12 pages., Online via UI e-subscription, "In this essay the perspective of Ritzer's McDonaldization of Society thesis is the starting point for developing theses about corporate communication (CorpCom). The central idea of McDonaldization is that increasing numbers of organizations are run as fast food restaurants, focusing on efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control of people. "At the same time that CorpCom departments help organizations with the McDonaldization of their organizations, they are also the ones most likely to be the first to be confronted with the irrationality that the economic rationality of the organization evokes. Stakeholders who disagree with the opinions and ideas of the organization come knocking on the door and generally that will be the door of the CorpCom professional. The irrationality of rationality, as the fifth dimension of McDonaldization, is likely to become visible and tangible in their offices. All types of tensions throughout the organization, for example, those regarding environmental, health, and other societal issues, seem to converge in the CorpCom department."
6 pages., Online via UI e-subscription, Researchers examined framing of obesity by local news media preceding and surrounding the Philadelphia sugar-sweetened beverage reduction media campaign.
1 page., September-November issue via online., Digitalisation is improving the agricultural extension system by providing services at the right time, and facilitating adoption of new agronomic practices, resulting in yield improvements and higher incomes for farming households.
USA: Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 165 Document Number: D11666
Notes:
2 pages., Author examines implications of Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods. Suggests possible consequences such as anti-trust charges of monopoly and impact on agricultural businesses and suppliers in the food chain. Also offers advice to reporters in covering this development.
32 pages., Via online from publisher website., "...there is an ongoing bipartisan push to expand broadband coverage into the corners of the nation where politicians and corporations alike perceive a higher demand, including many protected public lands."
Online from publisher., Author observes how the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is losing sight of the traditional mission of maintaining public lands and passing them intact to the next generation. "The BLM's mission is not ideological and does no give preference to certain land users. Its legal mandate calls for managing public lands for a variety of uses, treating energy generation and conservation equally. But now, the agency is losing sight of that mission."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D11940
Notes:
Online via AgriMarketing Weekly. 1 page., Syngenta Group "unites the strengths of its four Business Units - Syngenta Crop Protection, Syngenta Seeds, ADAMA, and Syngenta Group China - under one umbrella."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12014
Notes:
Online from website of SpinSucks.com. 4 pages., Author briefly describes two case examples of crisis management (one effective, one ineffective), emphasizes the importance of a plan, and describes four steps to get started in planning.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12108
Notes:
Online from Radio Free. 3 pages., Author reports on helping the U.S. Senate draft and pass the Physician Payments Sunshine Act a decade ago. It requires companies to report monies and gifts they give physicians, which are known to influence what doctors prescribe or promote. "We need a 'sunshine law' for science that would expose all sorts of conflicts of interest and industry manipulation that skew research on food, synthetical chemicals, pesticides, air pollution, genetic technology, and the climate."
A version of this article appears in print on September 6, 2015, Section A, Page 1 of the New York Edition of the New York Times with the headline, "Emails reveal academic ties in a food war.", Examines lobbying activities of firms and interest groups in the debate over bioengineered foods - and involving third-party scientists "and their supposedly unbiased research." Includes examples of interactions and financial support for university scientists by commercial firms.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12115
Notes:
Online from website of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, Arizona State University, Phoenix, Arizona. 2 pages., Article cites definitions that include corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a sense of responsibility toward the community and the environment that companies incorporate into their business models. Includes resources that journalists can use to report on CSR. Identifies a source of data about the top 100 companies with the best CSR reputation.
Online via the publication. 3 pages., Findings of a poll by The Packer indicated that "properly administered social responsibility programs
do exactly that, or at least can be a significant factor in helping accomplish that goal." They can help ensure that workers are treated well according to health and safety standards and compensated fairly. Such programs also provide to the wider company a greater sense of purpose that workers' jobs
contribute to something greater than profits.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 203 Document Number: D12187
Notes:
Online via AgriMarketing Update. 2 pages., News release announces the close of "a growth funding round of $335 million, including $135 million converted from a prior round, bringing the total funds raised by LIVEKINDLY Collective in its first year to $535 million. With this latest investment, lIVEKINDLY Collective has become one of the top three highest-funded and fastest-growing plant-based food companies globally."
8pgs, The global trend of urbanization coupled with an increasing awareness of the importance of food systems resilience, has led to an increasing interest in urban agriculture to sustainably feed the rapidly growing urban population and mitigate against food supply chain disruptions. While home and community gardens have been long studied, there has been relatively little empirical research focused specifically on commercial urban agriculture (CUA) operations. The purpose of this study was to characterize commercial urban farms, and to identify their primary barriers to business development and expansion, their perceptions of future opportunities, and their specific informational needs. Because CUA has received relatively less attention in previous empirical research, a qualitative approach was used for this needs assessment to collect rich, contextualized information to help differentiate the specific barriers, opportunities and needs of CUA operations as opposed to their rural counterparts. We conducted semi-structured interviews (n = 29) of CUA producers in Florida. These interviews revealed that CUA operations face many of the same barriers that are common to establishing and growing small farms, with additional barriers due to local government regulations and tensions associated with farming on land that is not traditionally used for agriculture. Despite these difficulties, CUA operators believe their urban location is a key benefit to their operation and they see a variety of opportunities for future business and market expansion.
3pgs, Oil and gas wells left unattended pose an environmental danger and weigh heavily on tax payers’ pockets. The federal accountability system overseeing the companies involved needs a complete overhaul.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 156 Document Number: C25472
Notes:
Retrieved March 7, 2007, Issue report prepared by a multi-disciplinary team from six universities, the Wallace Center and the Farm Foundation. 4 pages.
