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The competencies addressed by undergraduate agricultural education programs should be assessed so programs are effective in supplying a well-prepared agricultural- and natural resources-oriented workforce, and so human capital is optimized. In this study, agricultural and natural resources leaders were surveyed to determine the workforce competencies they believed graduates of post-secondary agricultural education programs should have obtained. An Internet based survey was distributed to graduates of an agricultural leadership development (ALT) group and a natural resources leadership development (NRLT) Group. The highest-rated workforce competency categories for the ALT group were being dependable (n = 103), critical thinking (n = 101), strategic planning (n = 98), and clear communication (n = 98); the highest-rated categories for the NRLT group were active listening (n = 73), clear communication (n = 72), and problem solving skills (n = 72). The personal and leadership skills subscales were not significantly different, but natural resources leaders ranked communication competencies as more important than agricultural leaders. Agricultural educators should evaluate the workforce competencies offered in their undergraduate programs and have deliberate conversations about meeting industry needs to better prepare a future workforce.

Extension educators seek to provide scientific research and perspective to farmers and the public. The connection that Extension educators foster between farmers and consumers can be capitalized upon to build trust and ultimately encourage behavior change through social capital. Agricultural educators have recognized the need for consumers and farmers to develop trust and mutuality in order to combat complex issues such as water usage. Agriculture is the greatest user of water in the United States; therefore efforts to encourage agricultural water conservation have been explored. Unfortunately, they are largely unsuccessful because of the increased production cost associated with conservation passed on to consumers. This study explored how U.S. consumers' related their willingness to pay for products conserving water with their level of trust that farmers are good conservationists. The findings revealed that trust that farmers will conserve water is predicted by the degree of positive and negative relationships that consumers identify. The findings imply that by developing relationships between consumers' trust and their willingness to pay, Extension educators can encourage engagement in agricultural water conservation practices.

Extension agents across the nation will need to facilitate difficult conversations with the public if genetic modification (GM) science is used to combat citrus greening disease. This study used the innovation characteristics described by Rogers to explore if using GM science as a solution to citrus greening had diffused amongst US residents. An online survey was completed by 1,051 respondents across the US. Respondents were then classified into geographic regions. Demographic differences amongst respondents from the regions were identified; however, respondents from all regions had neutral perceptions of GM science's compatibility, trialability, complexity, and observability. All regions aside from the West agreed there was a relative advantage to using GM science; the West neither agreed nor disagreed. The Midwest was the only region with half of respondents agreeing they would consume GM citrus. All diffusion characteristics aside from observability were predictors of GM citrus consumption, and when accounting for diffusion characteristics, the Midwest was less likely to consume GM products when compared to the Northeast. Recommendations are offered for how extension agents can develop educational programming tailored to the needs of their regions to aid consumers in making educated decisions about GM citrus in the future.

Opinion leaders are persuasive in convincing others within their social networks to adopt certain opinions and behaviors. By identifying and using opinion leaders, agricultural educators may be able to leverage individuals who have influence on others' opinions, thereby speeding up the adoption of new practices. In this article, we review a statewide survey to define opinion leaders and understand their current water conservation practices. Additionally, by using the theoretical framework of the diffusion of innovations, we explored what subject matter areas opinion leaders are most interested in, and where they go for more information. These findings will identify how agricultural educators can reach opinion leaders to help disseminate important water conservation information. The findings indicated opinion leaders have a good grasp on how to conserve water, but are still misusing water in terms of protecting its quality. Based on these findings it is suggested that agricultural educators develop educational programming focused on improving opinion leaders' knowledge of water pollution; a connection needs to be made between water quality and the environment.

