Climate-smart agricultural technologies offer transformative potential for achieving Sustainable Development Goals, especially in mitigating extreme weather impacts and enhancing food security. Despite this potential, adoption rates remain limited due to various factors, with perceived complexity playing a significant role. This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the influence of perceived innovation complexity on adopting climate-smart technologies. Using frameworks of the Technology Acceptance Model and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, we systematically reviewed 28 studies and conducted a meta-analysis of 15 studies across diverse geographic contexts. Our findings from the systematic review indicate inconsistent results on the impact of complexity on adoption due to the different items and scales used to measure the concepts of complexity across contexts, suggesting that there is a need for the development of a standardized scale to measure complexity. Results from the meta-analysis generated a summary effect size (r = 0.51, 95% CI = [0.05, 0.72], z = 6.78, p ≤ 0.0001), revealing a significant relationship between perceived complexity and adoption intent. The effect size of 0.51 indicates that higher complexity levels significantly decrease the likelihood of adoption intent for climate-smart technologies. Differences in CSA research trends across geographic regions highlight the need for tailored approaches to technology adoption that take into account the specific capabilities and constraints of each region. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, Extension professionals, and technology developers to design interventions to promote ease of use and enhance technology diffusion in sustainable farming practices and food security. These findings contribute to ongoing efforts to foster sustainable agricultural innovations, offering guidance to accelerate the global transition to more resilient farming systems.

Childhood immunization can effectively control and prevent infectious diseases; however, not all parents choose to vaccinate their children against vaccines, including COVID-19. This study aimed to determine potential factors influencing people's willingness to vaccinate their children. An online survey was conducted with 509 adult parents/guardians of children to test our hypotheses. Based on the TPB model with the RISP model as the antecedent, results indicated that people's systematic risk information processing, trust in science, and concerns about the disease positively influenced their cognitive structure, further impacting their attitude toward vaccinating their children. The results also verified that attitude toward vaccination and perceived behavioral control are both significant predictors of parents/guardians' intention to vaccinate their children. The results contribute to health risk communicators creating effective strategies to better communicate with adults and increase intentions to vaccinate their children.

Based on a growing understanding of the many benefits of undergraduate research, advocacy for undergraduate research experiences has increased, with an emphasis on implementing course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). To understand existing efforts to promote undergraduate research as well as challenges to implementation on higher education campuses, we hosted a session about undergraduate research at the 2021 American Society for Microbiology Conference for Undergraduate Educators. Session participants were surveyed about their experiences with undergraduate research on their home campuses, and we then conducted additional research on the undergraduate research offerings at the participants’ home institutions. Survey responses and the discussion group identified many challenges to impactful undergraduate research facilitation. Several overarching themes emerged across survey responses and breakout room discourse, including funding, mentor recruitment, early skill development, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and identifying and connecting with students. In this perspective, we elaborate on this discourse to inspire and assist those seeking to foster undergraduate research in the field of microbiology and beyond.

In the face of increasing consumer scrutiny of the food supply chain, communication practitioners have been determined to understand public perceptions of the food production process from ‘farm to fork.’ The beef industry has been of particular interest due to the relatively high production emissions and an increased level of public support for environmentally friendly food behaviors, such as eating less beef. To address these concerns, the USDA and industry organizations are creating programs to incentivize and promote climate-smart beef production practices. Further, a new market is being created, where products may be labeled as ‘sustainable’ or ‘climate-smart.’ In order for this market to thrive, communicators and educators must strive to educate the public about these production practices; however, little is known about how to educate the public and market these climate-smart production techniques to the public. This study sought to identify and describe unique target audiences for educational communication about climate-smart beef production using audience segmentation. Through a K-means cluster analysis, we identified four strategic target audiences based on respondents’ climate change concern, political ideology, trust in science, and perception of the environmental responsibility of the beef industry. After, we described each cluster’s demographic characteristics, beef consumption frequency, attitude toward sustainable food products, and preferred communication sources to inform strategic communication efforts. This study provides insight and recommendations for educators and other practitioners communicating about climate-smart beef as well as areas of future research into this emergent area.

Purpose: Effectively transferring knowledge of digital innovations, such as precision agriculture, is critical for farmers to make adoption decisions to meet current and future farming challenges. Stronger knowledge flows from Extension systems to stakeholders benefit adoption of precision agriculture. Methods: This study used a three-round Delphi technique with a panel consisting of 15 precision agriculture experts who are academic extension faculty at land-grant universities in the Southeastern United States to identify the key knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by Extension agents to facilitate effective precision agriculture interactions. Results: A total of 13 key competencies were identified. The findings revealed that the majority category identified in the 13 key competencies was the skill component, followed by the knowledge component, indicating the need to expand Extension agents' skills and knowledge related to precision agriculture. Conclusion: The top key competency of basic precision agriculture awareness underscores the importance of ensuring Extension agents are aware of precision agriculture applications in their region. While all items were considered relatively important to the panelists based on the rate data, sustainability awareness, and equipment operation skill competencies were ranked as a lower priority, indicating Extension agents do not necessarily need to understand how to use the precision agriculture technology or manage the data but should function as change agents who introduce farmers to precision agriculture and connect them with relevant experts. The findings inform future tailored professional development programs and educational resources for equipping Extension agents with the needed competencies and guide future assessment of precision agriculture competencies among Extension agents.