5 pages., A simple random sampling technique was used to select 169 extension officers to examine their level of awareness of information communication technologies in North West Province, South Africa. Data were collected with structured questionnaire and analysed using frequency counts, percentages and multiple regression analysis. The results show that majority of the extension officers were male (76%) with the mean age of 44.6 years, married (79%) and 82.5% were Christians. Forty one percent of the extension officers had Diploma as their educational qualification and a mean of 16.7 years as working experience. The results revealed that out of the 37 ICT tools listed, extension officers indicated high level of awareness of nine tools, which include mobile phones (1.79), computer (1.68), internet (1.77), overhead projector (1.62), fax machines (1.60), organization e mail (1.58), fixed telephone (1.52), personal email (1.52) and organization website (1.50). Significant determinants of awareness level were were religion (t = 1.91, p = 0.58); constraints to ICT use (t = 1.78, p = 0.78); importance of ICT tool (t = 1.93; p = 0.63) and 2 were significant at 0.05% which were competence on ICT use (t= 3.50; p = .001); (t= 2.0, p = .003). The study recommends that more information communication technologies should be made available to extension officers, so that they will become more aware of the use of ICT in extension work as tools that can gather and disseminate agricultural information.
7 pages., As the information revolution sweeps through the agricultural sector, extension professionals may be lagging behind their clients in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) such as social media, which could be a valuable tool for outreach and education. We surveyed sustainable agriculture stakeholders in California - extension professionals, county agricultural commissioners, and members of farm bureaus and producer groups - to measure their ICT behavior and attitudes. Drawing on diffusion of innovation theory, we characterized the innovation attributes of ICT that may influence the adoption and use of new technology among extension professionals. We also studied their demographic characteristics to establish whether there was a connection with ICT use. The main perceived benefit of ICT was that it can quickly reach larger, more diverse and more distant audiences. The perceived challenges included lack of professional support, the potential for misinformation on social media platforms, and the time requirements and technical complexity of technology use. Extension professionals experienced these challenges more than other sustainable agriculture stakeholders, creating a technology gap between extension professionals and their clientele. An ICT community of practice and clear organizational guidelines for measuring and reporting performance relating to ICT might help extension professionals dose the gap.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 63 Document Number: C02219
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Warwickshire, England : Royal Agricultural Society of England, National Agricultural Centre, 1987. 196 p. (Monograph Series No. 6)
Radhakrishna, Rama (author), Nti, Naana O. (author), and Layfield, K. Dale (author)
Format:
Paper
Publication Date:
1997-04
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 116 Document Number: C11772
Notes:
Francis C. Byrnes Collection, Proceedings of the 13th annual conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education, Arlington, Virginia, April 3-5, 1997.
Gerakis, Argyrios (author), Tucker, Mark (author), Whiting, Larry R. (author), and Professor of Extension, Professor of Agricultural Education, and Head, Information and Applied Communications, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; Professor of Extension, Professor of Agricultural Education, and Head, Information and Applied Communications, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH; Associate Editor, Information and Applied Communications, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1989
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 76 Document Number: C04061
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Mimeographed, 1989. 49 p. paper presented at the NCR90 Communication Research Meeting; 1989 October 25; Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Beall, Gary A. (author), Berke, Karen (author), Coats, J. (author), Dempsey, C. (author), Singleton, R. (author), and Communication Services Unit, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1997
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 101 Document Number: C08704
Notes:
Agricultural Communicators in Education 1997 Conference, Cleveland, Ohio, July 15, 1997
