Rural Sociology Commons^™

Notes From The Editorial Office (Volume 35, Issue 2), John J. Green, Elizabeth Young Sweeney

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

As the year 2020 draws to a close, we are pleased to share this collection of articles in Volume 35, issue 2 of the Journal of Rural Social Sciences (JRSS). Addressing topics including energy, sustainable agriculture, well-being among aging populations, and survey methods, they showcase the scholarly rural-focused work important for shaping the future.

Cost-Benefit And Acceptance Analysis Of Alternative Nematode Control Practices On Organic Dairy Goat Farms: A Case Study In France, Sylvain Quiédeville, Hervé Hoste, Yves Le Frileux, Spiridoula Athanasiadou, Steffen Werne, Simon Moakes

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This article assesses the costs, benefits, and acceptance of alternative control practices of Gastro-Intestinal Nematodes (GIN) for a typical organic dairy goat farm in France. A participatory Structured-Decision-Making (SDM) framework was used to guide focus group discussions, with an economic farm model and the Rogers and planned behavior theories used within the SDM framework. The study showed that the implementation of alternative GIN control practices can be economically profitable. An increased gross margin of €41 per dairy goat was calculated, which was mainly due to a decrease in the milk withdrawal cost. The simplicity to use or implement the alternative …

Sustainable Community In Literature And Lancaster County: Finding A Way Forward On Small Farms, Christine Bye

Honors Projects and Presentations: Undergraduate

"There are very few things that will motivate a thirteen-year-old child who has grown up comfortably and surrounded by supermarkets to pick green beans and to pick them joyfully. Dusty bean plants covered in yellow beetle larvae and located beneath a glaring sun do not exactly inspire an adolescent (or any sane person, really) to caper and sing. Neither do interestingly mottled rashes on the forearms - which appear after extensive rummaging through bean leaves - encourage the picker to return readily to the task. When my parents bought the family farm from my grandparents, they had some idea (as …

“We Didn’T Have A Lot Of Money, We Worked Hard, And We Ate Beans”: Examining The Narrative Inheritance From An Appalachian Father To His Son, Thomas Townsend

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The author contends that narratives, shaped not only by events but also by socioeconomic and geographic factors, are narratives that require exploration and analysis because these narratives build the lives in which individuals exist. By understanding narratives passed down with which they have built their lives, individuals can come to greater understanding of the narratives in which they live. To understand the narratives, he created and continues to craft about his life, the author needed to understand his narrative inheritance. When a proposed thesis study imploded, the focus of the study shifted to exploring the circumstances of a single interview …

Does A Web-First Tailored Design Method Work With Rural Populations?, Dylan C. Martinez, Kelly Way, Zola Moon, Timothy Killian, Betsy Garrison

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Considering rural populations are historically difficult to reach, an important component of this research revolves around improving survey techniques in rural areas. To address this issue, a web-first Tailored Design Method (TDM), utilizing a mixed-mode of internet and postal mail surveys, was adapted to research the quality of life experienced by rural families. Aided by the Iowa State University Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology – Survey Research Services, data were collected from 62 rural counties in Arkansas. Socioeconomic-demographic factors were examined regarding survey response mode (i.e. mail vs. web) with some differences found. Logistic regression results demonstrated males were …

Enclosing Water: Privatization, Commodification, And Access, Daniel Jaffee

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

This chapter examines the global political economy of access to drinking water, with particular attention to the implications for environmental and social justice. After reviewing theoretical approaches to the privatization and commodification of drinking water, the chapter examines the institutional and ideological drivers, dynamics, and effects of the enclosure of municipal (tap) water supplies, and the substantial countermovements it has generated, drawing on case studies from both the global South and the North. The chapter briefly reviews the present status of municipal water privatization, and then turns to another major modality of water commodification: bottled water. It explores the dramatic …

Rural Appalachia Battling The Intersection Of Two Crises: Covid-19 And Substance Use Disorders, Margaret Miller, Rebekah Rollston, Kate E. Beatty, Michael Meit

Journal of Appalachian Health

During the COVID-19 pandemic, rural Appalachia is at great risk of unforeseen side effects including increased mortality from substance use disorders (SUDs). People living with SUDs are at increased risk for both exposure to and poor outcomes from COVID infection. The economic impacts of COVID-19 must also be considered. As rural Appalachia combats the substance use crisis amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the geographic economic, health and social inequities within our region must be considered. As a national recovery is sought, we should reimagine federal policies that center the economic and public health of rural Appalachia addressing the two crises.

