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Browsing by Author "Wise, David"

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    Staying silent and speaking out in online comment sections: The influence of spiral of silence and corrective action in reaction to news
    Duncan, Megan A.; Pelled, Ayellet; Wise, David; Ghosh, Shreenita; Shan, Yuanliang; Zheng, Mengdian; McLeod, Doug (Pergamon-Elsevier, 2020-01-01)
    Through the lenses of Spiral of Silence Theory, the Corrective Action Hypothesis, and peer influence research, we conducted an online experiment to identify the influence of varying opinion climates on opinion expression about a news controversy. This study expands the corrective action literature by manipulating the perceived opinion climate and measuring opinion change and subsequent expression. After all participants (N = 415) read the same news story, they were randomly assigned to one of five opinion climate conditions (supportive, oppositional, mixed, uncertain or polarized) operationalized through user comments following the story. The experiment allowed participants to reply, comment, do both, or not further engage in an attempt to mirror real-world expression behavior. The results suggest that the opinion climate formed by news comments influenced the opinions and comments of participants, providing evidence that those who hold strong opinions are more likely to comment when they perceive the opinion climate to be oppositional rather than supportive to their worldview.
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    Technological progress in the US catfish industry
    Hegde, Shraddha; Kumar, Ganesh; Engle, Carole; Hanson, Terry; Roy, Luke A.; Cheatham, Morgan; Avery, Jimmy; Aarattuthodiyil, Suja; van Senten, Jonathan; Johnson, Jeff; Wise, David; Dahl, Sunni; Dorman, Larry; Peterman, Mark (Wiley, 2022-04)
    The US catfish industry has undergone significant technological advancements in an attempt to achieve cost efficiencies. This study monitored the progress of the adoption of alternative and complementary technologies in the US catfish industry. A 2019-2020 multi-state in-person survey in Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi (n = 68), revealed increased adoption of intensively aerated ponds (6,315 ha) and split ponds (1,176 ha). The adoption of alternative, more intensive, production practices has been accompanied by increased adoption of complementary technologies of fixed-paddlewheel aeration, automated oxygen monitors, and hybrid catfish. As a result, the average aeration rate in the tristate region has increased to 7.8 kW/ha with 97% of catfish farms adopting automated oxygen monitors. About 53% of the water surface area in the tristate region was used for hybrid catfish production. Fingerling producers have also adopted a feed-based, oral vaccine against Enteric Septicemia of Catfish, with 83% of the fingerling farms and 73% of the fingerling production area vaccinated against ESC in 2020. Increased adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies in the US catfish industry explains the 59% increase in foodfish productivity from 2010 to 2019. Monitoring the progress of adoption of productivity-enhancing technologies will guide researchers and Extension personnel involved in the refinement and dissemination of these technologies.