Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Farm Families Moving To Town: An Analysis Of Farm Population Declines, Don E. Albrecht

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Recent census data indicate that, in all regions of the country, an increasingly large proportion of individuals and families operating farms in the United States are choosing to live in urban and rural communities rather than on the farmstead. In this paper, hypotheses are developed and tested to help explain and understand this phenomenon, and the variations that exist from county to county. County-level data from the 1978 and 1987 Census of Agriculture and the 1980 and 1990 Census of Population are analyzed. It was found that counties with larger proportions of farm families living in the community include those …

Community Impacts From A Temporary Military Deployment: The Case Of Fort Stewart, Ga., Warren Kriesel, Gina L. Gilbreath

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The rural South has long been a popular location for the installment of military bases. Small Southern communities around these installations have experienced many social and economic changes due to operational changes in the base. Even the slightest alterations have a ripple effect on residents who rely on the base for local economic stability. Although many studies have examined the impacts associated with military base closures, this paper addresses a related but not identical problem. Using a combined rural sociological and agricultural and applied economic perspective, an analysis is made which examines the local social and economic disruption caused by …

Assessing Housing Affordability In Rural Georgia, Carol B. Meeks, Anne L. Sweaney

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Rural areas and the rural South in particular have unique characteristics that render inappropriate many urban-oriented housing affordability approaches, delivery systems, and programs. In addition, a lack of data for smaller communities makes accurate assessments of the housing stock difficult. This paper explores factors that influence housing affordability. A methodology is developed that policy makers in local communities can use with volunteers to collect reliable data and to develop a local housing agenda which meets community needs. Regression analysis using data from four rural Georgia communities reveals that housing quality plays a role in housing expenditures. The paper concludes with …

Occupational Attainment And Earnings Among Agricultural Students In The South, Andrew A. Zakeri

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Using panel data from a sample of agriculture graduates from Southern land-grant universities, this paper examines factors associated with occupational attainment and income earnings among agricultural students after graduation. Findings indicate that college major and gender were the strongest predictors of occupational attainment, while educational attainment was the best single predictor of income earnings. Compared with their peers with only baccalaureate degrees, highly trained agricultural students earned higher income on their first full-time jobs after leaving college. Policy implications of the findings are discussed.

Changing The Health Care System: Opinions Of Rural And Urban Residents, F. Dale Parent, Bonnie L. Lewis

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This paper examines the opinions of rural and urban residents toward a full health care system provided by the government. The data used in the study come from a statewide poll conducted by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Because of a greater need for health care reform in rural areas, it was assumed that rural Louisianians might be more supportive of a government health care system than their urban counterparts. However, analysis of the data indicates that a person's residence had no statistically significant effect on attitudes toward government sponsored health care.

Antecedents Of Infant Mortality: An Analysis Of Risk Factors In Rural And Urban Arkansas, Shannon M. Holman, Frank L. Farmer, Russell S. Kirby, Bruce L. Dixon

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This research examines the relationship between social and biological characteristics of the infant and mother and the probability of infant survival through the first year of life. The research also includes a consideration of the influence of residence (rural vs. urban). Employing linked birth and death certificate data for Arkansas (1985-1989), a logit model was estimated to assess the impact of social and biological factors on the probability of survival. The results indicate that metropolitan residence is positively associated with infant survival, but only at a marginal significance level. Other notable results include the importance of prenatal care and a …

Selective Migration And The Educational "Brain Drain" From The Lower Mississippi Delta Region In 1975-80, Donald E. Voth, Molly Killian, Frank L. Farmer

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Using a unique source of information about migration, this paper calculates the rates of net migration by age and educational level for the Lower Mississippi Delta region for the period of 1975-80, compares different categories of counties in the Delta, and compares Delta areas with non-Delta areas of the seven Delta states. It shows substantial losses of more highly educated persons, especially the young, from all rural counties, but especially for the core rural Delta counties.

Dependence In The Rural South, Libby V. Morris

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This article re-introduces the concept of dependence into rural studies and shows that age-related dependence varies greatly by race and location across the South. Youth, elder, and total dependence ratios were calculated for blacks and whites and by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan locations for Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Total, youth, and elder dependence are higher in nonmetropolitan areas. The highest dependence is in nonmetropolitan counties with high percentages of black population. Total dependence is higher for blacks than whites. This difference is primarily because of the much higher dependence ratios for black youth. Elder dependence is highest in nonmetropolitan counties, and …

The Management Of Hunting Leases By Rural Landowners, John K. Thomas, Clark E. Adams, John F. Thigpen Iii

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Most of the land in Texas is privately owned and is an important as a source for hunting recreation. Profit maximization theory (PMT) and economic behavioral theory (EBT) were used to explain differences in the net incomes of Texas landowners who sold hunting leases during the 1989-90 hunting season. In 1990, 4,621 landowners who were licensed to sell hunting leases by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department responded to a mail survey. Findings indicated that the statewide median net lease income was $1,100, few landowners considered their leasing operations as businesses, and few practiced intensive management of their operations. Number …

Cultural Commentary: Since Senators Socialize, Does That Make Them Socialists?, William C. Levin

Bridgewater Review

No abstract provided.

