Building Trust and Collaboration with Rural Minorities: Experiences with Minority Farmers in the Mississippi Delta

The paper focuses on the question “What research approach is effective in building trust with minority farmers?” The question is answered through a documentation of researchers’ experiences building trust and collaboration with minority farmers in the lower Mississippi Delta. The researchers applied two research paradigms -logical positivism and paradigm of praxis. The logical positivism research approach was met with mistrust and open animosity and had to be abandoned for one based on the paradigm of praxis. Through this approach, and cognizant of the historical-social-political context, the researchers included insiders from the focus population as collaborators and researchers and succeeded in gaining the farmers\u27 trust

On the emergent Semantic Web and overlooked issues

The emergent Semantic Web, despite being in its infancy, has already received a lotof attention from academia and industry. This resulted in an abundance of prototype systems and discussion most of which are centred around the underlying infrastructure. However, when we critically review the work done to date we realise that there is little discussion with respect to the vision of the Semantic Web. In particular, there is an observed dearth of discussion on how to deliver knowledge sharing in an environment such as the Semantic Web in effective and efficient manners. There are a lot of overlooked issues, associated with agents and trust to hidden assumptions made with respect to knowledge representation and robust reasoning in a distributed environment. These issues could potentially hinder further development if not considered at the early stages of designing Semantic Web systems. In this perspectives paper, we aim to help engineers and practitioners of the Semantic Web by raising awareness of these issues

The Macro-Social Benefits of Education, Training and Skills in Comparative Perspective [Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No. 9]

This report, the second from the Centre's strand of comparative research, complements an earlier WBL research report (Education, Equity and Social Cohesion: A Distributional Model) in exploring further themes of societal comparison and the distributional effects of education systems. Despite generally high levels of educational attainment there is huge diversity amongst Western Societies in terms of crime, tolerance, trust and social cohesion. In this report, we take a comparative approach to investigating relationships between education and these outcomes at a societal level. Through an interdisciplinary review of literatures from sociology, history, economics and psychology we examine the role of education systems from a number of countries in influencing trends in, and levels of, these variables. Whilst the importance of country and historical context is stressed throughout we arrive at some general conclusions concerning the role of education systems in the development of various forms of social cohesion. This report will be of interest to policy makers, researchers and practitioners who are interested in the social impact of education systems. In particular, we examine implications for current UK policy targeted at increasing national educational attainment

A broad character education approach for addressing America’s cheating culture

Cheating is highly prevalent in American high school students and across the globe. Although numerous approaches are in place to combat this issue, most character education approaches have focused primarily on fostering moral integrity (a strength of moral character). Here, we argue that a broad character education approach to addressing cheating culture—one drawing on moral, civic, performance, and intellectual character strengths – may provide new ways to address this epidemic. We begin by outlining current scholarship and approaches to addressing cheating. We then note that many of these interventions aim to foster academic integrity through a moral lens and posit that a broad character education approach that draws on all four areas of character (not moral character alone) may provide additional avenues for promoting student integrity and dissuading academic dishonesty. We discuss the potential benefits of building specific strengths within each character domain in relation to integrity, and offer suggestions for further research. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of how educators might leverage each of these character areas and the interplay between them to foster academic integrit

Public relations and journalism: truth, trust, transparency and integrity

Truth, trust, integrity and reputation are key concepts for understanding the relationship between journalists and public relations practitioners. This the paper: first, considers the current debate on the inter-relationship between journalism and public relations; second distinguishes varieties of public relations and journalism; third, analyses the Editorial Intelligence controversy; fourth, deconstructs aspects of "truth" and "trust" in the context of that debate; fifth, considers why the virtue of individuals is vitally important for both public relations and journalism. Public Relations & Journalism: stereotypes and identity crisis In terms of public perception of both professions perhaps stereotypes of the practitioner as fundamentally dishonest are widespread. However, those stereotypes of journalism and public relations conflate the variety of activities that come under the headings "journalism" and "public relations". Public relations and journalism: "hard" versus "soft" "Soft public relations" is characterised by a concern with providing publicity for a client. By delivering a good story the public relations practitioner offers the journalist a means of satisfying users of his medium. "Soft" journalism is concerned with entertainment and truth is irrelevant, it is essentially concerned with comics for adults. "Hard" public relations and journalism are difficult to characterise simply but are characterised by a concern for truth and trust in relation to the integrity and reputation of the individual practitioner; Public Relations and journalism: long spoon or spooning? Although a distinction between "entertainment" ("Soft" public relations and journalism) and "what matters" ("hard" public relations and journalism) is not regarded as a significant distinction by all commentators it provide a locus for deconstructing the role of truth, trust and integrity in journalism and public relations An important source of "soft" journalism stories is "soft" public relations. The fact is that Editorial intelligence primarily suited "soft" public relations practitioners and journalists. Public relations and journalism: "truth" & "trust" In the case of both public relations and journalism the related notions of trust and truth are central to their professional activities. Transparency, truth, trust and public interest are dimensions of the relationship between public relations and journalism. A hard and soft truth distinction is not exhaustive and an important other category is artistic or emotional truth. Audiences do not always understand what genre they are witnessing so consequently do not automatically know how to interpret what they see and hear. Public Relations and Journalism: virtuous expediency On the basis of an individual transparently identifiable communicator's track record audiences should decide whether or not to trust that journalists or public relations practitioner. Consequently, there is a need for publics and audiences to be informed so that they are able to make valid judgements about communicators and what they say. Regarding the relationship between public relations and journalism, at the "hard" end, both journalist and public relations practitioner are dealing with matters of public interest and need to cooperate but at arm's length. Conclusion "Truth" and "trust" are both important in the practice of journalism and public relations. It is vital, therefore, that both "hard" journalists and public relations practitioners act with professional integrity. Transparency of the communicator's identity is crucial. Power needs to rest with a citizen public exercising the right to give or withhold belief in the communicator and in determining his or her reputation for veracity and also to exercise real power as consumers and voters

Integrating Immigrants in Colorado: Accomplishments, Challenges and Lessons Learned

Presents findings from an evaluation of the Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families initiative, including grantees' strategies, activities, and accomplishments; conditions and factors that affected their work; sustainability; and lessons learned

Scaring the public: fear appeal arguments in public health reasoning

The study of threat and fear appeal arguments has given rise to a sizeable literature. Even within a public health context, much is now known about how these arguments work to gain the public's compliance with health recommendations. Notwithstanding this level of interest in, and examination of, these arguments, there is one aspect of these arguments that still remains unexplored. That aspect concerns the heuristic function of these arguments within our thinking about public health problems. Specifically, it is argued that threat and fear appeal arguments serve as valuable shortcuts in our reasoning, particularly when that reasoning is subject to biases that are likely to diminish the effectiveness of public health messages. To this extent, they are rationally warranted argument forms rather than fallacies, as has been their dominant characterization in logic

THE SPECIFIC OF KNOWLEDGE BASED STRATEGIES

Communication addresses the lesser-known in Romania issue of knowledge based specific strategies. The main issues addressed during scientific communication are: • assumptions and defining features of the knowledge-based strategies • strategic knowledge - the core of knowledge-based strategy • strategic dilemmas involved • types of specific strategies based on knowledge • key elements that condition the development of advanced knowledge-based strategies • coordinates of specific strategy knowledge-based methodology The communication, based on an intense consultation of the international literature in the knowledge management domain, contains elements of originality, with particular reference to the strategic knowledge variables, which determine the specific implementation of the strategies based on knowledge and the methodology to design and implement them.knowledge based management, knowledge based strategy, strategic knowledge, strategy dilemma, knowledge based strategy typology, methodology of strategy