6 pages, Extension professionals are skilled at connecting with community partners and community members to identify needs and address challenges. This paper outlines how Extension professionals quickly responded to address rising rates of food insecurity in a rural Tennessee County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through an extensive network of state, regional, and local partners, Extension professionals and partners planned and implemented mobile food distributions through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farmers to Families program. These Extension-led efforts resulted in sustainable, community-driven initiatives to improve food insecurity. Lessons learned can help Extension professionals respond to emerging needs.
5 pages, While strategies may differ across geographical regions, FACS Extension professionals work to enhance nutrition education and increase food security in their communities. The four dimensions of food security developed by The Food and Agricultural Organization were reconceptualized to understand food security on an individual or at a community level. Using experiences from a summer internship with two urban counties, the EEUESA Model described here was designed to aid FACS Extension professionals in their efforts for nutrition education and to better understand how programming targets food security in their communities
17 pages, Community engagement has significant impacts on SBAE teachers’ perceived opportunities to remain at their schools or in the profession at large. We wanted to better understand how interactions between teachers and their communities invoked challenge or support, particularly in helping us understand how to retain mobile teachers. Specific to this study, our purpose was to understand how individuals in communities interacted with each other’s positions to better identify where support and challenge were perceived. This discourse analysis utilized the metalanguage generated from a series of interviews, based in dialogue, with several actors across a single migratory context. To evaluate the use of positionalities, we aligned previously identified positions of each group against the other. This condensed to three themes articulating how actors’ positionalities interacted: Conflicting Requirements, I Can and I Will, and All My Love and Support for question one, and themes of Support and Challenge to answer question two. These themes culminated in an interactional work cycle recognizing replaceability and we discuss the theoretical implications of this work cycle for SBAE teachers and community influencers alike.
5 pages, It can be argued that public forums are a valuable and essential tool for Cooperative Extension professionals. This article narrates the innovative use of the public forum action steps outlined in Kahl’s (2016) “A Convener’s Guide to Hosting a Public Forum”. The primary objective was to address illegal dumping and littering concerns with the Extension professional's role to engage the community. The resulting “Backyard Composting Project” demonstrated that public forums are valuable in creatively engaging urban audiences. Ultimately the authors illustrate how a community concern can be addressed using innovative programming to reach what Extension considers to be non-traditional urban populations.
4 pages, The effects of active shootings should be a priority to provide needed assistance to 4-H youth and families in coping with their social-emotional well-being. Exposure to such violence can lead to lasting impacts on youth that can affect behavior. Addressing this sensitive topic is crucial in ensuring that Extension professionals are prepared to meet the needs of youth and families. Higher rates of depression, aggression, to name a few, are a result of having witnessed such events as a shooting. Providing training for Extension personnel can aid in reducing the amount of PTSD and other social-emotional trauma.
18 pages, The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge level of farmers on basic computer literacy, social media use, and to explore which social and demographic factors affected their knowledge capacity. The study had a final sample of 176 participants from the northern, southern and central regions of Trinidad and Tobago. A survey instrument comprising of 14 multiple-choice questions with one accurate response was developed to decrease bias of farmers randomly selecting the accurate response. The questions addressed knowledge on basic computer and social media literacy. Analysis was conducted using one-way ANOVA with post-hoc testing. Results indicated that there were significant differences in farmers’ performance in the knowledge test based on characteristics such as age, education, and household use of social media and the internet. Based on the findings, minimal training in computer and social media literacy did not impede the farmers’ use of the computer or social media. These discoveries highlight the potential of extension programs using the internet and social media applications to improve communication efficiency among agricultural stakeholders within farming communities.
10 pages, This article proposes combining public relations and development communication insights so that organizations, particularly in the public sector, can engage and empower rural communities to adopt and exploit infrastructure developments for mutual benefit. Applying appreciative inquiry to explore the communication process involved in the development of micro-hydro power plants in Kulon Progo Regency, Indonesia, this article offers a view from those who are regarded as the target of communication, as the opposed to those take an organizational standpoint. The study proposes a new development project communication model which seeks to initiate, secure and sustain positive community outcomes and meet the project initiators’ requirements. This is achieved through collaboration and the gradual relinquishment of power and decision-making from the latter to the former. The model emphasizes the importance of the processes of communication as well as outcomes, and considers rural communities as having agency, rather than as objects of or for development. By embracing community assets such as local knowledge and contextual wisdom and the characteristics of collective communities in non-Western countries such as togetherness, reciprocity, a strong sense of shared destiny, locality, and fraternity, the model offers a community centric approach which encourages progressive community empowerment and ownership. The evidence points to the impacts for both communities and governments being more beneficial and sustainable than current communication practices.
