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Social And Environmental Justice And The Water-Energy Nexus: A Quest In Progress For Rural People, Karen V. Harper-Dorton Ph.D., Stacia J. Harper

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Access to affordable and reliable clean water and energy is necessary for economic development, health, and well-being of all people worldwide. Unavailable, unaffordable, or unreliable water and energy resources represent social and environmental injustices that disproportionately burden poor people, especially those in rural areas. Furthermore, there is an inextricable link between water and energy: clean water requires power for delivery and sanitation, and power production requires large amounts of water. This water-energy nexus connects two vital resources for humanity with more attention to economic concerns than to human or environmental issues. This paper addresses social and environmental justice issues that …

Planning For A Community Supported Farmers Market In A Rural Usda Food Desert, Carrie Lynn Engelbright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A community initiative to develop and sustain a farmer's market can address insufficient access to fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables for individuals working and residing in a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated food desert. This project addressed a particular USDA food desert in South Wood County, Wisconsin. The purpose of this project was to develop and plan for implementation and evaluation of a community-supported farmers market in South Wood County, with the goal to increase access to fruits and vegetables. Project objectives included development of a sustainable community infrastructure to support the market, development of policies and …

The Role Of Higher Education In Rural Community Development, Anita Faye Thompson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Higher education institutions commonly play a role in community development. Rural communities may be even more dependent on the university's investment. As higher education has looked to meet demands of stakeholders calling for greater accountability, it has become necessary for universities to be able to justify the effectiveness of these efforts. The purpose of this study was to determine the elements necessary for successful rural community development in Western Oklahoma. Utilizing the Delphi research method, 20 community development experts in rural Western Oklahoma participated in the three-round survey process. In the initial survey, participants collectively submitted a list of 41 …

Tracking Onslow: A Community In Transition. Edition 5, October 2014, Jess Allia, Taylor Brett, Karma Barndon, Kayt Davies, Aubin Hay, Amber Johnston, Kaylah Lloyd, Amber Montgomery, Tiffany Nash, Drew Norrish, Claire Ottaviano, Tanya Phillips, Kat Powell, Briana Shepherd

Tracking Onslow: a community in transition

This is the fifth edition of Tracking Onslow and the first that is not the result of a visit to the town. In June 2014 we were told that the Shire would not be funding the flights, accommodation or printing for the edition and so the ECU crew looked for other ways to continue documenting the impact of Wheatstone and Macedon on Onslow.

Fortunately, our previous visits in July 2012, February 2013, July 2013 and February 2014 had filled our contact books with names and numbers and clued us in to issues that needed to be followed up.

After a …

Understanding Institutional And Social Factors Relating To The Provisioning Of Water And Sanitation Services In Rural Alaska: Perspectives On Community Self-Reliance From Nine Native Villages Of Interior Alaska, Mercedes FáTima Ochante CáCeres

Arctic and Northern Studies

The global community acknowledges the essential nature of potable water and proper sanitation to the realization of human rights. Since 1959 federal, state and tribal efforts have focused on the goal of equitably providing these services to Alaska Native villages. However, demographic and geographical realities along with limited resources pose formidable challenges to achieving this lofty goal. This thesis explores the challenges to providing safe drinking water in remote Interior Alaska villages and their impact on self-reliance from the perspectives of knowledgeable village residents. Findings from a grounded theory analysis reveal that despite competence and concerted efforts to meet community …

Changes Spark Interest In Sustainable Urban Places: But How Do We Identify And Support Them?, John R. Nolon

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Changes in climatic and demographic trends are sparking renewed interest in cities generally and sustainable communities particularly. On the one hand, residents and workers in denser, mixed-use neighborhoods served by transit have half the carbon footprint of those in spread-out suburban areas. On the other hand, many of the smaller households that characterize the nation’s growing population prefer to live in precisely those compact, mixed-use neighborhoods. In New York, these changes align with several new state policies that encourage cities and towns to reduce carbon emissions, reduce vehicle travel, create sustainable buildings and neighborhoods, and preserve the landscapes that sequester …

Community Development, Cornelia Flora, Nancy Arnold, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

Our physical communities – the places we live and the people with whom we live – shape our lives. Often, our communities choose us; we are born into them, and we simply stay because it is what we know. Some get to choose or create their community. Others choose or are forced to leave. Rural communities differ widely in their economic base, culture values and practices, and social structure (Flora, 1992). The rural economy influences the opportunities with which we are presented, which in turn influences whether we leave or whether we stay. But the economy and jobs are not …

Addressing Health And Social Disparities Through Community-Based Participatory Research In Rural Communities: Challenges And Opportunities For Social Work, Tiffany D. Baffour Ph.D.

