Rural Sociology Commons^™

Broadband And Mobile Internet Services In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: 2016 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, L. J. Mcelravy

Nebraska Rural Poll

Most rural Nebraskans use their cell phone to access the Internet. Certain groups are more likely than others to use mobile/cellular Internet service: rural Nebraskans with the highest household incomes, who are younger, married, with higher education levels and with management or professional occupations.

Overall, most rural Nebraskans using mobile/cellular Internet service are satisfied with their service. Furthermore, most rural Nebraskans are satisfied with the reliability, speed, customer service, and coverage of their mobile Internet service. However, most rural Nebraskans using mobile Internet service are dissatisfied with the price of their service.

Certain groups have issues with various aspects of …

[Review Of] Saving Seeds, Preserving Taste: Heirloom Seed Savers In Appalachia, Julene L. Jones

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Wellbeing Among Rural Grandfamilies In Two Multigenerational Household Structures, Melissa A. Barnett, Loriena Yancura, Joe Wilmoth, Yoshie Sano

GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy

Multigenerational households are an understudied type of grandfamily. In rural communities, these households are likely to be economically disadvantaged and underserved. Drawing from a subset (N = 63) of low-income multigenerational households in a multistate research study, Rural Families Speak About Health, the present study compares demographic characteristics, parent and child wellbeing, and family processes in two types of multigenerational household structures: one-parent/grandparent families and two-parent/grandparent families. Research on these multigenerational household configurations is rare despite the potential for different needs, strengths, and services. Results indicate no differences in economic hardship or disadvantage by household type. Children in …

Household Shocks And Transition Into Marriage: Evidence From Rural Ethiopia, Boyd K. Tembo

Theses and Dissertations

The study tests the primary hypothesis that household shocks do not have a positive and significant correlation with a child's transition into early marriage. It finds that there is no statistically significant correlation between parental death and transition into marriage for both genders of subjects in the study.

Are They Matching Up? An Analysis Of Study Abroad Outcomes And The Vocational Needs Of A Southern Appalachian Area, Brynn A. Smith

Capstone Collection

With an increased amount of people seeking higher education, it has become vital to connect education to career in American colleges and universities. To better understand the value of education abroad, international educators must make this connection clear. This research examines student outcomes from Maryville College’s (MC) study abroad programs and compares them with human resource needs, with special attention given to the local job market in the surrounding area. A case study approach was used to gather data from MC study abroad returnees, local HR professionals, and national sources to understand where student outcomes are or are not lining …

Monhegan: A Prescription For Resilience, Kenneth Paul Kiel Gross

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

Monhegan, like many island communities, is threatened by the loss of population as its young adults migrate to the mainland. The purpose of this study is to develop a resilient population on Monhegan Island.

Knowing the problem is easy, as is asking the obvious question, “How do we get people to move to this area?” This is a problem that confronts not only Monhegan, but also other Maine islands and even Maine itself.

Several factors make Monhegan’s future uncertain. The first is the gradual shift from commercial fishing, the mainstay of its economy, as it becomes more reliant on tourism …

Women And Healthcare In Appalachia: Impeding Circumstance And The Role Of Technology, Ashley Cano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, healthcare access and quality in central and southern Appalachia have trailed the rest of the country. Entrenched poverty and low educational attainment compound healthcare problems. This study examines the healthcare obstacles women encounter in southern and central Appalachia and analyzes how technology use, such as Internet searching and social media affect women’s healthcare decisions. Data were analyzed from four focus groups conducted with women from the region. Results indicate that seeing a physician or not did not influence women’s propensity to search the Internet for health-related information or to seek support through social media sites. Additionally, women reported …

The Masculinized Work Of Energy Development: Unequal Opportunities And Risks For Women In Pennsylvania Shale Gas Boomtown Communities, Erin Mchenry-Sorber, Kai A. Schafft, Ian Burfoot-Rochford, Daniella Hall

