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Articles 1 - 23 of 23
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Uncovering The Hidden Dimensions Of Rural Disaster Mitigation: Capacity Building Through Community Emergency Response Teams, M. A. Brennan, Courtney G. Flint
Uncovering The Hidden Dimensions Of Rural Disaster Mitigation: Capacity Building Through Community Emergency Response Teams, M. A. Brennan, Courtney G. Flint
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
The increasing magnitude of hurricane damage in the southern United States in recent years, capped off by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, highlights the reality that local people and communities are often the first responders to crisis or disaster. Driven by policy and necessity, rural communities find themselves taking on more responsibility in preparing for and resolving local crises and emergencies. Locally-based Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) are teams of local volunteers, trained to aid in disaster preparation, provide first aid, and contribute other assistance during emergency situations. Focusing on the southern United States, this article explores the rural/urban distribution of …
Exploring Producers', Staff Members', And Board Members' Cognitive Frame On Decision Making In An Appalachian Organic Farming Venture, Curt D. Gervich, Max Stephensen Jr., Marc J. Stern
Exploring Producers', Staff Members', And Board Members' Cognitive Frame On Decision Making In An Appalachian Organic Farming Venture, Curt D. Gervich, Max Stephensen Jr., Marc J. Stern
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Sustainable development assistance organizations (SDAOs) aim to help producers of natural resource products move their goods and services to market. This article explores how the cognitive frames held by producers, staff, and board members in an agricultural SDAO in rural Appalachia influence organizational decision-making. This study explores identity, characterization, value, and membership frames. Data collected through semi-structured interviews with growers, staff, and board members reveal that the frames these stakeholders hold lead to the institutionalization of decision-making processes that allow organizational managers to make quick, consistent, and clear decisions while avoiding conflicts among members who hold competing frames. Simultaneously, these …
Quality Of Life On The Agricultural Treadmill: Individual And Community Determinants Of Farm Family Well-Being, J. Gordon Arbuckle Jr., Chris Kast
Quality Of Life On The Agricultural Treadmill: Individual And Community Determinants Of Farm Family Well-Being, J. Gordon Arbuckle Jr., Chris Kast
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Individual quality of life (QOL) is a critical foundation of stable and cohesive societies. This research examines QOL among Iowa farmers, who as a group have seen their numbers decline precipitously over the past decades as the farm economy has undergone major restructuring processes. Farm families are nested in rural communities, many of which have also experienced persistent population loss and economic decline over the same period. A multilevel modeling approach is employed to examine determinants of subjective QOL over time, using 29 years of longitudinal data. Results point to positive relationships between household income, community vitality, and farm family …
Alabama Veterans Rural Health Initiative: A Preliminary Evaluation Of Unmet Health Care Needs, Lori L. Davis, Stefan G. Kertesz, Ann F. Mahaney-Price, Michelle Y. Martin, Kroshona D. Tabb, Kristin M. Pettey, Sandre F. Mcneal, U. Shanette Granstaff, Karl Hamner, M. Paige Powell, Michelle M. Hilgeman, A. Lynn Snow, Marietta Stanton, Patricia Parmelee, Mark S. Litaker, Mary T. Hawn
Alabama Veterans Rural Health Initiative: A Preliminary Evaluation Of Unmet Health Care Needs, Lori L. Davis, Stefan G. Kertesz, Ann F. Mahaney-Price, Michelle Y. Martin, Kroshona D. Tabb, Kristin M. Pettey, Sandre F. Mcneal, U. Shanette Granstaff, Karl Hamner, M. Paige Powell, Michelle M. Hilgeman, A. Lynn Snow, Marietta Stanton, Patricia Parmelee, Mark S. Litaker, Mary T. Hawn
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
The Alabama Veterans Rural Health Initiative aims to better understand the health care needs, health status, and barriers to care for rural veterans. Following extensive community outreach, Veteran Community Outreach Health Workers assessed 203 veterans residing in rural counties of Alabama who either: 1) had never enrolled in VA health services, or 2) had not used those services in at least two years. While 71.4 percent of participants reported having utilized non-VHA primary care within the past year, 33.5 percent reported an inability or delay in obtaining needed health care for one or more services: primary care, specialty care, mental …
Accelerating Rural Growth Through Collective Action: Groups' Activities And Determinants Of Participation In Southwestern Nigeria, Mure U. Agbonlahor, Oluwafemi S. Enilolobo, C. I. Sodiaya, Dare Akerele, Joel T. Oke
Accelerating Rural Growth Through Collective Action: Groups' Activities And Determinants Of Participation In Southwestern Nigeria, Mure U. Agbonlahor, Oluwafemi S. Enilolobo, C. I. Sodiaya, Dare Akerele, Joel T. Oke
