Of Mice and Men: When Face-to-Face Agricultural Information is Replaced by a Mouse Click     

Chrysanthi Charatsari  Evagelos D. Lioutas 《Journal Of Agricultural & Food Information》2013,14(2):103-131

In this article we present and discuss two experiments designed to test the effectiveness of the Internet as a tool of agricultural information. Subjects were cotton producers from Thessaly, Greece. Findings suggest that, in the early stages of an innovation diffusion process, the Internet is more effective than social sources (Experiment 1). However, when urgent situations that force quick decisions occur (Experiment 2), the Internet is significantly less effective than face-to-face communication channels. In both cases, farmers who used the Internet spent more time and devoted extra effort. The experiments proved that agronomists remain the most effective information source. Results also illustrate that Internet adoption is not necessarily synonymous with its use.  相似文献   

Food Consumer Information Behavior: Need Arousal,Seeking Behavior,and Information Use     

Evagelos D. Lioutas 《Journal Of Agricultural & Food Information》2014,15(2):81-108

This article draws from general and specific literature to present the way food consumer information behavior is executed from the stage of information need recognition to that of information use. Information needs are derivative needs, which originate from primary (physiological or psychological) needs. After need arousal, the consumer starts seeking food information by using one or more of the available out-of-store (published material, media, experts, institutional bodies, and social milieu) or in-store (store personnel, food labels) information sources. The information gathered is evaluated and, when it is judged insufficient in terms of quantity and/or quality, the consumer continues to seek information by following other paths. Simultaneously and/or subsequently, the information is refined, processed, and translated into different behavioral responses. The article concludes by highlighting some open issues and by proposing new research directions.  相似文献   

Promoting Lifelong Learning and Satisfying Farmers' Social and Psychological Needs Through Farmer Field Schools: Views From Rural Greece     

Chrysanthi Charatsari  Alex Koutsouris  Evagelos D. Lioutas  Apostolos Kalivas  Eleni Tsaliki 《Journal Of Agricultural & Food Information》2018,19(1):66-74

Farmer field schools (FFS) represent an alternative lifelong learning approach aimed at enhancing farmers' competences and skills through nonformal education. In this study we examined if farmers' participation in FFS is motivated by their social-psychological needs and whether these needs can be fulfilled through participation in FFS. Findings revealed that the possibility to participate in FFS is higher for farmers who experience lower levels of closeness and connectedness with their community peers and for those who score low on belongingness satisfaction. Furthermore, our analysis confirmed that FFS attendance increases felt community acceptance and facilitates the satisfaction of the belongingness need.  相似文献