Editor Preferences for the Use of Scientific Information in Livestock Publications

Editors of monthly livestock publications were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the amount, type, and sources of scientific information used in their respective publications. The most important scientific topics to editors were animal health, management, and breeding and genetics. Editors’ identification of the most important topics agreed with previously reported audience perceptions of information needs and previous studies of information provided by agricultural journals, although lower rankings of policy and worker/employee safety information contradicted the importance of magazines identified by audiences in previous studies. The importance of certain gatekeeping criteria to editors reflected the general standards of accuracy and newsworthiness found in journalism, as well as editors’ perceptions of their livestock audiences’ information needs. A majority of editors recommended two to four sources be used in a scientific story, with university faculty or staff, Cooperative Extension, veterinarians and the USDA identified as the top sources. The number and sources of information preferred coincided with source characteristics as criteria for using scientific information. The specific sources most preferred by editors also demonstrated the orientation of editors with other gatekeepers and the audience in selecting appropriate information for publication. Scientific information published was similar to editors’ rankings of topic importance and source preferences. Scientific information was written for the average producer, and a majority of editors reported publishing scientific stories in at least one-half of issues. The depths and overall use of scientific information also supported the importance of delivering understandable scientific information to their agricultural audiences

Media Dependency During a Food Safety Incident Related to the U.S. Beef Industry

Food safety issues are an important topic in the mainstream media. Media coverage of food safety, particularly the beef industry, has the potential to alter consumers’ perceptions of and attitudes toward the beef industry. Much of the media coverage about food safety incidents related to beef is negative, causing concerns and frustrations among the industry. The media has an important and powerful influence on society; there is a benefit to understanding the role of the media and how people use media in their everyday lives. This study examined consumers’ dependencies on media during normal times when a food safety incident has not occurred or is not expected to occur and during a potential food safety incident in the beef industry. The results showed that consumers use different mediums to receive information during a food safety incident than during normal times. Internet, television news channels, and radio were the top mediums that respondents considered helpful in receiving information related to food safety incidents. Respondents spent more time per week on mediums during normal times than during a food safety incident. Agricultural communicators need to send messages to the mediums consumers use daily to educate the public about food safety issues

NAMA Members\u27 Perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility

As corporate social responsibility becomes increasingly important within organizations, it is imperative that professionals define their role in setting the CSR agenda. Through a descriptive survey, this study investigated National Agri-Marketing Association members’ perceptions of their roles in CSR and acceptable practices for releasing data about an organization. Respondents were neutral that the agricultural communications industry has a clear code of ethics and standards of performance. NAMA members agreed that developing programs that are good for society is both good for business and good citizenship, and that public relations professionals should be deeply involved in helping management define an organization’s social role. A majority of respondents reported working for an organization that recruited and hired employees who had an agricultural communications major, and had worked with someone who had an agricultural communications major, but were unsure of their preparation, management skills, and strategic thinking skills. Agricultural communications programs should take this perception into account and incorporate these three issues into their curriculum. No research was found that discussed CSR and public relations in the agriculture industry. With this study, agricultural public relations practitioners might see their role in CSR and the need for a clear code of ethics to unify the industry. This study creates a foundation for additional studies of agricultural public relations professionals, delving deeper into more specific roles related to CSR

Expressions of Social Presence in Agricultural Conversations on Twitter: Implications for Agricultural Communications

Computer-mediated environments such as social media create new social climates that impact communication interactions in un-mediated environments. As computer-mediated communication (CMC) stimulates more social communities, many communication behaviors will evolve and adapt to the unique social environment created by CMC. This study examined social variables during two different synchronous conversations on Twitter through a qualitative document analysis that coded messages into affective, interactive, and cohesive categories. Categories were determined by indicators within each message such as emoticons, direct responses, and the use of individuals’ names. The researcher concluded that most social variables in the Twitter conversations fit into the interactive social presence category but that affective and cohesive responses supported personal connection and structure within the conversations. It was also found that the same category of responses could function differently in each conversation. However, both conversations in this study appeared to be successful. Therefore, agricultural communicators should feel comfortable using CMC that contains social presence dimensions to circulate agricultural information among populations across the globe. Additional research should be conducted to examine social presence among new topics, populations, and other forms of CMC

