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Article
Publication date: 1 July 2007

Daniel Gilling

This article subjects rural community safety to critical scrutiny. It reviews the background to this rural governmental infrastructure, considers how well it is working and…

Abstract

This article subjects rural community safety to critical scrutiny. It reviews the background to this rural governmental infrastructure, considers how well it is working and identifies the barriers to the effective development of rural community safety. It concludes with an agenda for rural community safety.

Details

Safer Communities, vol. 6 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-8043

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 December 2016

Heidi Hodge, Dean Carson, Peter Berggren and Roger Strasser

This chapter examines the extent to which place based and research oriented university-community engagement (UCE) models can sustain UCE in “non-campus” rural settings. It…

Abstract

This chapter examines the extent to which place based and research oriented university-community engagement (UCE) models can sustain UCE in “non-campus” rural settings. It examines how effective partnerships function in non-campus rural settings, and their contributions to achieving the reciprocal aims of communities and universities. It highlights the key successes, challenges, and opportunities experienced through case studies in non-campus locations in rural Australia (Flinders University Rural Clinical School), rural Sweden (Centre for Rural Health, Storuman), and rural Canada (Northern Ontario School of Medicine). Information provided about the discussed case studies has been provided by the organizations themselves, and the chapter authors are heads of these organizations. The authors share their knowledge of the history, the challenges, the opportunities, and the mechanisms through which the models interact with the partners.

Details

University Partnerships for International Development
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78635-301-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 August 2019

Atsuko Kawakami, Juyeon Son and Charley Henderson

This study aims to better understand the key factors that affect the quality of care that patients with Hepatitis C are likely to receive in rural communities and to consider how…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to better understand the key factors that affect the quality of care that patients with Hepatitis C are likely to receive in rural communities and to consider how to build a more effective health support system for the rural residents.

Methodology/Approach

This qualitative study with a grounded theory approach allowed us to draw a conceptual map of the occurrence while informants had the opportunity to contemplate and share their thoughts on the issues, which led into new understandings of the subject matter.

Findings

The local leaders held a romanticized view toward rural life while the disadvantaged reported a sense of powerlessness to bring about the needed changes to help them battle Hepatitis C.

Research Limitations/Implications

Although describing a single social setting provides in-depth description, generalizability to other settings is always a limitation. If one wishes to start a support group, he/she may have to start asking the clergy of different churches to be the cofounders of the support group organization.

Originality/Value of Paper

Churches may have the most potential to bring about the needed changes in rural settings by fostering a supportive heath care environment in their communities.

Details

Underserved and Socially Disadvantaged Groups and Linkages with Health and Health Care Differentials
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-055-9

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 November 2017

Bharat Mehra, Vandana Singh, Natasha Hollenbach and Robert P. Partee

This chapter discusses the application of community informatics (CI) principles in the rural Southern and Central Appalachian (SCA) region to further the teaching of information…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter discusses the application of community informatics (CI) principles in the rural Southern and Central Appalachian (SCA) region to further the teaching of information and communication technologies (ICT) literacy concepts in courses that formed part of two externally funded grants, “Information Technology Rural Librarian Master’s Scholarship Program Part I” (ITRL) and “Part II” (ITRL2), awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program to the School of Information Sciences (SIS) at the University of Tennessee (UT).

Design/Methodology/Approach

The chapter documents ICT use in ITRL and ITRL2 to extend librarian technology literacy training, allowing these public information providers to become change agents in the twenty-first century. It discusses aspects of CI that influenced these two projects and shaped the training of future rural library leaders embedded in traditionally underrepresented areas to further social justice and progressive changes in the region’s rural communities.

Findings

The chapter demonstrates the role that CI principles played in the context of ITRL and ITRL2 from project inception to the graduation of the rural librarians with examples of tangible IT services/products that the students developed in their courses that were directly applicable and tailored to their SCA contexts.

Originality/Value

ITRL and ITRL2 provided a unique opportunity to apply a CI approach to train information librarians as agents of change in the SCA regions to further economic and cultural development via technology and management competencies. These change agents will continue to play a significant role in community building and community development efforts in the future.

