Developing Public Relations Curricula in Agricultural Communications

Agricultural public relations professionals were surveyed to determine the proficiencies in public relations that they perceive to be most important in an agricultural communications curriculum. They also were asked how frequently they used those proficiencies and how best to integrate the proficiencies in the agricultural communications curriculum. The population for the study consisted of public relations professionals who were members of the Agricultural Relations Council and the Cooperative Communicators Association. Most respondents perceived agricultural proficiencies to be less important than general communications or public relations proficiencies. Proficiencies related to use of the computer skills, human relations skills, time management, writing, and editing were among the most frequently used proficiencies by public relations professionals. Based on these results, it is recommended that university faculty consider focusing public relations curriculum toward writing, editing, presentations, time management, conflict resolution, and teamwork. It also is recommended that students take coursework in agricultural policy and government programs and finance/business principles. Finally, it is recommended that faculty stress the importance of meeting deadlines to prepare students for the public relations profession

Newspaper Coverage of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Outbreak in the United States: A Content Analysis

Objectivity is a hallmark of good journalism. Objective news writing is particularly important when covering agricultural issues. In this study, researchers used the Hayakawa-Lowry news bias categories to examine the objectivity of news coverage of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) outbreak that occurred December 23, 2003, in the United States. The study looked at 149 articles published in USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Seattle Times, dating from the day of the outbreak to February 10, 2004, when the USDA concluded its investigation of the outbreak. Based on the findings, the three newspapers studied were more objective than judgmental in their coverage of the outbreak. Although judgment statements were relatively uncommon, the majority of the judgment statements found were negative toward agriculture. Analysis of the level of objectivity for each newspaper revealed that USA Today was the least objective in its coverage; The Seattle Times was the most objective. This study recommends that reporters be encouraged to include more objective sentences in their writing, that journalism and agricultural communications students be educated about the Hayakawa-Lowry news bias categories, that additional research be conducted on media coverage of other agricultural issues, and that the agricultural literacy level of journalists be examined

Service Learning: A Case Study in an Agricultural Communications Course

Academic service-learning can be an effective and successful educational tool across many disciplines. The benefits afforded students and the community they serve are reciprocal in nature, thereby providing service to the community and capitalizing on a real-world learning environment for the students. Agricultural communications programs can offer for service-learning opportunities within the academic arena. The Campaign Planning for Agricultural and Natural Resources course at Oklahoma State University captures the essence of service-learning and provides students with an opportunity to use knowledge gained in previous courses to develop usable communications campaigns for small businesses or organizations. This case study should serve as a starting point for service-learning research in agricultural communications

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,

Evaluation of an International Entrepreneur Exchange Program: Impacts, Lessons Learned, and Implications for Agricultural Development

This study evaluated a two-way, visitor exchange project for entrepreneurship development between three African countries and the United States. The study’s purpose was to determine outcomes, understand lessons learned, and derive implications for international agricultural development. Findings of the study confirm visiting African Entrepreneur Fellows (AEFs) developed entrepreneurial knowledge, gained business skills, and acquired positive attitudes toward U.S. business and culture. The majority of AEFs had applied acquired knowledge and skills to improve their businesses and promoted open economic ideals, business ethics, and human rights in their businesses. As a result, AEFs were able to expand their business into new ventures, improve customer services, establish communication networks, and serve their communities. Visitor exchange, entrepreneurship-building programs are effective strategies in contributing to development efforts in developing countries. Paying due attention to the selection and matching of U.S. mentors with the business interests and learning needs of international fellows is necessary to ensure their learning expectations are met. It is important to assign international participants with suitable mentors for longer periods of time to increase the likelihood of receiving more in-depth learning experiences and develop lasting professional relationships to further collaboration. Realization of the potential of entrepreneurship-focused, visitor exchange programs between nations as a strategy for international agricultural development is the major implication of this study

African Food Security Fellows\u27 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 a five-week training program on issues of food security and 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 transcribed and coded, and emergent themes were identified in concert with the study’s purpose and research questions. Established procedures to address researcher reflexivity and enable transferability of the findings were followed. The data analysis yielded 41 codes from which 11 themes were 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 personnel to work together to ensure a nation’s food security. Future exchanges should provide participants with an internship experience instead of only job shadowing opportunities

Toward a Scale to Measure How Food Businesses Attain and Maintain Legitimacy

This study advances knowledge about strategies new food businesses can use to achieve legitimacy by continuing the scale development work of Johnson et al. (2018). We test, extend, and validate an instrument used to measure food/Agribusiness legitimacy. A principal component analysis of data from a 50-item questionnaire instrument administered to food businesses that have worked with a land-grant university food processing center revealed an underlying nine-component structure which contributed to about 80% of the explained variance in the pattern of relationships among questionnaire items, differing from previous studies. We discuss these differences and make recommendations to refine the scale