Veteran-nonveteran differences in alcohol and drug misuse by tobacco use status in Alabama SBIRT

ABSTRACT

Alcohol and substance use can challenge military veterans who live in rural communities. In 2016, the screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment in Alabama (AL-SBIRT) program was implemented in west Alabama. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether current tobacco use modified the relationship between veteran status and substance misuse. Self-reported wellness data was collected regarding substance, alcohol, or tobacco consumption. Risk levels for alcohol and drug use were measured using the United States Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (US-AUDIT) and the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST)-10. Substance and tobacco use were significantly and positively correlated. Veterans had a higher US-AUDIT and DAST score than nonveterans, and tobacco appeared to be an exacerbating factor. Effective evidence-based interventions are needed in rural settings. Technology based programs and motivational interviewing with trained clinicians may serve as beneficial and cost-effective interventions for tobacco use prevention and cessation efforts.     

“Me,the street,and a backpack”: employment,income, and physical capital in rural recovery

ABSTRACT

Recovery capital is a framework for understanding individuals’ resources for recovery from substance misuse. In a qualitative analysis of rural individuals in recovery (N = 49), the role of physical capital emerged prominently across ten focus groups. Participants highlighted the effects of employment status, income, and other forms of physical capital directly, as well as indirect effects through changes in human capital. Negative cultural capital components, in the form of stigma and employment discrimination, were described as barriers to physical capital acquisition and successful recovery. Based on these findings, we discuss rural recovery challenges and propose a model of recovery capital interactions.     

Sociolinguistics and modes of social class signalling: African perspectives

The paper evaluates spatial, behavioural, and material signalling of social class in African contexts, focusing on Kenya and Zambia. In particular, it draws on notions of mode of class signalling and intersectionality and a vignette of an interaction between urban‐based Western educated development agents and local participants in rural Kenya to illustrate how social class is implicated in interactions. The paper shows how significant features of class and dimensions of social inequality may be perceived intersectionally so that positionalities in class structures are negotiated in contexts of interaction, thus illustrating how structural conditions of class may be challenged and questioned. The paper concludes that sociolinguistics needs to identify the various ways in which the marginalized challenge social structures of inequality. Otherwise there is a risk that sociolinguistics will work to validate inequalities as permanent and fixed, and victims of unequal treatment as permanently condemned and never able to rise against oppressive social structures that tyrannize them.     

Assessment of a State TANF Funded IDA Initiative: A Case Study

Individual development accounts (IDAs), wealth-building programs for the working poor, have existed since the late 1980s. Current research suggests that IDA programs benefit families while contributing to local and state economies. This program evaluation assessed the impact of one state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)-funded IDA initiative. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from four agencies chosen using cluster sampling across the state. Agency programmatic and participant data from the last year of operation (N?=?160) were examined. Agencies also provided contact information for three participants who had graduated and three who exited the program prematurely in the past year of operation. In person, interviews were held with agency directors (n?=?6) and IDA participants (n?=?11) were interviewed by telephone. Results indicate that 69% (n?=?111) of IDA enrollees successfully completed the program. IDA participants who exited the program prior to completion also expressed benefits associated with the time in which they were involved. Programmatic and individual benefits and challenges reported guide recommendations for improving IDA marketability, participant outcomes, and organizational performance rates. A critical implication of the findings is the need to expand the use and design of IDA programs legislatively to better serve historically oppressed and working poor families more effectively.     

Rural-urban differences in college students’ cardiovascular risk perceptions

Abstract

Objective: To examine rural-urban differences in college students’ cardiovascular risk perceptions. Participants: College students in rural (n?=?61) and urban (n?=?57) Kentucky counties were recruited from November 2012 to May 2014. Methods: This was a secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional study examining rural-urban differences in cardiovascular risk factors. Students rated their risk for developing high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, having a stroke, and gaining excess weight. Chi-square and logistic regression were used for data analysis. Results: Rural students had lower odds of perceived high risk for developing high blood pressure compared to urban students (odds ratio (OR): 0.32, 95% CI: 0.11–0.96) after adjusting for race, sex, and body mass index. This association was not observed after adjusting for healthcare access variables. No other significant differences were observed. Conclusions: Efforts to raise perceived risk for developing hypertension among rural college students may be warranted.     

新乡贤重塑乡规民约:历史承继、时代价值及实现路径

当前乡村治理中乡规民约面临德治退化、自治弱化及法治虚化等现实困境。新乡贤作为乡村社会精英群体,在增强乡规民约的现代性、厚植乡规民约的乡土性及强化乡规民约的权威性等方面具有显著的时代价值,是重塑乡规民约的有益主体选择。实现新乡贤在重塑乡规民约中的时代价值,需要强化乡贤文化的敦风化俗功能、构建乡贤群体的风险防范机制及发挥乡贤组织的协商共治作用。     

青岛市乡村休闲旅游 SWOT 分析研究

运用SWOT 分析法对青岛市乡村休闲旅游发展进行分析，结果显示：青岛具有资源丰富、经济发达、交通便利等优势，但同时也存在认识水平不高、农村基础设施落后、产品同质化严重、季节性明显、人才缺乏等劣势；面临旅游新热点形成、政府出台鼓励政策、新型农村社区的建设等新的发展机遇，但周边地区的竞争、生态环境的恶化也对其构成了威胁。在此基础上，提出了提高认识水平、完善基础设施、打造特色品牌、保护资源、培养人才等可行性建议。     

新时期乡村知识分子的新变化

新时期的中国乡村，在内外多重力量的作用下，快速实现着从传统向现代的转变。在乡村经济政治文化不断发展的过程中，乡村知识分子这一群体在工作身份、价值观念、社会声望、知识结构、居住地域上都发生着历史性的新变化。充分认识乡村知识分子的这些新变化，不仅有助于我们在理论上深化对乡村知识分子的理解，而且有助于在实践中更好地发挥这一群体的社会作用。     

新内生发展理论视角下的乡村振兴实践 ——以大兴安岭南麓集中连片特困区为例

基于在大兴安岭南麓片区的田野调查,通过引入新内生发展理论,提出认同、赋权、创新、合作四要素是乡村振兴的核心动力。乡村振兴需要理性认知村落的命运,树立文化自信,提升主体对乡村“地域 文化”的认同感和归属感。要通过确权、赋能提升村民可行性能力,进而将内外资源相结合,因地制宜积极参与政策、组织、业务和技术等的创新实践活动。在乡村振兴过程中还要注意加强知识、部门、地区的联动。四要素的有机结合能够提升农牧民的主体地位,激活内外发展动力,对推动乡村振兴,实现乡村可持续发展具有重要意义。     

基于土地整治视角下的农村道路建设

以涉县的农村道路建设为例,结合该地区土地整治特点,通过对农村道路发展现状的分析，在强化道路主体、道路绿化、生态排水、配套设施设计的基础上，强化组织领导、资金筹措、绿色生态、管理维护，充分利用当地资源，选择稳定性较好的材料进行铺筑，栽种本地适宜的树种、草种，将生态和人文设计理念融合到道路设计中，丰富并传承乡村文化，发挥其观赏价值、应用价值和经济价值。