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This study was conducted to investigate the types of activities promoted by cooperative groups and the determinants of participation intensity of members in cooperative activities in southwestern Nigeria. A multistage sampling approach was used to select 326 cooperators (45 groups). Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, difference of means test, and Tobit regression.Cooperative groups engaged in farm and off-farm activities such as arable crop production, fish farming, agricultural products processing, and produce marketing, among others. Farm input procurements and access to market information (74 percent), cooperative credits and thrift (53 percent), social networking (37 percent), multipurpose commercial activities (21.6 …
Tim L. Adsit, Small Schools, Education, And The Importance Of Community, Ann E. Theodori
Tim L. Adsit, Small Schools, Education, And The Importance Of Community, Ann E. Theodori
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Review of Small Schools, Education, and the Importance of Community, by Tim L. Adsit
Disaster Recovery In Rural Communities: A Case Study Of Southwest Louisiana, Deborah Tootle
Disaster Recovery In Rural Communities: A Case Study Of Southwest Louisiana, Deborah Tootle
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This paper provides a descriptive case study to develop a better understanding of the disaster recovery and rebuilding process in the three parishes (counties) in South Louisiana that were hardest hit by Hurricane Rita in 2005. The data come from a number of sources: official documents, news articles, published data, and personal observations. This case study’s implications raise questions about current approaches to disaster recovery. It also suggests strategies for practice, program development, and policy.
The Texture Of Local Disaster Response: Service Providers' Views Following Hurricane Katrina, John J. Green, Anna M. Kleiner, Jolynn P. Montgomery
The Texture Of Local Disaster Response: Service Providers' Views Following Hurricane Katrina, John J. Green, Anna M. Kleiner, Jolynn P. Montgomery
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Disasters highlight elements of community vulnerability and resiliency. Effective responses are organized and managed to provide goods and services to survivors while also being supportive of the organizations attempting to meet these needs. Collaboration among local service providers, such as nonprofit, faith-based, and governmental organizations, allows communities to build upon internal and external networks and resources to prepare for and respond to disasters. Using a livelihoods framework, we analyze 139 qualitative field interviews conducted in the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Southeast Louisiana, to learn from the experiences, needs, and recommendations of people working on the front lines of disaster in …
Rural Communities And Disasters: Research From The Southern United States, Courtney G. Flint, M. A. Brennan
Rural Communities And Disasters: Research From The Southern United States, Courtney G. Flint, M. A. Brennan
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This special issue of Southern Rural Sociology brings together a diverse array of theoretical and empirical explorations on the rural community context of disaster in the Southern United States. As the Gulf Coast hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 made abundantly clear, natural and other disasters present a host of unique problems for rural areas. In many cases, rural communities are often left on their own to meet the emergency needs of local residents. While both urban and rural communities found themselves grappling with inexplicable turmoil in the midst and wake of recent hurricane disasters, rural communities were often at the …
Risk Perceptions After A Coal Waste Impoundment Failure: A Survey Assessment, Stephanie Mcspirit, Shaunna Scott, Duane Gill, Sharon Hardesty, Dewayne Sims
Risk Perceptions After A Coal Waste Impoundment Failure: A Survey Assessment, Stephanie Mcspirit, Shaunna Scott, Duane Gill, Sharon Hardesty, Dewayne Sims
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
In mid October of 2000, a rupture occurred at the bottom of a coal waste reservoir owned by Martin County Coal Corporation (MCCC-Massey). Impounded slurry and sludge materials from the reservoir traveled through underground mine works and burst through two mine portals on opposite sides of the mountain releasing more than 300 million gallons of coal waste into creeks and waterways of Martin County, KY. This paper examines people’s reactions to the Martin County coal waste disaster by examining levels of reported concern and perceptions of risk across the impacted community of Martin County in comparison to similar coal mining …
Mississippi Business Environment Before And After Katrina: Challenges And Opportunities, Domenico Parisi, Steven Michael Grice, Jed Pressgrove
Mississippi Business Environment Before And After Katrina: Challenges And Opportunities, Domenico Parisi, Steven Michael Grice, Jed Pressgrove
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Valid, reliable, and, most importantly, timely information is the most critical aspect for the design and implementation of successful emergency management strategies. This goal, however, is rarely achieved during the aftermath of a disaster. In this paper, we showcase how we used administrative records to assist Mississippi in evaluating the overall impact of Katrina on the state’s economy. Specifically, we assisted the state in developing a methodology to generate valid, reliable, and timely information on (1) the business environment and labor market and (2) rehiring and hiring practices. This information was used by the state to design recovery strategies and …
