Rural Sociology Commons^™

Perceptions Of Future Community And Individual Well-Being In Rural Nebraska, Amanda L. Kowalewski

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Populations of rural areas continue to decline, yet some communities are more vibrant than ever. While past research has studied current satisfaction or well-being, few have examined future well-being. Using an ordinal logistic regression and combining primary and secondary data sources, this study investigates the predictors of rural Nebraskan’s sense of future well-being, both at the community and individual levels. The model indicates that resilience may be more important in well-being than social capital. Additionally, certain satisfaction indicators are more important than others. Factor analysis was employed to re-index variables, and findings were similar. Social capital, resilience, and quality of …

Variants Of Social Disorganization: A Comparison Of Community Characteristic Measures On Crime Between Urban And Rural Counties In The United States, Shun Q. Feng

Student Theses

Abstract

Statement of Problem: This research examines the difference in the predictive nature of conventional social disorganization measures on seven (7) different crime types between urban and rural counties in the United States during 2014. There is a well-developed body of criminological research examining the effect of neighborhood disadvantage on crime through the social disorganization framework. However, social disorganization has been tested almost exclusively in urban or metropolitan areas, suggesting the current framework explaining criminal incidents through conventional measures of neighborhood disadvantage may be limited by “urban bias”. The present study seeks to test the conventional measures of social disorganization …

Attuning To Need: Reconceptualizing “Help” In Poor Rural Areas, Jennifer M. Frank, Laura Brierton Granruth, Brittany Leffler, Rachel Preibisch, Dawn Watson, Heather Girvin, Mary Glazier

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Social isolation is closely linked to overall health and well-being and is a serious concern for those in rural areas. Our research seeks insights into the needs experienced in poor rural areas by utilizing letter writing between students and community agency participants as a research methodology. In the letters, we observed that community participants relied upon friend and family style relationships and even viewed their agency relationships as such. This suggests that transforming "professional helping relationships" into alliances that are less impersonal might be in order. Such relationships and connections seemed conducive to the development of empowering self-efficacy. This finding …

Women’S Political Leadership And Adult Health: Evidence From Rural And Urban China, Hongwei Xu, Nancy Luke, Susan E. Short

Publications and Research

This study examined the role of women’s political leadership at the community level in China, a context that has experienced recent political and socioeconomic change and has a distinctive rural-urban divide. Drawing on longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies (N = 40,918~52,406 person-year observations), we found that female community directors outnumbered male directors in urban China but were much less common in rural areas. Female community directors had higher levels of human capital regardless of rural or urban location. Residents living in female-directed communities reported better mental health, but not physical health or life satisfaction, compared to those …

A Healthy Attitude: Rural Leaders In Tn County Organize To Address Well-Being In Appalachia, Tim Marema, Erin Bouldin

Journal of Appalachian Health

When it came to formal philanthropy, Grundy County was not on the map. That changed with the 2012 establishment of South Cumberland Community Fund, which serves the plateau portions of Grundy, Franklin, and Marion counties.

Introduction To The New “Early Reports Of Innovation” Section, Erin Bouldin, Tim Marema

Journal of Appalachian Health

The Journal of Appalachian Health is introducing a new section this issue. While the journal is centralizing some of the best research and commentary on Appalachian health, the editorial team felt that practice-focused groups, organizations, and agencies may not be fully represented in the publication.

Spinning Charlotte's Web: Resident Perceptions And Neutralizations Of A Slaughterhouse Town, Ashley L. Flaherty

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Meat production, consumption, and slaughterhouses significantly affect the environment, public health, and non-human animals. Those who live in communities that house slaughterhouses must negotiate what it means to live and work in this community, and be financially supported by the industry. Understanding how people negotiate the roles that the industry plays in their community through semi-structured interviews was the primary purpose of this study. To reconcile the issues the town faces, the respondents in this study used excuses and justifications, specifically techniques of neutralization, to account for both the company's actions and the social issues the city itself faces.

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

Lisa R Pruitt

Harper County 2013-2014 Community View Assessment, Shannon L. Dick M.S., Debra J. Bolton Phd., Megan Ferrell

NPP eBooks

Introduction

In 2012, Harper County Commissioners engaged K-State Research and Extension and Western Kansas Statistical Lab to survey county residents for data that would paint a clearer picture of attitudes and desires around life, work, and recreation. The resultant data, its analyses, and subsequent narratives were intended to illuminate reasons why people leave or choose to remain in this south central Kansas County bordering Oklahoma.

