Journal of Rural and Community Development
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Fostering Rural Youth Wellbeing through Afterschool Programs: The Case of Fusion Youth and Technology Centre, Ingersoll, Ontario
Get PDFRural youth face many challenges and risks to their wellbeing. One means of mitigating the risks rural youth experience, is through the provision of afterschool programs. This study reports on adult perceptions of how participation in an afterschool program—Fusion Youth and Technology Centre—affects rural youth wellbeing. A qualitative study was undertaken in which nine staff members, three program administrators, and six knowledgeable adult community members were interviewed to determine how they perceived the impact that participation in Fusion had on the wellbeing of rural youth. Three broad themes were identified that contributed to enhanced rural youth wellbeing: (1) engaging youth through an eclectic mix of programs and activities; (2) building relationships and connections; and (3) a place for youth. The results of this study were then contrasted with an earlier study that examined the perceptions of youth who participated in Fusion. There was a corroboration of all themes between studies with the exception of enhanced community relationships. The conclusion is that participating in Fusion Youth and Technology Centre contributes positively to the wellbeing of rural youth. This then raises a number of questions that rural communities need to ask themselves if they are serious about promoting the wellbeing of the youth in their communities.
Keywords: youth, rural, health, wellbeing, afterschool program
Transportation Impacts of Fracking in the Eagle Ford Shale Development in Rural South Texas: Perceptions of Local Government Officials
Get PDFThis paper explores the impacts on transportation infrastructure and transportation-related issues associated with the gas and oil boom in the Eagle Ford Shale region in rural south Texas. It begins with a general explanation of fracking and its general impacts along with specifics of the Eagle Ford Shale region. Drawing on data gathered both from crash trends and two surveys administered to public officials in the Eagle Ford Shale region, we present a description of the impacts of fracking on cities and counties. Crash trends between 2009-2013 overall show a 26 percent increase. Fatalities and severe injuries also increased by 49 percent. The survey results show that counties and cities are experiencing significant challenges in meeting increased demands placed on their transportation system by fracking including increased traffic and congestion, deteriorating roads, and increased cost of maintenance.
Keywords: fracking, transportation policy, energy resources, rural traffic, oil
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Cet article examine les effets sur les infrastructures de transport et les problèmes liés au transport suite au boom économique de l'industrie du pétrole et du gaz, dans la région de Eagle Ford Shale, dans le sud rural du Texas. Il débute avec une explication générale de la fracturation, de ses impacts globaux et spécifiques à la région de Eagle Ford Shale. En utilisant les données recueillies des tendances d'accidents et de deux enquêtes administrées à des fonctionnaires dans la région de Eagle Ford Shale, nous présentons une description des impacts de la fracturation sur les villes et les comtés. Les tendances des accidents montrent globalement une hausse de 26%, entre 2009 et 2013. Les fatalités et les blessures graves ont aussi augmenté de 49%. Les résultats de l'enquête montre que les comtés et les villes expérimentent des défis significatifs face aux demandes croissantes faites dans leurs réseaux de transport par la fracturation, incluant le trafic et la congestion accrus, la détèrioration des routes et l'augmentation des coûts de maintenance
Recognizing Change, Recognizing Rural: The New Rural Economy and Towards a New Model of Rural Service
Get PDFServices provide support for both community and economic development. Their delivery provides for routine and emergency needs. Through their operations, services help to support the local economy, employment, the training of new workers, the development of social cohesion and social capital, and the overall quality of life across all ages and stages of life. Drawing upon research from the New Rural Economy project, this paper highlights the role that services play in recruiting and maintaining both businesses and residents. The case study of Tumbler Ridge is used to highlight the importance of services in rural and small town transition and renewal, as well as the pressing need for innovation as older service delivery models are not suited to the contemporary rural landscape. In developing integrated and comprehensive service policy and provision, there needs to be a greater recognition and understanding of the specificity and uniqueness of the rural context.
Keywords: rural, restructuring, service
Potentials of Cellular Phone Technology for Local Economic Development in the Offinso Municipality, Ghana
Get PDFThe purpose of the research was to examine the benefits households derive from the use of mobile phones and their implications for local economic development. A survey of 354 households carefully selected from 12 rural communities in the Offinso Municipality, Ghana, revealed that three-quarters of the households, including the unemployed, owned mobile phones which they used for myriad economic purposes. The economic purposes include enquiries about the sources of market for their end products and sources of inputs for production. The paper indicates that the frequency modulation (FM) feature on most mobile phones was one of the most attractive factors for the acquisition of mobile phones. Through FM programmes, the households obtained information on extension services although such programmes were found to be limited in scope. The paper thus recommended that radio programmes on agricultural extension services should be scaled up in order to enhance the economic activities of rural households who otherwise could not have access to relevant information owing to the unfavourable extension service-farmer ratio in Ghana.