Examining JAC: An Analysis of the Scholarly Progression of the Journal of Applied Communications

The peer-review process influences scholarly publication, authors, readers, and the direction of scientific research. In addition, this process may have a broader influence on society if policy implications are associated with scientific discovery (Hobart, Gonnell, & Caelleigh, 2003). As the Journal of Applied Communications ( JAC) is an outlet for scholarly, peer-reviewed publication by agricultural communicators, it must be analyzed and questioned to meet the needs of the profession (Miller, Stewart, & West, 2006). This study examined the content of JAC from 1990 to 2006 by reporting descriptive information about the content of JAC and examining the progression of published scholarly research within the framework of the peer-review process. In Volume 74(1) (1990) through Volume 90(4) (2006) of JAC, 222 research and non-research articles were published. About three-quarters (73.4%) of the articles published in JAC were research articles, and 18 methods were used and 64 populations were examined in those research articles. More than 300 authors published in JAC during the selected time period, representing more than 70 universities, agencies, and private business. Trends in the numbers of research and non-research articles were not identified, although co-authored papers were more likely to be research-based. The combined research and non-research structure of JAC provides resources for a variety of professionals in agricultural communications. Based on the results of this study, JAC does serve as a scholarly outlet for disseminating current knowledge, archiving disciplinal knowledge, controlling the quality of information, and assigning priority and credit to authors’ work (Rowland, 2002)

Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Members\u27 Preferred Sources of Animal Health Information

The nation’s agriculture and food infrastructure is vulnerable to significant social disruption and economic loss from hazards. Biological hazards, such as animal disease epidemics, have resulted in millions of dollars of economic loss and the death of millions of livestock in the past, and it will happen again unless infrastructure stakeholders adopt proper preventative measures. From farm to plate, defense starts on the farm with producers. With the multitude of potential hazards, many factors influence livestock producers’ protective action decision process. A major factor in the decision to take a protective action is from where or from whom the threat information originates. By identifying preferred sources, perceived credible sources, and preferred formats of animal health information by producers, risk communicators can more effectively develop critical animal health warnings and messages to promote rapid detection of hazards. This study targeted 7,661 members of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. An online questionnaire developed from previous research with similar populations allowed TSCRA members to respond to questions related to the objectives of this study. A representative sample of TSCRA members from Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico responded and identified high levels of perceived trust and reliability in local veterinarians as a source of information along with livestock associations and county extension offices. TSCRA members also indicated they have multiple preferred formats for receiving animal health information. By using this information when communicating possible hazards, protective action from such threats will become more probable in this population

Participant Satisfaction Related to Social Presence in Agricultural Conversations using Twitter: Implications for Agricultural Communications

Communication has evolved from predominantly face-to-face environments to include greater use of computer-mediated environments such as social networking sites for sharing information, meeting new people, and learning. Aspects of computer-mediated communication related to perceptions of social presence impact the way communication occurs in un-mediated environments. This study examined perceived social presence, participant satisfaction, and relationships between social presence and satisfaction among Twitter users during streaming conversations. Data were collected through an online questionnaire that was created using qualtrics.com and made available to respondents over a one-week period. Two groups of survey respondents agreed with 10 of 21 and 13 of 21 statements about social presence and 10 of 13 and 12 of 13 statements about satisfaction. Findings indicated that positive and negative relationships exist between social presence and satisfaction. Participants felt they were in close virtual proximity with other participants, and social presence can be fostered through text-based variables, such as emoticons, to compensate for lack of nonverbal or face-to-face cues. Therefore, agricultural communicators should use techniques that foster social presence to support virtual relationships and circulate agricultural information through chatting, messaging, and blogging

Factors Contributing to Effective U.S. Cooperative Member-owner Communications

In 2011, communicating the cooperative value package to member-owners was identified as the most critical challenge among U.S. agricultural cooperatives. Rural cooperatives in three states were surveyed to identify current communications methods and to elicit the effectiveness of communicating key messages through those efforts by conducting a simple regression analysis