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A people-less frontline of climate change and rural ruination
People-less photographs taken in 2006 of a falling home erosion in an Alaskan village gained wide circulation. We recently added to the ACDC collection a related visual analysis in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers. Researcher Victoria S. Herrmann observed that “In many ways, the falling home photographic frame of Shishmaref, its use and reuse, is connected to a wider visual publishing story of a handful of images acquiring extraordinary poignancy in depicting the plight of the Arctic and its people in a time of rapid environmental change.
You can read the article here.
When consumers distrust homemade and locally-made agri-food products
That pattern appeared in recent analysis of such products in Western Honduras. Analyzing Honduras consumer behavior, researchers reported that, to a certain extent, results may indicate lack of consumer trust in local and hand-made food products. However, they found a positive relationship between labeling and a higher purchasing rate. Also, households with more members, higher income, and younger people showed inclination to make such purchases. Authors offered recommendations.
You can read the Economia Agraria y Recursos Naturales article here.
Update on rural-urban differences in smartphone and home broadband ownership in the U.S.
These comparisons appeared in a national telephone survey by the Pew Research Center among 1,502 U.S. adults during early 2019:
Urban Suburban Rural
Have home broadband 75% 79% 63%
Have or own a smartphone 83% 83% 71%
Have or own a smartphone only 17% 13% 20%
You can read a summary report of the survey results here.
He tracks “most interesting reporting” on food and the environment
The Center for Investigative Reporting posts a blog to help do that. In it, senior reporter Tom Knudson lists what he considers “the most interesting recent reporting about climate.” He is the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes and a 2004 award for global environmental reporting from Reuters and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
You can read the blog here
An early view of computer use for agriculture in Canada
A 1965 article published in the Canadian periodical, Junior Farmer and 4-H Quarterly, offered a glimpse of early uses of the “electronic computer” in agriculture. It pointed to three distinct applications, “each of equal importance:”
- Statistical analysis of research data
- Decision making with recommendations
- Routine summarization of facts and the preparation of reports, costs, etc.
The closing thought in the article: “Let us in agriculture put the computer to use for the benefit of all.”
You can read this piece of agricultural information history in the online “Reflections on farm and food history” collection of Farms.com, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Communicator events approaching
December 6-7, 2019
“Pluralistic extension for enhancing farmers’ income through reaching the unreached.” National seminar organized by Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth and Maharashtra Society of Extension Education at Maharashtra, INDIA. Information: http://www.inseeworld.com/seminars.htm
January 24 and February 14, 2020
Deadlines for submission of research papers, posters, research proposals, theses and dissertations for presentation and awards at the annual meeting of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE), June 22-25, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois USA. Information: https://aceweb.org/Call-for-research-papers-for-presentation-at-2020-ACE-Annual-Conference
February 2-3, 2020
National Agricultural Communications Symposium with the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists, Louisville, Kentucky USA. Information: Prof. Annie Specht at specht21@osu.edu
Sorting communications, journalism, and education in development
We close this issue with a thought from John Siceloff, writing in a 1982 issue of UNICEF News. He was referring to the role of communications workers in advancing social and economic development.
“…communications workers must be effective journalists if they are to be effective educators.”
Best wishes and good searching
Please pass along your reactions, suggestions, and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable international collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to acdc@library.illinois.edu