Keywords: mobile phones, local economic development, rural Ghana, Offinso municipality
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Résumé
L'objectif de la recherche est d'examiner les bénéfices que tirent les ménages de l'utilisation des téléphones cellulaires et leurs implications sur le développement économique rural. Une enquête sur 354 ménages soigneusement sélectionnés dans 12 communautés rurales de la municipalité d'Offinso, au Ghana, révèlent que les trois quarts des ménages, incluant les sans-emplois, possèdent des téléphones cellulaires qu'ils utilisent pour de multiples objectifs économiques. Ces objectifs économiques incluent des renseignements sur les fournisseurs de marché pour leurs produits finis et les sources de contribution à la production. L'article indique que la fonction de modulation de fréquence (FM) sur la plupart des téléphones cellulaires fut l'un des facteurs les plus intéressants lors de l'acquisition des téléphones cellulaires. À travers les programmes MF, les ménages ont obtenu des informations sur les services de prolongation même si de tels programmes furent fondés pour avoir une portée limitée. Cet article recommande ainsi que les programmes radio sur les services auxiliaires devraient être élargis afin d'améliorer les activités économiques des ménages ruraux qui, autrement, ne pourraient pas avoir accès à des informations utiles en raison du ratio non favorable de service auxiliaires -fermier au Ghana
Re-Assessing Rural Conflict: Rituals, Symbols and Commemorations in the Moyle District, Northern Ireland
Get PDFThis article is a case study analysis of local manifestations of sectarianism and conflict in the Moyle District, a rural district in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. I argue that, with the exception of rural areas located along the border with the Republic of Ireland, rural areas are often depicted, in scholarly analyzes, as relatively unaffected by the political conflict. I offer some demographically-based data that support this assumption and, I draw on textual and visual analyzes of material and symbolic artefacts, including rituals, symbols and commemorations in the Moyle District, that demonstrate the presence of local sectarianism and conflict in Moyle. I argue that assertions about the absence of sectarianism and local conflict are problematic because they exclude rural areas from key policy documents related to community relations and, because they permit the construction of surface appearances of peaceful co-existence and policy adherence, while at the same time, permitting the continuation of local sectarianism and conflict. I suggest that recently enacted administrative changes may exacerbate these local tensions further and, that the presence of local tensions and divisions must be acknowledged before they can be addressed.
Keywords: rurality; conflict; rituals; symbols; commemoration
CENTRAL AMERICAN TEMPORARY FOREIGN WORKERS IN QUEBEC SMALLTOWNS: A PORTRAIT OF COMMUNITY RESPONSE
Get PDFRecent years have seen an explosion of the recruitment of Central American Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) by agricultural operations and other businesses in Québec small towns. The mobility of one group (the TFWs) underpins the ability of another group (Québec small-town residents) to avoid migration by contributing to the continued viability of economic activity in Québec small towns. In this article, we examine the “fragile entanglement of physical movement, representations, and practices” (Cresswell, 2010, p.18) as evidenced in Central American TFWs’ experiences interacting with local community members as well as the response of local businesses, local social and community services, and local churches to the presence of TFWs in their communities. Drawing on data from focus groups with TFWs (n=31) and interviews with employers (n=17), advocates (n=13) and government actors (n=10), we come to the conclusion that Québec small towns have been transformed by the cyclical mobility of TFWs but that the possibilities for diminishing the unequal power relationships and allowing for long-term integration and community development are limited so long as both the TFW Program continues to constrain the social, employment and geographic mobility of TFWs and Québec refuses to consider all occupational levels for permanent residency under the Québec Experience Program.
Keywords: temporary foreign workers; community development; mobility; migration; integration; Québec; Guatemal
Unintentional Influence: Exploring the Relationship between Rural Regional Development and Drinking Water Systems in Rural British Columbia, Canada
Get PDFRural drinking water systems face a number of challenges, not the least of which is a growing infrastructure deficit. While age and investment are typically highlighted as key factors influencing the infrastructure deficit, other pervasive challenges remain for rural drinking water systems in British Columbia, Canada. This raises the question of whether factors influencing the infrastructure deficit extend beyond those typically captured in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between rural regional development and drinking water systems in order to provide a historically and theoretically informed lens on the relationships between the two and how these links influence present day challenges. The authors aim to temper the presentism that often characterizes current debates surrounding the infrastructure deficit and to frame current drinking water system challenges within a more contextually-informed and regionally integrated framework.
