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Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Rural Sociology

Coos Teens’ View Of Family Economic Stress Is Tied To Quality Of Relationships At Home, Corinna J. Tucker, Genevieve R. Cox Oct 2011

Coos Teens’ View Of Family Economic Stress Is Tied To Quality Of Relationships At Home, Corinna J. Tucker, Genevieve R. Cox

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Family economic hardship during adolescence affects family relationships and the social, emotional, and behavioral development of a substantial number of American youth. The authors of this brief use data from the Coos County Youth Study, conducted by the Carsey Institute, to explore adolescents’ perceptions of family economic pressure in 2008 and determine whether these views are linked to their family relationship experiences one year later. They report that one-third of adolescents in Coos County, New Hampshire, perceive that their family is experiencing significant economic pressure and that significant economic pressure is linked to negative parent-child and sibling relationships one year …


Stretching Ties: Social Capital In The Rebranding Of Coos County, New Hampshire, Michele Dillon Oct 2011

Stretching Ties: Social Capital In The Rebranding Of Coos County, New Hampshire, Michele Dillon

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Place rebranding is gaining in popularity as cities and rural communities alike attempt to expand their revenue streams through innovative marketing strategies that seek to revitalize or create tourism destinations. These efforts tend to come about as part of an economic development strategy pursued by communities that have borne steep economic losses resulting from global economic restructuring and the decline in traditional manufacturing, agriculture, and natural-resource extraction. Author Michele Dillon explores the role of social capital in rural wealth generation by focusing on how it was used to advance place rebranding in Coos County in northern New Hampshire.


Jobs, Natural Resources, And Community Resilience: A Survey Of Southeast Alaskans About Social And Environmental Change, Thomas G. Safford, Megan M. Henly, Jessica D. Ulrich Sep 2011

Jobs, Natural Resources, And Community Resilience: A Survey Of Southeast Alaskans About Social And Environmental Change, Thomas G. Safford, Megan M. Henly, Jessica D. Ulrich

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

As part of the Community and Environment in Rural America (CERA) project, researchers at the Carsey Institute surveyed 1,541 residents of the ten boroughs and unincorporated census areas in Southeast Alaska to better understand social and environmental change in the region and their implications for Alaskan community and families. The authors of this brief report that social problems in the extremely isolated region of Southeast Alaska such as crime and drug use are closely related to economic distress, particularly in small outlying communities.


Tanf In Rural America: Informing Re-Authorization, Leif Jensen, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Bean Sep 2011

Tanf In Rural America: Informing Re-Authorization, Leif Jensen, Marybeth J. Mattingly, Jessica A. Bean

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In 1996 welfare reform ushered in a new era in which cash assistance for poor parents became both temporary and conditional on activities to promote economic independence through work. Cash assistance from TANF relieves, but does not eliminate, poverty because benefit levels are far too low to lift families above the poverty threshold. These ameliorative effects are weaker in rural than urban areas. Over time, the positive impacts of TANF receipt have continued to decline. The authors assert that the necessity of re-authorizing TANF gives us an opportunity to reflect on its strengths and limitations.


Southeastern Kentuckians Remain Optimistic Through Great Recession: Growing Concerns About Sprawl, Housing, And Recreational Opportunities, Jessica D. Ulrich Sep 2011

Southeastern Kentuckians Remain Optimistic Through Great Recession: Growing Concerns About Sprawl, Housing, And Recreational Opportunities, Jessica D. Ulrich

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

In May and June of 2007, Carsey Institute researchers surveyed 1,000 randomly selected respondents from Kentucky’s Harlan and Letcher counties, and between November 2010 and January 2011, they returned to survey 1,020 different randomly selected respondents from the same counties. These two Kentucky counties provide a snapshot of perceptions of community and environmental change in a chronically poor rural place. This brief focuses on the questions asked in both surveys to identify area wide (Harlan and Letcher counties combined) changes since the Great Recession. The surveys reveal that the recession has exacerbated concern about many community-level problems including poverty, affordable …


Continuity And Change In Coos County: Results From The 2010 North Country Cera Survey, Chris R. Colocousis, Justin R. Young Aug 2011

Continuity And Change In Coos County: Results From The 2010 North Country Cera Survey, Chris R. Colocousis, Justin R. Young

