Rural Sociology Commons^™

Exploring The Relationship Between Place Attachment And Attitudes Toward Tourism Development In Powell County, Lindsay Vance

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

This study explores the relationship between Powell County, Kentucky residents’ place attachment, and the perceived sociocultural, environmental, and financial benefits of the future Warrior’s Path development. A survey consisting primarily of five-point Likert scale questions was shared with several local organizations to distribute to their members. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient and Chi-square test of independence tests were used to discover any correlation between place attachment and perceived sociocultural, environmental, and financial benefits of tourism development. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r=.465) determined a moderate positive correlation between place attachment and perceived sociocultural benefits of the Warrior’s Path and tourism development. Of …

Regenerating Agroecosystems By Overcoming Human Exceptionalism In Designing For Increased Equity Of Benefits From Ecoservices, Ali Loker, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our commentary explores three critical issues related to ecosystem services. First is how ecoservices are currently designed and implemented primarily for human benefit without concern for how these impact other species. We conclude that awareness of this imbalance is the first step toward meaningful change. Second we observe that human exceptionalism guides most decisions, and ask whether we can overcome this mind-set to embrace ecoregeneration and design of resilient and mutually beneficial agroecosystems. Our attitude toward the challenge and moving toward greater humility about human roles that guide management decisions in the ecosystem is a requisite for change. Third we …

Nonmetropolitan Nebraskans’ Opinions About Water, Climate, And Energy: 2022 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz, Amanda Tupper

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans receive their home tap water from city water or municipal water systems. Just over two-thirds of rural Nebraskans receive their drinking water from a municipal system. One-quarter have private well water and seven percent are on a rural water system.

Many rural Nebraskans have tested their home tap water for nitrates. However, a similar proportion indicated they have not tested their water or are unsure. Persons with higher household incomes are more likely than persons with lower incomes to have tested their home water for each of the items listed. Many persons with the lowest household incomes …

The Past And Future Of Migration, Poverty, And Small-Scale Agriculture In Mexico, Kimberly Zamora Delgado

CMC Senior Theses

The conflated pattern between poverty, rurality, and indigeneity in Mexico signifies drastic inequality between populations. Poor, rural communities often do not receive as much public services, infrastructure improvements, and employment opportunities as urban areas, which causes out-migration into the cities. Some of the few jobs available in rural areas are in the agriculture sector, either through small-scale subsistence farming or seasonal employment on a large-scale farm. Historically, certain wealthy states such as Sinaloa, Michoacán, and Sonora received greater support to up-scale into modernized agriculture, which made them into the largest agro-exporters. On the other hand, poor states with greater indigenous …

Organizing For Power: Understanding Changing Conceptions Of Power In Rural Community Organizing, Evan R. Morden

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Community organizing is a practice of building and utilizing collective power, often initiated by groups who have little or no preexisting social or economic power. By acting together in a disciplined, organized, and targeted fashion, organizing is used to exert influence in the public square to achieve policy outcomes, provide mutual aid, and reweave the fabric of social relations in communities, frequently in direct opposition to existing power structures. Thus, creating a shared understanding of power that is fundamentally liberative is key to the success of organizing efforts and moreover, to creating lasting community cohesion that can continue to mount …

Deep Roots In Eroding Soil: Building Decolonial Resilience Amidst Climate Violence And Displacement In A Louisiana Bayou Indigenous Community, Lia Mcgrath Kahan

Senior Independent Study Theses

The Pointe-au-Chien Indigenous community of coastal Louisiana is fighting for survival as climate change and socio-political factors threaten to displace them from their ancestral home. This project takes an ethnographic and historical approach to exploring how colonization and climate change have influenced Pointe-au-Chien tribal members’ ability to stay on their ancestral land. Climate projections estimate that the bayou this community has lived alongside of for generations will soon be unrecognizable, leading to potential displacement and devastating cultural loss. Due to the increasing severity of climate change, it is crucial to look to the experiences of frontline Indigenous communities to support …

Rural Parent's Experiences Of Stress And Resilience During The Covid-19 Pandemic And School Closure, Emily Wilson, Jungwon Eum, Yuenjung Joo, Martinique A. Sealy, Jentry Stoneman Barrett, Gwen C. Nugent, Joan M. Carraher, Angela G. Hinrichs

