Digital Commons Network^™

Using Cross-Cultural Focus Groups As A Tool For Communication Campaign Design: An Example From Russia’S Forest Project, Eric A. Abbott, Kate Gouverniuk, Ludmila Liamets, Tatyana Ukhanova

Journal of Applied Communications

Focus groups can be a useful tool when working on a cross-cultural communication project in which the communication specialist may have a very different cultural background than that of the target audience. Ten focus groups were used as a part of a large crosscultural project to design a forest fire public awareness campaign for Russia’s Far East and Siberia. Three of the focus groups were used to gain an in-depth understanding of forest behaviors that might pose a risk for forest fires. These groups also probed what members of the target audience believe would be reasonably safe behaviors. The remaining …

An Emerging Model For A Farmer Information And Advisory Service For Russia, I. M. Mikhailenko

Journal of Applied Communications

The breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 resulted in the collapse of the centralized “command and control” agricultural information system that told farmers what to plant, when to plant it, and where to deliver the harvest. During the 1990s, a new “Farmer Information and Advisory Service” was launched as part of World Bank and other donor projects. This resulted in the creation of a number of different regional services, some connected with universities, some with agricultural administrations, and some with training institutes. These really constitute “fragments” created to suit regional needs rather than potential models for a future national …

Selected College Students' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Biotechnology Issues Reported In The Mass Media, Gary J. Wingenbach, Tracy A. Rutherford, Deborah W. Dunsford

Journal of Applied Communications

The purpose of this study was to determine college students' awareness of and attitudes toward biotechnology issues reported in the mass media. Future agricultural communicators (N = 330) representing 11 land-grant universities in 10 states recorded their knowledge and perceptions of biotechnology issues as reported in the mass media. Respondents were mostly seniors (46%), female (55%), and considered themselves "8" average students (60%). Students achieved only 30% correct responses (M = 3.05) in a knowledge assessment of biotechnology practices, illustrating a lack of knowledge. However, nearly 84% of the respondents perceived their level of knowledge as average to high (24% …

A Case Study Of Online Learners Participating In The Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener Training Program, Bob Rost, Ann Marie Vanderzanden

Journal of Applied Communications

As more and more Extension educational content finds its way onto the World Wide Web, questions persist among Extension educators about the effectiveness of online delivery. Do Extension clients learn as much from online Extension educational programs as they do from classroom-based programs? And, are Extension clients with computer and Internet experience more likely to accept online educational programs and be satisfied with them? At Oregon State University, a team of Extension educators addressed those questions via a study of learners participating in the OSU Extension Service’s Master Gardener program. The study compared online learners with traditional classroom learners and …

Gauging Distance Education Students’ Comfort Level With Technology And Perceptions Of Self-Assessment And Technology Training Initiatives, Tracy Irani, Ricky Telg

Journal of Applied Communications

Distance education has made great strides toward enfranchising nontraditional learners. Yet, while technology has continued to evolve and develop, student support services, especially those focused on technology training and assessment, are still a critical need. This study examined a representative sample of undergraduate, graduate, and postbaccalaureate agricultural students to determine the effect of demographics and prior distance education experience on their perceptions of the need for distance education assessment and training and their comfort level with distance learning technologies. Results indicated that respondents with previous distance education experience rated their comfort level with technology lower than those students taking a …

What’S The Impact With Congressional Aides? A Study Of Communication Attitudes And Behaviors, Kristina M. Boone, Mark Tucker, Jackie M. Mcclaskey

Journal of Applied Communications

This article reports findings from an evaluation study of the USDA Science and Education Impact Fact Sheet Program. The program was established in 1995 to communicate tangible effects of USDAExtension programming to help maintain investment in land-grant and USDA research and educational programs. The single-page Impact Fact Sheets, which address such topics as agriculture and the environment, parenting, and waste management, have been distributed to stakeholders through mail and personal visits and distributed to states for their own use. Impact information is also maintained on the National Impact Database. This paper reports results from both qualitative and quantitative data collection …

Enhancing Professionalism In Academic Agricultural Communications Programs: The Role Of Accreditation, Mark Tucker, Sherrie R. Whaley, Larry Whiting, Robert Agunga

Journal of Applied Communications

Enhancing professionalism in agricultural and applied communications has been an important topic of discussion among ACE members in recent years. Developing strategies to increase prestige and recognition of this specialized field are of particular interest to ACE members involved in administering academic programs in agricultural communications and agricultural journalism. One of the measures under consideration to bolster recognition is the development of accreditation standards and procedures that would allow for “certification” of academic programs. Among the often-cited advantages of accreditation are increased uniformity of curricula and the development of formal quality- control mechanisms. However, if accreditation standards and procedures are …

Radiosource.Net: Case-Study Of A Collaborative Land-Grant Internet Audio Project, Kathleen Sohar, Ashley M. Wood, Roberto Ramirez

Journal of Applied Communications

RadioSource.NET (http://radiosource.net) is a Web-portal news site for land-grant university radio programming. The project is a collaborative venture among university communication departments with the following goals: to share resources; increase online distribution; and promote access to agricultural and natural and life science research.

This article is a case study of RadioSource.NET. The evolution of the RadioSource.NET project is examined with emphasis on the process of establishing and maintaining online collaborative partnerships within academia. The project’s development is described and discussed, and Wheeler, Valacich, Alavi, and Vogel’s (1995) framework for technology-mediated interinstitutional relationships for collaborative learning is used to help organize …