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Baker, Lauri M.

Specialist

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Baker, Lauri M.

Orcid ID0000-0002-4241-6077

Specialist

associate professor, Ph.D., agricultural communication, UF/IFAS Agricultural Education and Communication Department, Gainesville, FL 

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Publications

Am I Ready? Competencies and Skill Sets Needed for Virtual Conference Hosts

Lauri M. Baker and Matt Benge

This new 3-page article is the third publication in the Don't Fake It, Make It! series. Implementing a virtual conference or meeting can be a challenging task. Whether hiring staff or recruiting colleagues to assemble a team, it is necessary to ensure your team is built based on the specific competency needs for hosting a virtual conference or meeting. Written by Lauri M. Baker and Matt Benge, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication.

Selling Safely: Cybersecurity Best Practices for Small, Rural Ag Businesses

Lauri M. Baker, Cheryl R. Boyer, and Russell Boyer

Cyberattacks are a continued and growing threat for all businesses. Small businesses, like agricultural and rural businesses, should not think they are immune to this threat: obscurity is not security. This new 6-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication includes some cybersecurity best practices and links to resources for further education. Written by Lauri M. Baker, Cheryl R. Boyer, and Russell Boyer.

Relying on Research for Effective Response: A Survey Tool for Measuring the Impact of COVID-19 to Create Extension Resources

Lauri M. Baker, Ashley McLeod-Morin, Shelli Rampold, Anissa Zagonel, Ricky Telg, Angela B. Lindsey, Michaela Kandzer, Sandra Anderson, Sydney Honeycutt, Phillip Stokes, Valentina Castano, and Alena Poulin

The UF/IFAS Center for Public Issues Education in Agriculture and Natural Resources (PIE Center) conducted a series of national public opinion surveys to examine the perceptions of Americans related to COVID-19. The PIE Center shared the survey data using Extension and outreach communication pieces, including issue guides, kinetic typography videos, webinars, and communication toolkits. Data collected from the PIE Center on Americans’ perceptions related to COVID-19 also informed two communication toolkits developed for Extension. This new 5-page article, published by the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, describes the instruments used to collect public opinion data related to COVID-19. Written by Lauri M. Baker, Ashley McLeod-Morin, Shelli Rampold, Anissa Zagonel, Ricky Telg, Angela B. Lindsey, Michaela Kandzer, Sandra Anderson, Sydney Honeycutt, Phillip Stokes, Valentina Castano, and Alena Poulin.

thumbnail for publication: Choosing the Right Visual for Social Media: Comparing the Engagement of Stock Photos Versus Natural Photos

Choosing the Right Visual for Social Media: Comparing the Engagement of Stock Photos Versus Natural Photos

Anissa Zagonel, Lauri M. Baker, Jarred Shellhouse, Cheryl Boyer, Hikaru Peterson, and Aly Morrison

Social media is an important piece of Extension outreach efforts. Across many different platforms, photos or graphics accompanying social media posts have repeatedly yielded greater results, in terms of engagement and success. Thus, it is imperative to include a visual element with each social media post because it would be considered a missed opportunity without one. This publication explores the question of whether stock images are as effective as natural images. Facebook posts from the Center for Rural Enterprise Engagement (CREE) team were analyzed to determine differences in engagement rates for stock images and natural images taken by the CREE team. Results indicate natural photos had significantly higher engagement rates than stock photos. Thus, it is recommended that content creators strive to create and use their own photos for posts; although, in times of need, a stock photo can produce better engagement than no photo at all.

Shifting Focus: Collecting Focus Group Data Online

Anissa M. Zagonel, Audrey E. H. King, Lauri M. Baker, Angela B. Lindsey, Sandra Anderson, Ricky W. Telg, and Ashley McLeod-Morin

This new 5-page publication of the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural Education and Communication presents what focus groups are, the differences between in-person and online focus groups, potential platforms for hosting online focus groups, advantages and disadvantages to online focus groups, and best practices for conducting your own online focus groups. Researchers and practitioners alike can use this document to guide their process of conducting online focus groups. This article only discusses conducting online focus groups through online videoconferencing software.

Talking Local: Florida Consumers’ Flexibility with the Term “Local”

Lauri M. Baker, Caroline R. Warwick, Meredith M. Oglesby, Olivia K. Doyle, Valentina Castano, and Joy N. Rumble

This EDIS publication is the fifth of the Talking Local series, a six-part EDIS publication series about Florida consumers and their perceptions of local food. This series focuses on ways Extension agents can assist Florida farmers and ranchers in the labeling, sale, and promotion of locally produced products. This series provides information about Florida consumers’ perceptions of local food to Extension faculty who are interested in local food programming or who work with local food clientele. This 4-page publication focuses on Florida consumer flexibility with the term “local.”

Talking Local: Florida Consumer Definitions of Local Food

Caroline R. Warwick, Olivia K. Doyle, Valentina Castano, Meredith M. Oglesby, Lauri M. Baker, Joy N. Rumble, Yiqian Ma, and Tracy A. Irani

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Farm Economics, entrepreneurship, and management

Talking Local: Florida Consumers’ Local Food Purchasing Behaviors

Caroline R. Warwick, Olivia K. Doyle, Valentina Castano, Meredith M. Oglesby, Lauri M. Baker and Joy N. Rumble

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Farm Economics, entrepreneurship, and management

Talking Local: Florida Consumers' Reasons for Purchasing Local Food

Caroline R. Warwick, Valentina Castano, Meredith M. Oglesby, Olivia K. Doyle, Lauri M. Baker and Joy N. Rumble

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Farm Economics, entrepreneurship, and management

Talking Local: Florida Consumers’ Food Buying Decisions when Given Local Food Information

Caroline R. Warwick, Valentina Castano, Meredith M. Oglesby, Olivia K. Doyle, Lauri M. Baker, and Joy N. Rumble

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Citizen awareness of food systems and the environment

Talking Local: Florida Consumers’ Fresh from Florida Perceptions

Lauri M. Baker, Caroline R. Warwick, Meredith M. Oglesby, Olivia K. Doyle, Valentina Castano, and Joy N. Rumble

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Citizen awareness of food systems and the environment