Exploring Perspectives of Students Studying Communication Toward Media Access and Use: A Q Methodological Study

This study sought to help communication educators better understand young news consumers who have grown up among a plethora of media options. To better reach and educate today’s up-and-coming media professionals, those in the industry need a better understanding of modern media students’ perspectives of news. This study used Q methodology and relies on Stephenson’s Play and Dutta-Bergman’s Media Complementarity theories. Students on a large, comprehensive university campus pursuing undergraduate studies via a communications-related major were asked to complete a Q sort and demographic instrument. Thirty-four participants resulted in 33 usable sorts. The following labels were applied to the three perceptions found in this study: Old-school Media Hounds; Sensational Snippets; and Complimentary Convergers. Old-school Media Hounds tend to be more traditionally news oriented, with a strong appreciation for newspapers’ role as government watchdog. Sensational Snippets tend to seek their news in convenient bits and pieces, often from non-traditional news sources. Complimentary Convergers are similar to Old-school Media Hounds in their views of the press; for example, they appreciate the role of the press as government watchdog. However, they do not prefer one media channel more than another, but expect to obtain credible news information free of charge. Recommendations for educators include suggestions for classroom adaptations in response to three perspectives

Exploring Perspectives of Students Studying Communication Toward Media Access and Use: A Q Methodological Study

This study sought to help communication educators better understand young news consumers who have grown up among a plethora of media options. To better reach and educate today’s up-and-coming media professionals, those in the industry need a better understanding of modern media students’ perspectives of news. This study used Q methodology and relies on Stephenson’s Play and Dutta-Bergman’s Media Complementarity theories. Students on a large, comprehensive university campus pursuing undergraduate studies via a communications-related major were asked to complete a Q sort and demographic instrument. Thirty-four participants resulted in 33 usable sorts. The following labels were applied to the three perceptions found in this study: Old-school Media Hounds; Sensational Snippets; and Complimentary Convergers. Old-school Media Hounds tend to be more traditionally news oriented, with a strong appreciation for newspapers’ role as government watchdog. Sensational Snippets tend to seek their news in convenient bits and pieces, often from non-traditional news sources. Complimentary Convergers are similar to Old-school Media Hounds in their views of the press; for example, they appreciate the role of the press as government watchdog. However, they do not prefer one media channel more than another, but expect to obtain credible news information free of charge. Recommendations for educators include suggestions for classroom adaptations in response to three perspectives

The Eisenhower Leadership Development Program: a study on student leadership skill development

Although no one program exists for leadership development, there is an understanding among practitioners and researchers that leader and leadership development occur in many venues, with one of those venues being an academic classroom where experience and theory are juxtaposed. One such program is the Eisenhower Leadership Development Program. In an effort to strengthen the academic discipline of leadership and to garner further respect for leadership development programs such as ELDP, leadership development programs must be assessed and evaluated in order to ensure that the objective of the program is being met. Brungardt and Crawford noted that, "assessment and evaluation of leadership programs help ground programs in the needs of students while working within the constraints of academe" (1996, p. 37). The purpose of this study was twofold. First, this study sought to ensure that the Eisenhower Leadership Development Program was producing the outcomes the program was designed to produce. Second, this study sought to demonstrate the worth of ELDP to past, current, and future stakeholders. Former ELDP students were surveyed regarding the perceptions of their learning outcomes based on four practical skills (problem defintion, discovery of research alternatives, delegation/teamwork, and achievable challenge) and four complimentary adaptive skills (focusing on an issue, direct attention to detail, management of time and resources, and persistence). This study found that students did perceive to have gained leadership skills in each of the practical and adaptive skill constructs. The comparison between students' perceptions of each skill before participating in ELDP and after participating in ELDP was positively correlated and statistically significant in every construct. In short, the relationship between the practical and adaptive skills taught in ELDP and the learning outcomes is not serendipitous. The findings show that ELDP is improving the development of students in terms of them becoming leaders and in terms of the greater concept of leadership as related to the four practical and adaptive skills emphasized by ELDP. Further research related to the interdisciplinary design through which the practical and adaptive skills are taught is recommended

Benchmarking the Kansas 4-H Judging System

This study investigated the methods and policies associated with 4-H project judging at the county level within the Kansas 4-H Program. Extension Agents surveyed about current 4-H judging processes indicated a variety of methods used. Data collected showed that 21.8% of the counties surveyed practiced some type of project judging without the 4-H member present. In regard to feedback received by the youth in non-livestock project judging, 64.1% of counties reported both verbal and written forms of feedback, with 25.6% receiving only verbal. In livestock project judging, 93.8% reported that youth receive feedback only verbally. The majority of non-livestock projects are judged using the Danish system, while the number of livestock projects judged are split among both the Danish system and peer system of competitive judging. It was concluded that a wide-variety of judging methods are used, resulting in incongruent programs offered to 4-H members

