PurposeThis study aims to examine the attitudinal inconsistency among Taiwanese consumers toward organic agriculture/food, and its relationship to their willingness to pay a premium and purchase for organic product.Design/methodology/approachA telephone survey consisting of 913 households was made to reach an estimated 3.3 percent sampling error with 95 percent confidence level.FindingsIt was found that those who were female, who had higher occupation prestige, who had college education levels, who were aged in their 40s, and who possessed an optimistic opinion toward the necessity of organic farming tend to pay a premium for and buy organic food. The majority of Taiwanese respondents showed a high level of concern about pesticides but a low trust in organic food, which revealed an attitudinal inconsistency toward organic agriculture/food. A multiple discriminant analysis with a moderating variable shows that consumers' trust in organic food and their pesticide concern jointly explain the respondents' willingness to pay a premium and purchasing behavior. The influence of consumers' pesticide concern on their willingness to pay a premium and purchase actually depends on their levels of trust.Originality/valueAs a whole, lack of trust and confusing organic product certification levels is the main barrier to Taiwan's organic agriculture development. Further communication and policy modification is needed to reinforce consumers' confidence in organic agriculture/food.

This study analyzed the relationships between student achievement and the following variables: attitude, motivation, learning styles, and selected demographics. This population study included 99 students taking two web-based courses offered by the college of agriculture at a land grant university. Seventy-four (75%) students completed a learning style test, an on-line questionnaire, and received a grade by the end of the semester. The learning style test was the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), which classified students as either field-dependent or field-independent. The on-line questionnaire consisted of two scales (motivation and attitude), whose pilot-test reliabilities were .71 and .91, respectively. Over two-thirds of the students taking the web-based courses were field-independent learners; however, there were no significant differences (.05 level) in achievement between field-dependent and field-independent students. Also, students with different learning styles and backgrounds learned equally well in web-based courses. The students enjoyed the convenience and self-controlled learning pace and were motivated by competition and high expectations in web-based learning. Motivation was the only significant factor that explained more than one-fourth of student achievement measured by class grade.

The purpose of this study was to compare college of agriculture teachingfaculty members 'perceptions of the academic rigor of on-campus and off-campus courses. The population included 262 faculty members with teaching responsibilities or with teaching experience in the College of Agriculture at Iowa State University. All members of the population were surveyed and the response rate was 54.2%. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify factors underlying college of agriculture teaching faculty members , perceptions of the academic rigor of on-campus and off-campus courses. Ultimately, three factors were identified including (I) active learning, (2) effort, and (3) high cognitive levels. The factors were useful in explaining academic rigor in on-campus and off-campus courses. College of agriculture teaching faculty perceived off-campus courses to be less rigorous than on-campus courses. Notably, faculty perceptions of the academic rigor of on-and off-campus courses were independent of their participation in faculty development programs related to distance education and their experience with distance teaching. Further research is needed to determine if off-campus courses do infactprovide less opportunityfor active learning, require students to expend less effort, and result in lower level cognitive outcomes.

This study analyzed the relationships among student achievement, learning strategies, learning patterns, learning styles, and student characteristics. The population of this study included 99 students taking two Web-based courses offered by a land grant university in the United States. Seventy-four students (75%) completed a learning style test, an on-line questionnaire, and received grades by the end of the semester. The learning style test was the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), which classified students as either field-dependent or field-independent. The on-line questionnaire consisted of two scales (learning strategy and learning pattern), with pilot-test reliabilities of .80 and .72, respectively. The students used most of the learning strategies to find important ideas from lectures and to memorize key words of important concepts. They seemed to be more interested in checking their grades than in communicating with the class and instructors via e-mail, discussion forum, or chat room. Learning strategy was the only significant factor that explained about one-fourth of student achievement measured by class grade.

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