10 pages, Enormous quantities of data are generated through social and online media in the era of Web 2.0. Understanding consumer perceptions or demand efficiently and cost effectively remains a focus for economists, retailer/consumer sciences, and production industries. Most of the efforts to understand demand for food products rely on reports of past market performance along with survey data. Given the movement of content-generation online to lay users via social media, the potential to capture market-influencing shifts in sentiment exists in online data. This analysis presents a novel approach to studying consumer perceptions of production system attributes using eggs and laying hen housing, which have received significant attention in recent years. The housing systems cage-free and free-range had the greatest number of online hits in the searches conducted, compared with the other laying hen housing types. Less online discussion surrounded enriched cages, which were found by other methods/researchers to meet many key consumer preferences. These results, in conjunction with insights into net sentiment and words associated with different laying hen housing in online and social media, exemplify how social media listening may complement traditional methods to inform decision-makers regarding agribusiness marketing, food systems, management, and regulation. Employing web-derived data for decision-making within agrifood firms offers the opportunity for actionable insights tailored to individual businesses or products.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 151 Document Number: D06776
Notes:
Online via Pew Research Center. 8 pages., "Scientists and the American public are often far apart when it comes to views about science-related issues."
DeRosier, Christopher (author), Sulemana, Iddisah (author), James, Harvey S. Jr. (author), Valdivia, Corinne (author), Folk, William (author), and Smith, Randall D. (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2015
Published:
SAGE Journals
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 32 Document Number: D10599
19 pages., via online journal., We empirically examine the reporting on biotechnology in Kenyan and international newspapers between 2010 and early 2014. We identify news articles that reported on biotechnology and analyze their use of words to determine whether there is a balance in the reporting of perceived risks and benefits. We also consider how the sources used in news articles and how the publication of the Séralini study of rats fed genetically modified maize affect the balance of reporting of perceived risks and benefits. We find that in Kenyan news reporting, more articles mention perceived benefits than risks, but when risks are mentioned, new articles contain more references to risks than to benefits. We also find that sources affect the reporting of perceived risks and benefits and that the Séralini study increased the likelihood that perceived risks are reported in Kenyan news reporting, but not in international newspapers.
6pgs, A nationwide study was undertaken in China to understand why public interest has shifted away from agriculture and to discuss approaches that may help restore interest and support for agriculture. The study collected 2586 questionnaires from 242 cities in 31 provinces in mainland China. The results suggest that agriculture is still of public interest, but interest has shifted from traditional farming to the consumer perspective in food safety, nutrition and health, food security and agricultural history. Two groups in this study, the younger generation and those with college degrees, show less interest in production agriculture. The accelerating shift in population from rural China to urban areas explains why these two groups are less connected with agricultural issues. The authors contend that it is critically important to keep the urban population knowledgeable of the importance of agriculture and suggest ways to improve communication and support from this educated, city-dweller point of view in order to ensure a stable and secure future. The approach of science appreciation (ways to effectively communicate science to general publics) is proposed to effectively gain renewed interest and engagement with the public in the science of agriculture in order to optimize the needs and benefits from agriculture to society.
Kahle, R.R. (author), Lee, R.L. (author), and Missouri Water Resources Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia}Missouri Water Resources Research Center, University of Missouri-Columbia
Format:
Report
Publication Date:
1974
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 46 Document Number: B05629
United States: Troy, Ohio: North American Association for Environmental Education
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 53 Document Number: D08989
Notes:
James E. Grunig Collection, Pages 50-82 in L. A. Grunig (ed.), Environmental activism revisited: the changing nature of communication through organizational public relations, special interest groups and the mass media.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D09064
Notes:
James E. Grunig Collection, Pages 50-82 in Grunig, Larissa A. (Ed.), Monographs in Environmental Education and Environmental Studies: Environmental activism revisited: The changing nature of communication through organizational public relations, special interest groups and the mass media. The North American Association for Environmental Education, Troy, Ohio. 32 pages.
Pages 12-13 in Extension Circular 534, Review of Extension Research, January through December 1960, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Summary of research, Agricultural Extension Service, University of Arizona, Tucson. 1960. 50 pages., Includes public attitudes toward farmers and evidence of lack of understanding of farm problems and relationship of government to agriculture.
Pages 10-11 in Extension Circular 521, Review of Extension Research, January through December 1958, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Summary of a thesis for a Master of Science degree in agricultural extension, Michigan State University, East Lansing. 1958. 79 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 175 Document Number: C29994
Notes:
Via CattleNetwork.com. 1 page., Author commends a column written by the food editor of the Los Angeles Times. This file includes a print-out of the column (3 pages) from www.latimes.com.
Flau, Joseph T. (author), Yeung, Nelson C.Y. (author), Choi, K.C. (author), Cheng, Mabel Y.M. (author), Tsui, H.Y. (author), and Griffiths, Sian (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2009-10-27
Published:
China
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 173 Document Number: C29461
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 155 Document Number: C25109
Notes:
Retrieved December 15, 2006, Online from GMO Compass. 2 pages., Attachment includes URL to obtain full results of the DemoSCOPE study (German language).
Murdock, Graham (author), Petts, Judith (author), and Horlick-Jones, Tom (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2003
Published:
UK
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D07372
Notes:
Pages 156-178 in Nick Pidgeon, Roger E. Kasperson and Paul Slovic (eds.), The social amplification of risk. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 448 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 136 Document Number: D11432
Notes:
2 pages., Online from AgriMarketing Weekly. News release of March 16, 2020., Brief summary of results of a consumer research study measuring market potential for gene-edited food and agriculture products. Research was sponsored by the FMI Foundation, American Seed Trade Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, and Farm Foundation.