Keywords: drinking water; infrastructure; staples theory; rural; regional developmen
Building Capacity: The Role of Rural Traditional Media and the New Rural Economy
Get PDFUsing content analysis, this research focused on how three Canadian rural community newspapers over eighteen years, from different regions, communicated content about the shift from the old economy to the new economy during the period of neo-liberal policy adoption and the growth of globalization. We learned that local news coverage in the three rural communities, although present, provided superficial coverage of the changes that were occurring during the years of study. Therefore, the information that could have generated enough information to help address priorities for the community was mostly absent. The data demonstrated that while newspapers can act both as an asset or a liability and can increase capacity and Entrepreneurial Social Infrastructure (ESI), they are being underutilized.
Keywords: capacity, community mobilization, community newspapers, new rural economy, rural chang
Bridging Policy and Practice for Livelihood Resilience in Rural Africa: Lessons from the Mid-Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe
Get PDFBuilding and enhancing livelihood resilience in most rural African communities is becoming a complex policy issue since the principal characteristics of most of these communities in contemporary times have become their increasingly differentiated nature and high socio-economic and environmental uncertainty due to multiple and reinforcing stresses and shocks. A major problem has been the glaring gulf between national policies and realities on the ground with a uniform approach being taken in the interpretation and implementation of general development and livelihoods policies on the ground in most countries. Yet the standard one-size fits-all policy approach is not possible as situations have become increasingly dynamic and conditions continue to differ from community to community. Utilising examples from the mid Zambezi Valley area of Mbire district in Zimbabwe, this paper argues that national policy frameworks should allow ample room for innovation, experimentation and knowledge exchange in local livelihoods. In the same vein, policies and policymakers should exhibit a profound appreciation of the complexity of contemporary, dynamically vulnerable environments and livelihoods therein through increased local stakeholder participation in policy interpretation and implementation as well as in reconceptualising 'sustainability' and viewing it through local lenses.
Keywords: livelihood resilience, policy, practice, stresses, shock
"Placing" Energy Development in a Local Context: Exploring the Origins of Rural Community Perspectives
Get PDFThere is a growing need for sustainable energy development to meet domestic and international demand for electricity and fuel generation. A critical component in energy systems development is support from the public, particularly the acceptance of these technologies among local populations. The goal of this study is to examine how locally affected populations view energy developments, especially with regard to community and place (ties to the area and local relationships). In-depth, face-to-face interviews and community observation were employed to better understand how residents in a rural Canadian community perceive of potential energy development in their locale. Our findings demonstrate that the unique combinations of local characteristics across rural communities are likely to have a bearing on the support for or opposition to energy development in those areas. Residents' perceptions of energy systems are influenced by the intersection of local values, community relationships and place attachment. We present a framework of the intersecting factors that influenced community perceptions in the study location and discuss how the framework can be used to better anticipate and understand the origins of rural community perspectives of energy development.
Keywords: risk perceptions; energy; community; communication; place
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Il y a un besoin croissant de développement des énergies durables pour satisfaire les demandes intérieures et internationales en production électrique et de carburant. Un élément fondamental dans le développement des systèmes énergétiques est le soutien du public en particulier l'acceptation de ces technologies parmi les populations locales. Le but de cette étude est d'examiner comment les populations localement affectées voient les développements énergétiques, en particulier au regard de la communauté et des rôles (liens dans la région et relations locales). Plus spécifiquement, les entrevues en face à face et les observations au sein de la communauté furent employées pour mieux comprendre comment les résidents d'une communauté rurale canadienne perçoivent le développement des potentiels énergétiques dans leur localité. Nos résultats démontrent que la combinaison unique des caractéristiques locales à travers les communautés locales sont susceptibles d'avoir un effet sur le support ou sur l'opposition au développement énergétique dans ces régions. Les perceptions qu'ont les résidents des systèmes énergétiques sont influencées par le chevauchement des valeurs locales, les relations communautaires et l'attachement à un lieu. Nous présentons le cadre du recoupement de ces facteurs qui ont influencé les perceptions communautaires dans le lieu des études et discutons dans quelle mesure le cadre peut être utilisé pour mieux anticiper et comprendre les origines des perspectives communautaires rurales du développement énergétique