Campus Cowboys And Cowgirls: A Research Note On College Rodeo Athletes, Gene L. Theodori
Campus Cowboys And Cowgirls: A Research Note On College Rodeo Athletes, Gene L. Theodori
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
College rodeo has evolved from small, single-campus fund-raisers, celebrations, and/or competitions into an internationally recognized North American collegiate sport. Throughout its history, though, the sport has received virtually no attention in the sociological literature. In this research note I provide a descriptive summary of member characteristics and selected findings from a 2003-2004 National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association membership survey. I also empirically examine the association of size of place of residency during childhood with previous involvement in rodeo (i.e., before participating in college rodeo). Findings reveal that respondents who spent most of their childhood in more rural areas (i.e., in the …
Collective Disaster Responses To Katrina And Rita: Exploring Therapeutic Community, Social Capital, And Social Control, Lee M. Miller
Collective Disaster Responses To Katrina And Rita: Exploring Therapeutic Community, Social Capital, And Social Control, Lee M. Miller
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
The goal of this paper is to explore the dynamics of one East Texas community’s responses to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Literature on community response to disaster forms a basis for reflections on observed local response activities, including convergence behavior. In particular, the concept of social capital is compared to, and contrasted with, Barton’s model of therapeutic community. Social control is a relatively unexplored element of social capital, but one that helps us understand the development of normative frameworks, generalized trust, and the perceived legitimacy of institutions–important factors in effective community response to disasters. In conclusion, implications for future preparedness …
A Mixed-Methods Investigation Of Community Attachment In Rural Romania, Natalia Buta, Mark A. Brennan, Stephen M. Holland
A Mixed-Methods Investigation Of Community Attachment In Rural Romania, Natalia Buta, Mark A. Brennan, Stephen M. Holland
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This article explores the intricacies of community attachment using a multidimensional construct; attachment to the social and natural environment. A central focus is to assess whether attachment to the social and natural environment are distinctively predicted by length of residence, social interaction, and sociodemographic characteristics. Furthermore, this work elaborates on current understandings of community attachment by qualitatively exploring feelings of attachment toward the place of residence. All are explored in the context of rural Romania and communities managing the natural resources available to them. The results show the effect of several independent variables on attachment to social and natural environments. …
The Impact Of Rural-Urban Migration On Plantation Agriculture In The Niger Delta Region, Nigeria, Albert Ukaro Ofuoku, Christopher Okeleke Chukwuji
The Impact Of Rural-Urban Migration On Plantation Agriculture In The Niger Delta Region, Nigeria, Albert Ukaro Ofuoku, Christopher Okeleke Chukwuji
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This study was carried out to unveil the impact of rural-urban migration on plantation agriculture productivity in the Niger-Delta Region of Nigeria. Data were collected from 660 rural households and managers/supervisors of 15 selected oil palm, rubber, and cocoa plantations in the Niger-Delta Region. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Most migrants were able bodied young adults. Labor shortage was experienced by all the visited plantations. Due to labor shortages, most of the plantations could not harvest completely. This resulted in foregone revenue for the plantations. Rural-urban migration significantly and positively correlated with labor …
Small Town In Global Society, Don E. Albrecht
Small Town In Global Society, Don E. Albrecht
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
The 2007 Southern Rural Sociological Association Presidential Address: After passing through eras labeled as “Small Town in Isolation” and “Small Town in Mass Society,” it is argued that we are now entering the era of “Small Town in Global Society.” Two factors that distinguish global society from mass society are worldwide competition and the reduced relevance of location. Outcomes of the transition to global society include the increased importance of amenity resources and a major economic structure transformation. To survive and prosper in a global society will require community leaders and development specialists to understand the inherent obstacles and constraints, …
Cocoa Farming In Ghana: Emic Experience, Etic Interpretation, Francis Danquah, Stephen K. Miller
Cocoa Farming In Ghana: Emic Experience, Etic Interpretation, Francis Danquah, Stephen K. Miller
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This paper develops the tension between emic and etic analysis, recounting the experience of life on a cocoa farm in Ghana, from the perspective of an urban youth with familial connections to the rural community. The dual perspective of living in the city along with frequent visits to and summer sojourns on the farm provided an “outsider’s” perceptions of the rural culture. Yet even these dual emic perspectives were insufficient to bring recognition of the underlying economic realities of cocoa bean production that depended partly on migrant labor. That etic insight came later in the United Kingdom, when studying similar …