Extension professionals can play a role in addressing water scarcity issues by helping home landscape irrigation users to conserve water. This study used survey research to examine the relationship between several variables, including attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, personal norms, demographic factors, and past behaviors, on intention to use good irrigation practices among Florida home landscape irrigation users (N = 1,063). Following subsequent hierarchical linear regression models, the final model explained 39% of the variance in intentions to engage in good landscape irrigation practices. Subjective norms had a strong influence on intention to engage in landscape water conservation, and past behaviors and personal norms improved the prediction. Extension professionals should incorporate subjective norms into water conservation programs by emphasizing somewhat invisible conservation behaviors to improve perceptions of peers' practices. When personal norms are strong, the subjective norms are slightly less important. Residents who feel a personal obligation to conserve water may be more open to information related to water conservation, and they may be more likely to act, even in the absence of social support. Finally, Extension professionals should consider the audience's past behaviors to design programs that are compatible with actions that Extension clients are likely to take.

Targeted agricultural education programs can play a role in solving complex water issues. This article applies importance-performance analysis to examine dimensions of water resources that may inform local water conservation campaigns in the United States. The purpose of this study was to generate a deep understanding of home irrigation users' preferences and perceptions about water to inform landscape irrigation water best practices campaigns among this audience nationwide. Importance-performance analysis was conducted using quantitative survey research. Responses were drawn from 2,675 people who use home landscape irrigation in all states nationwide and from three areas experiencing serious water issues: Florida, California, and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. There were differences among respondents as a function of geographical location, which revealed people are likely influenced by their exposure to and experience with water issues. There were significant differences between respondents' perceived importance with clean water for different purposes and plentiful water for different purposes. We identified gaps between importance of and satisfaction with clean and plentiful water for different purposes which demonstrate dissatisfaction around important water topics, such as clean water for local and large water bodies. The findings provide insight for targeted programs surrounding local needs and issues. Agricultural education professionals who work on water issues should emphasize home irrigation users' influence on water quality issues over water quantity issues, and should incorporate locally specific findings into programs.

In order to address the complex challenges facing the agricultural and natural resource industry, extension educators must collaborate with opinion leaders. Extension educators can use the assistance of opinion leaders in program design and implementation in order to best meet the needs of stakeholders and the public. Collaboration between extension educators and opinion leaders is more easily conducted when each party understands one another's cognitive style and communication channel preference. This study explored the relationship between opinion leader critical thinking style among three contextual issue groups in agriculture and natural resources and preferred communication preferences used by extension educators. The three contextual issue groups included opinion leaders from the areas of water, food safety, and genetic modification (GM). Researchers used the University of Florida Critical Thinking Inventory (UFCTI) to measure critical thinking style of 300 respondents in Florida. Each of the contextual issue groups preferred engagement with information as their preferred critical thinking style. Among the contextual issue groups, significant differences were identified between the water and food safety groups in the information seeking UFCTI score and the GM and food safety groups in the information engagement score. The preferred method of receiving information overall was visiting a website.

Extension, being a local, state and federally funded program has a natural partnership with government agencies at all three levels, however these partnerships could be built upon and targeted at specific audiences for greater effect if more is known about how government influences public perception. The government has recognized the need for increased public engagement in water conservation to ensure the sustainability of water resources for future generations and taken action through incentive programs and regulations. Political affiliation is known to influence public perception of government initiatives, which may impact levels of intention and engagement in water conservation. This study explored how US residents responded to positive and negative governmental influences on water conservation practices using an online survey. The findings revealed significant differences in the water conservation activities respondents are currently engaged in, as well as future intentions, depend upon political affiliation. Additionally, intention can be predicted by political affiliation and positive government perceptions. By examining the dissonance created by respondents' engagement and intention to take water conservation action, guidance can be provided to extension educators on how to collaborate with government agencies to develop and implement programs and policies that encourage or enforce engagement in water conservation behaviors.