Book part
Publication date: 25 July 2008

Rhonda L.P. Koster

Towns and cities across Canada face rapidly changing economic circumstances and many are turning to a variety of strategies, including tourism, to provide stability in their…

Abstract

Towns and cities across Canada face rapidly changing economic circumstances and many are turning to a variety of strategies, including tourism, to provide stability in their communities. Community Economic Development (CED) has become an accepted form of economic development, with recognition that such planning benefits from a more holistic approach and community participation. However, much of why particular strategies are chosen, what process the community undertakes to implement those choices and how success is measured is not fully understood. Furthermore, CED lacks a developed theoretical basis from which to examine these questions. By investigating communities that have chosen to develop their tourism potential through the use of murals, these various themes can be explored. There are three purposes to this research: (1) to acquire an understanding of the “how” and the “why” behind the adoption and diffusion of mural-based tourism as a CED strategy in rural communities; (2) to contribute to the emerging theory of CED by linking together theories of rural geography, rural change and sustainability, and rural tourism; and (3) to contribute to the development of a framework for evaluating the potential and success of tourism development within a CED process.

Two levels of data collection and analysis were employed in this research. Initially, a survey of Canadian provincial tourism guides was conducted to determine the number of communities in Canada that market themselves as having a mural-based tourism attraction (N=32). A survey was sent to these communities, resulting in 31 responses suitable for descriptive statistical analysis, using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). A case study analysis of the 6 Saskatchewan communities was conducted through in-depth, in person interviews with 40 participants. These interviews were subsequently analyzed utilizing a combined Grounded Theory (GT) and Content Analysis approach.

The surveys indicated that mural development spread within a relatively short time period across Canada from Chemainus, British Columbia. Although tourism is often the reason behind mural development, increasing community spirit and beautification were also cited. This research demonstrates that the reasons this choice is made and the successful outcome of that choice is often dependent upon factors related to community size, proximity to larger populations and the economic (re)stability of existing industry. Analysis also determined that theories of institutional thickness, governance, embeddedness and conceptualizations of leadership provide a body of literature that offers an opportunity to theorize the process and outcomes of CED in rural places while at the same time aiding our understanding of the relationship between tourism and its possible contribution to rural sustainability within a Canadian context. Finally, this research revealed that both the CED process undertaken and the measurement of success are dependent upon the desired outcomes of mural development. Furthermore, particular attributes of rural places play a critical role in how CED is understood, defined and carried out, and how successes, both tangible and intangible, are measured.

Details

Advances in Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-522-2

Book part
Publication date: 4 September 2013

James W. Grimm, D.Clayton Smith, Gene L. Theodori and A. E. Luloff

This chapter assesses the effects of two rural community residential advantages – economic growth and availability of health services – upon residents’ health and emotional…

Abstract

Purpose

This chapter assesses the effects of two rural community residential advantages – economic growth and availability of health services – upon residents’ health and emotional well-being.

Methodology/approach

A de facto experimental design divided communities into four analytical types based on their economic growth and health services. Household survey data were gathered via a drop-off/pickup procedure and 400 randomly selected households were surveyed in each location. Physical health was measured with a subset of items from the Medical Outcomes Study’s 36-item short form. A 10-item emotional well-being index was used. Beyond sociodemographic items, questions concerned household assets, medical problems, social supports, and community ties. Nested regression analyses were used to assess the effects of residential advantage upon health, net of potentially confounding factors.

Findings

Contrary to expectations, both residential advantages were necessary for improved health. The most important negative net effect on health was aging. Beyond household assets and community economic expansion, miles commuted to work was the next most important factor enhancing physical health. In all types of communities, residents’ emotional well-being scores were independent of age, but positively related to household income and religious involvement.

Research limitations/implications

Obviously the study is limited by geography and by the small number of communities in each residential type. While we could measure the effects of household members not being able to address all health needs, we could not assess the effects of such problems on anyone else in the households beyond the respondents. Our survey approach is also unable to address the effects of rural residents being unable to meet their health needs over time.

Originality/value of study

Ours is the first study that we know of applying a de facto natural experimental design to assess community residential effects. The interrelated effects of residential community resources for residents’ health suggests that more studies like this one should be done.

