Bond, Ludie A. (author), Lundy, Lisa K. (author), Miller, Hope M. (author), Crandall, Chelsey A. (author), Diaz, John M. (author), and Crandall , Raelene M. (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2024-11-04
Published:
USA: Association for Communication Excellence
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 209 Document Number: D13495
20 pages, Public acceptance and support of prescribed burning is critical for its continued use as an essential and effective land management tool in the southeastern U.S. For this practice to continue and expand, land management agencies and private landowners must have public acceptance and support for prescribed fire policy. Without it, they could face increased burn restrictions, as seen in parts of the western U.S., which might lead to decreased acres burned in the Southeast. Most research on public perceptions of prescribed burning has occurred in the West, but that level of research has been lacking in the Southeast. Our research seeks to fill a knowledge gap in a region where prescribed fires are more frequent than wildfires. To determine the current public perceptions of prescribed fire in the Southeast, we examined social media responses following two prescribed burns that resulted in smoke impacts to two major metropolitan areas in Florida. Data were collected and analyzed from social media platforms for the agencies conducting the burns, emergency response and law enforcement agencies, and traditional media. Our research found that Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) were the primary platforms used by the various agencies with Facebook having the higher number of public engagements. This study culminated in recommendations for improving fire science communication to the public to increase acceptance of prescribed fires on public and private lands and improve fire science policy. We recommend further research due to the rapidly changing environment of science communicators’ use of social media to disseminate information.
26 pages, This research is intended to initiate understanding of how obesity in the South persists even though the majority of inhabitants subscribe to a faith that discourages unhealthy lifestyles. Grounded in the Cognitive Dissonance Theory, this study examined Protestant evangelical Christians in the South (N = 11), who participated in semi-structured interviews. The first emergent theme was that, to these Southerners, the purpose of food is for sustenance and survival, as well as for bringing people together. Most participants reported having an average level of knowledge of nutrition and health. Furthermore, participants generally agreed that marketing or educational efforts had little effect on their understanding of nutrition. Another theme emerged when participants provided Biblical references to food or health. “The Body is a Temple” and “gluttony” were the most common Biblical concepts. All participants referred to taste or desirability as the driver of their food selections. Furthermore, most participants claimed habitual gluttony as a personal experience in their lives. This study concluded that subjects employed two modes of “trivializing” as a way of resolving dissonance. Some participants justified their eating habits based on Southern culture, while others explained that their church culture supported unhealthy eating as a means of gathering in fellowship.
6 pages, Numerous approaches can be implemented to carry out on-farm Extension demonstrations in aquaculture. The design and approach used are often governed by the problem or question that needs to be addressed as well as budgetary constraints within Extension programs. West Alabama is home to a unique inland marine shrimp industry that uses a low-salinity artesian groundwater source to raise shrimp. Demonstration and technology transfer have been carried out on commercial shrimp farms for nearly 20 years using low-budget on-levee tank systems operated by Extension personnel using this unique water source. On-farm tank demonstrations can be an effective tool for Extension professionals working in aquaculture, especially where unique circumstances exist.
