12 pages., via online journal., Similar to other parts of the world, European society is becoming increasingly urban, both in a physical as in an economic and socio-cultural sense. As a result, the relationships between society and nature, including forests, are changing, and forestry as structural intervention in forest ecosystems has had to adapt itself to changing societal pressures and demands. The planning and managing of woodlands in and near urban areas has been the most directly affected by the urbanisation process. Many European countries have a long tradition of ‘town forestry’, serving as basis for current developments in urban forestry, i.e. the planning and management of all forest and tree resources in and near urban areas for the benefit of local society. Through the adaptation to the specific demands of local urban societies, a type of forestry has emerged which is structurally different from classic forestry. It focuses, for example, on the social and environmental values of urban woodlands rather than on wood production and emphasising the importance of communication — ranging from information to participation/power sharing — between stakeholders. This paper investigates ways to communicate urban forests and forestry to urban inhabitants and other stakeholders, based on results of a comparative study of main European cities. It explores the role which urban forestry has been playing in the development of forestry at large, especially with regards to better incorporating changing social values and interests.
10 pages., via online journal., Purpose: Agricultural extension graduates do not get jobs and farmers are not getting agricultural
extension services, and therefore, both the farmers and agricultural graduates do not receive benefi ts.
The study assessed the interest of agricultural extension students in providing private extension services
to farmers, examined their perception towards private extension services and identifi ed extension skills
possessed by the students.
Research Method: The study comprised all the fi nal year students in the Universities in Osun State. A
two – stage sampling procedure was used to select the respondents. One university was selected from
each category of federal, state and private. A total of 68 respondents were selected and interviewed.
Data collected were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics.
Findings: The results show that the mean age, mean years of formal education of the respondents
were 23.75 ± 2.02 and 17.40 ± 1.16, respectively. About half (51.5%) of the respondents had positive
perception towards the private extension service while 57 percent had high interest in providing private
extension services. Majority of them possessed teaching skills (97.1%), innovation dissemination
skills (95.5%) and communication skills (88.2%). Also, sources of agricultural information available
(χ2=22.448), types of sponsors (χ2=6.102) and marital status (χ2=16.535) had a signifi cant association
with respondents’ interest in providing private agricultural extension services.
Research Limitation: The study focuses on the interest of agricultural extension graduates to provide
private extension services; however, these graduates may have an interest in other areas that have not
been investigated.
Original Value: The study provides an insight to show the interest and capability of agricultural students
to be engaged in private extension services as a livelihood
12 pages., Via online journal., This article is concerned with the shaping of agricultural knowledge among farmers, in the context of the rapid changes Polish agriculture has been subject to since the time of the country's EU accession. The theoretical underpinnings of this work have been described in terms of the significant notional categories, i.e. knowledge, knowledge-cultures and sources of knowledge. The research made use of the joint interviews method. Interviews were run with representatives of different generations in 10 farming families in central Poland. The main research objective was to determine sources of farming knowledge among farmers. The use of joint interviews allowed for the identification of sources of knowledge of different kinds. These reflect a division into farmers' closer and more distant surroundings, i.e. to the family and neighbours on the one hand, and to institutions and media on the other. Knowledge acquisition among farmers is in fact found to be a complex process, reflecting socialisation in a multi-generation environment of family and neighbours, on the one hand, and the impact of the institutional and legal system, on the other. In a general sense, this corresponds to the well-known division of sources of knowledge into the tacit and the explicit, with the acquisition of tacit (i.e. informal) knowledge not meeting with any more major obstacles thanks to proximity in a sense that may be cultural (i.e. the agriculture itself), family-related (and in fact multi-generation) and spatial (physical proximity in a given locality). Microsocial conditioning thus plays a major role in the shaping of this source of knowledge. However, the most important factor distinguishing contemporary cultures as regards knowledge on farming is the capacity to adapt to conditions set by the institutions supporting the latter's development. Formal knowledge flowing into farming families from their institutional surroundings requires growing adaptability and preparation if a succession of innovations are to be taken on board. The multi-source nature of knowledge and the achievement of some kind of balance in this respect actually poses a major challenge for the future functioning of family farms as cultural microsystems.
17 pages., via online journal., Members’ offline engagement is commonly believed to affect the producer–member relationship in community‐supported agriculture, however, little research focuses on engagement in the online context. Using qualitative data of 24 members and quantitative data of 279 members from China, this study uses a sequential exploratory mixed‐method design to explore the impact of members’ WeChat engagement on relational outcomes. The findings indicate that WeChat engagement positively affects four relational outcomes: Service satisfaction, word of mouth, social bonds, and commitment. In addition, those four relational outcomes are not equally influenced by WeChat engagement. The greatest impact is on commitment, while the lowest is on service satisfaction. Furthermore, multigroup analysis results suggest that gender moderates the relationship between WeChat engagement and commitment.
13 pages., via online journal., Communication plays a vital role in a developing society as it could be used for developing of perspectives. This study aimed to analyze the communication and perspectives on climate change among layer farmers in San Jose, Batangas, Philippines. Descriptive research design in a quantitative approach, along with distributed survey questionnaires to the respondents in the said municipality were utilized to answer the research objectives. Systematic random sampling was used to get the sample size of the layer farmers. Statistical tools such as frequency/percentage, weighted mean and Pearson’s correlation were also used. The layer farmers were greatly exposed in interpersonal communication platforms. Demonstration, meetings, seminars and trainings were of less extent. Radio, television and cellphones were widely used by the layer farmers, while very few had access on the internet. Furthermore, they agreed on food security, water sufficiency, ecological and environmental stability, human security and knowledge and capacity development. However, they moderately agreed on climate-smart industries and services, and sustainable energy. Findings also showed that there is a significant relationship between the layer farmers’ perspectives to the communication platforms they were exposed to.
