Rural Sociology Commons^™

Needs-Based Training And Online Resource For Managers Of Rural Festivals, Fairs, And Events, Eric D. Olson, Lakshman Rajagopal

Eric D. Olson

Festivals, fairs, and events (FFEs) provide rural communities with economic and noneconomic benefits. For the project described in this article, we conducted a needs assessment of Iowa FFE managers by surveying them about the challenges they face in event management and then used the results of the assessment as the basis for training sessions provided to rural FFE managers in five areas of the state and development of an associated event management resource. The resource can be used by Extension and outreach offices to provide local FFE managers guidance on managing FFEs. We discuss broader implications for Extension as well.

Mapping Quality Of Life In Nebraska: Population Distribution By Race, Ethnicity, And Age, Sarah Taylor, Maria Rosario T. De Guzman, Grant Daily, Rodrigo Cantarero, Soo-Young Hong, Aileen S. Garcia, Jeong-Kyun Choi, Yan Xia

Aileen Garcia

KEY POINTS

This section details key points from the data on racial, ethnic, and age groups across Nebraska.

RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORITIES IN NEBRASKA

• The proportions of Nebraska’s racial and ethnic minority populations tend to be smaller by 4% (i.e., Asian) to 8% (i.e., Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino) than those of the US, except for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaska Native populations (i.e., smaller only by 0.1% to 0.2%).

• Nebraska’s urban areas, which comprise 73.1% of the Nebraska population, have higher numbers of racial and ethnic minorities than suburban or rural areas. …

Mapping Quality Of Life In Nebraska: Migration Rates, Aileen S. Garcia, Rodrigo Cantarero, Grant Daily, Maria Rosario T. De Guzman, Jeong-Kyun Choi, Soo-Young Hong, Sarah Taylor

Aileen Garcia

KEY POINTS AND IMPLICATIONS

Nebraska is a state that is not often viewed as affected significantly by mobility and migration. As a state, the net migration rate of 1.1 from 2015 to 2016 is fairly low compared to others like Florida (16.0) or Nevada (14.4). However, data from this report suggests that there is, in fact, substantial movement of people moving in and moving out; as well as pockets within the state where there is higher than average influx of both domestic and international migrants.

In general, migration trends in the state mirror national trends of “rural flight” where people …

Mapping Quality Of Life In Nebraska: The Geographic Distribution Of Poverty, Grant Daily, Rodrigo Cantarero, Maria Rosario De Guzman, Soo-Young Hong, Sarah Taylor, Aileen Garcia, Jeong-Kyun Choi, Yan Ruth Xia

Aileen Garcia

Headings:

What is poverty?

Federal definitions of poverty: the poverty line

General poverty and poverty brackets

Poverty and vulnerable populations

Child poverty (under 18 years)

Young child poverty (0 - 5 years)

School age poverty (6 - 17 years)

Elderly poverty (65+)

Comparing child, adult, and elderly poverty

Minority poverty

Key points

Nebraska vs. United States

Geographic distribution

Poverty in children and the elderly

Poverty rates for racial/ethnic minorities

References

Paranormal Activity In West Virginia, Marty Laubach

Marty Laubach

Follow the Mountain State Spirit Seekers Society as they hunt ghosts at Moundsville State Prison; bigfoot hunters in Dolly Sods with Virginia Sasquatch Watch; and Point Pleasant's mysterious Mothman.

Rural Access To Justice In The Golden State, Lisa R. Pruitt

Lisa R Pruitt

Legal Deserts: A Multi-State Perspective On Rural Access To Justice, Lisa R. Pruitt , Amanda L. Kool, Lauren Sudeall Lucas, Michele Statz, Danielle M. Conway, Hannah Haksgaard

Lisa R Pruitt

Tackling The Participation Of Europe’S Rural Population In The Shadow Economy, Colin C. Williams, Ioana Horodnic

Colin C Williams

The Finney County, Kansas Community Assessment Process: Fact Book, Debra J. Bolton Phd, Shannon L. Dick M.S.

Dr. Debra Bolton

This multi-lingual/multi-cultural study was called, Community Assets Processt, by the groups that “commissioned” it: Finnup Foundation, Finney County K-State Research & Extension, Western Kansas Community Foundation, Finney County United Way, Finney County Health Department, United Methodist Community Health Center (UMMAM), Center for Children and Families, Garden City Recreation Commission, and the Garden City Cultural Relations Board, because we intend for this to be an ongoing discussion. An objective, for those promoting the study, was to connect foundation, state, and federal funding with activities or services that addressed the true needs of people living in Finney County. The group was looking …

A Case Study In Rural Community Economic Development: Hill County Health & Wellness Center, Lisa R. Pruitt

Lisa R Pruitt

"So Long As I Can Read": Farm Women's Reading Experiences In Depression-Era South Dakota, Lisa Lindell