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated social and economic disruptions, resulting in cascading effects on the health and well- being of global citizens. However, little research has focused on how COVID-19 has affected rural regions, despite rurality being a critical factor for understanding community impact and response to the pandemic. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of rural Nebraskan parents with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic and school shutdown, and the strategies they used to support their families during that time. We conducted individual and group interviews with 22 white, non-Hispanic mothers living in rural …

Impact And Coping Strategies Among Vulnerable Groups: An Urban-Rural Resilience Trajectory Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rizki Fillali, Ana Rosidha Tamyis, Sulton Mawardi, Hening Wikan Sawiji

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on the livelihoods of vulnerable groups. Previous studies have indicated that vulnerable groups in urban areas suffer more economic impacts than their counterparts in rural areas, largely due to mobility restrictions, social and physical distancing measures, and pre-pandemic vulnerabilities, exacerbating the challenges that urban groups face to survive. This article examines variations in the impacts and coping strategies of vulnerable groups in selected urban and rural areas in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic, and determines how these impacts and coping strategies have shaped the trajectory of community resilience. The article argues that although …

Changing Age Segregation In The Us: 1990 To 2010, Debasree Das Gupta, David W. S. Wong

Kinesiology and Health Science Faculty Publications

Age segregation adversely impacts health and wellbeing. Prior studies, although limited, report increasing age segregation of the US. However, these studies are dated, do not comprehensively examine the spatiotemporal patterns and the correlates of intergenerational segregation, or suffer from methodological limitations. To address these gaps, we assess the spatiotemporal patterns of age segregation between 1990 and 2010 using census-tract data to compute the dissimilarity index (D) at the national, state, and county levels. Results contradict previous findings providing robust evidence of decreasing age segregation for most parts of the country and across geographical levels. We also examine factors explaining adult-older …

Associations Between Physical Activity And Alcohol Consumption In Rural Cancer Survivors, Scherezade K Mama, Natalia I Heredia, Hannah Johnston, David E Conroy

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

PURPOSE: Rural adults and cancer survivors are more likely to be physically inactive and exceed recommendations for alcohol use. Physical activity and alcohol use are positively associated in adults and cancer survivors but associations between physical activity and alcohol use in rural cancer survivors is unknown. This cross-sectional study explored associations between physical activity, sitting time, and alcohol use in rural cancer survivors.

METHODS: Cancer survivors residing in central Pennsylvania were recruited to the Partnering to Prevent and Control Cancer (PPCC) study and completed mailed questionnaires assessing physical activity (low, moderate, high), sitting time (≥6 hours/day), and alcohol use (0 …

Rural Feminism And Perspectives Of Women Farmers In The Agriculture Industry: "I Don't Think I'D Want To Be A Man In This Industry", Cassie M. Duncan

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Women currently make up 36% of the workforce in the agriculture industry and are actively growing in number (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2017). Historically, women’s roles in the agriculture industry were silent or ignored, which has had consequences for women, such as poorer quality of life (Meares, 1997). Today, women are becoming more and more involved in the agriculture industry, but still face inequality in the workplace due to their gender. This research aims to understand the day-to-day experiences and impact of gender for women who work in the production agriculture industry; and by doing so, expand Feminist Theory to …

Notes From The Editorial Office (Volume 36, Issue 2), John J. Green

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

With volume 36, issue 2 of the Journal of Rural Social Sciences (JRSS), we are pleased to share two recent Presidential Addresses from the Southern Rural Sociological Association (SRSA), originally presented at SRSA annual conferences held in 2020 and 2021. Dr. Jin Young Choi (Sam Houston State University) spoke at the February 2020 conference held in Lexington, Kentucky, and Dr. David Nii O. Tackie (Tuskegee University) presented during the February 2021 virtual conference.

Performing Amish Agrarianism: Negotiating Tradition In The Maintenance Of Pennsylvania Dairy Farms, Nicole Welk-Joerger

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

Amish people have a reputation for being ecologically and environmentally conscientious. As numerous scholars in Amish and Plain Anabaptist studies have demonstrated, Amish views of the environment are diverse and ultimately anchored in the understanding that God made nature for human use. In these cases, Amish views of the environment could be described as much more anchored in traditional philosophical notions of “agrarianism” than “environmentalism.” In this article, I explore how some Amish approach agrarianism with a turn from more traditional farm life toward necessary economic engagement with multi-faceted operations and diversification. Based on intensive ethnographic research and participant observation, …

Manila’S Black Nazarene And The Reign Of Bathala, Antonio D. Sison

Journal of Global Catholicism

A consideration of how the dynamics surrounding Manila's Black Nazarene express crucial themes in the Filipino psyche. The article specifically addresses the importance of "felt-experience" (pagdama) in devotion to the Black Nazarene as well as its connections to indigenous Filipino religion.