16 pages., Article # 6FEA3, via online journal., We examined how the Twin Ports Climate Conversations (TPCC), a community-based climate communication project, is influencing local climate awareness and response. A survey of TPCC participants and subsequent roundtable discussion event were used to explore program impacts, outcomes, and future directions. Results showed that the TPCC project has been effective at increasing awareness and facilitating contacts and may be leading to actions that range from information sharing to personal behavioral changes. Future directions include engaging new audiences and promoting more on-the-ground climate action. TPCC can serve as a model to help other communities start cross-sectoral climate conversations.
pgs. 1-17; Article 3, Via online journal., Audience analysis is a critical skill to forge relationships and develop effective communications. Programs provided by the Cooperative Extension Service must be aware of external and internal audiences to provide relevant information and evoke impacts. Berlo’s (1960) Source-Message-Channel-Receiver Model of Communications guided this formative evaluation of Extension staff, and horse 4-H club volunteer leaders (program facilitators) to expose internal communication tendencies in Arkansas. Findings identified that program facilitators seek horse-related information from a variety of sources, most frequently relying on personal connections and least frequently seeking Extension sources. Program facilitators share a variety of messages and most frequently relay information about deadlines to club members. Messages about recruitment and fundraising were shared least often. Program facilitators described utilizing a variety of personal and electronic channels to share messages with the greatest frequency for in-person communications. Incoming channels were less diverse than outgoing channels and primarily featured email, which program facilitators preferred. Program facilitators are primarily female, aged in their thirties, described lifetime involvement with 4-H and the horse industry, and most frequently reported having less than five years’ experience in their current position. The ground-level perspective of facilitators’ demographics and communication tendencies was evident in results of this study. In application, practitioners must continue to actively seek relationships with audiences, remain cognizant of communication factors, and provide accurate messaging through preferred channels.
26 pages., Via online journal., Competing natural resources usage that leads to dramatic land use changes can threaten the balance of a social-ecological system. When this is the case, communities are directly exposed to the negative consequences of those land use changes. The Mashavera River Basin is considered one of the hotspots of environmental pollution in Georgia. This is of importance for public health because the food production from this basin meets a substantial proportion of the country’s food demand. The farmers’ perception of the water quality and their perceived risks to the economy, health, and lifestyle reflect the status of the environmental and social conditions. The inclusion of farmers’ risk perceptions is an important stage of water quality governance that could enable active civic participation. The approach of this research study was the convergence model in the triangular design of the mixed method approach. As part of the social data, the research study was conducted with a survey of 177 households, for which agriculture was either a main or partial source of income. A few focus group discussions were also conducted. A binary logistic regression analysis was employed as the main method for the analysis. The results from the pollution load index (PLI) were used as the supportive data to verify some geospatial hypotheses. We found that aesthetic attributes (i.e., color changes observed in the river) and the source of the water contamination (i.e., mining sites) were the main predictor variables for a perceived risk to water quality, health, and livelihoods. The people who work in agriculture as the main income source had more concern about their ability to sell their agricultural products as a result of water contamination in the river, compared with people for whom agriculture is a secondary source of income or for self-consumption. Age, amount of land, years of agricultural experience, and the source of water supply for agriculture did not have a significant effect on any of the risk perception or water quality perception models. The results indicate that the health risk is perceived more strongly in areas with more heavily contaminated water compared to less polluted areas. We propose that conducting a public risk perception assessment is an ideal means to detect people’s concerns regarding water quality governance for future risk analysis in Georgia. Another recommendation of this study is an integrated model of risk assessment that combines the results from a public risk perception assessment and a technical assessment. The benefits of such an integrated assessment include finding new hazard-sensitive areas for further analysis, the possibility to cross-check data for verification, communal communication of hazardous conditions by utilizing local knowledge, and the direct participation of the community in monitoring risks.
14 pages., via online journal., While dealing with weather variability has always been a source of stress for farmers, a generally warmer, wetter climate with the potential for increasingly intensive precipitation poses a threat to long-term farm viability. Knowing how farmers think about increasingly variable weather patterns (IVWP) is important for educators, agency staff, and others to learn how to work with producers on adaptation strategies to protect natural resources and prevent crop failure. In 2011, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension conducted focus group sessions with farmers from seven different commodity groups, five mixed farmer sessions, and two sessions with consultants, educators, and agency staff who work with growers to learn about grower perceptions of environmental changes, and to learn about changes they may be making to their farming operations to protect their operations from IVWP. Farmers discussed over 40 practices that could be construed as adaptation measures to buffer against IVWP. Fruit (apple and blueberry) growers spent the most time on the subject and expressed the most concern about the effects of IVWP, while dairy and potato growers spent the least. Given the divergence of opinion on the subject of climate change that Maine growers expressed, successful outreach education through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Cooperative Extension should likely emphasize short-term risk management, resilience, and stability of farm operations as opposed to communicating the need to adopt strategies based on climate change.
11 pages., via online journal., In recognition of the importance of communication in extension work and agriculture, this study assessed communication methods used among core sub-programs of the Enugu State Agricultural Development Program (ENADEP). Sixty-three staff were randomly selected to participate in the study. Statistical tools such as percentage, mean score, and factor analysis were used in data analysis. Findings show that a downward (top-down) communication flow was most common, with posters and workshops as primary communication tools. Technology review meetings and training were major situations in which communication occurred, while achievement of ENADEP objectives was the most important motive for communication. Communicator knowledge about subject matter was the top-rated factor that enhanced communication; security/credibility- and human/autocracy-related problems were major constraints to effective communication. The study recommends a de-emphasis on top-down communication approaches and encourages use of digital/information communication technology (ICT) tools to minimize the gap between generation and dissemination of information and its application.
