Journal of Rural and Community Development
Not a member yet
598 research outputs found
Sort by
Small Business Lending and Economic Well-Being in U.S. Counties During the Great Recession.
No full textPrevious research shows that small business lending declined significantly during the Great Recession. In this paper, we examine the effects of small business lending on measures of socioeconomic development in U.S. counties during this time period. Citing literature which shows that small business owners in nonmetropolitan counties depend on traditional bank loans more than their metropolitan counterparts, we propose that the effects of small business lending will be more important in nonmetropolitan counties. We utilize data from Community Reinvestment Act Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and U.S. Census. We use two measures of small business lending: the average per loan small business lending from 2005-2010 and change in small business lending amount in the county between 2005 and 2010. We find that the per loan average amount of small business lending between 2005-2010 increased the 2010 median family income and 2010 county poverty rate in nonmetropolitan counties. The effects in metropolitan counties show no benefits of small business lending. Change in the amount of business loan had no consistent effects. Implications for existing and future research are discussed.
Keywords: rural development; small business lendin
Can Unconventional Oil and Gas Reduce the Rural Mortality Penalty? A Study of U.S. Counties
Get PDFRural places in the United States increasingly face seemingly intractable problems—perhaps the most severe of these is the ‘rural mortality penalty’ wherein rural places have higher mortality rates than suburban and urban places. The boom in unconventional oil and gas production in the mid-2000s brought with it the promise of rural renewal, and the potential to address rural America’s long-standing development challenges. In this analysis, we ask how the oil and gas boom has impacted the rural mortality penalty. Our results imply that oil and gas development will not improve or damage mortality rates. Implications for rural populations are discussed.
Keywords: Rural mortality penalty; oil and gas development; multilevel model
---------------------------------------------------
Est-ce que le pétrole et le gaz non conventionnels peuvent réduire la pénalité pour la mortalité rurale? Une étude des comtés américains
Résumé
Aux États-Unis, les zones rurales sont de plus en plus confrontées à des problèmes apparemment insolubles - le plus grave d'entre eux est peut-être la « peine de mortalité rurale » dans laquelle les zones rurales ont des taux de mortalité plus élevés que les zones suburbaines et urbaines. L'essor de la production de pétrole et de gaz non conventionnel au milieu des années 2000 a apporté avec lui la promesse d'un renouveau rural et le potentiel de relever les défis de développement de longue date de l'Amérique rurale. Dans cette analyse, nous nous demandons comment le boom pétrolier et gazier a eu un impact sur la peine de mortalité rurale. Nos résultats impliquent que le développement du pétrole et du gaz n'améliorera ni n'endommagera les taux de mortalité. Les implications pour les populations rurales sont discutées.
Mots-clés: Peine de mortalité rurale; développement pétrolier et gazier; modèle à plusieurs niveau
The Battle of Little Big Puck: Narratives of Community, Sport, and Relationships in Rural Canada
Get PDFThe Battle of Little Big Puck is an annual event hosted in Maple Creek that challenges the way we think about how sport, history, heritage, and community intersect and play out in rural Canada. The event pits ‘Cowboys against the Indians ’in a hockey game and symbolic performance of identity, culture, and community. For
this paper, we used a participatory methodology to co-construct narratives of the event in order to explore how it is understood and communicated in and for the community. We drew from interviews, public accounts, and observations to discuss two components of the larger narrative of this event. We discuss a historical narrative of contact and collaboration between Nekaneet First Nation and local rodeo cowboys and a contemporary narrative of urban-rural difference and misunderstanding, which provides a platform for community culture, specifically the expression of ‘the way we do things out here. ’Collectively, these narratives provide insights into
local understandings of settler-Indigenous relations in one region of rural Saskatchewan and speak to the potential of sport and recreation as sites for contact, interaction, and the expression of distinct and collective aspects of culture and community
in rural areas.
