The challenge of rural civil Society: Response to the paper by Lloyd m. Sachikonye

The article takes a radical democratic starting point arguing the importance of the rural focus of research as a corrective to excessive emphasis on urbanism. Civil society is weak and autonomous public spheres hardly exist outside urban areas. But the author argues that the social and cultural resources that are present in the Southern African villages are both interesting and promising elements for future change. More research and more work will help develop a genuin ‘rural public sphere’.     

Rural policy in the 1980s: the revival of the rural idyll

A popular explanation for the absence of poverty and deprivation from the rural policy agenda in the past has been the power of popular rural imagery in masking their existence. Despite a decade of academic and policy debate which has exposed some of the reality behind the images, this paper illustrates that not only do they still condition our approach to rural socio-economic problems but they are being reinforced in many aspects of current rural policy. The paper advances some explanations for this revival of rural imagery and examines some of its wider implications for the rural deprived.     

Farm pluriactivity and rural policy: Some evidence from Wales1

Drawing on data from 427 interviews in Wales, U.K., this paper examines the ability of internal and external variables to explain the phenomenon of pluriactivity in farm households. It is the household as a unit, and the process of maintaining its viability, that forms the focus of the study, with pluriactivity being defined as the generation of income additional to that from primary agriculture, by any member of the household.The survey revealed that, whilst primary agriculture retains its position as the main income, only a minority of households did not have a supplemental source of income. Indeed, these ‘other sources’ can be financially very important. Off-farm work was the most significant type. A degree of differentiation was apparent between farmer, spouse and other family members and the type of incomegenerating activity.Internal variables (particularly physical farm size, farm type, education and ethnicity) are shown to have some statistical ability to explain the patterns of pluriactivity.Pluriactivity is of interest in the present environment of agricultural policy reform. However, there is some evidence that pluriactivity is not driven solely by financial pressure or policy measures aimed at farm diversification. The paper concludes that policy aimed at the diversification of the farm business may be less than successful as many internal and external factors appear to work to restrict such activities. Most of the contemporary growth in pluriactivity has been in the form of off-farm jobs — a policy sector presently divorced from farm/agricultural policy.     

Toward a community-based national rural policy: the importance of the social services sector

Although discussions of rural America's challenges have surfaced at regular intervals over the past half-century, the issue is receiving significantly greater substantive policy discussion today, as a dialogue regarding the development of a more integrative, community-based, national rural policy begins to emerge. This article outlines this unique "rural policy moment," assesses the potential for a community-based rural policy for our nation, and discusses the critical role rural social services practice and policy play in supporting these opportunities to address the significant challenges faced by rural people.     

Decentralisation and devolution to the English regions: Assessing the implications for rural policy and delivery

The White Paper Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions opened the way for reforms to regional government in England which, it asserted, will improve decision-making and deliver better quality services. In the field of rural policy, too, there are demands for decentralisation to improve service delivery and reflect the diversity of rural areas. Drawing upon a case study of rural policy making and implementation in the English West Midlands, this paper explores current institutional structures for rural policy making and how further administrative decentralisation or political devolution might enhance them. It reveals a complex set of fragmented structures and blurred accountabilities in which policy implementation is an outstanding concern. The Government's administrative reforms, together with proposals to decentralise responsibility for rural service delivery, may assist in promoting greater differentiation and co-ordination at the regional tier. Nonetheless, in the absence of the transfer of significant resources and influence to an elected regional body, efforts to establish a more distinct and coherent approach to rural policy-making and delivery will continue to be hampered.     

Migration,rural development and policy formation in the South Pacific

This paper examines the reasons for migration in the South Pacific region and the impact of migration on rural development. Consideration is also given to the policies that have been or should be developed in order to encourage rural development and thereby reduce migration flows from rural areas.     

EU rural development policy in the new member states: Promoting multifunctionality?

European Union (EU) enlargement has seen 10 new member states (NMS) adopt the full range of EU policies. Within this, the rural development arm of the Common Agricultural Policy offers particular points of interest. Member states chose from an extensive list of policy measures developed within the EU15 and intended, in particular, to operationalise the concept of rural multifunctionality within the ongoing CAP reform process. This paper identifies the rural development policy choices made by the eight central and eastern European NMS and develops a taxonomy to ascertain the extent to which the NMS are directing public funds to promote multifunctionality. A number of factors are then identified as helping to influence the policy choices made across countries.     