A Life Lost: The Tensions Between Local Attachments And Cosmopolitan Attractions, E. Carolyn Tucker
A Life Lost: The Tensions Between Local Attachments And Cosmopolitan Attractions, E. Carolyn Tucker
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This retrospective on a multigenerational farm family calls upon the author’s life experiences to describe the microcosm of a local rural culture. The author uses narrative to consider sense of place and the impact it exerts on native-born locals. Considering the nonmigration of an extended family of third-generation rural cousins who live and farm within 25 miles of land belonging to the family for more than a hundred years, the story contrasts local and cosmopolitan values, raises issues about attempts to “leave home,” describes the tension created when rurals try to become part of both worlds, and examines the stranglehold …
My Garden State: Memory, History, And The Agrarian Ideal, Michelle Gillespie
My Garden State: Memory, History, And The Agrarian Ideal, Michelle Gillespie
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This essay examines the dynamic tension between the memory of lived experience and the formal discipline of history as it applies to the value of farm life and the importance of the agrarian ideal in American society. It analyzes the author’s memories about growing up in rural New Jersey, their critical place in her development as a scholar, and their embeddedness in her moral valuation of rural experience. Simultaneously it conveys the limits of those memories when held against critical analysis, especially in relation to the lenses of gender and race. It suggests that the longstanding appeal of the agrarian …
Storytelling As Narrativity: Rural Life Through The Prism Of Social Tensions, Stephen K. Miller, Zachary Michael Jack
Storytelling As Narrativity: Rural Life Through The Prism Of Social Tensions, Stephen K. Miller, Zachary Michael Jack
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This introductory article provides purpose and rationale for this special issue of Southern Rural Sociology. The remaining six essays represent stories based on the authors’ farm experiences, crafted to explicate the tensions that underlie all of social life. Illustrating the connection between rural life and the world of ideas, the work makes explicit how the often unrecognized contradictions of everyday society are balanced through choices that typically exist at an unconscious, taken-for-granted level. Each author describes a particular dialectic. Collectively, the writers have transformed their narrative to narrativity, the formal imposition of moral purpose on storied form. Although our purpose …
"Dirt Farmer" Vs. "Soil Scientist": Representative Tensions In The Constructed Identities Of Farmer-Writers Walter Thomas Jack And Edward H. Faulkner, Zachary Michael Jack
"Dirt Farmer" Vs. "Soil Scientist": Representative Tensions In The Constructed Identities Of Farmer-Writers Walter Thomas Jack And Edward H. Faulkner, Zachary Michael Jack
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This extended case study of Edward Hubert Faulkner, one-time extension agent turned overnight agricultural sensation, and Walter Thomas Jack, a former Quaker schoolteacher and self-professed Iowa “dirt farmer,” and their respective, point/counterpoint soil conservation classics, Plowman’s Folly (1943) and The Furrow and Us (1946), illuminates key tensions within the fields of rural sociology and agricultural history: namely subject versus object, inside versus outside, and “peasant” versus “professional” practice as they were played out in the American popular and agricultural press from 1943 to 1948. While it is true that Plowman’s Folly, as its title implies, goads the American farmer …
A Whistling Girl And A Crowing Hen: Changing Productivity And Gender Expectations, Cynthia Williams Resor
A Whistling Girl And A Crowing Hen: Changing Productivity And Gender Expectations, Cynthia Williams Resor
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
This paper explores two conflicts encountered by the author as she earned her Ph.D. in medieval history. First is the conflict the author feels when working on her craft—can written history be considered a credible occupation that results in something useful in contrast to the farm production of her youth? The second theme explores the tension the author encounters when challenging traditional gender roles of both farmers and historians.
John Deere Tractors And School Reform: Balancing Economies Of Scale And Quality Of Life, Stephen K. Miller
John Deere Tractors And School Reform: Balancing Economies Of Scale And Quality Of Life, Stephen K. Miller
Journal of Rural Social Sciences
Many school reform reports, many politicians, and typical media coverage attribute today’s reform efforts to the failure of the schools. We need, say critics, to return to the good old days when schools were tough and everybody learned! This essay debunks the Golden Age myth by comparing John Deere tractors to school reform. In the analogy, repeated upgrades of the old two-cylinder motor during the decade of the fifties were associated with the demise of the family farm. The new models were more powerful than the tractors they replaced, but not enough. Eventually, John Deere evolved to the new 4010 …