16 pages., Via online journal., Expertise is dynamic, domain specific, and characterized according to an individual’s level of knowledge, experience, and problem-solving ability. Having expertise in the phenomenon under investigation can be used as an indicator of an individual’s aptitude to effectively serve as a coder in a content analysis or as panelist in a Delphi study. The purpose of this study was to assess 10 years of scholarship published in the premier journals of agricultural education and describe the ways researchers in agricultural communications, education, extension, and leadership disciplines who use content analysis and Delphi study methods are describing the qualifications of the people serving as expert coders and panelists. The study findings revealed the majority of researchers publishing in the premier agricultural education journals are not describing the qualifications used in selecting coders or the credentials the coders possess that would make them qualified to code the data in a content analysis. Furthermore, researchers were inconsistent citing literature that supported their selection of content analysis coders and citing literature to support a decision to describe or not to describe coders’ qualifications. However, a description of Delphi study panelists’ qualifications and citations to support why panelists were selected in a Delphi study were present in all of the Delphi studies analyzed over the 10-year period. Based on these findings, it was concluded that ACEEL researchers should include a description of coder credentials to enhance the consistency, transparency, replicability, rigor, and integrity of ACEEL research. Editors and research professionals who perform journal article reviews for the premier agricultural education journals are encouraged to note the exclusion of a description of content analysis coders’ credentials as part of the peer review process.
1 page., September-November issue via online., Report on a drone service, WeFly Agri, "to help farm and plantation owners regain control of their land."
Online via publisher website., This paper proposes a food safety traceability system based on the blockchain and the EPC Information Services and develops a prototype system.
Dobson, A.D.M. (author), Milner-Gulland, E.J. (author), Aebischer, Nicholas J. (author), Beale, Colin M. (author), Brozovic, Robert (author), Coals, Peter (author), Critchlow, Rob (author), Dancer, Anthony (author), Grove, Michelle (author), Hinsley, Amy (author), Ibbett, Harriet (author), Johnston, Alison (author), Kuiper, Timothy (author), Le Comber, Steven (author), Mahood, Simon P. (author), Moore, Jennifer F. (author), Nilsen, Erlend B. (author), Pocock, Michael J.O. (author), Quinn, Anthony (author), Travers, Henry (author), Wilfred, Paulo (author), Wright, Joss (author), and Keane, Aidan (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2020
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 167; Folder: 201 Document Number: D11695
11 pages., Authors present an overview of the opportunities and limitations associated with messy data which conservationists increasingly use (e.g., citizen science records, ranger patrol observations). They also explain how the preferences, skills, and incentives of data collectors affect the quality of the information these data contain and the investment required to unlock their potential.
18 pages., via online journal, As food products marketed as “gluten-free” become increasingly popular, many consumers start to exclude sources of gluten (e.g., wheat, barley, and rye) from their diets for both medical and non-medical purposes. The grain industry is facing a growing challenge to (re)boost consumers’ confidence in the healthiness and safety of its commodities. Using 561 participants recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk workers’ panel, this study implemented a 2 (pretzels vs. potato chips) * 2 (positive- vs. negative- frame) * 2 (wheat image vs. no wheat image) experiment to examine the effects of gluten-free labels on consumers’ perceived healthiness and safety of wheat, perceived benefits of labeled products, and their evaluation of the shown labels. Results showed that consumers evaluate the gluten-free labels most positively when they appear on products that could have contained gluten. For products that are naturally gluten-free, adding a gluten-free label only decreased consumers’ confidence in such labels. The presence of gluten-free labels increased consumers’ perceived benefits of the labeled products when they do not contain any misleading information (e.g., image of a wheat head). However, some gluten-free labels could have negative impacts on consumers’ perceptions of the healthiness and safety of wheat. Overall, food producers and marketers might have undervalued consumers’ literacy and overestimated their susceptibility to marketing strategies. We discussed the implications for food marketers, regulators, and communicators.
28pgs, Technological advancement is seen as one way of sustainably intensifying agriculture. Scholars argue that innovation needs to be responsible, but it is difficult to anticipate the consequences of the ‘fourth agricultural revolution’ without a clear sense of which technologies are included and excluded. The major aims of this article were to investigate which technologies are being associated with the fourth agricultural revolution, as well as to understand how this revolution is being perceived, whether positive or negative consequences are given equal attention, and what type of impacts are anticipated. To this end, we undertook a content analysis of UK media and policy documents alongside interviews of farmers and advisers. We found that the fourth agricultural revolution is associated with emergent, game-changing technologies, at least in media and policy documents. In these sources, the benefits to productivity and the environment were prioritised with less attention to social consequences, but impacts were overwhelmingly presented positively. Farmers and advisers experienced many benefits of technologies and some predicted higher-tech futures. It was clear, however, that technologies create a number of negative consequences. We reflect on these findings and provide advice to policy-makers about how to interrogate the benefits, opportunities, and risks afforded by agricultural technologies.
Ferguson, Bruce G. (author), Morales, Helda (author), Chung, Kimberly (author), Nigh, Ron (author), and El Colegio de la Frontera Sur
Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social
Michigan State University
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019-03-26
Published:
Mexico: Taylor & Francis
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 109 Document Number: D10984
21 pages, 21 pages, We explore potential and limitations for agroecological scaling through formal education, using the LabVida school gardens program in Chiapas, Mexico as a case study. Through LabVida training, educators gained an appreciation of agroecology and learned to apply agroecological practices, although their understanding of agroecological principles and scientific process remained limited. The greatest program impact was on educators’ eating habits, and their perception of the value of local knowledge and its relevance to school work. The case study demonstrates the potential of garden and food-system work to leverage institutional resources in ways that can improve educational outcomes, including agroecological literacy. Increased awareness of agroecology and the value of local knowledge may intersect with other drivers of scaling, including markets, organizational fabric, and policy.