Spatial microsimulation for rural policy analysis in Ireland: The implications of CAP reforms for the national spatial strategy

Microsimulation attempts to describe economic and social events by modelling the behaviour of individual agents. These models have proved useful in evaluating the impact of policy changes at the micro level. Spatial microsimulation models contain geographic information and allow for a regional or local approach to policy analysis. This paper builds on previous work on urban systems by employing similar modelling techniques for the analysis of rural areas [Birkin, M., Clarke, M., 1988. SYNTHESIS—a synthetic spatial information system for urban and regional analysis: methods and examples. Environment and Planning A 20, 1645–1671; Ballas, D. et al., 1999. Exploring microsimulation methodologies for the estimation of household attributes. The Fourth International Conference on GeoComputation, 25–28 July 1999, Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA (paper presentation); Ballas, D, Clarke, G. P., 2000. GIS and microsimulation for local labour market policy analysis. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems 24, 305–330; Ballas, D., Clarke, G. P., 2001a. Modelling the local impacts of national social policies: a spatial microsimulation approach. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 19, 587–606; Ballas, D., Clarke, G. P., 2001b. Towards local implications of major job transformations in the city: a spatial microsimulation approach. Geographical Analysis 33, 291–311]. It describes the development of the simulation model for the Irish local economy (SMILE) model. SMILE is a static and dynamic spatial microsimulation designed to analyse the impact of policy change and economic development on rural areas in Ireland. This paper focuses on the static model. First, we describe the European and Irish policy environment and indicate the importance of building spatial models to analyse change in rural Ireland. Second, we review existing literature on regional and local modelling techniques and the use of spatial models as tools for policy analysis. Third, we describe the SMILE static model. The model generates synthetic spatially referenced population for the Irish Republic at the small area level—the population micro data is produced for district electoral divisions (DEDs). Finally, we show how data from other sources can be linked to the static model output. We link data from the Irish National Farm Survey on farm system, income and off-farm employment of operator to the SMILE static model. We use this example to show its potential as a tool for policy analysis.     

When assumptions on fieldwork education fail to hold: The experience of Botswana

In most parts of the world, social work fieldwork education takes for granted that the different stakeholders in the fieldwork learning process - students, academic staff, and field instructors - are dedicated to their task and can carry it through, yet this assumption does not always hold. This article examines one such situation, in Botswana, and several measures that have been introduced to tackle it.     

Challenging the inevitability of rural decline: Advancing the policy of place in northern British Columbia

In current policy discourse, rural decline is often described as an inevitable process associated with such broader structural trends as globalization and urbanization. The purpose of this paper is to challenge the supposed inevitability of rural decline in northern British Columbia (BC), Canada. We argue that rural decline in northern BC has been facilitated through an intentional policy program that views hinterland areas as a ‘resource bank’ from which to fund provincial infrastructure and services, without adequate attention to rural reinvestment. We highlight the potential discrepancies of this approach through a comparative study of two development eras in the province. In the first era, we examine the policies and development approach adopted by the W.A.C. Bennett provincial government, which governed from 1952 to 1972. We argue that the Bennett regime confronted the complexity of the post-war era with a comprehensive vision and coordinated policy program for ‘province building’ through intensive investments in industrial expansion and community infrastructure throughout the BC hinterland. By comparison, the post-1980s era in BC has witnessed a continuation of the resource bank approach, minus a concomitant commitment to hinterland investment. Reversing the inevitability of rural decline requires a renovation of the investment orientation witnessed during the Bennett era through an appreciation of the role of place in economic development. Our recommendations for renewed rural development in northern BC are drawn from a synthesis of the Bennett lessons with those emerging within place-based development literature.     

The implicit assumptions of television research: an analysis of the 1982 NIMH report on television and behavior

The authors analyze some of the assumptions underlying most current research on television. They emphasize the dependence on (1) an individual rather than an institutional level of analysis; (2) a model of research utilization that pays little explicit attention to where sources of leverage lie for changes in programming; (3) extremely simple models of the selection processes associated with different levels of television viewing; and (4) uncritical appraisals of the consequences of effects that many would call small or modest. These issues are illustrated by a general discussion of the NIMH report on Television and Behavior and specific discussion of "mainstreaming" and the effects of television violence. In 1972, POQ's editors invited Leo Bogart to prepare an extended review article of the Surgeon-General's Study of Television and Social Behavior (POQ 36:491-521). When the 10-year follow-up study was released by NIMH in 1982, the editors asked Thomas D. Cook, a distinguished psychologist noted for his research on television, to perform the same function.     

Car dependence in rural Scotland: transport policy,devolution and the impact of the fuel duty escalator

This paper examines dependence on the car in rural Scotland, assesses the impact of the fuel duty escalator on rural communities and discusses the role of the new Scottish Executive in shaping future rural transport policy. Questionnaires, interviews and travel diaries were used in five areas and revealed that households in rural Scotland enjoy high levels of car ownership, and that the car is used for over three-quarters of all journeys. Isolation and income levels are the most significant predictors of car use. Those living in ‘removed’ areas — i.e. locations distant from main roads and/or bus routes — are more likely to own vehicles and make a higher proportion of their journeys by car. Affluent households enjoy higher levels of car ownership, and make more journeys over greater distances by this mode than those on low-incomes. Less affluent households are also more likely to have disposed of a vehicle without replacing it, suggesting a more fluctuating dependence on the car. Although those living in rural Scotland appear to count on the car, a distinction is made between those who have no alternative (structurally dependent) and those who have alternatives but rely on their vehicles. It is difficult to predict the exact impact of the fuel duty escalator, but it is argued that the majority of households will cope with increases in the cost of motoring, while a significant minority of low income households in isolated areas will struggle to absorb the extra cost. The study highlights the need for the Scottish legislature to secure additional funding in order to sustain rural communities in the face of the rising fuel costs and suggests that an appropriate policy response might be to support isolated shops and services, i.e. subsidising alternatives to the journey as well as alternatives to the car.     