Details

Social Determinants, Health Disparities and Linkages to Health and Health Care
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-588-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 June 2023

M. Isabella Cavalcanti Junqueira, Allan Discua Cruz and Paul C. Gratton

This study aims to address decision-making processes of Christian entrepreneurs living and working in rural areas. The authors draw on the institutional logics perspective and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to address decision-making processes of Christian entrepreneurs living and working in rural areas. The authors draw on the institutional logics perspective and stewardship perspective to demonstrate how religion influences rationality and entrepreneurial decision-making processes in a rural context.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a qualitative interpretive approach supported by ethnographic fieldwork. Qualitative and interpretative analyses are used to access deeper insights into the decision-making processes of Christian entrepreneurs in a rural environment. Data include short-term immersive events, observations and interviews as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions lifted in the region.

Findings

This study reveals that normative (religious) commitments – a sense of moral duty and action influenced by religion – and a high-religiosity context – where religion permeates diverse aspects of life – lead to behaviors that are perceived as rational and normative. In this context, the normative relationship between a market and a community logic, alongside a logic of religion, are all linked through a stewardship perspective. A broad focus on the development of community and place also safeguards business and community interests.

Research limitations/implications

Since the findings are based on one rural area and one religion, future studies should address a broader range of geographical areas and religions. In this study, uncertainty arising from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the resumption of business exchanges also influence the decision-making processes of the entrepreneurial participants. While the findings reflect the normative dispositions and the decision-making processes that are inherent in this context, an even broader examination of rural entrepreneurship will benefit our understanding of entrepreneurial decisions in terms of rationality and place.

Practical implications

The findings reveal that entrepreneurs who relocate to a rural, high-religiosity context should first assess how the community affiliated through a set of beliefs – expects actors to behave. Additionally, applicability to other religions requires further consideration.

Originality/value

This study answers the call to examine entrepreneurship and the underpinnings of rationality that challenge mainstream debates on entrepreneurial decision-making and religion. The findings answer this call by advancing the knowledge of the decision-making process of religious entrepreneurs. In this respect, the findings present a context where rational business behaviors, influenced by a market logic, are transformed through exchanges with a community informed by a logic of religion. A conceptual model illustrates the nature of this context and associated processes.

Details

International Journal of Organizational Analysis, vol. 31 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1934-8835

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 September 2011

Vanessa P. Jackson and Leslie Stoel

The objective of this research was to identify organizational strategies used by rural retailers to balance conflicting demands of social norms and business performance standards…

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Abstract

Purpose

The objective of this research was to identify organizational strategies used by rural retailers to balance conflicting demands of social norms and business performance standards to achieve success.

Design/methodology/approach

In‐depth interviews with 12 community leaders and nine locally owned retailers in eight resilient rural communities in six different US states were conducted.

Findings

The data suggest that operational strategies of local retailers in rural communities follow internal and external scripts and specific scripts are associated with decoupling and/or recoupling strategies and business survival. Decoupling occurs with internal scripts relating to business strategy and external scripts relating to community involvement and customer value. Recoupling was evident with internal scripts related to business strategy, attitude toward future business growth and attitude toward planning and survival; it was also evident with external scripts relating to community change and the local economy.

Research limitations/implications

Future research should include the development of an instrument to assess a larger sample of rural retailers to determine if the findings of this study are consistent with other retailers. This would lead to the need to develop education materials to help rural retailers improve their survival and continuance.

Practical implications

Rural retailers need to improve their survival and continuance by building reciprocal relationships with the community and consumers, and can do so by seeking training to improve these marketing strategies.

Originality/value

The current research uniquely examines rural retailer ability to balance conflicting norms of the social and task environments and the impact it has on retailer success.

Details

Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, vol. 14 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1352-2752

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2008

Robert Blair, Jerome Deichert and David J. Drozd

A partnership of the federal government and the states implement rural community development policy today, yet researchers rarely examine the nature and efficacy of this extensive…

Abstract

A partnership of the federal government and the states implement rural community development policy today, yet researchers rarely examine the nature and efficacy of this extensive intergovernmental collaboration. The authors collected data on Community Development Block Grant awards made by one state to small and rural communities for a variety of development projects over a period of more than ten years, and using a modified rural classification system detected patterns and trends in allocation. This study seeks to determine if a federally funded program assists states address the development needs of a diverse mix of rural communities. Do federal block grant programs help states meet rural community development policy objectives? This information should be helpful to local, state, and national government policy makers as they ponder proposals to reorganize dramatically the funding and implementation of community and economic development resources. Perhaps most importantly, this study will also help policy makers understand the complexity of the federal-state-local partnership for rural community development.

Details

Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, vol. 20 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1096-3367

1 – 10 of over 37000