Review Of: From The Front Lines Of The Appalachian Addiction Crisis Healthcare Providers Discuss Opioids, Meth And Recovery, Carl G. Leukefeld

Journal of Appalachian Health

The Journal of Appalachian Health is dedicated to reviewing various types of media related to contemporary concepts that affect the health of Appalachia. As the opioid-related overdose deaths ravish Appalachia, now more than ever, we each must devote energy to understanding addiction and pathways to recovery. Dr. Carl Leukefeld reviews the book From the Front Lines of the Appalachian Addiction Crisis: Healthcare Providers Discuss Opioids, Meth and Recovery.

In Their Own Words: How Opioids Have Impacted The Lives Of “Everyday” People Living In Appalachia, Patricia Nola Eugene Roberson, Gina Cortez, Laura H. Trull, Katherine Allison Lenger

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: The opioid epidemic is ravaging people, families, and communities in Appalachia. However, limited research has examined how “everyday” people (e.g., not chronic pain patients, not medical professionals) living in these communities how opioids have impacted their lives.

Objective: Identify the perception of the opioid epidemic on individuals, families, and communities from people living in region most impacted regions.

Methods: Patients were recruited at Remote Area Medical clinics throughout Central and Southern Appalachia to complete interviews online (N = 169) or over the phone (N = 26), including one open-ended question about how opioids have impacted their lives.

Results: Using …

Improving Access To Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder In High-Need Areas: The Role Of Hrsa Health Centers, Michael Topmiller, Jennifer Rankin, Jessica L. Mccann, Jene Grandmont, David Grolling, Mark Carrozza, Hank Hoang, Josh Bolton, Alek Sripipatana

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Despite the opioid epidemic adversely affecting areas across the U.S. for more than two decades and increasing evidence that medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is effective for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), access to treatment is still limited. The limited access to treatment holds true in the Appalachia region despite being disproportionately affected by the crisis, particularly in rural, central Appalachia.

Purpose: This research identifies opportunities for health centers located in high-need areas based on drug poisoning mortality to better meet MAT care gaps. We also provide an in-depth look at health center MAT capacity relative to need …

Rural Community Toolbox To Help Battle Opioid Epidemic, Liz Carey

Journal of Appalachian Health

An online data repository and toolbox created by the Office of National Drug Control Policy is designed to provide communities with knowledge and resources to fight the opioid epidemic according to their unique needs.

Three Essays On Variation In Intergenerational Mobility And Incarceration In The United States, Vikash Dangal

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The U.S. is often called the “land of opportunity” but there are substantial disparities in the opportunity and life outcomes of children depending on where they grow up. The structural factors that shape future outcomes of children can be traced to their childhood environment. This dissertation builds upon the existing literature on childhood environment and future outcomes of children and presents three essays on the variation in intergenerational income mobility and incarceration in the US.

In the first essay in chapter 2, I employ spatial regime analysis to study how the factors affecting absolute upward mobility vary due to local …

Flooding Negatively Affects Health And Rural America Is Not Immune, Danielle Rhubart

Population Health Research Brief Series

Flooding is on the rise in the US and rural states are not immune. Chronic and one-time flood events can have devastating consequences for financial well-being, with residual impacts on mental and physical health.

Libraries At The Centre Of Community Transformation: A Bibliometric Study (2009-2019) Of The Influence Of Libraries On Segments Of Human Communities In Nigeria, Tochukwu Victor Nwankwo, Adizetu A. Ali Dr, Boniface U. Asadu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Purpose – The objective of the research was to undertake a bibliometric study (2009-2019) on the influence of libraries on segments of human communities in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to determine the bibliometric newspapers, databases, and institutional repository components of the Nigerian Academic, Social, Economic, Judicial, Political, Health, Cultural, and Religious Communities.

Design/methodology/approach – The method adopted was the descriptive survey research design; specifically the online content analysis technique was co-opted. The study covered all the publications published for or about Library Transformation in Nigeria by both Nigerians and foreigners (2009-2019); that are domiciled in Nigerian Online Newspapers, Online …

The U.S. Rural Mortality Penalty Is Wide And Growing, Shannon M. Monnat

Population Health Research Brief Series

In the U.S., rural mortality rates are much higher than those in urban areas, and the gap has widened in recent years. Several causes of death are to blame.

