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Food futures and 3D printing
Authors of this Canadian-based case study observed how increasingly-emerging 3D food printing “will have…profound impact on food science, health, sustainability, and what we consider possible in food cultures and economies.” They looked at Structurd, a Canada-based company, within a larger world of 3D printing innovation, science, and processing.
You can read the 2018 article from the International Journal on Food System Dynamics here.
How people in Italy share information about food through Twitter
Researchers Marco Platania and Roberta Spadoni used quantitative tools and network analysis to describe the food-related information shared via Twitter in two regions of Italy. Findings revealed differences between the two networks surveyed, both with regard to the actors involved and the way in which they shared information.
You can read this journal article here.
Recent changes in computer usage and internet access on U.S. farms
The August 2019 USDA report, “Farm computer usage and ownership,” shows these trends, among others, between 2017 and 2019:
- Satellite (26% in 2019) and Digital Subscriber Line (22%) continued to be the most popular choices that U.S. farms used to access the internet.
- Nationally, 75% of farms reported having access to the internet in 2019, 73% having access to a desktop or laptop computer.
- More than half (52%) of the farms used a smart phone or tablet to conduct farm business during 2019, compared with 44% in 2017.
The report also presents trends by state. You can read it here.
Textbook example of how community newspapers need to and can diversify their revenue streams
A 2018 article we added recently from Newspaper Research Journal described this example during the first summit of the Radically Rural organization. Radically Rural is devoted to sustaining and revitalizing U.S. rural life.
A summit session, “Energizing and growing rural journalism,” featured the Keene (New Hampshire) Sentinel newspaper. Article author Dane S. Claussen described encouraging approaches taken by the Sentinel, an innovative 7,000-circulation daily with more than 90 employees. You can read the article here.
Local community library becomes a news outlet
He said he’s not a journalist. However, during 2016 Michael Sullivan, director of the public library in Weare, New Hampshire (8,966 residents), became publisher of Weare in the World. He developed and posted it on the library website. That was during 2016, after the community newspaper closed. Residents soon complained there wasn’t enough information to help them make decisions for electing local officials and passing budgets.
We have added to the ACDC collection a 2019 article in NiemanReports entitled, “Journalism and libraries: ‘Both exist to support strong, well-informed communities’.” The article described this project and examined the value and promise of journalism-library connections in local communities. You can read it here.
Communicator events approaching
April 15-17, 2020
“Charting the course.” Conference of the National Agri-Marketing Association in San Diego, California.
Information https://www.nama.org/amc-san-diego.html
May 21-25, 2020
“Open communication.” 70th annual meeting of the International Communication Association at Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Information: https://icahdq.org/page/ICA2020/
June 1-3, 2020
“Spice up your creativity.” 2020 Institute of the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Buffalo, New York.
Information: www.communicators.coop/cca-institute-2020
June 22-25, 2020
“Be inspired Chicago!” Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), Hyatt Regency O’Hare, Chicago, Illinois.
Information: https://www.aceweb.org/
June 24-28, 2020
Conference of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors at the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada.
Information: https://www.iswne.org
Concrete thoughts about small-town living
We close this issue of ACDC News with another enduring insight from Will Rogers:
“Let not the mind be like concrete—all mixed up and permanently set.”
Best wishes – and good searching
ACDC is a resource for you, so please feel free to invite our help as you search for information. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valuable international collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, Room 510, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to acdc@library.illinois.edu