20 pgs., Twelve U.S. states were tasked with developing nutrient reduction strategies to help address hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. To better understand the kinds of messages different stakeholders in these states are likely to encounter about such strategies, we conducted a content analysis focused on the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (INRS). We examined 483 articles in two agricultural and two non-agricultural news outlets. We found that agricultural news outlets more often led with agricultural themes and more often used agricultural representatives as sources. The non-agricultural news outlets more often quoted representatives of environmental groups. News articles infrequently led with science or health themes. The volume of coverage over time in three of the four news outlets appeared followed similar issue attention cycles. Differences among the outlets may lead to differences in stakeholders’ knowledge or views about the INRS and conservation, posing challenges to consensus-building.
5 pages, The main objective of this study was to find out how small farmers were affected by urbanization.
The study was conducted during 2020 in 2 barangays (districts ). Cagayan de Ore (CDO) City specifically canitoan and pagatpat, Philippines. There were 12 and 11 farmers in Canitoan and Pagatpat, respectively who participated the focus group discussion (FGD). Majority of them was
considered as small farmers due to the size of their farm which was less than 1 hectare. Around
70 hectares of agricultural land in Canitoan were transformed into a private housing subdivision.
Qualitative approach was employed using FGD and farmers were organized and interviewed as
a group. Data revealed that agricultural lands had been converted into residential or commercial
purposes. CDO agriculture area was decreased from 91.5 to 81.89%. Urbanization affected the farmer in term of displacement, income source, decrease economic status and negative motivation for agriculture. In conclusion, urbanization in CDO which brought progressive economic development had negatively affected the lives of some small farmers. We suggested proper policies to find alternatives for the farmers so that they could continue to produce food in the surroundings of the city and thus made city and rural areas more resilient in food supplies and also water regeneration.
8 pages, Background:
Despite the growth of palliative care (PC), access to PC remains challenging for rural Americans living with chronic diseases. Given the demand and benefits of PC, a comprehensive view of PC access would inform policymakers in developing PC services in rural areas.
Objective:
This scoping review aimed to understand the barriers and facilitators to PC access in rural areas from the voices of service users and service providers during the past decade.
Methods:
A scoping literature review was conducted from 2010 to 2020 using MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsychINFO databases. Results: Twenty-eight studies met inclusion criteria. Barriers to PC access in rural areas mostly arose in structural issues: (1) the inadequate knowledge and awareness of PC among both service users and providers and (2) the poorly structured PC system. Other barriers included communication gaps/challenges between providers and patients/families and cultural barriers. The facilitators mainly originated in patients/families’ connectedness with local providers and with other social networks such as friends.
Conclusions:
These findings highlight the need for funding support to increase provider competency, service availability and accessibility, and the public knowledge and awareness of PC in rural areas. A holistic and tailored PC model that standardizes care delivery, referral and coordination, including family caregiver support programs, can improve care access. Future practice and research are warranted to implement and evaluate innovative approaches, such as a coordinated community-based approach, to the successful integration of PC in rural communities.
Agole, David (author), Yoder, Edgar (author), Brennan, Mark (author), Baggett, Connie (author), Ewing, John (author), Beckman, Matthew (author), and Biryabaho Matsiko, Frank (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2021-01-29
Published:
United States: OJS / PKP
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 204 Document Number: D12502
16 pages, Cohesion is a fundamental determinant of performance in farmer groups in which collective action is pursued for the benefit of the members. The study examined the influence of individual members’ objectives, participation culture, group rewards, structure of tasks and perceived equity on cohesion of farmer groups that can promote access to agricultural extension services. Quantitative data were collected from 180 members of 19 farmer groups using questionnaires selected in a multi-stage process that combined purposive and random sampling. Qualitative data were gathered from 20 key informants in oral interviews and three focus group discussions. Regression analysis indicated that there were statistically significant negative relationships between individual members’ objectives, structure of the tasks, group reward system and cohesion of farmer groups. In contrast, perceived equity had a statistically significant positive relationship with cohesion in farmer groups. We recommend that, for sustainability of group cohesion, group facilitators work with the farmer groups to ensure alignment of group and NAADS institutions and performance indicators. A group dynamics perspective to understanding farmer group cohesion should be a helpful organizing principle.
