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“Seven drivers of trust-earning transparency”
These validated principles come from the Center for Food Integrity (CFI). Participants examined them at a Transparency Summit in Chicago, Illinois, during November 2023. Drivers included:
• Motivation: Act in a manner that is ethical and consistent with stakeholder interests.
• Disclosure: Share all information publicly, both positive and negative.
• Stakeholder participation: Engage those interested in your activities or impact.
• Relevance: Share information stakeholders deem relevant.
• Clarity: Share information that is easily understood and easily obtained.
• Credibility: Have a history of operating with integrity.
• Accuracy: Share information that is truthful, objective, reliable and complete.
This article is not available by open access. Please invite our help at acdc@library.illinois.edu.
Digital divides still exist among rural, suburban, and urban American adults
A 2021 survey by Pew Research Center among U.S. adults revealed that rural Americans made large gains in adopting digital technology over the previous decade. They narrowed some digital gaps. “However, rural adults remain less likely than suburban adults to have home broadband and less likely than urban adults to own a smartphone, tablet computer or traditional computer.”
Seventy-two percent of rural adults reported having home broadband service in 2021, compared with 79 percent of suburban adults and 77 percent of urban adults. Rural service had risen nine percent since 2016. “…lack of reliable internet access has come to the forefront of discussions about navigating remote work and school during the coronavirus pandemic.”
You can read “Some digital divides persist between rural, urban and suburban America” by open access.
Celebrating 20 years of ZimmComm
Congratulations to Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman as they observe the 20th anniversary of their innovative ZimmComm enterprise, based in Florida.
“It was at the 2004 NAMA conference that we kicked off our new company, which was initially called ZimmComm New Media – but what was new then is now just called social media, a little thing that has made a deep impact on what we all do as marketers, journalists, and communicators in general.” It has charted new pathways for effective event reporting and information services involving agribusiness communications.
You can read more about this by open access in an April 22 report entitled “ZimmComm Celebrates 20th Anniversary.”
How prepared are German pig farmers to prevent African swine fever?
A 2024 article in Porcine Health Management reported on research addressing that question. Results were encouraging. “The biosecurity check showed that on most farms, a high level of biosecurity had been implemented. … Overall, the farmers were well informed about ASF and had a realistic perception of their own biosecurity.”
Researchers suggested that current knowledge transfer and information should focus on building upon the farmers’ own motivation and expertise. Efforts should support the farmers’ efforts to put existing knowledge into practice.
You can read “Biosecurity measures for the prevention of African swine fever on German pig farms” by open access.
Special conflicts in ethics of rural health care
We are adding to the ACDC collection a chapter in the Handbook for rural health care ethics: a practical guide for professionals from Dartmouth College Press (2009). Chapter 7, written by Tom Townsend, featured “Ethics conflicts in rural communities: privacy and confidentiality.”
Townsend explored “ethical challenges involving privacy and confidentiality in rural health care relationships, due to overlapping relationships and familiarity with patients and communities.” He noted how the ethics issues within the patient-provider relationship change when “strangers at the bedside” rather than friends, neighbors or acquaintances are involved as health care providers. Several situation case studies in the chapter helped examine such ethical issues. A closing section offered suggestions about how to address ethical conflicts in confidentiality and privacy.
You can read “Ethics conflicts in rural communities: privacy and confidentiality” by open access.
Communicator events approaching
Here are event plans you may find helpful, with contact information you can use for details. We welcome suggestions or revisions for this calendar.
June 2-4, 2024. “Center of Communication.” Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) Institute in Des Moines, Iowa. Information: https://www.communicators.coop/professional-development/cca-institute/
June 18-20, 2024. Annual meeting of the Agricultural Relations Council (ARC) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Information: https://www.agrelationscouncil.org/agricultural-relations-council-annual-meeting/
June 18-23, 2024. Conference of the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors (ISWNE) in Toronto, Canada.
Information: https://www.iswne.org/conferences/
June 20-24, 2024. “Communication and global human rights.” Annual conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) in Gold Coast, Australia. Information: https://www.icahdq.org/mpage/ica24/
June 23-25, 2024. “Big ideas start here.” Annual conference of the Association of Communication Excellence (ACE) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Information: https://aceweb.org/ace-conference/
On speaking better
We close this issue of ACDC News with a Dutch proverb about communicating:
“It is better to speak sense occasionally than nonsense continually.”
Best regards and wishes
ACDC is a deep and open resource for you, so please feel free to invite our help as you search for information, local to global. You are welcome to follow us on Twitter @ACDCUIUC. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique and valued international collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, 510 ACES Library, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801) – or in electronic format sent to acdc@library.illinois.edu