Social media is becoming more prevalent in the higher education classroom. As part of an ongoing study, the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University surveyed leadership students about their perceptions of their level of comfort and frequency of use of social media tools and the advantages and disadvantages that these students perceived when social media was used in the leadership classroom. A total of 79 students were surveyed in two upper level leadership courses. Facebook was the social media tool students were most comfortable with and used most frequently. Journal of Leadership EducationVolume 12, Issue 1 -Winter 2013 35Advantages included social media helping increase quality and efficiency of communication between students and the instructor, social media as a technological norm, access to class information, ease of collaboration, and stronger social connections between classmates. Disadvantages revolved around issues of use of and access to social media.

The integration of hard and soft skills has become increasingly important to employers. Colleges of agriculture and natural sciences can facilitate the development of these skills in their students. The purpose of this study was to explore impacts of a behavioral style learning unit on soft skill development with 15 students enrolled in a senior-level undergraduate capstone course. The research objectives were to (a) explore students' preflections and reflections for indications of soft skill development, (b) explore team dynamics, and (c) identify best practices for integrating a behavioral style learning unit into a capstone course. Qualitative content analysis methods and basic quantitative methods were used to examine the preflections and reflections of the students. Students found the behavioral assessment improved understanding of their own behavioral needs, and allowed them to flex their style to meet the needs of team members. Relationship compatibility, based on behavioral styles within teams, correlated with the ability of team members to accurately perceive their contributions to tasks, relative to peer-based perceptions of contributions. Based on these results, it is recommended that a behavioral style learning unit, or a similar psychological type unit, be integrated into courses where soft skills are a desired student learning outcome.

A comprehensive life cycle assessment of the US beef value chain requires the collection of region-specific data for accurate characterization of the country's diverse production practices. Cattle production in Hawaii is very different from the rest of the country due to its unique ecosystem and geographic location. A survey of cattle producers provided information on herd size and characteristics, grazing management, forage and feed sources, and marketing. Ranch survey responses represented 44% of the state's beef cows with operation sizes varying from 5 to 10,000 cows. Most cows (79%) were maintained on operations that finished at least some of their cattle, and the majority of those operations finished cattle on forage without concentrate feeds. Cattle were kept on natural pastures ranging in size from 16 to 52,610 ha per ranch with a stocking rate of 2.4 ha/cow on cow-calf operations and 2.0 ha/animal on operations that included older growing animals. Common forage species were Panicum maximum (guinea or green panic grass), Pennisetum clandestinum (kikuyugrass), Digitaria eriantha (pangola or digitgrass), and Trifolium repens (white clover). Reported cow and finished cattle BW were 498 ± 52 kg and 493 ± 75 kg, respectively. More ranchers marketed their beef cattle through wholesalers or distributors (34%) rather than directly to consumers (24%), retailers (20%), or other channels (17%). Marketing under grass-fed certification was reported by 39% of ranches. Information obtained is being used to define management characteristics for modeling production systems and performing a comprehensive assessment of the sustainability of beef cattle production.

Social media is becoming more prevalent in the higher education classroom. As part of an ongoing study, the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications at Texas A&M University surveyed leadership students about their perceptions of their level of comfort and frequency of use of social media tools and the advantages and disadvantages that these students perceived when social media was used in the leadership classroom. A total of 79 students were surveyed in two upper level leadership courses. Facebook was the social media tool students were most comfortable with and used most frequently.

Faculty abroad programs are becoming a popular method to provide faculty in colleges of agriculture with international experiences so they may internationalize their curricula. These programs also serve to provide experiential faculty development opportunities. Eight faculty members from Texas A&M University participated in a faculty abroad experience in Trinidad and Tobago and developed instructional materials using technology. Pre-reflective and reflective interview responses were qualitatively analyzed to determine the impact of this experience on participants' teaching style and technology usage. The comparison of the pre-reflective and reflective data sets indicated participants perceived impact on teaching style, specifically in relation to their curriculum content and use of global connections as it pertained to their discipline and global relationships with native counterparts. Many participants were already using technology in the classroom prior to the international experience. As a result of the experience, the level of their technology usage increased as they incorporated media, such as audio and video, to communicate their experiences and create context for their lessons. It was concluded that teaching style, technology usage, and excitement for teaching were renewed as a result of an international experience. Future studies should be conducted to compare these findings with similar faculty abroad experiences.