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The proliferation of unconventional shale gas development has revived scholarly interest in the impacts of rapid industrial development on communities, schools, policies and politics, public health, the environment, and economic growth. However, with few exceptions, close examinations of the gendered structure of opportunity within areas experiencing rapid shale gas development have largely been absent from this literature. This article uses key informant interview data from low income men and women, as well as from social service providers within Pennsylvania communities heavily affected by shale gas development. In contrast to assertions that shale gas development will yield broad-based economic development impacts …

Appalachia, Usa: An Empirical Note And Agenda For Future Research, Russell Weaver

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Drawing regional bright-lines to separate one “kind” of space from another is often complex and nebulous, if not impossible, in social science research. These circumstances generate two countervailing tendencies: they (1) promote multiple conceptualizations of a given ideational region; and (2) increase demand for a standardized operational definition of that region with which to facilitate intertemporal and interdisciplinary empirical research. These two tendencies animate much of the discourse on “Appalachian” geographies in America. While comparatively theoretically-oriented work emphasizes the unbounded, socially constructed nature of Appalachia, empirical research must often represent the region as a bounded spatial unit. The operational definition …

Self-Reported Familiarity Of Hydraulic Fracturing And Support For Natural Gas Drilling: Substantive And Methodological Considerations, Fern K. Willits, Gene L. Theodori, A. E. Luloff

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

The widespread use of hydraulic fracturing in the natural gas industry in the United States has led to criticism by environmentalists and the public who see the process as threatening both the quality and quantity of local water supplies. However, there has been little research directed to assessing the extent to which citizens believe they are familiar with the process of hydraulic fracturing and little analysis dealing with the correlates of subjects’ sociodemographic characteristics with such familiarity or its effects on individual’s support or opposition to natural gas drilling. The current note examines these issues using data from a 2012 …

Recreational Needs And Practices Of Youth Living In Rural Areas In Quebec: Views And Concerns Of Stakeholders And Parents, Romain Roult, Denis Auger, Chantal Royer, Jean-Marc Adjizian

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

Public recreation in rural areas is often a key factor in fighting the devitalization of small municipalities. Additionally, recreational activities support youth in their identity and social development, for instance through generated social interactions. Based on a qualitative case study conducted in Quebec, this research seeks to identify the needs and sought-after forms of recreational activities for youth living in rural areas according to local stakeholders and parents, and, simultaneously, to estimate land management, governance, and social actions that will improve the recreational offer already in place. Results show that the interviewed stakeholders are aware of the merits of leisure …

Restructuring Of The Financial Industry And Implications For Sources Of Start-Up Capital For New Businesses In Nonmetropolitan Counties, F. Carson Mencken, Charles M. Tolbert

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

No abstract provided.

Rural Civic Action Project Poster, Heartland Center For Leadership Development

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

The final project for the Rural Civic Action Project is to create a poster that includes the Community Capital Mapping activity (CCMA; Keith & Kinsey, 2013). The Community Capital Maps provide an opportunity to evaluate the impact of the projects from the participants’ perspective. Fellows should include one map on their poster: the center of the map should be “Engaging in the Rural Civic Action Program. Also included on the poster is a narrative describing the map.

Understanding The Failure Of China’S Specialized Cooperatives In China, Zhanping Hu, Qian Forrest Zhang, John A. Donaldson

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

At first blush, contemporary China seems ripe for the rapid development of agricultural cooperatives. After all, cooperatives have not only enjoyed a long history in China, but the country’s recent experience with agricultural communes should make it more amenable to the reestablishment of joint production and spontaneous bottom-up cooperation. Agricultural cooperatives in China date to the 1930s, as Rural Reconstruction Movement advocates promoted cooperatives as a “third road” between capitalism and socialism. Although Mao’s regime disbanded most bottom-up cooperatives, rural cooperatives began to reemerge in rural China by the end of the 20th century, particularly after 1998, when farmer cooperatives …

Escaping The Concrete Jungle: An Exploration Of Ecotourism Development In Dzongu, North Sikkim, Katrina Kniss