Via online magazine. 9 pages., An old 1,300-acre oil refining site in South Philadelphia is being converted into a vast e-commerce distribution center. "But the developers of these brownfields must confront a legacy of toxic pollution and neglect of surrounding communities of color." A Philadelphia council member reports, "We have a long way to go as relates to community engagement, as well as paying attention to the environmental remediation process."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12077
Notes:
Online via AgriMarketing Weekly. 2 pages., Summary of findings from a poll conducted recently by the American Farm Bureau Federation. "The results of a new poll clearly demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic is having broad-ranging impacts among rural adults and farmers/farmworkers." Findings also identified main obstacles to seeking help or treatment for mental health condition, the most trusted sources for information about mental health, impressions of the importance of mental health in rural communities and the importance of reducing stigma surrounding mental health.
Online from publisher., Brief report and analysis of research published by the National Academy of Sciences showing a strong positive relationship between meatpacking plants and local community transmission. "...the risk of excess death primarily came from large meatpacking plants operated by industry giants." Communities that shut down slaughterhouses reduced spread.
Andrei, Mary Anne (author) and Honig, Esther (author)
Format:
News article
Publication Date:
2020-08
Published:
USA: Food and Environmental Reporting Network (FERN), New York City, New York.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11807
Notes:
Online from FERN website. 2 pages., "When Covid-19 spread rapidly through slaughterhouses, most workers stayed quiet. But their kids did not." Brief case report from Crete, Nebraska, site of a Smithfield Foods pork processing plant.
Online from publisher., Reports on a first bay-wide effort to protect shorelines from rising water, convening stakeholders to find common ground. Mediator hopes that giving all stakeholders a voice will ensure buy-in, even when talking to each other is optional.
9 pages, Poverty is an important issue for third world Sub-Saharan African countries such as Ethiopia. To assist with poverty alleviation, a great number of nongovernmental organizations have moved resources into the region, but the problem has not significantly improved. This paper studies the Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organization (JeCCDO), an NGO that has engaged in poverty alleviation programs in Ethiopia for more than 35 years. The study examines communication practices used by JeCCDO as part of its poverty alleviation programs in Negede Woito community (Bahir Dar, Ethiopia). We use a qualitative research methodology to assess the organization’s communication practices, as well as the challenges it and the Negede Woito community face. Poverty is perceived as lack of resources by JeCCDO, but the community also prioritizes other forms of poverty such as psychological and cultural. Our findings reveal that JeCCDO is renowned for using a social enterprise development model and a participatory communication approach. However, in practice we find these are not used. In the models, endogenous knowledge and grassroots communication were vital to community development, but JeCCDO did not implement them during planning, implementing, and evaluating community-based programs. Community workers who coordinated the organization and the community were Negede Woito community members. Besides grassroots communication, knowing the context and living situation of the community is mandatory for development agents. JeCCDO did not contextualize development efforts, such as sheep fattening and poultry for people who did not have shelter. In conclusion, we propose that nongovernmental organizations and development workers should reconsider their communication contexts and practices while launching new poverty alleviation programs.
12 pages., via online journal, Local food systems are an emerging way for communities to build vibrant economies, improve health outcomes, and limit their environmental impact. Studies have shown local food engagement differs significantly between generations; however, what remains unclear is how generations’ perceptions and engagement compare to each other so the agricultural community can most effectively communicate about local food systems. Leveraging audience segmentation theory from social marketing, this study sought to address how the five living generations in the United States – Generation Z, Millennials, Generation X, Baby Boomers, and The Silent Generation – perceived and engaged with local food systems. To address this question, a non-probability opt-in sampling of 863 adults in the state of Georgia was used. Each participant was asked four questions pertaining to different aspects of local food systems – the purchase of local foods from grocery stores, use of local food markets, participation in local food events, and level of engagement with local food related media. Millennials and Generation X’ers expressed significantly higher levels of engagement with local food systems when compared to Baby Boomers and The Silent Generation, this was not observed between Generation Z and any other group. While Millennials and X’ers engaged at higher levels, significant opportunities remain for engagement through generation-specific media to turn the universal tepid interest in local food systems into action. Future research should seek to identify the relationship between generational media preferences and how effective they are at transforming interest in local food systems into action.
