Economic Attitudes and Responses to Siting Hazardous Waste Facilities in Rural Utah1

Abstract The siting of hazardous waste facilities has become a critical problem for the United States. Many western states are plagued with proposals to site such facilities. While the host communities appear to be typical western rural communities, responses to siting hazardous waste facilities vary. Previous research suggests that key variables in predicting responses are the anticipation of economic benefits and the perception of risk. This paper proposes that response to siting hazardous industries in rural Utah is not only a result of these key variables but also residents' perception of the local economy. Results from ethnographic and survey data from three rural communities in Utah indicate that the anticipation of economic benefits and perception of risk were strongly associated with response to a proposal, and that residents of communities with poorer local economies were more likely to support siting a hazardous waste facility locally.     

Support for Waste Facility Siting: Differences between Community Leaders and Residents

Abstract Decisions regarding hazardous waste facility siting are now open to extensive public debate. Efforts on the part of public officials and private companies to site waste management facilities have been thwarted by public opposition. Using survey data from leaders and residents in communities which are hosting or siting facilities, this study examines their sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, levels of trust, perceptions of risk, perceptions of economic impacts, perceptions of equity issues and the differential effects of these factors on acceptance of local waste facility siting. Leaders in these communities were more supportive of local waste facility siting than were other community residents. The major determinant of leaders' acceptance of waste siting was their perceptions of the economic benefits of a facility to the community. Although this was also important to residents, perceptions of health, safety, and environmental contamination risks had larger effects on their acceptance of such facilities.     

From the editors

Sumter County, Alabama is host to the nation's largest commercial hazardous waste landfill. The purpose of this article is to examine how the two weekly newspapers published in Sumter County define the hazardous waste issue for local citizens. Coverage of the hazardous waste issue by these two newspapers was examined for the period 1978–1988. The starting point of this 11‐year period coincides with the opening of the landfill and continues through a period of statewide public debate concerning the facility. Virtually no coverage of the hazardous waste issue occurred during the first 3 years of the facility's operations. The amount of space devoted to hazardous waste management increased slowly until 1988, when growing statewide attention to this issue resulted in expanded local coverage. During 1987 and 1988, the overall tone of the articles in these two newspapers became increasingly critical of the hazardous waste industry. These general patterns hold for both local papers, although differences exist and are discussed. It is concluded that the local media play an active role in defining social problems and in legitimizing established positions on controversial issues.     

Facility Ownership and Resident Satisfaction with Assisted Living

Abstract

Although the majority of assisted living facilities operate as for-profit organizations and serve increasingly frail elderly populations, little is known about the impact of ownership on the quality of care in assisted living. This study examines the relationship between facility ownership and the quality of care in assisted living, using resident satisfaction as a quality indicator. The assessed aspects of satisfaction include health care, housekeeping, physical environment, relationships with staff, and social life/activities. The relationship of facility ownership to resident satisfaction is examined controlling for resident psychological well-being, functional ability, facility size, and staff resources. Data were collected in personal interviews with 156 residents, including 96 residents in eight for-profit facilities and 60 residents in five nonprofit facilities in Maryland. Residents in the sampled nonprofit facilities were more satisfied with assisted living than were residents in the for-profit facilities. In particular, residents in nonprofit facilities were more satisfied with health care, physical environment, and social life/activities in the facility. Better understanding of the relationship between facility ownership and resident satisfaction can help administrators create environments that maximize resident satisfaction in both nonprofit and for-profit facilities.     

A More Complete Picture: Rural Residents’ Relative Support for Seven Forms of Natural Resource-Related Economic Development

Understanding rural resident support for various forms of natural resource-related economic development has been a common research topic in rural sociology. However, the vast majority of research has only evaluated support for one form of natural resource use at a time. The little research that has explored support for a wide variety of uses has found that residents are likely to support many of the suggested forms of development. We assessed rural resident support for seven forms of natural resource development: commercial logging, natural gas, mining, real estate, wind energy, tourism, and outdoor recreation. Using social exchange theory, this study examines the influence of perceived impacts of development, industry trust, and perceived industry power on general support for the seven forms of natural resource-related economic development using a fixed effects generalized linear model among a sample of residents of rural Pennsylvania communities. Additionally, we use mixed logit discreet choice modeling to evaluate the drivers of relative support, meaning a stated preference for one form of development over other possible options. The drivers of general support and relative support were similar, with trust in industry and impacts to quality of life emerging as the primary drivers of both.     