Water availability issues have plagued many regions around the world and is viewed as the top issue facing the world. As a result, encouraging water conservation has become a priority for agricultural communicators. Previous research suggests strategically framed messages can impact attitudes about water conservation, but whether this change is a result of deep thoughts or simple cues has not been explored. This study used semi-structured qualitative interviews to explore the thought processes of individuals who irrigate their home landscape by presenting them with strategically framed messages. This audience was targeted due to the high volumes of water they use for irrigation. The interview process sought to understand how this group processed communication by asking participants to list their thoughts and verbalize their feelings toward a personal and a social message. The analysis was guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model. The findings suggested participants processed the messages peripherally or retained their initial attitude. The findings implied this particular audience had more favorable thoughts toward the social benefits of water conservation than personal benefits. Future messages developed to promote water conservation should focus on the social benefits to promote increased change.

Extension educators have diligently educated the general public about water conservation. Incorporating audiences' personal experience into educational programming is recommended as an approach to effectively enhance audiences' adoption of water conservation practices. To ensure the impact on the audiences and environment, understanding the differences in issues audiences are concerned and audiences' behavioral pattern is needed. This study examined the regional differences in how U.S. residents' experiences with water issues related to their engagement and intention to engage in water conservation in order to facilitate the development of Extension educational programming in different regions. An online survey was administered to collect responses from U.S. residents in this descriptive and correlational study. Respondents' water issues experience, water use behaviors, water conservation practice application, and willingness to act on water conservation were measured. Regional differences in how experience were associated with water use behaviors, water conservation practices application, and willingness to act were found. Extension educators should be aware of such regional differences when developing water conservation educational programs and provide recommendations tailored to regional audiences' needs and interests. By doing so, audiences' adoption of water conservation practices is expected to increase.

Today's complex issues require technical expertise as well as the application of innovative social science techniques within Extension contexts. Researchers have suggested that a social science approach will play a critical role in water conservation, and people who use home landscape irrigation comprise a critical target audience for agriculture and natural resources professionals. This study was conducted to examine the possible role of an audience segmentation approach in addressing the complex issue of water resources. This research used descriptive discriminant analysis to assign national irrigation users to previously identified subgroups found in the literature (the water considerate majority, the water savvy conservationists, and the unconcerned water users) and compare characteristics to identify differences on a national scale. Results revealed the nation's irrigation users are fairly water conscious. The findings implied unique subgroups exist among targeted Extension audiences relevant to specific behaviors, and Extension programs should focus on different programmatic objectives for targeting different subgroups. Differences were found among the three subgroups in water conservation behaviors, personal and social normative beliefs, use of landscape professionals for irrigation maintenance, and learning preferences. Recommendations were provided on how to use the results to develop impact-driven Extension programs.

Research has found levels of engagement in environmental behaviors and participation in Extension programming around environmental issues are directly associated with political affiliation. Democrat and Independent parties encourage members to vote for stricter environmental regulations, such as water conservation efforts, while Republicans resist. These divergent political behaviors imply that individuals' political affiliation affects their water conservation habits and their attitudes towards environmental issues. Hence, this can be used as a basis for creating appropriate water conservation-focused Extension programs targeting specific populations. However, research on the level of individual engagement in water conservation efforts and participation in Extension programming by political affiliation is lacking. The purpose of this study was to identify how engagement in water conservation behaviors and interest in water focused Extension programs differ by political affiliation. The results show that Democrats are more interested in water-based education when compared to Republicans. These findings have important implications for the development of effective Extension programs designed to assist in water conservation efforts. By understanding the diverse political influences on water conservation behaviors, Extension educators can create appropriate and effective water-based education programs that resonates with all audiences.

Nursery growers are one of the largest agricultural users of water. Researchers have been developing new water treatment techniques and technologies for nursery growers to assist in preserving this precious resource, yet adoption within the industry has been limited. Extension professionals need to work closely with nursery growers to encourage adoption but the enablers and barriers are largely unidentified in the literature. Twenty-four interviews were conducted with nursery growers nationwide to identify the barriers and enablers to adoption in an effort to provide recommendations for improved extension programming with this audience. The findings revealed nursery growers have a positive attitude towards water conservation but the financial cost of replacing equipment keeps them from adopting. In addition, nursery growers perceive new technologies to be complex and difficult to understand and implement. Extension professionals can leverage this positive attitude and use social norms to assist in overcoming some of the barriers. Using case studies as examples of success stories, partnering with researchers to develop easy to use instructions and integration tools that could be offered online, and assisting growers in connecting with agricultural economists to conduct cost/benefit analysis associated with adoption are a few of the recommendations offered.