Theories Of Deviance. Stuart H. Traub And Craig B. Little.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Stuart H. Traub and Craig B. Little (Eds.). Theories of Deviance (Fourth edition). Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock, 1994. $30.00 papercover.

How To Help The Working Poor Develop Assets, John R. Belcher

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

This article explores the inability of the working poor to withstand income shocks. Because they often lack assets, the working poor are increasingly vulnerable to increasing deprivation. Interestingly, the welfare state enables the middle-class to develop and maintain assets through institutional arrangements. It is argued that solutions to the problem of poverty must include ways for the working poor also to develop and maintain assets.

Assets And Financial Management Among Poor Households In Extreme Poverty Neighborhoods, Cathleen M. Finn, Paz M-B. Zorita, Claudia Coulton

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Proposals supporting the accumulation of assets in poor households are hopeful of creating upward mobility. The experiences of poor families in managing assets and other elements of daily economic life were explored through interviews with low-income Hispanic and Anglo families. All families exhibited planning and management skills needed for assets accumulation, but were unable to escape the effects of unrewarding neighborhood environments. Assets did not provide clear avenues out of poverty. If assets-based programs are to raise the economic status of poor families in extreme poverty neighborhoods they must include mechanisms to protect value and reduce uncertainty.

Rooms For The Misbegotten: Social Design And Social Deviance, Bruce A. Arrigo

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Housing strategies designed to create a sense of community for our nation's at-risk and poverty-stricken citizens continue to be a source of debate. One major issue is the degree to which criminal behavior exists within these environments. In this article, the results from a seven year study of one single room occupancy (SRO) facility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania are described. Analysis of two models used for intervening with the vulnerable tenant population of the SRO suggest that a "strengthfocused" strategy rather than a "need- focused" approach may be more effective in reducing crime and may contribute to the establishment of a …

Symbolic Violence And Social Control In The Post-Total Institution Era, John W. Murphy, John T. Pardeck, Woo Sik Chung, Jung Min Choi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Subsequent to the passage of the Community Mental Health Act in 1963, the "Total Institutions" described by Goffman have for the most part disappeared. Nonetheless, many writers charge that social control is still the primary function of mental health programs, even those that are identified as community-based. The new methods of control have not received widespread attention. In community-based programs control is operationalized in the form of "symbolic violence." This paper examines the various factors that contribute to this style of violence.

Inequality, Crime And Control. George S. Bridges And Martha Myers.

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

George S. Bridges and Martha Myers (Eds.), Inequality, Crime and Control. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994. $59.95 hardcover; $22.95 papercover.

Improving Education And Training For Economic Development, Joan Mcrae Stoia

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article explores the connections between workforce quality and economic prosperity, as well as the role of the Massachusetts education and training system, in developing and preserving that quality and supporting the state's key industries. It includes a review of the most recent employment trend and projection data available from the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training, information about several business-based workplace education models, and a discussion of the specific education and training needs of workers across the age/skill continuum. For the purpose of this discussion, the education and training system are broadly defined to include existing public, private, and …

Introduction, James Jennings

Trotter Review

This issue of the Trotter Review focuses on a range of strategies and programs utilized for training black, Latino, and Asian educators and civic leaders. A number of efforts across the country are highlighted and summarized in this issue. Together, the articles offer important insights about the commonalities of some of the most exciting and important programs for training leaders from black, Latino, and Asian communities. The authors examine the critical elements of training and professional development programs that seem especially effective for students from these communities.

Retaining Students Of Color: The Office Of Ahana Student Programs At Boston College, Donald Brown

Trotter Review

On September 1, 1978, I assumed responsibility for what was then known as the Office of Minority Student Programs at Boston College. The charge given to me was to alter an embarrassingly high attrition rate of 83 percent for a target group of black and Latino students who had been identified by the university's Admissions Office as having high levels of motivation and potential, but who would require assistance if they were to succeed at the university.

Over the course of the past sixteen years, a great deal has transpired at Boston College. An important change was made in the …

Role Models And Mentors For Blacks At Predominantly White Campuses, Clarence G. Williams

Trotter Review

Educators must begin to revisit the topic of mentoring and role models in higher education, especially as it relates to blacks at predominantly white college campuses. There are two major facets of this topic; namely, the existence of role models and mentors for young black administrators, faculty members, and students at predominantly white campuses; and, the objectives and goals of providing role models and mentors for these individuals.

An Interview With Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, Director Of The Center For Strategic Urban Community Leadership, Rutgers University, Harold Horton

Trotter Review

This article is an interview with Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, who was the Director of the Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership at Rutgers University at the time.

