Lulu Rodriguez

The levels of visual framing

Abstract While framing research has centered mostly on the evaluations of media texts, visual news discourse has remained relatively unexamined. This study surveys the visual framing techniques and methods employed in previous studies and proposes a four-tiered model of identifying and analyzing visual frames: (1) visuals as denotative systems, (2) visuals as stylistic-semiotic systems, (3) visuals as connotative systems and (4) visuals as ideological representations. These four tiers are defined and the process of identifying frames at each level is explicated. The proposed system can be applied to analyzing any type of visual media content or audiences’ perception of that content.

The Impact of Risk Communication on the Acceptance of Irradiated Food

This study uses a quasi-experimental design to assess the impact of pro- and anti-food irradiation messages on consumer opinions. The data came from a panel study of 223 adults in Minneapolis, Minnesota, who completed three successive questionnaires. One group received a packet of information materials; another did not. Packet recipients perceived irradiation to be less safe and held less favorable opinions about the protagonists in the irradiation debate. Opinions changed over three months, although the changes were not statistically significant. Those who did not receive the packet showed significantly more favorable opinions of food irradiation opponents.

A Comparison of Student Interns and Supervisors regarding Internship Performance Ratings

Student media internships require three-way communication among education institutions, student interns, and workplace supervisors. This study assesses the extent to which interns and supervisors agree in ratings of intern performance. Self-administered questionnaires measured four skill sets that incorporated ACEJMC competencies and related communication abilities. Respondents differed in their respective mid- and final evaluations, becoming more congruent as internships progressed. Statistically significant differences were observed as students tended to rate their performances more highly than did their supervisors.

Africa's inevitable walk to genetically modified (GM) crops: opportunities and challenges for commercialization.

High relative poverty levels in Africa are attributed to the continents under performing agriculture. Drought, low-yielding crop varieties, pests and diseases, poor soils, low fertilizer use, limited irrigation and lack of modern technologies are among the problems that plague African agriculture. Genetically modified (GM) crops may possess attributes that can help overcome some of these constraints, but have yet to be fully embraced in the mix of technology solutions for African agriculture. Cognizant of this, South Africa, Burkina Faso and Egypt are steadily growing GM crops on a commercial scale. Countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda are increasingly field-testing these crops with the view to commercialize them. These countries show strong government support for GM technology. Progress by these first adopter nations provides an insight as to how GM crops are increasingly being viewed as one of the ways in which the continent can invigorate the agriculture sector and achieve food security.

Safe Farm: The Impact of an Iowa Public Information Campaign

The 1992 public information campaign, Safe Farm, made farm safety messages available to a diverse and independent target audience of 104,000 full-time and parttime Iowa farm operators and their families. The print portion of the campaign reached 5.03 million Iowa newspaper subscribers. A series of public service announcements received at least 180 h of air time on more than 100 Iowa radio stations and nearly 80,000 farm safety publications were distributed by Iowa State University (ISU) Extension during the campaign. The impact of this public information campaign was measured by a baseline and follow-up telephone survey of 460 Iowa farm operators. The baseline survey showed that farm operators relied heavily on local media for farm safety information, as well as the cooperative extension service.When asked where they obtained safety information, 95% of the respondents said newspapers and magazines, 82% radio, 77% television, 59% relied on publications from ISU Extension, and 33% relied on ISU Extension staff. The follow-up survey measured significant improvements in Iowa farm operators? awareness, concern, and behavior based on three indices composed of scales common to both surveys. A multiple regression analysis was conducted based on a causal model. The multivariate test indicated that these changes could not be statistically attributed to the Safe Farm campaign.

Risks From an “Unknown” Technology: How lowans Perceive Agricultural Sludge

Abstract Iowans (N = 588) were surveyed on their attitudes toward the use of treated sludge on farm lands. Respondents were asked whether they would use sludge on a farm, whether they would serve food from a sludge-treated farm to their families, and whether they would support a ban on the use of sludge. Responses were analyzed with stepwise regression to determine the attitude variance accounted for by various factors, including trust, alienation, antitechnology, knowledge of sludge, knowledge of risk, and demographics. Trust in industry, government, and science figured prominently in decisions of accountability.

The rejection of science frames in the news coverage of the golden rice experiment in Hunan, China

In this article, we examine the ways in which media frames and rhetorical devices in the Chinese media shaped the representation of the genetically modified (GM) golden rice. We draw on a study of Chinese media representations of an experiment designed to test the efficacy of golden rice as a source of Vitamin A using school children in China’s Hunan province as subjects. The study analysed Chinese web news stories about the Hunan experiment posted between 30 August 2012 (when Greenpeace first reported on the issue) and 30 October 2012. This experiment resulted in allegations of breaches in scientific protocols and created a hostile public reaction. The incident fuelled the long-standing debate about the risks and benefits of GM crops in China. In this article, we analyse 25 online news reports, examining the attitudinal orientation of the articles, the readers’ comments on the articles and GM crops, the writing style and rhetorical devices employed, the emotions provoked and the frames manifest and embedded in these articles and comments. We found that although only one-third of the articles manifested an obviously negative attitude towards golden rice and GM foods, their use of strident metaphors and analogies were designed to arouse readers’ fear and concerns about GM crops. In the anti-golden rice articles, we identified conspiracy frames, including the view that the West was using genetic engineering to establish global control over agriculture and that GM products were instruments for genocide. The pro-golden rice articles emphasised the scientific humanitarian progress, but it appears to be less attractive to the readers.

Visual Representations of Genetic Engineering and Genetically Modified Organisms in the Online Media

Although images of biotechnology saturate the media, do they accurately portray the science and the process? A content analysis of web images collected over a seven-day period was conducted. The results show an abundance of visuals in personal and special interest group websites, stock photos, and cartoon banks. Images with a negative valence trounced those with a positive tone. The visuals presented a range of perspectives on genetic engineering, but many failed the accuracy test.

Trends in Information Needs and Communication Channel Use Among Rural Women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, 2000–2012

A trend analysis of information needs and communication channel use of rural women in Africa, Asia, and Latin America was conducted by examining empirical works published in reports, scholarly publications, and the popular press from 2000 to 2012. Results show that information about farming practices, health, education, gender and general family well-being issues were the most sought across the three continents. Demand for 14 information categories surged in volume and scope after 2009. Interpersonal communication sources trumped the mediated ones as the channels of choice; extension agents were the most preferred source. Radio was the most frequently mentioned preferred medium.

The influence of antiobesity media content on intention to eat healthily and exercise: A test of the ordered protection motivation theory

This study extended the ordered protection motivation framework to determine whether exposure and attention to antiobesity media content increases peoples appraisals of threat and their ability to cope with it. It also assesses whether these cognitive processes, in turn, affected peoples intention to abide by the practices recommended to prevent obesity. The results of a national online survey using a nonprobability sample indicate that attention to mediated obesity and related information significantly increased peoples intention to exercise as well as their overall coping appraisals (the perceived effectiveness of the recommended behaviors and their ability to perform them). Likewise, increased threat and coping appraisals were both found to significantly influence peoples intention to exercise and diet. Coping (rather than threat) appraisals more strongly predicted behavioral intent. Following the attitude-behavior literature, behavioral intention was used as the most proximate predictor of actual behavior (i.e., stronger intentions increase the likelihood of behavior change).