Global conflicts have rapidly made water the most contentious issue in the world today. Considering water drives health, industry, recreation, and the agricultural food system it is no surprise that it has become such a hot topic. As a result, the general public has an increased interest in water-focused policy; policy that can have a large impact on the agriculture industry. Agricultural and natural resource opinion leaders may differ or agree with the general public on water related issues, as well as perceptions of government influence. Identifying similarities and differences will allow agricultural educators to identify ways to resolve disagreements through improved education, communication and messaging, and leadership development of agricultural and natural resource opinion leaders. The findings indicated there are significant differences between agricultural and natural resource opinion leaders and the general public as it related to their knowledge of water issues and perceptions of government support for individual decision-making regarding environmental issues. Based on these findings it is suggested agricultural educators establish a common language that can be used with all audiences to discuss water issues, develop educational programming to assist opinion leaders when addressing observed knowledge gaps, and create educational coalitions to provide source credibility across audiences.

Psychotic experiences are thought to emerge from various interrelated patterns of disrupted belief updating, such as overestimating the reliability of sensory information and misjudging task volatility, yet these substrates have never been jointly addressed under one computational framework, and it is not clear to what degree they reflect trait-like computational patterns. We introduce a novel hierarchical Bayesian model that describes how individuals simultaneously update their beliefs about the task volatility and noise in observation. We applied this model to data from a modified predictive inference task in a test-retest study with healthy volunteers (N = 45, 4 sessions) and examined the relationship between model parameters and schizotypal traits in a larger online sample (N = 437) and in a cohort of patients with schizophrenia (N = 100). The interclass correlations were moderate to high for model parameters and excellent for averaged belief trajectories and precision-weighted learning rates estimated through hierarchical Bayesian inference. We found that uncertainty about the task volatility was related to schizotypal traits and to positive symptoms in patients, when learning to gain rewards. In contrast, negative symptoms in patients were associated with more rigid beliefs about observational noise, when learning to avoid losses. These findings suggest that individuals with schizotypal traits across the psychosis continuum are less likely to learn or use higher-order statistical regularities of the environment and showcase the potential of clinically relevant computational phenotypes for differentiating symptom groups in a transdiagnostic manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paramount to human health, symbiotic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract rely on the breakdown of complex polysaccharides to thrive in this sugar-deprived environment. Gut Bacteroides are metabolic generalists and deploy dozens of polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) to forage diverse dietary and host-derived glycans. The expression of the multi-protein PUL complexes is tightly regulated at the transcriptional level. However, how PULs are orchestrated at translational level in response to the fluctuating levels of their cognate substrates is unknown. Here, we identify the RNA-binding protein RbpB and a family of noncoding RNAs as key players in post-transcriptional PUL regulation. We demonstrate that RbpB interacts with numerous cellular transcripts, including a paralogous noncoding RNA family comprised of 14 members, the FopS (family of paralogous sRNAs). Through a series of in-vitro and in-vivo assays, we reveal that FopS sRNAs repress the translation of SusC-like glycan transporters when substrates are limited—an effect antagonized by RbpB. Ablation of RbpB in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron compromises colonization in the mouse gut in a diet-dependent manner. Together, this study adds to our understanding of RNA-coordinated metabolic control as an important factor contributing to the in-vivo fitness of predominant microbiota species in dynamic nutrient landscapes. Gut Bacteroides deploy several polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs) to forage diverse dietary and host-derived glycans. Here, the authors identify the RNA-binding protein RbpB and a family of noncoding RNAs as key players in post-transcriptional PUL regulation, further showing that ablation of RbpB in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron compromises colonization in the mouse gut in a diet-dependent manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]