Conflicts about water: A case study of contest and power in Dutch rural policy

The Dutch countryside forms the scene for pressing problems of management and allocation of land and water. These problems underscore the need for comprehensive rural policies. For that purpose, area-based rural policy has been initiated. This new policy is part of a larger policy shift, labelled in literature as ‘new rural governance’. Area-based rural policy co-ordinates the different interests of stakeholders and establishes consensus-based solutions. In this article we question this claim. We analyse the conflicts, rationalities and interests within a Dutch rural planning project. This project displays a power struggle in which actors try to (de)construct legitimacy. This observation contrasts sharply with the consensual rationality on which area-based policies are founded. Therefore, we conclude that a tension exists between ‘what should be done’ and ‘what is actually done’ in Dutch rural policy. Area-based policy does not guarantee the establishment of consensus among rural stakeholders. Therefore, Dutch area-based policies need to be contextualised to purposefully address spatial rural problems.     

The rural arena: The diversity of protest in rural England

In the past 15–20 years, the rural areas of England have been used by a wide diversity of groups as the stage for their protest activities. Some have argued that this is due the rise of a rural social movement; this paper contends that rural areas have become both available and advantageous as the locale of protest through a range of interlocking factors. Firstly, that the rise of the network society has repositioned the societal importance of rural areas. Secondly, that the governance of rural areas has changed, allowing the social stake of rurality to be more widely contested. Thirdly, that opportunities to protest have shifted in favour of rural spaces, in terms of technology and policing. Through a discussion of recent changes in rural England and three case studies, The Land is Ours, Farmers for Action and the Organic Food and Farming Movement, this paper examines these changes and what they mean for the future of rural England.     

Environmental co-operatives as instruments for delivering across-farm environmental and rural policy objectives: Lessons for the UK

This paper assesses the potential of environmental co-operatives (EC) to deliver environmental benefits and an integrated and strengthened rural economy in the UK. It is based on research into Dutch EC, which have about 10,000 members, of which a quarter are non-farmers. The paper details the benefits EC have delivered to their members, the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, the environment and the rural economy using evidence drawn from interviews with farmer and non-farmer members, farmer non-members, policy makers and academics connected with seven EC. It pays particular attention to the benefits and disadvantages of allowing non-farmer membership. It is argued that EC would be a valuable additional instrument to help deliver landscape-scale environmental, regional and rural policy objectives. However, Dutch EC have received important political and, particularly in their start-up stage, financial support, and similar support would be needed in the UK—it is argued this may be more readily available if UK EC will offer non-farmer membership. Appropriate support could be provided through developments to the Environmental Stewardship Scheme's higher level tier, by safeguarding and extending the spirit of the LEADER plus programme (which explicitly supports collective action) to the delivery of environmental benefits, and/or by encouraging the development of locally based social enterprises.     

The two-ness of rural life and the ends of rural scholarship

I analyze the current return of academic rural doubt in the US in terms of an old intellectual quandary: what is the rural? I argue that scholars have two dominant epistemologies of the rural, what I term first rural and second rural, and correspondingly different political visions. By first rural I mean the material moment of the rural, to which we typically grant priority. By second rural I mean the ideal moment of the rural, which we typically regard as secondary, even when we argue that it is the only remaining rural. I analyze the origin of this priority of the rural in terms of the modernist/postmodernist divide, which I trace through the current American emphasis on first rural and the current European and Antipodean emphasis on second rural, noting how each emphasis often develops to the exclusion of the other. I trace as well the association of first rural with a modernist politics of defense of the rural boundary, and of second rural with a postmodernist politics of discourse that engages by deconstructing the rural. I argue for a rural plural vision that embraces first rural and second rural equally, stimulates a correspondingly more inclusive and practical politics of the rural, and keeps our understanding of the rural forever moving on.     

The normalization of social interaction: When shared assumptions cannot be assumed

This article presents data gathered during a participant-observation study of an educational program for adults identified as mentally retarded. The difficulties inherent in trying to make retarded people appear normal (normalization) and the implications of these for the study of social interaction are examined. “Normal” social interaction is shown to depend upon a huge body of tacit knowledge as well as an assumption by the participants that they share a common understanding of the situation at hand.     

The construct of intergenerational solidarity in a lineage perspective: A discussion on underlying theoretical assumptions

Although the construct of intergenerational solidarity has been crucial in analyses of relationships between family generations and contradictory results are obtained, the theoretical assumptions underlying the construct have not been discussed. The present aim is to make this construct of intergenerational solidarity a subject of debate, primarily focusing on the assumed connections between the dimensions of the construct and the theoretical presumptions found in Durkheim's concept of mechanical solidarity. The discussion relies on various empirical studies of family generations. It is concluded that the theoretical assumptions underlying the construct do not seem to be adequate for describing family relations across generations, and an alternative theoretical approach is suggested as a basis for further discussion.