Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Education, Politics And Opinions About Climate Change: Evidence For Interaction Effects, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Sociology

U.S. public opinion regarding climate change has become increasingly polarized in recent years, as partisan think tanks and others worked to recast an originally scientific topic into a political wedge issue. Nominally “scientific” arguments against taking anthropogenic climate change seriously have been publicized to reach informed but ideologically receptive audiences. Reflecting the success of such arguments, polls have noted that concern about climate change increased with education among Democrats, but decreased with education among Republicans. These observations lead to the hypothesis that there exist interaction (non-additive) effects between education or knowledge and political orientation, net of other background factors, in …

More Than One In Ten American Households Relies On Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits, Jessica A. Bean, Marybeth J. Mattingly

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the most responsive federal programs to economic downturns, as evidence by the increases in SNAP use between 2007 and 2009. Nationally, more than one in ten households relies on SNAP benefits, and the rate is even higher in rural areas, with more than 13 percent of households reporting use. This brief examines the trends in SNAP use across the United States since the recession began in 2007 and considers the impact of legislation in the Congress on those who rely on SNAP to make ends meet.

Hard Times Made Harder: Struggling Caregivers And Child Neglect, Wendy A. Walsh

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Poverty is only one of many challenges tied to a report of child neglect. The analysis in this brief finds that neglected children whose caregivers struggle with substance abuse and mental health problems are at significant risk for out-of-home placement. Risk factors for out-of-home placement for neglected children are discussed, as well as a multifaceted approach to services to prevent neglect and out-of-home placement.

The Unequal Distribution Of Child Poverty: Highest Rates Among Young Blacks And Children Of Single Mothers In Rural America, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Bean

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Measuring by race, place, and family, this brief highlights poverty rates for two rural groups--young black children and children of single mothers--who each face rates around 50%.

Capital Markets, Cdfis, And Organizational Credit Risk, Charles Tansey, Michael E. Swack, Michael Tansey, Vicky Stein

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Can Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) get unlimited amounts of low cost, unsecured, short- and long-term funding from the capital markets based on their organizational credit risk? Can they get pricing, flexibility, and procedural parity with for-profit corporations of equivalent credit risk? One of the key objectives of this book is to explain the reasons why the answer to the two questions above remains “no.” The other two key objectives are to show the inner workings of what has been done to date to overcome the obstacles so that we don’t have to retrace the same steps and recommend additional …

Teachers Matter: Feelings Of School Connectedness And Positive Youth Development Among Coos County Youth, Nena F. Stracuzzi, Meghan L. Mills

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Students who feel positively about their education, have a sense of belonging in school, and maintain good relationships with students and staff generally feel connected to their schools. In fact, 63 percent of Coos youth report feeling this way. It is one of the most important factors in promoting socio-emotional well-being and positive youth development, according to authors Nena Stracuzzi and Meghan Mills. Their research, using surveys of Coos students, shows that students who feel more connected to their schools usually get better grades, have higher self-esteem, use fewer substances, and engage in aggressive behaviors less frequently. Their latest brief …

Wives As Breadwinners: Wives' Share Of Family Earnings Hits Historic High During The Second Year Of The Great Recession, Kristin Smith

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In the second year of the recession, wives' contributions to family earnings leapt again, jumping two percentage points from 45 percent in 2008 to 47 percent in 2009. This rise marks the largest single-year increase in 15 years. This is not due to an increase in their earnings but rather to a decrease in husband’s employment, as the economy disproportionately shed male-dominated jobs during the recession.

Foodshed Foundations: Law's Role In Shaping Our Food System's Future, Margaret Sova Mccabe

Law Faculty Scholarship

[. . .] This symposium Article analyzes how we can rethink the architecture of law based on a foodshed model to provide a greater role for local, state, and regional government in the American food system. In turn, greater roles for different levels of government may help America achieve greater efficiencies in domestic food safety, nutrition and related public health issues, sustainability, and international trade.

Americans need a greater voice in the food system. The foodshed model is a powerful vehicle that allows us to conceptualize change, allowing greater citizen participation and a more nuanced approach to food policy. The …

Young Child Poverty In 2009: Rural Poverty Rate Jumps To Nearly 29 Percent In Second Year Of Recession, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Michelle L. Stransky

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The U.S. Census Bureau's release of its American Community Survey data in September 2010 illustrated some expected changes in poverty rates in 2009, the second year of the Great Recession. For young children under age 6, living in poverty is especially difficult, given the long-term effects on health and education. Every region of the country except the West saw increases in rural young child poverty in 2009.