Keywords: Sport and recreation, events, narrative, settler-Indigenous relations, plac
When Further Inclusion of Indigenous People’s Youth Matters: Towards Smart Climate Change Resilient Indigenous Territories, Communities and Diasporas
No full textThis research shows a path to an inclusive entry into the 21st century of a smart changing world on matters related to Indigenous peoples' rights and climate change resilience building. The participation of Indigenous youth in the creation of Indigenous smart climate-resilient territories, landscapes, ecosystems, and
communities is presented as a key asset under the Indigenous peoples Rights Global Agenda and the Sustainable Development Global Agenda (SDGA). Political goodwill is needed to enable Indigenous peoples bring up to authorities, to decisionmakers, and other stakeholders, strategic information on their land and community. This information can be observations, life conditions, uncommon situations, threat, damage, or any other event which may occur in their territories, within their communities and on individuals among the people. Being first-hand eyewitnesses of
climate change impacts on their lands and in their communities, Indigenous peoples ought to be fully included in decision-making processes on the future of their territories and communities. The methodology adopted to conduct this policy research project consists of two mutually supportive frameworks. The first is a
normative framework of relevant human rights is related to Sustainable Development Global Agenda provisions with a focus on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous peoples (UNDRIP). The second is a New Information and Communication Technologies (NICs) plural interface developed under the implementation of the United Nations Biodiversity Global Agenda
(UNCBD). This technology framework includes the internet, landscape Geomatics technology with geo-referenced and GIS technology environments, and remote sensing. It also includes mobile phone applications and is enhanced with institutional
arrangements consisting of clearing-house mechanisms (CHM) to facilitate and democratize participation of Indigenous youth in the implementation of the normative framework, locally (territory) and within a country with examples in Canada, but also within a region and even globally. This contribution shows that the technology framework will enable the participation of Indigenous youths of several territories and communities within a region and even globally through its online, CHM, and smartphone application components. Keep in mind, however, that political goodwill and the adoption of suitable institutions to protect the privacy of
Indigenous peoples and their youth throughout this participation are key prerequisites to any success of including these vulnerable populations in the current smart world.
Keywords: UNDRIP, Indigenous youth, e-Public participation to decision-making, Indigenous People’s Human Rights assertion, Smart Indigenous Landscape Geomatics Technolog
Where to Live and Work? Examining the Influence Of job and Community Characteristics On Post-graduation Plans among Physician Assistant Students
Get PDFPhysician assistants are one way to address the healthcare provider shortage in rural areas. However, recruitment and retention of physician assistants to live and work in rural communities remain a challenge. One's relationship to his or her hometown, be it rural or not, has important implications for who might be willing to live and work in a rural community. The purpose of this research was to examine factors influencing physician assistant students’ desire to return to their hometowns to live and work after graduation. Data were collected in 2016 and 2017 through a survey administered to physician assistant students (n=149) in a PA program at a Midwestern University. Survey questions examined hometown connections, community features, and job expectations, as well as desire to return to one's hometown. Students who grew up in rural communities reported lower levels of community satisfaction and were less likely to perceive that jobs were available in their hometowns. A series of regression models were run to examine the impact of hometown connections, community characteristics and evaluation, and job characteristics in predicting interest in returning to hometown while controlling for the effects of age and gender. Coming from a rural, suburban, or urban hometown did not significantly predict desire to return when controlling for respondents' evaluation of their hometowns. The strongest predictor of willingness to return to one's hometown was community attachment. Understanding the factors that impact physician assistant students’ post-graduation plans may inform efforts to recruit and retain rural health care providers.