Training Leaders For Multiracial And Multi-Ethnic Collaboration, James Jennings

Trotter Review

Due to changes unfolding in urban demographics, along with continuing social and economic problems in many cities, there is a growing need for a cadre of community-based leaders to work in, and on behalf of, communities of color. Developing such leaders requires understanding of the factors that determine the nature of racial and ethnic relations between African-American, Latino, and Asian communities. Unfortunately, training programs in higher education designed to equip African-American, Latino, and Asian urban leaders to work with each other and become effective change agents in their communities have not been widely established, even at institutions with strong urban …

Educational Opportunity Programs For Students Of Color In Graduate And Professional Schools, Sheila Gregory, Harold Horton

Trotter Review

The significant underrepresentation of people of color in all occupational fields is clearly indicative of the exceptionally low percent of people of color in graduate and professional schools in America. Unless drastic actions are taken by universities across the nation to identify and recruit a significant number of students of color in undergraduate colleges it is unlikely that significant numbers of people of color will be available in the near future for potential employment.

Expanding The Pool Of Women And Minority Students Pursuing Graduate Study: The Development Of A National Model, Bernard W. Harleston

Trotter Review

The underrepresentation of women and minority students in certain disciplines in the graduate schools of American colleges and universities is a matter of great national concern. This concern has been intensified by the decline during the last fifteen years, especially from 1978 to 1988, in graduate school enrollments of all categories of American students. But, even before this most recent period of decline and during a time when the enrollment of women and minority students was at its highest (between 1968 and 1974, as a consequence, primarily, of the civil rights movement), the representation of women and minorities in the …

A Cage For John Sawyer The Poor Of Otisfield, Maine, Jean F. Hankins

Maine History

Each year from 1790 to the end of the Civil War the town’s people of Otisfield wrestled with the dilemma of town relief. Examining this issue from two perspectives - the town taxpayers and the town poor - Jean Hankins sheds light on the politics, the finances, the hardships, the family life, and the burdens of responsibility in Maine's nineteenth-century small towns.

... And We Keep On Building Prisons: Racism, Poverty, And Challenges To The Welfare State, Paula L. Dressel

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Prison-building is argued to be an intervention of last resort when a nation loses faith in the social welfare enterprise. Recent proposals for more punitive regulations for means-tested benefits, along with the recent dramatic growth in the construction of prisons and in the size of the inmate population, indicate that we are moving as a society toward heightened levels of scapegoating and victim-blaming as a response to troubles generated by significant structural shifts in the economy. This paper analyzes the connections between poverty, punishment, and prisons, with particular emphasis on the scapegoating of people of color. The role of racism …

Racial Differences In Timing And Factors Associated With Retirement, Namkee G. Choi

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Utilizing data from the 1968-1987 interview waves of the Panel Studies of Income Dynamics, this paper analyzes the racial differences in timing and factors associated with the retirement of a sample of 408 male workers. The analysis of the timing of retirement shows that black males past age 60 have a lower retirement rate than white males. Multivariate logit analysis also indicates that disability is a reason for retirement of both black and white males. In addition, white males who desire for leisure and black males with lower economic status are found to be more likely to retire.

Parent Involvement In Urban Schools: The View From The Front Of The Classroom, Frances Gamer, Kathleen Mccarthy Mastaby

New England Journal of Public Policy

American educational reform movements focus on efforts to restructure our schools to include all interested parties, especially parents, in the decision-making process. Nowhere is involvement more crucial than in America's inner-city urban neighborhoods. As parents are given a greater voice in their child's school, educators must join them as collaborators. This article identifies elements that impeded parental involvement and recognizes positive and encouraging techniques leading toward successful family-school-community partnerships. An alliance between groups too long seen as opponents rather than proponents must be established.

The Suffolk County Sheriff's Department: Correctional Education Program, Robert C. Rufo, Stefan F. Lobuglio

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article describes the Sheriff's Department correctional education programs at the Suffolk County House of Correction and Jail. It points out the tremendous need for educational services given that more than 60 percent of those incarcerated in these institutions are high school drop-outs, and a much higher percentage are functionally illiterate. Because 95 percent of those incarcerated at this facility will return to their communities within three years, educating prisoners serves as a constructive and cost-effective means of preventing recidivism and an effective investment in public safety. The authors also discusses the new Mandatory Literacy Law, which essentially links literacy …

New Directions In Juvenile Justice: School-Based Crime Prevention, Paul F. Walsh Jr.

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article considers the role of the district attorney as a catalyst for aggressive school-based educational programs to help young people avoid trouble with the legal system. Walsh argues that while it may be unfair to burden classroom teachers with additional responsibilities concerning drug and alcohol issues, school is the logical site at which to provide these services and that a district attorney is well suited to act as a catalyst and resource for providing these additional services.