Do Scientists Agree About Climate Change? Public Perceptions From A New Hampshire Survey, Lawrence C. Hamilton

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This report, a collaboration of the Carsey Institute, the UNH Survey Center, and the UNH Office of Sustainability, is the first of a new initiative that will track public perceptions about climate change as they change over time. Questions related to climate change were asked as part of New Hampshire's Granite State Poll, which surveyed 512 New Hampshire residents in April 2010.

Developing Brokered Community Transportation For Seniors And People With Disabilities, Jerry D. Marx, Christie Davis, Caitlyn Miftari, Anne Salamone, Wendy Weise

Social Work

Communities are exploring ways to increase transportation coordination to improve access for seniors. One such effort is a brokered transportation system in which one agency serves as the central point of contact for ride information or actually arranging transportation for clients of multiple programs by use of a combination of transportation services. A team of social work faculty and students from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Social Work Outreach Center, a center that provides service learning opportunities to students, collaborated with a local coalition to investigate the specific transportation needs of the region's senior citizens. A total of 641 …

Understanding Very High Rates Of Young Child Poverty In The South, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Catherine Turcotte-Seabury

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

It is widely known that the South is home to some of the places with the highest rates of child poverty. To address the many challenges poor families face there, policy makers and community leaders need to understand the complex factors that converge in this region of the United States. This brief presents an analysis of and state-by-state data to help readers understand high child poverty in the South.

Older Americans Working More, Retiring Less, Anne M. Shattuck

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This Carsey brief finds that the percentage of Americans age 65 and older remaining in the labor force continues to grow steadily in urban, suburban, and rural areas. In 2009, 22 percent of older men and 13 percent of older women were still working compared to 17 percent of men and 9 percent of women in 1995. Moreover, increasing percentages of older workers hold full-time, full-year jobs.

How Yoopers See The Future Of Their Communities: Why Residents Leave Or Stay In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Jessica D. Ulrich

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

According to a Community and Environment in Rural America survey, Michigan's Upper Peninsula residents, often called "Yoopers," said that ties to community and the area's natural beauty were significant factors for those who planned on staying in this rural area, which comprises about a third of Michigan's land mass but only 4 percent of its population. Those planning on leaving cited employment opportunities and energy costs as the most important factors in their decision.

Finding And Affording Healthy Food In Rural America: Study Results From New Hampshire, Sally Ward

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Carsey Institute Child Nutrition Briefings, Washington, DC

Rural Children - Rural Communities, William P. O'Hare

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Carsey Institute Child Nutrition Briefings, Washington, DC

Recent Highlights From Carsey Demographic Research, Kenneth M. Johnson

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Carsey Institute Child Nutrition Briefings, Washington, DC

Rural Participation In Federal Child Nutrition Programs: Two Studies, Barbara Wauchope

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Carsey Institute Child Nutrition Briefings, Washington, DC

Parks, People And Pixels: Evaluating Landscape Effects Of An East African National Park On Its Surroundings, Jane Southworth, Joel N. Hartter, Michael W. Binford, Abraham Goldman, Colin A. Chapman, Lauren J. Chapman, Patrick Omeja, Elizabeth Binford

Geography

Landscapes surrounding protected areas, while still containing considerable biodiversity, have rapidly growing human populations and associated agricultural development in most of the developing world that tend to isolate them, potentially reducing their conservation value. Using field studies and multi-temporal Landsat imagery, we examine a forest park, Kibale National Park in western Uganda, its changes over time, and related land cover change in the surrounding landscape. We find Kibale has successfully defended its borders and prevents within-park deforestation and other land incursions, and has maintained tree cover throughout the time period of the study. Outside the park there was a significant …

The Scholars’ Repository: A Central Location For Unh Scholarship, Eleta Exline

University Library Scholarship

This presentation focused on the rationale for Open Access publishing, self-archiving, authors’ rights issues, and plans for a UNH institutional repository.