In Whose Backyard?: Concern About Siting a Nuclear Waste Facility*

Proponents of hazardous and nuclear waste depositories label opponents to local siting of such facilities “NIMBYs” (Not In My Backyard). This study assesses the extent to which the NIMBY label and the strategies of industry proponents to reduce opposition function on a reasonable set of assumptions. Using survey data and multiple regression techniques, the levels of concern of residents living in the county selected as the site of a low level radioactive waste disposal facility (imminent threat condition) are compared with a statewide sample (hypothetical threat condition). Consistent with proponents' theoretical assumptions, the levels of concern are greater for respondents under conditions of imminent threat than of hypothetical threat. However, within the host county, levels of concern are lowest, albeit most polarized, in the community closest to the proposed site. A conflict theory approach enhances an understanding of these findings by suggesting that within the most proximate community levels of concern are lowest for citizens who stand to gain the most economic benefits from the facility but highest for those citizens who are least likely to derive tangible gains.     

What do Potential Residents Need to Know about Assisted Living Facility Type? The Trade-off between Autonomy and Help with More Complex Needs

The current study surveyed 74 assisted living facilities to examine the effect of facility type on resident autonomy and the willingness of providers to admit residents requiring complex services. Facility types included adult family homes, residential care facilities, and traditional assisted living facilities. Adult family homes were more willing to admit residents with higher care needs. By contrast, assisted living facilities’ policies did not support the provision of intensive services, but their policies promoted higher resident autonomy, suggesting that consumers may have to choose between autonomy and help with complex needs when exploring assisted living for long-term care.     

Examining the Association between Hazardous Waste Facilities and Rural “Brain Drain”*

Abstract Rural communities are increasingly being faced with the prospect of accepting facilities characterized as “opportunity‐threat,” such as facilities that generate, treat, store, or otherwise dispose of hazardous wastes. Such facilities may offer economic gains through jobs and tax revenue, although they may also act as environmental “disamenities.” This analysis examines the possibility that the presence of such facilities equates with lower loss of rural human capital, a question as yet unexamined on a national scale within the academic literature. Making use of secondary data from several different sources, we examine the association between age‐ and education‐specific outmigration and 1) the number of hazardous waste facilities, 2) the number of large quantity hazardous waste generators, and 3) the number of hazardous waste landfills and incinerators across rural counties within the 48 contiguous states. Our findings suggest that the presence of hazardous waste facilities does not clearly equate with reductions in rural “brain drain.”     

The Effects of Organizational Policies on Resident Perceptions of Autonomy in Assisted Living

Abstract

This study examines the effects of organizational policies on resident perceptions of autonomy in assisted living. The sample included 412 residents in 59 facilities. Organizational policies were measured in terms of policies that foster resident choice and control in the facility. Resident autonomy was assessed according to resident perceptions of influence and independence. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the effects of organizational policies on resident autonomy, controlling for facility size, ownership, and level of care. Higher levels of choice-enhancing policies were related to more favorable resident perceptions of autonomy. These findings suggest that allowing residents more choice in their daily routines may contribute to a greater resident autonomy.     

Community-based household waste management: Lessons learnt from EXNORA's ‘zero waste management’ scheme in two South Indian cities

This paper presents two case studies on the efforts by a community-based organisation to promote a sustainable integrated waste management system in Indian mega cities. This effort was initiated in 1989 by a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) called EXNORA and is based on a ‘zero waste management scheme’ set up, run and financed by the residents themselves. As this model has been widely quoted as successful, the study aims at learning from two communities implementing this model.Results are reported from a survey of the two schemes that used various tools to assess both their performance and sustainability in selected residential areas of two Indian cities, Chennai and Hyderabad. The results indicate limited success of the schemes both in saving a significant fraction of the generated waste from dumping, and in rehabilitating the local poor. However, they show that motivated individuals can successfully set up and manage waste collection systems that lead to overall environmental improvements. The differences in the two schemes reflect how the local assets and contexts impact on the success of the scheme. The scheme in a rich neighbourhood of Hyderabad was less ambitious in its overall objectives and focussed on the provision of a waste management service, using the opportunity to provide local employment to a socially deprived fraction of the population. The scheme in a middle-class area of Chennai, although pioneering in its approach, suffered from diseconomies of scale and lack of social integration, making it less viable in the medium to long term. Both schemes suffered from a lack of community involvement, motivation and political support, which threatens the long-term sustainability of the enterprise. The research concludes that the role that communities can realistically play in management of their own waste depends on the local context. The system advocated by EXNORA seems to require significant local resources, and political and technical support which are hard to find and sustain without strong local leaders. Another model set up in the city of Visakhapatnam is finally introduced as an alternative. This is based on triangular contracts between the municipality, the residents and micro-enterprises and may provide a good solution in dealing with the technical and commercial aspects which communities find difficult.     

