{"id":10301,"date":"2017-07-08T16:18:59","date_gmt":"2017-07-08T16:18:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/funkaces\/?p=10301"},"modified":"2018-02-25T00:32:59","modified_gmt":"2018-02-25T00:32:59","slug":"acdc-news-issue-17-07","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/funkaces\/acdc-news-issue-17-07\/","title":{"rendered":"ACDC News – Issue 17-07"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transforming the world with big ideas<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Results of a 2016 poll by the Thomson Reuters Foundation highlight potentials of a growing sector called social entrepreneurship.\u00a0 It fosters innovation and sustainable business ideas to \u201csolve the world\u2019s most pressing social problems.\u201d Findings suggest it is \u201cdisrupting the traditional status quo\u201d and helping women \u201csmash through the glass ceiling as never before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurs in this sector seek success not only in financial returns, but also in social impact \u2013 improving the lives of the underserved and marginalized communities. Examples cited in Monique Villa\u2019s description involved micro-lending enterprises and marketing products such as solar lamps and smokeless stoves. Nearly 70 percent of the experts polled across the world\u2019s 44 biggest economics said women are well represented in management roles within this fast-growing industry.<\/p>\n

Findings suggest strong and growing opportunities for effective rural marketing communications in this arena. You can learn more about the report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cLet\u2019s go gender blind\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Honored agricultural journalist Pamela Smith offered that advice recently in the ByLine <\/em>newsletter of the American Agricultural Editors\u2019 Association.\u00a0 Approaching her 40th<\/sup> anniversary as a journalist specializing in agricultural topics, she knows the trail of gender challenges in this field.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it hasn\u2019t always been issue,\u201d she explained in her article, \u201cand yes, stereotypical notions still exist. If experience has taught me anything it is that sometimes struggle is an incentive to work harder, even if it is difficult to understand or unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can read the article by this crops technology editor of DTN\/The Progressive Farmer<\/em> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Student-produced animated video for rural development<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Thanks to Chris McGillion, senior lecturer in journalism, for alerting us to an innovative service learning experience for students at Charles Sturt University in Australia. Students in the Animation and Visual Effects degree program produced an animated video for a government-funded agricultural development program in Timor-Leste. It featured Extension-recommended practices for growing maize. A report of the project and responses from rural community showings was published in the April issue of Science Communication<\/em>\u00a0 and the final cut can be viewed at https:\/\/vimeo.com\/109073628<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You can view an abstract of the journal article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAn abomination.\u201d Call for help in serving the news needs of smaller communities<\/strong><\/h3>\n

What\u2019s happening in smaller communities is being overlooked in discussions about the state of Canadian news media. That message came recently from a panel discussion at the Ryerson School of Journalism, Toronto.\u00a0 Lack of resources for community-based newsrooms \u201cis an abomination,\u201d said Robert Washburn, professor of journalism at Loyalist College.\u00a0 \u201cThe expectations are ridiculous. There\u2019s lack of staff, there\u2019s poor wages, there\u2019s unpaid overtime. Little or no training and the use of personal equipment. It goes on and on.\u201d\u00a0 He called for neighborhoods, hamlets, villages, towns and small cities to be involved in future discussions about media policies in Canada.<\/p>\n

Panelist Gretchen King, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa, has experience with volunteer-driven, collaborative community media.\u00a0 \u201c\u2026people need to acknowledge that volunteer-driven urban and rural media have very different concerns and will not benefit from blanket solutions to the challenges faced by news media in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can read the article here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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How global open data can benefit agriculture and nutrition<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The February issue of ICT Update <\/em>featured progress made to use open data for
\n\u201cbetter access to accurate, timely information\u2026 to shape a more sustainable agriculture future.\u201d The issue reported on topics addressed during the third international workshop of Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN). It took place during February in The Hague, The Netherlands.<\/p>\n

These are some of the aspects covered:<\/p>\n