Economic and Social Research Council, Swindon, England.
Format:
News release
Publication Date:
2008-02-24
Published:
UK
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 164 Document Number: C27342
Notes:
2 pages., Survey among large-scale, commodity farmers. Includes a reference to findings that many farmers disapprove of past cuts in public funding for agricultural advisory services. "It is now complicated and expensive for farmers to get good advice."
Abbott, Eric A. (author) and Gregg, Jennifer L. (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2000
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C29077
Notes:
Pages 229-256 in Peter F. Korsching, Patricia C. Hipple and Eric A. Abbott (eds.), Having all the right connections: telecommunications and rural viability. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut. 348 pages.
18 pages., via online journal., Genetically modified (GM) foods have attracted a great deal of controversy. While some consumers and organizations regard GM foods as safe, many other consumers and organizations remain concerned about their potential health risks. The results of three studies suggest that consumers respond differently to persuasive messages regarding GM foods on the basis of their preexisting attitudes. Weak anti-GM consumers tend to comply with a variety of pro-GM messages. In contrast, strong anti-GM consumers exhibit message-opposing behavior. Moreover, they respond just as negatively to a safety message (claiming that GM foods are safe) as to a risk message (claiming that GM foods are unsafe). The mechanism underlying these effects is consumers’ perceived health risk. A benefit message claiming that GM foods are beneficial (e.g., more nutritious than their conventional counterparts) is a better alternative for strong anti-GM consumers. Finally, the results suggest that persuasive messages do not significantly change pro-GM consumers’ evaluations of these foods.
James F. Evans Collection; See C04120 for original, The study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison seeks to determine how much a farmer will actually use his/her computer after purchase. The introductory study looked broadly at the farmers' background, environment, and personality. It set out to discover what focuses in farm life enhance or diminish a farmer's computer use. The variables suggested include: Complexity of Farm, Degree of External Support, Age, Views on Management, Time, Experience, network, Availability of Information, and Personality and Approach to Learning. Several implications are suggested by these preliminary findings that might facilitate the use of computers.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 187 Document Number: D00953
Notes:
PowerPoint presentation in the session, "Making locally grown food more available," of the Ag Outlook Forum, U.S. Department of Agriculture, February 2012. 33 pages.
Via Eighteenth Century Studies., Review of John Fea's The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Philip Vickers Fithian and the Rural Enlightenment in Early America. Reviewer notes Fea's primary claim that the Enlightenment was about self-improvement. "This gives an entirely different focus from those studies of rural American Enlightenment that address the question of modernity through agricultural improvement."