Freireich, Elliott (author), Fogler, Jim (author), Waltner, Jeremy (author), McLaughlin, Kaylie (author), Wagner, Ellen (author), Nash, Noel (author), van Zyl, Anton (author), Finklea, Betsy (author), Manko, Janet (author), Meyer, Eric (author), Bellune, Jerry (author), Martin, Brad (author), Sieve-Hicks Jen (author), Klomp, Marcie (author), Meier, Jill (author), and Whitney, Jonathan (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2020
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 201 Document Number: D11787
Online via UI electronic subscription, Comments, ideas and concerns expressed by a selection of community newspaper publishers and editors about their adjustments in the face of economic and business impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
4 pages., Author suggests that"social forestry seeks to manage forests through local communities for their own plus national benefits, but is still falls short of the targets set. Reconciling local concerns for livelihood opportunities with the need for accountability requires intermediaries who successfully negotiate in the bureaucratic jungle of forestry as an institution."
Journal article identified Via online topical search. Open access., Authors report a case example that illustrates how academic libraries and librarians "are primed to lead universities toward a fuller inclusion of community partners in academic research" through their unique expertise. The "research sprint" partnership involved experiences of the Gullah-Geechee community - the descendants of Africans who were enslaved along the east coast of the United States.
9 pages, via online journal, This article provides an overview of Extension's Military Families Learning Network. The network is an example of Extension's commitment to building virtual learning networks in the support of targeted professional and lay audiences. The network uses well-established and emergent pedagogical approaches focusing on adult-centered learning while employing state-of-the-art online learning technologies. We present a four-dimensional model of learning activities to illustrate how the network offers different options for and approaches to adult-centered learning and training. The Military Families Learning Network can serve as a model for broader adoption of such entities across the Extension community.
25 pages, Adjustments and adaptive responses to diminishing resources (land, water, and energy) in agriculture due to population increase and climate change in the recent decades are varied. Proactive adaptive coping mechanisms must be instituted to avoid the onslaught of massive starvation. Organic and agroecological innovations are the logical options. But organic farming is not one-size-fits-all solution. While organic farming is considered as one of the solutions to farming in crisis, there are many barriers to its adoption. Among these constraints are (1) the nature of organic farming being difficult, laborious, and knowledge and skills intensive, the required environment (air, soil, and water), and the certification requirement and (2) the support systems from government and consumers not in place.
14 pages., via online journal., This article addresses a stated need within the food justice movement scholarship to increase the attention paid to the political socialization of hired farm hands in industrial agriculture. In Canada, tackling the problem of farm worker equity has particular social and political contours related to the Canadian horticultural industry’s reliance on a state-managed migrant agricultural labour program designed to fill the sector’s labour market demands. As Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) produces relations of ‘unfree labour’, engaging migrant farm workers in social movement initiatives can be particularly challenging. Critical educational interventions designed to encourage migrant farm workers’ contribution to contemporary social movements in Canada must therefore confront the socio-cultural obstacles that constrict migrant farm workers’ opportunities to participate as full members of their communities. In this article, I argue that social justice oriented approaches to community-based arts can provide a means for increasing the social movement contributions of farm workers employed through managed labour migration schema such as Canada’s SAWP.
The award-winning editorial (two pages)is attached to this document. It is available online at https://www.farmprogress.com/farm-life/beware-rural-outrage-cycle., Via online issue. 2 pages., This editorial was written by the author of the winning entry in the Editorial Opinion category, 2019 AAEA communications contest.
Online via UI subscription. 10 pages., How libraries are teaming up with journalists to promote media literacy, spur civic engagement, and even take on reporting projects
USA: Department of Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D10800
Notes:
138 pages., Thesis also is available online from Purdue University by open access, using the URL below., Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Master of Science degree at Purdue University.