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief from Chris Colocousis and Justin Young uses the most recent North Country CERA survey to focus on change and continuity in Coos County between 2007 and 2010, and then makes comparisons of the present conditions across the three study counties. The authors examine such topics as community problems, environmental and economic concerns, and community cohesion and confidence in the local government. They report that Coos County residents remain highly concerned about the lack of economic opportunities in the region, and their concern about population decline has increased in recent years. Coos residents see the economic future of their …


Rural And Central City Residents With Multiple Children Likely To Be Hardest Hit By Proposed Wic Cuts, Jessica A. Bean Jul 2011

Rural And Central City Residents With Multiple Children Likely To Be Hardest Hit By Proposed Wic Cuts, Jessica A. Bean

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief uses data from the 2007 and 2010 Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement to describe the distribution of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) receipt across the population and to detail place-based differences in receipt. WIC is a nutrition program that serves pregnant or postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 (who meet certain criteria) by providing them with nutrition education and checks or vouchers for food purchases. The proposed fiscal year 2012 funding is $733 million less for WIC than fiscal year 2011 levels, and far less than …


Rural Workers Have Less Access To Paid Sick Days, Kristin Smith, Andrew P. Schaefer Jul 2011

Rural Workers Have Less Access To Paid Sick Days, Kristin Smith, Andrew P. Schaefer

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

This brief, using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW) survey, analyzes paid sick time rates of workers by place and type of work. Paid sick days provide job protection to workers and a steady paycheck when they need to care for themselves or family members. Paid sick days also help workers with more limited resources who cannot otherwise afford to take a day off. Authors Kristin Smith and Andrew Schaefer report that a greater proportion of rural workers than urban workers (both suburban and central-city) lack access to at least five paid sick days per …


Validating The Culture Of Agriculture: Farmers Groups And Organic Agriculture Mitigating Rural To Urban Migration In Bhutan, Emma Dosch Apr 2011

Validating The Culture Of Agriculture: Farmers Groups And Organic Agriculture Mitigating Rural To Urban Migration In Bhutan, Emma Dosch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agricultural occupations make up the largest proportion of Bhutan’s workforce. Over the past two decades the occupation has shrunk from 90% to 65% of Bhutan’s employment. The younger generation of Bhutan’s rural population is seeking livelihood opportunities in urban areas, leaving farms with labor shortages. The movement may compromise the identity and sustainability of Bhutan’s rural population and undermine the nation’s goals of Gross National Happiness (GNH) directed policy. Initiatives to retain and legitimize agricultural livelihoods are emerging inside and outside of government policy. Existing efforts are models of ways to reconnect educated individuals with the needs and values of …


How Far Would You Drive For Fresh Food? How Some Rural New Hampshire Residents Navigate A Dismal Food Landscape, Jennifer J. Esala Feb 2011

How Far Would You Drive For Fresh Food? How Some Rural New Hampshire Residents Navigate A Dismal Food Landscape, Jennifer J. Esala

The Carsey School of Public Policy at the Scholars' Repository

Lack of access to food stores with healthy and affordable food is one of the central obstacles to eradicating hunger in America. Approximately 23.5 million Americans live more than a mile from a supermarket, which makes accessing healthy food more challenging. Among low income populations, especially those with young children and limited transportation, this distance can severely limit access to affordable and healthy foods. This brief reports the challenges that eighteen rural New Hampshire mothers face to secure healthy, affordable, and quality foods and suggests ways to help address these challenges.


Nature, Domestic Labor, And Moral Community In Susan Fenimore Cooper's Rural Hours And Elinor Wyllys, Richard M. Magee Jan 2011

Nature, Domestic Labor, And Moral Community In Susan Fenimore Cooper's Rural Hours And Elinor Wyllys, Richard M. Magee

English Faculty Publications

Cooper's argument for a domestic ideal situated within a rural setting reinforces the importance of community connections through a shared sense of morality, as well as understanding of the natural world. Community alone—the human connections—never seems to be enough in Cooper's formulation, but must always exist with an awareness of the world outside the narrow confines of one's own domestic sphere. Concern for one's fellow-beings necessitates a concern for the world in which these beings live, and Cooper understands that when any bonds are broken—such as the bonds that connect us to the natural world—other bonds are threatened. Thus, when …