Lisa R. Lindell

During the Great Depression, with conditions grim, entertainment scarce, and educational opportunities limited, many South Dakota farm women relied on reading to fill emotional, social, and informational needs. To read to any degree, these rural women had to overcome multiple obstacles. Extensive reading (whether books, farm journals, or newspapers) was limited to those who had access to publications and could make time to read. The South Dakota Free Library Commission was valuable in circulating reading materials to the state's rural population. In the 1930s the commission collaborated with the USDA's Extension Service in a popular reading project geared toward South …

Grey Gold: Do Older In-Migrants Benefit Rural Communities?, Nina Glasgow, David Brown

David C. Brown

Older Americans retiring to rural areas quickly integrate in their new communities and bring significant social and intellectual capital to those communities, finds a new issue brief from the Carsey Institute. The brief is among the few studies to consider social rather than economic impacts of older in-migration to rural areas.

‘Capitalism A Nuh’ Wi Frien’. The Formatting Of Farming Into An Asset, From Financial Speculation To International Aid, Luigi Russi, Tomaso Ferrando

Luigi Russi

This paper deciphers the formatting of farming into an asset by tracking the modalities by which financial calculation is enabled across different sites of agency. The first focus of our analysis are commodity futures markets, which have witnessed a double spike in prices in 2008 and in 2012. In the paper, we look at these hikes as the outcome of endogenous dynamics, caused by the changing makeup of market participants after 2000, which turned futures markets into resources for hedging commodity index-linked derivative products. We subsequently analyse the increasing reliance on financial actors placed by public development agencies that channel …

Social Capital And International Migration From Latin America, Douglas S. Massey, Maria Aysa-Lastra

Maria Aysa-Lastra

We combine data from the Latin American Migration Project and the Mexican Migration Project to estimate models predicting the likelihood of taking of first and later trips to the United States from five nations: Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Peru. The models test specific hypotheses about the effects of social capital on international migration and how these effects vary with respect to contextual factors. Our findings confirm the ubiquity of migrant networks and the universality of social capital effects throughout Latin America. They also reveal how the sizes of these effects are not uniform across settings. Social …

Exploring Paradox In The Local Foods Movement: Challenges In Uniting Ideology And Practice, Justin Schupp, Rebecca Som Castellano

Justin Schupp

Throughout the United States, there is a discernible movement towards a more localized food system. Asserting that movement practices can minimize detrimental effects to the environment while providing benefits to human nutrition, community well being and social justice, those promoting food system localization engage in practices which aim to resist the globalizing and industrializing food and agriculture system. Despite these aims, however, the discourses and practices of the movement could be veiling inequalities which limit opportunity for participation in food system localization. Many scholars have pointed theoretically to the ways in which food system localization is not a priori more …

Why Aren't There Any Turkeys At The Danville Turkey Festival?, Howard Sacks

Howard Sacks

Twenty-five years ago, my in-laws came to visit us in central Ohio. They were city folks from Philadelphia who couldn’t understand why my wife, Judy, and I had moved to the country. We timed their visit to coincide with Knox County’s Heart of Ohio tour. Each fall, this selfguided driving tour along the area’s scenic back roads features stops at farms, grange halls, and other sites that offer a glimpse into local rural life. This particular tour included a local turkey farm outside the town of Danville. Danville was well known for its many turkey operations; we were always thankful …

A Smiling Face Is Half The Meal: The Role Of Cooperation In Sustaining Maine’S Local Food Industry, Ethan Tremblay, Timothy Waring

Timothy M Waring

The U.S. is experiencing a renaissance in local food production, and Maine is among the states leading that resurgence. This renaissance is influenced by many factors, and has both economic and social dimensions. This article examines the role of cooperation in the local food industry across a range of local food organizations. The authors conclude that cooperation plays different yet crucial roles in all local food organizations, and is an important part of the success of the local food industry as whole. The article considers the policy implications of these findings, and suggests that while the prevalence of cooperation is …

Negotiating Work And Family: Lifestyle Migration, Potential Selves And The Role Of Second Homes As Potential Spaces, Brian Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

This article is based on ethnographic research conducted in the USA with migrants who use an act of relocation as a means of deliberately constructing identity as well as seeking greater ‘balance’ and ‘control’ in their lives. Specifically, it examines how ‘second’ homes can serve as a transitional or ‘potential space’ in the lives of these migrants not only between different geographic places but also what are taken to be distinct identities and ideals associated with these places and the lives lived in them. Such behaviour is not simply about coping and adapting to a new environment; rather, it is …

El Proceso De Reforma Agraria En La República Dominicana 1979-83, Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón

Antonio V. Menéndez Alarcón

El sector rural es el prinicpal pilar de le economia de Republica Domincana, ya que representa la fuente mas grande de empleo y tiene una considerable participacion en la formacion del Producto Bruto Interno (alrededor del 20%)...