It was delivered at the Faculty Instructional Technology Summer Institute, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire. June 18, 2010

Challenges In Resource Rich Communities: Finding The Path To Redevelopment, Cynthia M. Duncan

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Northern Forest Higher Education Resource Network Annual Meeting

The National Juvenile Online Victimization Study: Methodology Report., Kimberly J. Mitchell, Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor

Crimes Against Children Research Center

The National Juvenile Online Victimization Study (N‐JOV) was conducted by the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire. Wave 1 of this study was funded by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. Wave 2 of this study was funded through grants from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice.

Researchers collected information from a national sample of law enforcement agencies about the prevalence of arrests for, and characteristics of, Internet sex crimes against minors in the …

Place Effects On Environmental Views, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Chris R. Colocousis, Cynthia M. Duncan

Sociology

How people respond to questions involving the environment depends partly on individual characteristics. Characteristics such as age, gender, education, and ideology constitute the well-studied "social bases of environmental concern," which have been explained in terms of cohort effects or of cognitive and cultural factors related to social position. It seems likely that people's environmental views depend not only on personal characteristics but also on their social and physical environments. This hypothesis has been more difficult to test, however. Using data from surveys in 19 rural U.S. counties, we apply mixed-effects modeling to investigate simple place effects with respect to locally …

The Economic Importance Of Draught Oxen On Small Farms In Namibia's Eastern Caprivi Region, Andrew B. Conroy, Mogos Yakob Teweldmehidin

Natural Resources & the Environment

The main aim of this study was to analyse and document the value of smallholder farmers’ use of Draught Animal Power (DAP) systems in the Eastern Caprivi Region and to test the economic viability of DAP usage versus using tractors. This study applied Rapid Rural Appraisal techniques (RRA), including a survey. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 312 farmers at their farms and data was gathered on the use of and economics related to the draught animal power system. Crop enterprise budgets, project reports, expert opinions and group discussions were analysed. The research found that the use of animal power performs …

Homeless Teens And Young Adults In New Hampshire, Barbara Wauchope

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

More than 1,000 adolescents and young adults in New Hampshire are homeless, and their numbers are growing. The brief, co-published with the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire, provides an estimate of homeless youth in New Hampshire calculated from and state data and describes the needs of homeless youth based on interviews and a survey of providers of homeless services in the state.

Too Much Free Time: Coos County Youth Who Are Least Involved In Out-Of-School Activities Are Most Likely To Use Drugs And Alcohol, Erin H. Sharp

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Carsey Institute researchers are seeing links between the self-reported substance use and involvement in out-of-school activities. As part of a ten-year tracking survey of high school students in Coos County, New Hampshire, this brief finds that those most involved with constructive activities report the least amount of substance abuse.

Out-Of-Home Care By State And Place: Higher Placement Rates For Children In Some Remote Rural Places, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Melissa Wells, Michael Dineen

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This fact sheet examines out-of-home placement rates for children removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect. The data finds that children in remote rural areas have overall higher rates of out-of-home placements. It also provides data on placement rates by rural or urban status to help inform policy makers as they discuss the child welfare system.

What's For Dinner? Finding And Affording Healthy Foods In New Hampshire Communities, Nena F. Stracuzzi, Sally Ward

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Access to healthy food is becoming increasingly difficult for some households in the Granite State, as grocery stores relocate or consolidate, leaving some residents to depend on convenience stores for basic groceries. This brief looks at recent data on food deserts in New Hampshire.

Youth Opinions Matter: Retaining Human Capital In Coos County, Cesar J. Rebellon, Nena F. Stracuzzi, Melissa Burbank

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

As Coos County youth age, their attachment to their communities may deteriorate. This brief presents new data from the Coos Youth Study. This research indicates efforts to keep young people in Coos may benefit from efforts to show students that their views matter to adults in their communities.

The Changing Faces Of America's Children And Youth, Kenneth M. Johnson, Daniel T. Lichter

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates indicate that between July 2008 and July 2009, 48.6 percent of the 4 million children born in the United States were minorities. In contrast, nearly 60 percent of the children born ten years ago were non-Hispanic white. This rapid change demonstrates that America's youth are at the forefront of the country's rapidly shifting demographic makeup. This brief reveals the factors causing this increase in the proportion of minority births.