Contributed by author to the Agricultural Communications Documentation Center and University Library, University of Illinois., Purpose was to explain and predict Indiana residents' level of interest in engaging with Purdue University based on level of concern for social and community issues, level of anomie, past interactions with Purdue, and perceptions of Purdue. Findings confirmed that Extension's programmatic areas are addressing perceived needs in the state and that individuals are interested in these programmatic issues. "Land-grant universities can continue to rise to the challenge and deliver state-of-the-art education, research, and resources for all people, as long as they listen to the public and address critical social, community and stakeholder issues."
12 pages., via online journal, We examined how information from multiple communication channels can inform social norms about local food purchasing. The concept of social exposure was used as a guide. Social exposure articulates how information in social, symbolic, and physical environments contributes to normative perceptions. Data was collected from a sample in Wisconsin. Results indicated that information from communication channels representing symbolic, social, and physical environments all contributed to normative perceptions. We also found that for individuals who frequent farmers’ markets, information from some communication channels was relatively less strongly associated with injunctive norms. It may be that when first-hand, experiential information is available to inform norms, individuals rely less on information available through other communication channels. Future work might further explore how farmers’ markets foster information sharing in communities, as such information may contribute to normative perceptions.
3 pages., Online from publisher website., Following a training course in technology stewardship, actors in the Caribbean's agri-food sector are implementing ICT approaches to provide agricultural advice and support to their local communities
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D11095
Notes:
137 pages., Examines the power of food as a communicative tool to bring people of diverse backgrounds together. Author argues that food enables people to look past their differences and focus on their similarities, thus creating a stronger sense of community via the sharing of a meal.
Shors, Benjamin (author) and Jones, Lisa Waananen (author)
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
USA: Journalism and Media Production Department, Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 124 Document Number: D11227
Notes:
Via online. 10 pages., "In the context of post-secondary journalism education, we investigated whether community guidance and involvement can improve 'parachute' journalism to create meaningful coverage in rural areas." Findings offered strong evidence of benefits for student learning, as well as interest from regional news organizations in greater collaboration with student journalists and need for a complete and ongoing assessment of information needs of rural communities in the region during a time of rapidly changing technology and loss of local news resources.
16 pages., via online journal., Case study examined the efforts of a rural hyperlocal outlet to adapt community traditions as engagement interventions by reimagining "society columns" as community contributors -- and using "liars tables" as listening circles. Findings show promising signs by making the processes of journalism more participatory, allowing residents to represent and share their own stories and cover a wider range of stories that are not exclusively negative. The "liars table" concept "has a steeper road ahead."
7 pages., Article presents learnings and observations from the perspective of delivering a targeted sugarcane agricultural extension program across the Wet Tropics. "Importantly, this program has continued to find the need to understand and align with local community and industry dynamics to ensure prioritisation supports the intended outcomes, including that communities and landholders are actively engaged in water quality improvement and remain resilient."
21 pages., Article #:2659, via online journal., Urban gardens are continuously negotiated, contested, and remade. One of the primary
ways that these spaces are negotiated is through the ways that communities self-organise to manage
them. Drawing on critical urban scholarship, this article explores the ways in which the dynamics of self-organisation in urban gardens both shape and are shaped by the spatial development of the sites. Reflecting on two cycles of participatory video-making with urban gardeners in Seville, Spain, the article specifically examines how the motivations of the gardeners and the issue of communication influence the dynamic relationship between self-organisation and the spatial development of gardens.
8 pages., Online via Ryerson Review of Journalism website. Published on February 19, 2020., Tara de Ryk, owner and publisher of a rural Saskatchewan weekly newspaper, decided after 21 years to retire from the newspaper business. This article describes how community interest in local news and an adventuresome spirit prompted her to conduct a give-away contest in late 2019. Interested persons were invited to write an essay (500 words maximum) about how they would be ideal owner and publisher of the Davidson Leader. The article describes the contest and winning entry, which led to change in ownership.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 198 Document Number: D09696
Notes:
Online from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France. 3 pages., Case report of a successful and influential Indonesian River School Movement, which involves establishment of local river schools and activities.