Catholicism In Context: Religious Practice In Latin America, Gustavo Morello Sj

Journal of Global Catholicism

A critical problem to study Catholicism in the context of Latin American modernity, is that the conceptual tools we use to study religion were designed to understand the transformations that modernity provoked in European religiosity. Studies on the religion of Latin Americans have largely explored the religiosity of the population through surveys that measure attendance, adherence and affiliation. While some anthropologists have explored religious practices among particular groups, we do not know how ordinary, urban Latin Americans practice religion. To fill this gap, a group of researchers from Boston College, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Catholic University of Córdoba, and …

Fraternity, Martyrdom And Peace In Burundi: The Forty Servants Of God Of Buta, Jodi Mikalachki

Journal of Global Catholicism

During Burundi's 1993-2005 civil war, students at Buta Minor Seminary were ordered at gunpoint to separate by ethnicity—Hutus over here, Tutsis over there! They chose instead to join hands and affirm their common identity as children of God. The forty students killed were quickly proclaimed martyrs of fraternity. Their costly solidarity defused the cry for reprisals and continues to inspire Burundians and others on the path of reconciliation. Drawing on fifty interviews with survivors, parents of martyrs, neighbors, religious leaders and other Burundian intellectuals, this essay examines how Burundian Catholics understand the significance of the Buta martyrdom to their …

Editor's Introduction, Mathew N. Schmalz

Journal of Global Catholicism

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Poverty: Dimensions, Causes, And Solutions, David Nii O. Tackie

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

This article, based on the 2021 Southern Rural Sociological Association (SRSA) Presidential Address, assesses the dimensions, causes of, and solutions to poverty. It finds that the definition of poverty varies based on the criteria used, and even by which agency or institution is defining it. It also finds that poverty indices vary by state and by county. For instance, in selected SRSA states, Virginia has the lowest poverty rate and Mississippi has the highest poverty rate. There are several causes of poverty, some of which are lower levels of education, lower levels of health, unemployment, lack of livable wages, and …

Well-Being In Metropolitan Nebraska: 2021 Nebraska Metro Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Heather Akin, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy, Timothy Meyer, Steven A. Schulz

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most metropolitan Nebraskans believe they are better off than they were five years ago, are better off compared to their parents when they were their age and will be better off ten years from now. However, certain groups are more likely to be optimistic about their current situation and their expected future. Persons with higher household incomes are more likely than persons with lower incomes to think they are better off compared to five years ago, are better off compared to their parents when they were their age and will be better off ten years from now. And, persons with …

Keynote Address, Godwin I. Emefiele Con

Economic and Financial Review

The theme for this year’s edition, “Food Security in Nigeria: Options for Policy” is apt and in tune with the existing realities of both the global and domestic economies, which have suffered heavily from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the theme could not have come at a better time than now when issues of insecurity, climate change, and COVID-19 related disruptions are challenging food production and supply, not only in Nigeria but also globally. As a matter of fact, food security is critical for national security, economic stability and sustainable development.

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Kabir Ibrahim Mnia, Fnim, Acc

Economic and Financial Review

This paper seeks to advise on how to tackle the skyrocketing prices of food being experienced today all over the nation and to get the Government to take urgent and proactive actions to avert the pain being experienced by the entire Nigerian people.

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Alwan A. Hassan

Economic and Financial Review

Nigeria suffers from food insecurity and poverty. It is estimated that the number of hungry people in Nigeria is over 53 million, which is about 25.0 per cent of the country’s total population of about 212 million. Also, about 43.0 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line. These statistics are worrisome, given that Nigeria, in the 1950s and 1960s, was not only self-sufficient in food production, but was also a net exporter of food to other regions of the continent (Ajayeoba, 2010). A nation is food secure when food is available and accessible in sufficient quantity and quality …

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Adeleye O. Oyebade Mni

Economic and Financial Review

Food is defined by Britannica, a web-based encyclopaedia, as any substance consisting of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and other nutrients used in the body of an organism to sustain growth and vital processes, and to furnish energy.8 In a similar definition, Wikipedia described food as any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for an organism; adding that food is usually of plant, animal or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients. The above definitions explain why food is viewed as an essential need of life. However, the production of food has been declining in recent times for some reasons, including the adverse …

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Gabriel S. Umoh

Economic and Financial Review

This paper reviews food crisis and its causes in Nigeria. It takes the position that food crisis has been simmering in Nigeria for the past couple of years and identifies policy instability, poor policy implementation and declining household purchasing power, among others as the major causes of food crisis. It recommends strong policy support and implementation, automatic indexation of wages and pensions and other measures to curb food crisis in the country.