Ishi And The California Indian Genocide As Developmental Mass Violence, Robert K. Hitchcock, Charles A. Flowerday

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

Ishi represents a form of sentimental folk reductionism. But he can be a teaching tool for the California Indian Genocide, John Sutter also. His mill was where gold was discovered – setting off a frenzied settlement in which Indians were legally enslaved and slaughtered, finally ending a decade after the Emancipation Proclamation. They had already experienced wholesale devastation under Spanish and Mexican colonization. The mission system itself was inhumane and genocidal. It codified enslavement and trafficking of Indians as economically useful and morally purposeful. Mexican administration paid lip service to Indian emancipation but exploited them ruthlessly as peons. The California …

Insidious Trauma, Heteronormative Steeping, And Help-Seeking: Exploring The Rural Non-Heterosexual Experience, Jennifer Towns

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Non-heterosexual (NH) individuals are often exposed to stressors based on their non-heterosexual status and, therefore, may have unique needs related to help-seeking for mental health, especially in rural areas where residents are more likely to identify as religious or conservative, groups that have historically been opposed to NH individuals. This study was completed to explore the lives of 10 non-heterosexual individuals in rural northern Michigan related to their daily encounters with minority stress and their experiences with help-seeking for mental health symptomology. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted, and transcriptions were analyzed to identify the occurrence of traumatic experiences at a …

Well-Being Among Older Adults In Mississippi: Exploring Differences Between Metropolitan, Micropolitan, And Noncore Rural Settings, Carolyn E. Adams-Price, Joshua J. Turner, Margaret Ralston

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

It is a common belief that older adults in rural areas have high subjective well-being, despite often experiencing greater poverty and having access to fewer resources than older adults who live in urban areas, a phenomenon sometimes referred to as the “rural-urban paradox.” However, research does not consistently find high well-being in rural areas, which might be due to research not distinguishing between very rural and semi-rural (or small town) settings. This study compares the subjective well-being of older adults in micropolitan and noncore counties with the well-being of older adults in metropolitan areas in Mississippi (n = 659). Preliminary …

Bandon High School (Or), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 9–12 at Bandon High School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in January 2019. Participation was voluntary. Bandon High School had 215 students during 2018–2019, 160 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 74%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Sedomocha Middle School (Me), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 6–8 in SeDoMoCha Middle School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in February 2019. Participation was voluntary. SeDoMoCha Middle School had 242 students during 2018-2019, 199 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 82%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question; middle schoolers had fewer questions to answer. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Coos County (Or), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from school principals, students at 7 schools in Coos County were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey between January and May in 2019. Participation was voluntary. The schools had a combined 2,902 students enrolled during 2018–2019, 1,332 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 46%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Marshfield High School (Or), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 8–12 in Marshfield High School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in April 2019. Participation was voluntary. Marshfield High School had 1,000 students during 2018-2019, 400 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 40%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Coquille Jr./Sr. High School (Or), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 7–12 at Coquille Jr./Sr. High School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in February 2019. Participation was voluntary. Coquille Jr./Sr. High School had 350 students during 2018–2019, 311 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 89%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Winter Lakes High School (Or), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 7–12 at Winter Lakes High School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in March 2019. Participation was voluntary. Winter Lakes High School had 300 students during 2018–2019, 68 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 23%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Forest Hills Consolidated School (Me), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 6–12 at Forest Hills Consolidated School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in May 2019. Participation was voluntary. Forest Hills Consolidated School had 68 students in these grades during 2018-2019, 62 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 91%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Myrtle Point Jr./Sr. High School (Or), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 7–12 at Myrtle Point Jr./Sr. High School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in March 2019. Participation was voluntary. Myrtle Point Jr./Sr. High School had 215 students during 2018– 2019, 106 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 49%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Penquis Valley School (Me), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 6–12 at Penquis Valley School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in February 2019. Participation was voluntary. Penquis Valley School had 130 students in these grades during 2018-2019, 103 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 79%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Piscataquis & N. Somerset Counties (Me), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from school principals, students at 5 schools in Piscataquis and N. Somerset Counties in Maine were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey between February and May, 2019. Participation was voluntary. The schools had a combined 666 students enrolled during 2018–2019, 578 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 87%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Piscataquis Community High School (Me), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 9–12 at Piscataquis Community High School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in February 2019. Participation was voluntary. Piscataquis Community High School had 120 students during 2018–2019, 120 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 100%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/

Powers Jr./Sr. High School (Or), Mindy Crandall, Jessica Leahy, Nicole Bernsen, Jesse Abrams, Autumn Ellison, Alexa Carleton, Liz Capodilupo

Rural Youth Futures

With permission from the school principal, students in grades 7–12 at Powers Jr./Sr. High School were given a link to an anonymous, electronic survey in February 2019. Participation was voluntary. Powers Jr./Sr. High School had 50 students during 2018–2019, 27 of which took the survey for a participation rate of 54%. Every question was optional, so the number of responses varies by question. Fact sheets for all schools and each county are available online at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/rural_youth_futures/