Opting For Elsewhere: Lifestyle Migration In The American Middle Class, Brian A. Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

Theorising The ‘Fifth Migration’ In The United States: Understanding Lifestyle Migration From An Integrated Approach, Brian Hoey

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

This chapter is an empirically-informed discussion of relevant social theory for examining the phenomenon of lifestyle migration in the United States in both rural and urban settings. Specifically, the chapter explores key explanatory models born of research into so-called non-economic migration occurring since the early twentieth century—models that may be characterized as primarily either production or consumption oriented in their emphasis—as a context for outlining an integrated approach. The author then highlights changes in how some Americans appear to calculate personal and collective quality of life as engendered by an emerging economic order—based on principles of flexibility and contingency—whose affects …

Rural Children Are More Likely To Live In Cohabiting-Couple Households, William P. O'Hare, Wendy Manning, Meredith Porter, Heidi Lyons

Wendy Manning

As cohabiting increases nationwide, new data show that the growing rate of children in these households is most pronounced in rural areas. This brief analyzes recent U.S. Census Bureau data to explore these trends and patterns.

Hashish As Cash In A Post-Soviet Kyrgyz Village, Gulzat Botoeva

Gulzat Botoeva

No abstract provided.

Peasant Farming: Commoning Through Co-Production For Future Generations, Luigi Russi

Luigi Russi

The chapter examines the rift existing between peasant modes of production and the productionist paradigm in agriculture. While the former is based on co-production - i.e. the material negotiation of symbiotic relationships with ecological cycles - the latter attempts to format agriculture so as to make it amenable to a standard of control comparable to that of factory processes. By re-opening developmental possibilities that are closed off by the productionist paradigm, peasant co-production enacts instances of situated counterwork and commoning, through which new forms of ecological intergenerational justice can be attained.

A Current Overview And Analysis Of The 21st Century Kansas Farmers Markets, Skylar M.G. Joyner

Skylar M.G. Joyner

A Current Overview and Analysis of the 21st Century Kansas Farmers Markets from a #11;Social Enterprise Perspective

China's Agrarian Reform And The Privatization Of Land: A Contrarian View , Qian (Forrest) Zhang, John Andrew Donaldson

John Donaldson

Many reporters and scholars outside China advocate the privatization of land ownership in China as a necessary step for the transformation of China's agriculture system into a modern, large-scale, market-oriented and technology-intensive one. Chinese scholars advocating land privatization, for their part, typically argue that land privatization would better protect farmers’ rights and interests. We present a contrarian view to these calls for land privatization. Under China's current system of collective land ownership and individualized land use rights, agriculture has modernized rapidly in China in a way that has avoided privatization's many downsides. Land privatization, by contrast, would only exacerbate class …

The Rise Of Agrarian Capitalism With Chinese Characteristics: Agricultural Modernization, Agribusiness And Collective Land Rights, Qian Forrest Zhang, John Andrew Donaldson

John Donaldson

The article discusses the agricultural transformation taking place in the rural areas of China. Details about the Chinese laws regarding rural reform and the effect they have had on rural Chinese farmers and families are included. The authors examine the expansion of agrarian capitalism in China and describe the rise of agribusiness in rural Chinese areas. The practices of Chinese agribusinesses and the Chinese land rights laws are explored. The relationships between individual farmers and agribusinesses is also examined.

China’S Agrarian Reform And The Privatization Of Land: A Contrarian View, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

John Donaldson

Many media and scholars outside China are advocating for the privatization of land ownership in China, claiming it to be a necessary step before China can transform its agriculture into large-scale, market-oriented and technology-intensive modern agriculture. Chinese scholars advocating land privatization, on the other hand, typically argue that land privatization would offer farmers more protection of their rights. In this paper, we present a contrarian view to these calls for land privatization published in both mainstream media and academic journals. We argue that, under China’s current system of collective land ownership and individualized land use rights, the aforementioned goals can …

China's Agrarian Reform And The Privatization Of Land: A Contrarian View , Qian (Forrest) Zhang, John Andrew Donaldson

Qian Forrest ZHANG

Many reporters and scholars outside China advocate the privatization of land ownership in China as a necessary step for the transformation of China's agriculture system into a modern, large-scale, market-oriented and technology-intensive one. Chinese scholars advocating land privatization, for their part, typically argue that land privatization would better protect farmers’ rights and interests. We present a contrarian view to these calls for land privatization. Under China's current system of collective land ownership and individualized land use rights, agriculture has modernized rapidly in China in a way that has avoided privatization's many downsides. Land privatization, by contrast, would only exacerbate class …

Comparing Local Models Of Agrarian Transition In China, Qian Forrest Zhang

Qian Forrest ZHANG

The development of markets and the penetration of capital into agriculture have started the agrarian transition in rural China, which is transforming smallholding, household-based agriculture into various forms of capitalistic production. This again raises in a new historical and social context the long-debated question in the agrarian transition literature: Can family farms survive the onslaught of capitalist agriculture based on wage labor and what shapes the confrontation between family farms and agro-capital? I argue that it is the local political economy—rather than some natural obstacles in agriculture to the penetration of capitalism—that shapes this confrontation and gives rise to a …