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Social workers can increase the translational ability of their research efforts to create sustainable community change in rural communities through the use of community-based participatory research (CBPR). CBPR is a congruent approach to social work values, representing a balance between research and community empowerment. This article focuses on methodological concerns in conceptualization, setting research goals, measurement, data collection, and dissemination of the findings. Recommendations for how interrelated areas of social work education, practice, research, and policy can address rural social and health disparities through CBPR are advanced.

Impact Of Globalization On Central Appalachian Women: Social Capital And Social Support Networks, Jennifer Lanham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Social networks and capital often sustain community and individual survival. This phenomenological study was designed to illuminate the experience of job loss within the context of globalization, describing the phenomenon from the perspective of rural women and its meaning for those participants. Using a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study explored eight rural women in Appalachian Kentucky who had experienced apparel factory layoffs as a result of global outsourcing. A modified form of van Kaam's method (Moustakas, 1994) was used for phenomenological analysis of the data. Data were analyzed using an eight-step technique to identify essential characteristics of rural women's lived …

Place-Based Approaches To Rural Economic Revitalization: A Public Funding Analysis And Implications For The Alabama Black Belt, David Sheldon Williams

All ETDs from UAB

Many rural areas in Alabama are underdeveloped and economically depressed. The Black Belt Counties are a subset within Alabama that tend to lag behind other counties and nationwide indicators for social and economic well-being. Targeted place-based policies for economic development and community improvement have resurfaced on the federal policy agenda under the Obama Administration. Place-based policies have the potential to change the condition of places like the Black Belt by adding the place-based approaches to rural development policy. The purpose of this research is to analyze the specific rural needs and policies utilized in the state of Alabama by understanding …

Voices Of Women In Rural India: Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, And Education, Joanne Riebschleger Ph.D., Lmsw, Brittany Fila Basw

Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal

Women self-help group participants in rural northern India described living with social and economic challenges, including persistent poverty and discrimination. Self-help group participants, teachers, administrators, and parents discussed rural education. Stakeholders talked with a social work student serving an intensive internship in a grassroots non-governmental organization. A grounded theory approach guided data collection, coding, and analysis. Self-help group participant data themes included the empowerment of women and development of entrepreneurship. Education stakeholders revealed a need for increased access to education, especially for girls and young women. Therefore, recommendations centered on “3 E’s” – empowerment, entrepreneurship, and education. American and Indian …

Slides: Incorporating Community Values Of Sustainability Into Resource Management: The Red Lady Case Study, Wendy Mcdermott

Shifting Baselines and New Meridians: Water, Resources, Landscapes, and the Transformation of the American West (Summer Conference, June 4-6)

Presenter: Wendy McDermott, Executive Director, High Country Citizens' Alliance, www.hccaonline.org

33 slides

State-Level Individual Development Account (Ida) Policy: Opportunities And Challenges For Rural Areas, Karen Edwards, Jon Bailey

Center for Social Development Research

State-Level Individual Development Account (IDA) Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for Rural Areas

Overview Of Federal Wealth-Building Policies Relevant To Rural America, Jon Bailey

Center for Social Development Research

While the general philosophy behind wealth-building strategies generally makes little or no distinction between urban and rural areas, the federal government has established a specific regime of rural wealth-building programs recognizing the unique economies and challenges facing rural people and rural communities. This is particularly true for home ownership and business development and in the rural development programs of the United States Department of Agriculture. This paper provides an overview of federal wealth-building programs that apply to rural people and rural places in the United States, with an emphasis on those programs in USDA and other federal agencies that apply …

Asset-Building Programs For People With Disabilities In Rural Areas: Including Independent Living And Long-Term Care Planning Education, Michelle Putnam, Fengyan Tang

Center for Social Development Research

This paper presents findings from a case study of individuals with multiple sclerosis examining their planning and preparation activities for their future independent living and long-term care needs. Data collected from a representative sample of National Multiple Sclerosis Society members in the greater metropolitan St. Louis and eastern Illinois area indicate significant differences in income, assets, education, health and functional limitation status between individuals living in rural versus urban areas. Additionally, findings show respondents with greater levels of education and assets, and those living in urban areas, are more likely to have saved for retirement, made legal preparations, or engaged …

Individual Development Accounts In Rural Communities: Implications For Research, Michal Grinstein-Weiss, Jami Curley

Center for Social Development Research

Individual Development Accounts in Rural Communities: Implications for Research