Keywords: Physician assistants, rural health care, community attachment, rural youth, rural outmigration, health care shortages, medical provider recruitmen
Exploring Rural Digital Hubs and Their Possible Contribution to Communities in Europe
Get PDFThis article offers a conceptualization of rural digital hubs and outlines the variations among them. Using content analysis applied to websites and results from a survey, we draw a clearer picture of rural digital hub designs in the European context and how these relate to their socio-economic context. To explore their possible wider impact on rural communities, we apply the concept of community resilience. The study finds that there are various rural digital hub subtypes targeting businesses, community members, or both. There is a tendency to diversify such places or even to combine several subtypes, and we argue that this is a necessity if the hub providers are to reach the number of users required to generate added value, especially in the rural context. We have also found that rural digital hubs tend to address businesses and that it is expected that these places can to an extent contribute to community resilience. Furthermore, we narrow down the definition of a rural digital hub and suggest to make it place dependent whether and how to implement new ones.
Keywords: Rural digital hubs, digital literacy, smart rural development, digital divide, community resilienc
The Role of Reflexivity in Participatory Action Research to Empower Culturally Diverse Communities in Pakistan
Get PDFThis article presents a real-world application of participatory action research (PAR) for effectively working with culturally diverse communities in Pakistan, based on a two-month project conducted with seven community-based organizations (CBOs) in one of the districts of the Punjab province in Pakistan. My process of transforming from a top-down approach to a PAR approach was grounded in critical self-reflection, observation, and reciprocal interaction. This transformation process increased my ability to understand community context and appreciate local knowledge, which in turn fostered collaboration, engagement, and collective learning. Although applying the PAR approach was not without challenges, complexities, and tension, it did result in local development. Hence, this paper explores the possibilities of PAR as an alternative approach to be considered by development agencies in their work with community partners.
Keywords: reflexivity, participatory action research, culturally diverse communities, community empowermen
Change as a Double-edged Sword: Ecological Farmers’ Stressors and Responses to Changes In Farming in Grey County, Ontario
Get PDFFarming is a well-known stressful occupation, with farmers facing a multitude of stressors and higher rates of mental health problems than the general population. Farming continues to change, with greater use of technology, changing ownership and management of farms, globalization of agricultural inputs and products, and climate change. Although there has been research to document these changes, to the researchers’ knowledge there has been no qualitative studies, particularly within Canada, to understand farmers’ perceptions of these changes and link them to their stressors and mental health. In this qualitative study, based on 16 in-depth interviews with small-scale farmers in Grey County of Southwestern Ontario, Canada, we explored farmers’ perceptions of changing farming practices and their implications for their health as well as ways of responding and adapting to these changes. Thematic analysis using a social ecology framework revealed a number of major themes. Farmers’ relationships to change were complex with both benefits and challenges of changing farm practices for health and well-being—a “double-edged sword.” Technology changes were important new tools, while weather had become more extreme, rapid and un-predictable. Growing weather uncertainty generated brutal stress for some. Farmers described turning to ecological farming and the resilience that they experience from diversified farming which connects them to the land “essentially being at one with place.” Their passion for farming connected to beliefs about protecting the land, even if most markets do not reward a farmer for doing so. Farmers also highlighted the lack of support they experienced from governments—dealing with bureaucracy, community—and experiences of isolation. Implications for policies and systems include increased support for farmers financially and administratively and interventions which build on their work with farm organizations.
