenge and opportunity for ag
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Smith, Ron (author)
- Format:
- News article
- Publication Date:
- 2018-11-26
- Published:
- USA: Prairie Farmer
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 152 Document Number: D10134
- Notes:
- via online news article
29. Community Health Advisors' Perceptions of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines and MyPyramid
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Zoellner, Jamie (author), Bounds, Wendy (author), and Connell, Carol (author)
- Format:
- Online article
- Publication Date:
- 2009-04
- Published:
- USA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 176 Document Number: C30108
- Journal Title:
- Journal of Extension
- Journal Title Details:
- Vol. 47, No. 2
30. Comparing urban and rural perceptions of and familiarity with the management of forest ecosystems
- Collection:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
- Contributers:
- Racevskis, Laila (author) and Lupi, Frank (author)
- Format:
- Journal article
- Publication Date:
- 2006-07
- Published:
- USA
- Location:
- Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C24410
- Journal Title:
- Society and Natural Resources
- Journal Title Details:
- 19(6) : 479-495