MATEI, Daniela (author), BRUMĂ, Ioan Sebastian (author), TANASĂ, Lucian (author), and Senior Researcher, Ph.D., Romanian Academy -Iaşi Branch, Gh. Zane"Institute of Economic and Social Research
Researcher, Ph.D., Romanian Academy -Iaşi Branch, Gh. Zane"Institute of Economic and Social Research
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2016
Published:
Romania: Apollonia University of Iasi, Communication Sciences Faculty
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 164 Document Number: D08309
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08803
Notes:
Pages 41-57 in Debra A. Reid, Interpreting agriculture at museums and historic sites. United States: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham, Maryland. 265 pages.
Wimberley, Ronald C. (author) and Thompson, Alton (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2002
Published:
USA: Praeger, Westport, Connecticut.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C37084
Notes:
See C37075 for original, Pages 117-124 in Ronald C. Wimberley, Craig K. Harris, Joseph J. Molnar and Terry J. Tomazic (eds.), The social risks of agriculture: Americans speak out on food, farming and the environment. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut. 163 pages.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08802
Notes:
Pages 29-40 in Debra A. Reid, Interpreting agriculture at museums and historic sites. United States: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., Lanham, Maryland. 265 pages.
Gaskell, George (author), Bauer, Martin W. (author), Allum, Nicholas C. (author), Jackson, Jonathan (author), Howard, Susan (author), Lindsey, Nicola (author), and Methodology Institute
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2003-07
Published:
UK: London School of Economics. London WC2A 2AE
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 126 Document Number: C18505
Notes:
20 pages; Research from the project "Life Sciences in European Society" supported by the EC Directorate for General Research
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C15890
Notes:
Pages 103-116 in A. Eaglesham, S.G. Pueppke and R.W.F. Hardy (eds.), NABC Report 13: Genetically modified food and the consumer. Ithaca, New York: National Agricultural Biotechnology Council.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 133 Document Number: D11397
Notes:
5 pages., Via online from website., Results of a national survey among U.S. adults suggest that "Americans are closely divided over the health benefits of organic produce."
UK: Social Science Research Unit, Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 175 Document Number: C29999
Notes:
6 pages., Study conducted by Brook Lyndhurst Ltd for the Food Standards Agency. Findings revealed the UK public "wary, uneasy and uncertain about emerging food technologies" such as nanotechnologies, animal cloning and synthetic biology. Full report (89 pages) available at http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/emergingfoodtech.pdf
21 pages, via online journal, How an agricultural organization handles the way the media reports a crisis can have an impact on the public’s perceptions of the organization, and sometimes the industry as a whole. The popularity of social media outlets as a venue for disseminating and gathering information and news makes the use of social media surrounding agricultural crises an important topic to investigate (Glynn, Huge, & Hoffman 2012; Hermida, 2010). A qualitative case study was conducted to investigate the use of social media tools during an agricultural crisis. The participants – communications directors, social media managers, and individuals with a close connection to the crisis under study – reported that social media was a major component of their communication efforts surrounding each crisis. Participants felt social media was very effective in these situations and had a major impact on their communication efforts. Although no participants reported using a structured social media strategy or crisis communication plan, they stated a need for such guidelines in the agricultural industry. From the data analyzed in this study, a model for using social media during a crisis situation, aimed specifically for use by those in the agricultural industry, was developed. This project was funded through the USDA's Beginning Farmers & Ranchers Project.
Tomazic, Terry J. (author) and Katz, Barry M. (author)
Format:
Book chapter
Publication Date:
2002
Published:
USA: Praeger, Westport, Connecticut.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C37081
Notes:
See C37075 for original, Pages 75-83 in Ronald C. Wimberley, Craig K. Harris, Joseph J. Molnar and Terry J. Tomazic (eds.), The social risks of agriculture: Americans speak out on food, farming and the environment. Praeger, Westport, Connecticut. 163 pages.
Results of a survey among participants in a conference of the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART).
International: Oxford University Press, Oxford, England.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D01517
Notes:
Pages 108-142 in Cass R. Sunstein and Martha C. Nussbaum (eds.), Animal rights: current debates and new directions. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 338 pages.
19 pages, Audience-facilitated information flow has become the new norm created by a public divergence from traditional media sources. Mobile device advancements and partnerships have changed how audiences view news media and the sources relied upon to obtain information. With these advancements, social media users have become primary information providers and information gatekeepers. Twitter specifically has become a news media platform for some based on its effectiveness in facilitating information flow and triggering reorganization as it provides a platform for collaboration and coordination. Despite widespread acceptance of the threat climate change poses by the scientific community, it is still a topic of contention on social media. Climate conversations are typically approached with an us versus them mindset with us being used as representation of the communities to which audiences belong. The communities one belongs to typically follows social media users social, political and environmental ideologies. Walton’s theory of argument or inference schemes served as the theoretical framework for this study. Argument schemes represent common arguments and special context arguments, in this case scientific argumentation. Walton’s argument from ignorance was used as a framework for the study. The argument states that if there has been a thorough search through the knowledge base then concrete proof of a fact would exist. The findings indicated social media may be a useful tool when exploring climate change conversations through a sociopolitical lens and additional research is needed to closely examine how political ideologies, global location, and different environmental topics impact issue awareness and beliefs.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 133 Document Number: D11394
Notes:
9 pages., Via online., "For the first time, environmental protection rivals the economy among the public's top policy priorities" (for the president and Congress). Findings of a national survey among U.S. adults conducted January 8-13, 2020.