Methodology

The areas of focus were Anthony, Harper, Attica, and “other” locales within the county borders. Respondents were 18 years of age and older. The survey instrument was designed to gather quantitative and qualitative data …

Wildlife And Local Community Investigation In Trans-Boundary Area Between China-Mongolia Borders, Weikang Yang, Wenxuan Xu, Canjun Xia, Wei Liu, Xingyi Gao

Erforschung biologischer Ressourcen der Mongolei / Exploration into the Biological Resources of Mongolia, ISSN 0440-1298

During June 2008, and August and December 2010, we investigated both the status of wildlife and local human communities in the great Gobi trans-boundary area between China and Mongolia. We surveyed Baytik Mountain (called Baitag Bogdt on the Mongolian side of the border)( 44°59′ - 45°21′N，90°30′ - 90°53′E), which is located in the West of Great Gobi B strict protected area (GGB) and connected with Dzungarian Gobi. The Kazakh shepherds still maintain their nomadic life here in Baytik Mountains. The region was divided into summer, winter and transitional pasture, and most of the livestock were goats and sheep. We also …

The Place To Be

Publications and Exhibits

Public life brings us together in common activity: cheering on the school sports team, enjoying Sunday dinner at a favorite restaurant, shopping at a local store. In these public spaces we conduct business, swap recipes, discuss issues of the day, relax with friends, and welcome newcomers to town. Public life knits together the diverse elements of a community and fosters a sense of civic responsibility. But longer job commutes, greater popularity of home entertainment, and online shopping mean more time spent privately and fewer opportunities to get together. To retain vitality, communities must continually nurture their traditional gathering places and …

Connectedness In The Lives Of Older People In Ireland, Carmel Gallagher

Articles

This paper presents an analysis of the connectedness of older people in two sample areas, one urban and one rural in Ireland. The paper is based on a study of the communal participation of older people in two geographic localities, Rathmore, a suburban area of Dublin, and Rathbeg, a rural area in County Donegal, conducted between 2000 and 2005. A multi stage study that used both qualitative and quantitative methods examined significant communal interactions of older people across a range of arenas, including leisure interests, involvement in clubs, religious practices, voluntary work, relationships with kin, friends and neighbours, helping activities, …

Factors That Contribute To Student Graduation And Dropout Rates: An In-Depth Study Of A Rural Appalachian School District, Ann Lyttle-Burns

Online Theses and Dissertations

There has been a wealth of research conducted on the national epidemic of high school dropouts spanning several decades. It is estimated that the class of 2009 cost the nation $335 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2009). The citizenry of the country suffers not only because of the loss in revenue but also as a result of the education level of the population. Individuals who choose to drop out of high school are not prepared for the most basic minimum wage jobs available, much less well paying jobs that sustain livelihoods. …

Foodways

Publications and Exhibits

This series features essays, biographical sketches, photographs, and recipes exploring food and community life in Knox County. Topics include gardening, hunting and trapping, food markets, the economics of food, new farmers, feeding the hungry, eating out, ritual food, cooking, canning and preserving, food and healing, and food choices. The series is based on extensive field research.

Life Along The Kokosing

Publications and Exhibits

This tour guide of sites along Knox County's Kokosing River explores our relationship to nature and rural community identity. The guide includes thirteen five-minute audio programs featuring excerpts of interviews with residents about the sites and a forty-page booklet with photographs and additional historical materials. Topics include village and town history, Amish community, agriculture, floods, recreation, immigration, the economy, geological history, wildlife, green space preservation, and urban sprawl.

Track listing:

1. Intro: At Riverside Park

2. Waterford

3. Kokosing Resevoir

4. Kokosing Sand and Gravel Pit

5. Cassell Farm

6. Mount Vernon Viaduct

7. Andrew Craig Historical Marker

8. Brown Family Environmental Center

9. Kenyon Mill

10. Indianfield Run

11. Trestle …

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Rural Social Work Bibliography (1999), Roger A. Lohmann, Nancy Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

This bibliography was assembled in response to a request from OUP for a rural bibliography on their website prior to publication of our edited book on Rural Social Work Practice (Oxford University Press. 2005).

Opportunity, Community, And Teen Pregnancy In An Appalachian State, Robert Bickel, Susan Weaver, Tony Williams, Linda Lange

SHU Faculty Publications

Teen pregnancy has become an issue that educators and public policy makers are obliged to treat as a serious problem. Too often, explanations of teen pregnancy have included uncritical use of the notion of adolescents at risk. Recently, however, attention has been given to structurally-determined contextual factors in explaining teen pregnancy. Such contextual factors include economic and educational opportunities and costs, as well as chances for valued participation in socially and culturally stable communities. This interest in contextual factors parallels a development in the literature on high school dropouts. A data set previously employed to study variability in drop-out rates …