Keywords: Agriculture, diversified farming, stressors, resilience, qualitative research, Canada
----------------------------------------------
Le changement comme une épée à double tranchant: facteurs de stress des agriculteurs écologiques et réponses aux changements dans l'agriculture dans le comté de Grey, en Ontario
L'agriculture est une activité stressante bien connue, les agriculteurs étant confrontés à une multitude de facteurs de stress et à des taux de problèmes de santé mentale plus élevés que la population générale. L'agriculture continue de changer, avec une utilisation accrue de la technologie, des changements de propriétaires et de gestion des exploitations agricoles, la mondialisation des intrants et des produits agricoles ainsi que le changement climatique. Bien qu'il y ait eu des recherches pour documenter ces changements, à la connaissance des chercheurs, il n'y a pas eu d'études qualitatives, en particulier au Canada, pour comprendre la perception qu'ont les agriculteurs de ces changements et les relier à leurs facteurs de stress et à leur santé mentale. Dans cette étude qualitative, basée sur 16 entretiens approfondis avec de petits agriculteurs du comté de Grey du sud-ouest de l'Ontario, au Canada, nous avons exploré la perception qu'ont les agriculteurs des changements de pratiques agricoles et de leurs implications pour leur santé ainsi que des moyens de réagir et de s'adapter à ces changements. Une analyse thématique utilisant un cadre d'écologie sociale a révélé un certain nombre de thèmes majeurs. Les relations entre les agriculteurs et le changement étaient complexes avec à la fois les avantages et les défis de changer les pratiques agricoles pour la santé et le bien-être - une « épée à double tranchant ». Les changements technologiques étaient de nouveaux outils importants, tandis que les conditions météorologiques étaient devenues plus extrêmes, rapides et imprévisibles. L'incertitude climatique croissante a généré un stress brutal pour certains. Les agriculteurs ont expliqué qu'ils se sont tournés vers l'agriculture écologique et la résilience qu'ils ressentent grâce à une agriculture diversifiée qui les relie à la terre « essentiellement en harmonie avec le lieu ». Leur passion pour l'agriculture est liée aux croyances sur la protection de la terre, même si la plupart des marchés ne récompensent pas un agriculteur pour cela. Les agriculteurs ont également souligné le manque de soutien dont ils ont fait l'objet de la part des gouvernements – traiter avec la bureaucratie, la communauté – ainsi qu’aux expériences d'isolement. Les implications pour les politiques et les systèmes comprennent un soutien accru aux agriculteurs sur les plans financier et administratif et des interventions qui s'appuient sur leur travail avec les organisations agricoles.
Mots-clés: Agriculture, agriculture diversifiée, facteurs de stress, résilience, recherche qualitative, Canad
Transitions in Rural Areas Motivated by Demands For Ecosystem Services: Empirical Results From Portugal
Get PDFA transition in rural areas affected by in-migration is underway, with socialecological systems (SES) becoming more diverse in its activities and in its social capital. In this context, ecosystem services (ES) may be acting as a pull driver for incomers, while its delivery also depends on the increase of social capital in rural areas. This paper investigates this mutualism between ES and SES, particularly whether SES and the inherent ES can stimulate attractiveness to rural areas and promote development, while also benefiting from incoming skilled in-migration. The engagement of in-migrants with rural SES and their demand for ES in rural areas is examined through literature review, observing the phenomena in different cases worldwide, and illustrated with empirical observation in rural Portugal. Results from our empirical observation reveal that the arrival of in-migrants triggers the delivery of new ES such as provisional or cultural services and that these are key to generate positive outcomes for rural SES.
Keywords: rural in-migrants, ecosystem services (ES), social-ecological systems (SES), agents of change, transitio
Leadership for Climate Change Adaptation In a Rural Region in New Brunswick, Canada
Get PDFMany rural communities across Canada are experiencing or anticipating climate change effects. Our study, a contribution to the limited social science research on adaptation in rural regions in this country, focused on a rural, forest-dependent, francophone region of New Brunswick on unceded Wolastoqiyik territory. In collaboration with a regional governance organization, we developed and administered a survey to gather the perspectives and experiences of rural community leaders on climate change adaptation. The study results are intended to provide a basis for discussion to support regional adaptation planning. They may also be used as a baseline for measuring future advances in climate adaptation efforts. Theories of new social movements, Indigenous resurgence, and organizational leadership informed our investigation and analysis. Our study focuses on three themes identified in the literature review critical to supporting environmental action: leadership, communication processes, and relationships. Our core research question is: To what extent are community leaders in the rural study region engaging in these functions? We conclude with reflections on how climate change adaptation is occurring in this rural region and the role of regional governance in this process.
Keywords: rural, climate, adaptation, leadership, Wolasto