Averting The Looming Food Crisis: A Clarion Call To Immediate And Near-Term Policy Action, Emmanuel A. Onwioduokit

Economic and Financial Review

Discussions on food security have gained traction in the recent past, especially in Africa and other developing economies. Several horrifying images of famished families, particularly around “The Horn of Africa” including Somalia, Ethiopia, and some parts of Kenya, projected globally in both the print and electronic media vividly illustrate the perils of food crises. In Nigeria, food constitute a substantial share of family budgets, particularly for low-income households. When prices of essential foods items increase poorer people suffer the adverse impacts more disproportionately. While clothing and shelter are basic necessities of life, food remains the most vital, given its centrality …

Rural Counties Lost More Years Of Life Than Urban Counties In 2020, Yue Sun

Population Health Research Brief Series

Rural mortality rates have been higher than urban mortality rates for decades in the United States. Now, higher COVID-19 mortality rates in rural areas threaten to exacerbate the existing rural mortality penalty. This brief shows that rural counties had higher average years of potential life lost than urban counties in both 2019 and 2020. However, the increase in YPLL between 2019 and 2020 was largest in small rural counties and large rural counties adjacent to metro areas. Federal, state, and local governments must target social, structural, and policy determinants of health and premature mortality that disproportionately affect rural residents.

Comparisons Of Cooking, Dietary, And Food Safety Characteristics Of Food Secure And Food Insecure Sophomores At A University In Appalachia, Hannah Boone, Melissa D. Gutschall, Alisha Farris, Kimberly Fasczewski, Don Holbert, Laura Mcarthur

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Food insecurity means lacking access to adequate, nutritious, and safe food. Collegiate food insecurity rates at ten Appalachian campuses range from 22.4% to 51.8%, and have been associated with unfavorable health and academic outcomes.

Purpose: This study compared cooking, dietary, and food safety characteristics of food secure (FS) and food insecure (FI) sophomores at a university in Appalachia in the context of the USDA definition of food security.

Methods: Data were collected using an online questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential procedures compared FS and FI sophomores (p < 0.05).

Results: Participants (n = 226) were 65.0% females, 76.1% …

Access To And Use Of Technology For Health: Comparisons Between Appalachian Kentuckians And The General U.S. Population, Robin C. Vanderpool, Lindsay R. Stradtman, Anna Gaysynsky, Quan Chen, Meghan Johnson, Bin Huang

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: Technology may increase the availability of health information and enable health promoting behaviors. However, lack of access to and use of technology may also exacerbate disparities, particularly in rural communities with limited Internet access.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare Internet access, device ownership, and use of technology for health between Appalachian Kentuckians and the general U.S. population.
Methods: Findings from the 2017 Assessing the Health Status of Kentucky (ASK) survey were compared to national estimates from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5, Cycle 1 (2017), with a particular focus on degree of rurality. …

Risk Factors Associated With Passenger Vehicle Fatal Rollover Crashes In West Virginia, 2001-2018, Yuni Tang, Toni Marie Rudisill, Ruchi Bhandari

Journal of Appalachian Health

Background: Rollover crashes cause more injuries and fatalities than other types of motor vehicle crashes. West Virginia (WV) has high rates of drug overdose deaths and motor vehicle crash fatality. However, no studies have investigated risk factors associated with fatal rollover crashes in WV.

Purpose: The objective of this study is to evaluate whether drug use and other risk factors are associated with fatal rollover crash fatalities in WV.

Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized the Fatality Analysis Reporting System dataset from passenger vehicle crashes involving WV drivers ≥ 16 years of age with known drug test results who died within …

Perceived Hearing Loss And Availability Of Audiologists In Appalachia, Charles B. Pudrith, Ellyn Grider, Blythe Kitner

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: There is a high demand for audiologists throughout the United States. Previous research has supported an additional demand for these providers within Appalachia.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine if Appalachia has a disproportionally high demand for audiologists compared to the rest of the United States.

Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study was performed with population data from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the American Academy of Audiology, and the United States Census Bureau. County-level population-weighted averages of individuals with perceived hearing loss and number of audiologists per capita were compared between Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties. …