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The state of Sikkim in northeastern India is a place imbued with a sense of mystery. It is partially this spirit, as well as its pristine Himalayan landscapes and vibrant cultural diversity, that has established Sikkim as a major tourist destination in the region. In the Northern district of the state, the Dzongu reserve is inhabited by the indigenous Lepcha group, who hold the status of “Most Primitive Tribe”. Over the past decade, however, this primitive tribe has shown their strength in staging large-scale protests and hunger strikes in a movement against mega-hydropower development along the Teesta River. Employing their …

Los Médicos No Creen En La Brujería: El Choque Entre La Psicologia Occidental, El Catolicismo Y Las Creencias Ancestrales En La Salud Mental Boliviana, Olivia Legan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este ensayo explora el concepto de salud mental en Bolivia y discute cómo las creencias ancestrales y el catolicismo determinan el entendimiento boliviano sobre la salud. También se toma en cuenta el rol de la salud mental en la migración interna y la tensión entre el estilo de vida rural y urbano. En base a mis experiencias en un centro de terapia alternativa y un hospital psiquiátrico católico, voy a comunicar algunas maneras en que se recibe e implementa la psicología occidental en la sociedad boliviana.

This paper explores mental health in Bolivia and discusses how both ancestral beliefs and …

Demokrasi Dalam Pemilihan Kepala Desa? Studi Kasus Desa Dengan Tipologi Tradisional, Transisional, Dan Modern Di Provinsi Jawa Barat Tahun 2008-2013, Neneng Yani Yuningsih, Valina Singka Subekti

Jurnal Politik

This research was motivated by variety of understandings of political activities in villages. The article argues that village is considered as the embrio for the formation of political society and government in Indonesia, which is also the basis for this democratic nation. This consideration can be seen from the activities of village’s headman elections. Headman election is a political activity that shows how democratic process can take place in village level. Therefore, headman elections cannot be eparated from the dynamic development of the political situation in the village. It is not merely a power struggle within the leadership’s succession in …

Colorectal Cancer Prevention: Perspectives Of Key Players From Social Networks In A Low-Income Rural Us Region, Nancy E. Schoenberg, Kathryn Eddens, Adam Jonas, Claire Snell-Rood, Christina R. Studts, Benjamin Broder-Oldach, Mira L. Katz

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

Social networks influence health behavior and health status. Within social networks, “key players” often influence those around them, particularly in traditionally underserved areas like the Appalachian region in the USA. From a total sample of 787 Appalachian residents, we identified and interviewed 10 key players in complex networks, asking them what comprises a key player, their role in their network and community, and ideas to overcome and increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Key players emphasized their communication skills, resourcefulness, and special occupational and educational status in the community. Barriers to CRC screening included negative perceptions of the colonoscopy screening procedure, …

Through The Gateway: Marijuana Production, Governance, And The Drug War Détente, Michael Polson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Since the 1996 voter approval of medical marijuana laws in California, marijuana policy has become increasingly liberalized. Producers, however, have remained in the greyest of grey market zones. Federal anti-drug laws and supply-side tactics have intensively targeted them even as marijuana has become more licit. In this legally unstable environment, marijuana patient-cultivators and underground producers have articulated and asserted themselves politically and economically, particularly as the likelihood of full legalization has increased. This dissertation explores how producers navigated the nebulous zone between underground and medical markets. I argue that even as producers supplied marijuana to a formalizing, regulated medical industry …

Enrollment Projections To 2025: Brookings School District, Sd, State Census Data Center

Center for Rural Vitality and Community Well-being Project Reports

This report has four parts. The first section is a summary of findings for the K-12 enrollment in the Brookings School District between 1999 and 2015 and the projections to the year of 2025. The second section describes the enrollment trend of k-12 students at Brookings School District from 1999 to 2015. The data are provided by the district. Time trends in the historical enrollment data and factors such as natural increase/decrease and migration that have influenced the enrollment are discussed. Understanding time trends and the related factors are critical for making the projections. The third section provides projections by …