Country Crisis: A Content Analysis of Rural Opioid Epidemic News Coverage

The spread of non-prescription opioid abuse has increased to the point that a person is now more likely to die from an accidental overdose than an automobile accident. Rural areas have been hit particularly hard, and many farmers indicate direct impacts resulting from the opioid epidemic. Researchers have recognized the role of the media in communicating complicated issues and influencing potential solutions. This study analyzed the frames and sources used to communicate issues regarding the rural opioid epidemic in The New York Times and five additional newspapers from states most affected by the opioid epidemic. A total of 115 news, feature, editorial, and other articles were analyzed. The most often used frame was “growth or spread” of the epidemic and the sources most frequently referenced were medical professionals and elected officials. Although a non-traditional issue in agriculture, agricultural communicators should not shy away from getting involved given the potential for harm to rural communities and, in turn, the agriculture industry. Future studies should investigate rural community member and journalist perceptions on the issue, as well as coverage in other states

Reporting a Rural Reality: A Case Study of an Agricultural Newspaper’s Series on the Rural Opioid Epidemic

Opioid drug abuse has created an epidemic recognized as a public health emergency in 2017, and the detrimental impacts of this epidemic have reached into rural America. When it comes to presenting information via the mass media, communications professionals serve as gatekeepers for what information is passed on to media consumers. Additionally, news organizations place certain degrees of importance upon issues through the amount of coverage dedicated to an issue. In late 2016, when the Farm and Dairy newspaper editorial staff decided to dedicate a vast amount of time and resources to covering Ohio and Pennsylvania’s rural opioid epidemic, a variety of questions and concerns followed. This complicated topic was largely unfamiliar and untraditional to agricultural communications. Concerns about how to research the topic, work with sources, and manage responses from stakeholders emerged at the onset, but motivations to increase awareness, reduce stigma, and instill hope in the midst of a rural opioid epidemic brought the series to fruition. This case study details the actions taken by those involved in the series and stakeholder reactions to a unique journalistic investigation from a rural newspaper. Discussion of recommendations for future research and curricular impacts are provided

Broadening design-led education horizons: conceptual insights and future research directions

© 2017, Springer Nature B.V. Design as an overarching pedagogical framework has been regarded by some as the avenue to re-envision general education to develop capabilities required for twenty-first century citizens. However, despite the adoption of design thinking within other domains, generic design-based education for lifelong learning remains largely unexplored. A comprehensive review of literature on educating a workforce for the knowledge economy, and the role of design in business and educational innovation, has been conducted to create a new approach to building a culture of practice for design-led education, based on the theory of the Innovation Matrix. This study proposes ‘design-led educational innovation’ as a new area of research which requires a deeper understanding of the knowledge, skills and mindsets students require to thrive in the twenty-first century and beyond as lifelong learners in informal and formal education contexts. The findings provide an opportunity to explore dynamic theories and methodologies borrowed from within the field of design-led innovation in business that will broaden the horizons of design-led education, challenging existing practices to transform educational institutions as knowledge creation organisations. This is the first paper to introduce the Design-led Education Innovation Matrix, providing a prototype design-led framework to assist educators in developing and assessing twenty-first century knowledge, skills and mindsets. In addition, it identifies related future research areas for academia, thereby extending the reach and scope of this emerging research area