African Food Security Fellows’ Perceptions of Their Experiences in the United States: Reflective Journaling as a Way to Interpret and Understand an International Experience

The study reports on a reciprocal exchange program funded by the U.S. Department of State. It involved 14 Food Security Fellows, including seven each from Kenya and Uganda, who were community leaders, policymakers, and media professionals. The Fellows experienced afive-week training program on issues of food securityand the unique role improved communication networks could play in reducing food insufficiency in their countries. During their exchange, the Fellows were asked to keep reflective journals chronicling their training experiences and interactions with Americans and their culture. The journal entries were transcribedandcoded, and emergent themeswere identified in concert with the study’s purpose and research questions. Established procedures to address researcher reflexivity and enabletransferability of the findings were followed. The data analysis yielded 41 codes from which 11 themeswere derived. The Fellows expressed a more positive attitude about Americans and the United States at the program’s end. They also described an appreciation for the role of youth development in agriculture and the need for extension educators,researchers, and university personnelto work together to ensure a nation’s food security. Future exchanges should provide participants with an internship experience instead of only job shadowing opportunitie

Teaching Innovation as Part of an Agribusiness Curriculum

Innovation is critical to the survival of agricultural businesses in the U.S. yet few universities have classes in their curricula that focus on innovation and innovation management. Innovation includes developing new processes and concepts and taking products based on those ideas to market. By its nature, innovation generally involves technical components, market assessment, business analysis, and implementation strategies that include marketing campaigns to a target market. As a result, if innovation is going to be experientially taught to students, the class will likely need to include concepts from multiple disciplines. The objectives of this paper are to present an outline of capstone/senior design classes designed to cause students to learn innovation by participating in interdisciplinary teams working with real companies on the development of new product innovation.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

An Assessment of the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education\u27s (SAFE) Training Program In Mali: Graduates\u27 Perceptions of the Program\u27s Impact On Their Professional Performance

The Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE) was established in nine African countries to overcome a shortage of qualified extension educators. A study was commissioned on the SAFE program in Mali, where it as operated since 2002. The purpose of this study was to assess SAFE graduates\u27 perceptions regarding their training experiences and its impact on their professional practices. Human capital, experiential learning, social constructivism, and self-efficacy theories supported interpreteing the SAFE graduates\u27 perceptions of the competencies acquired and the changes they perceived making to their clients\u27 practices. A purposeful sampling approach was used to survey 50 safe graduates. The graduates\u27 responses were gathered using several types of response scales, including Likert-type. The findings revealed that 80% of the respondents were males in their late forties with an average of 17 years of expereince in extension. On entering the SAFE training program, 70% held a Technician degree; 30% geld a Diplôme Universitaire de Technicien Supérieur (DUTS; Higher Technician Degree); and seven in ten had majored in agriculture. The SAFE graduates perceived, as outcomes of their training, improvements in their professional competence, in their job category, and in their clients\u27 practices. Moreover, graduates perceived they delivered more extension services through demonstrations and discussions with male and female clients after their training, but a smaller increase in interactions with dealers and traders were reported. The researchers recommended increasing female participation in the SAFE training program, focusing more on value-chain-oriented curricula, and conducting an assessment of clients\u27 perceptions of the SAFE-trained extension educators\u27 impact on their practices

Applying Universal Design for Learning in Online Courses:Pedagogical and Practical Considerations

Inclusion of the universal design for learning (UDL) model as a guiding set of principles for online curriculum development in higher education is discussed. Fundamentally, UDL provides the student with multiple means of accessing the course based on three overarching principles: presentation; action and expression; and engagement and interaction. Guidelines are also provided for incorporating UDL into an online curriculum for teaching both general and diverse populations including students with disabilities

Students\u27 Perceptions of Communications and Course Motivation Provided by Faculty

Because innovation is essential to the future of our society and because there is a need to prepare college students to succeed in business organizations, it has become increasingly important to investigate the factors that enhance or discourage creativity and innovation. College professors have a vital role in introducing students to the fundamentals of innovation and, depending on how they do, can potentially encourage or discourage the innovation process. This study focused on the communication and motivation in the innovation process of faculty in a multidisciplinary course comprised of agricultural economics, biosystems and agricultural engineering, and agricultural communication majors at a large land-grant university. Results demonstrated that students did not always find faculty communication effective, and findings among students in the three majors were different in faculty communication ratings. The data show there are positive relationships between students\u27 perceptions of faculty communications and students\u27 motivation in capstone courses