Opportunity/Threat Responses to Nuclear Waste Disposal Facilities1

One of the most difficult environmental policy challenges facing the United States and other societies is that of finding ways to safely dispose of hazardous and toxic substances, including nuclear waste materials. Efforts to site such facilities have been uniformly unsuccessful, due largely to strong public opposition. Although supporters of such facilities often emphasize the potential for local economic development and other opportunities, opponents focus on a variety of threats involving potential risks associated with waste disposal. Survey data collected in rural areas of Nevada and Nebraska where nuclear waste disposal facilities have been proposed reveal that respondents' positions on issues of perceived health and safety risks, trust in responsible agencies, anticipated local economic effects, and concerns about environmental contamination are key variables predicting local response. Even in areas where there may be substantial local support for economic opportunities associated with the facilities, broad-based fears about nuclear materials and a legacy of distrust in the agencies responsible for managing nuclear wastes suggest that proposals for such facilities will almost inevitably continue to generate strong public opposition.     

What Happens in Their Bedrooms Stays in Their Bedrooms: Staff and Residents' Reactions Toward Male–Female Sexual Intercourse in Residential Aged Care Facilities

This study aimed to investigate and compare the reactions of staff and residents of residential aged care facilities (RACFs) toward male–female sexual intercourse taking place in a private space within the facility. A total of 53 professionals and 47 residents from five RACFs located in Catalonia, Spain, were asked to reflect upon what they would think and do if they entered the bedroom of a resident and found him or her having sex with another resident of the opposite gender. The results suggest that male–female partnered sexual activity would generally be considered acceptable and would be respected, although some respondents called into question the appropriateness of such behavior and stated that they would react in a restrictive way. Overall, professionals appeared to be more accepting and permissive than were residents. Although our findings are broadly optimistic, they also suggest that male–female sexual intercourse may be considered an unwelcome sexual practice by some residents and professionals even if it occurs in a private space within the RACF. The fact that both staff and residents may also react in a negative way to the event could constitute a barrier to sexual expression among institutionalized older people.     

Conflict and Aggression as Stressors in the Work Environment of Nursing Assistants:

Elder abuse and mistreatment occuring in institutional settings is a phenomenon that is as yet poorly understood. In considering the context in which elder abuse and mistreatment may arise, understanding the caregivers' work environment is an important variable. As front line staff, nursing assistants are subject to multiple stressors that underscore the highly interpersonal nature of caregiving. This paper describes the results of a Canadian study that examined conflict, aggression, and burn-out in one group of nursing assistants. Nursing assistant burn-out scores were similar to scores reported for other health-care workers. Subjects reported that conflict with residents most commonly related to the resident wanting to go outside the facility or personal hygiene. An analysis of incident reports indicated that less than 0.3% of the physical and verbal aggression nursing assistants endure from residents is formally acknowledged. On average, a nursing assistant in this health care facility may expect to be physically assaulted by residents 9.3 times per month and verbally assaulted 11.3 times per month. Findings indicate a slight correlation between burn-out and conflict and also between burn-out and reported aggression from residents. A statistically significant relationship was noted between conflicts with residents and resident aggression from residents.     

Staff-resident interaction in the nursing home: An ethnographic study of socio-economic disparities and community contexts

In recent years, nursing home (NH) researchers have paid increasing attention to socio-economic and racial/ethnic disparities in quality of care. Although there is growing evidence of disparities in resident health outcomes, less is known about the ways in which these differences manifest in care processes from a qualitative perspective. This paper addresses this gap by comparing staff-resident interactions in two urban, non-profit NHs, including roughly 50 staff participants in each facility. The researcher conducted ethnographic observation in one facility serving a white, middle class community and another serving low-income Black and Hispanic clients from an underserved neighborhood. Grounded theory methods generated three categories of interaction—activating, relating, and attending—which were performed differently in the two NHs. In the more affluent facility, staff interacted with residents in a dynamic fashion, adapting to residents’ responses, and they were relatively well equipped with resident-specific information when responding to individual concerns. In the safety-net facility, staff interacted with residents in a one-directional, “didactic” fashion, providing instruction without a mechanism for adapting to residents’ responses, and they were not as well equipped with resident-specific information. These differences reflected disparities between the two facilities in staff communication skills, underscoring the importance of workforce development to enhance the quality of staff-resident interaction and promote resident-centered care. This study raises further questions about the role of neighborhood contexts in shaping organizational processes that influence quality of life for NH residents. Moreover, the study offers a unique contribution to the NH literature by generating a typology of styles of interaction that can be used to develop a conceptual framework for understanding staff-resident interaction in the nursing home. Such a framework can inform efforts to improve residents’ quality of life.     

New Voices,Old Beliefs: Forest Environmentalism Among New and Long-Standing Rural Residents1

Abstract In the on-going sociological debate over rural-urban differences, rural conflict over natural resources is often attributed to environmental attitudes of new residents from urban areas. An alternative hypothesis is that new residents provide not new attitudes, but a new voice for attitudes already held by many local residents. Data from a survey of residents of communities near two national forests show little support for the hypothesis that residential status affects forest management attitudes, dissatisfaction, or action. The findings support the “new-voice” thesis and show that it is often a female voice.     

Resident and family perspectives on assisted living

This research describes and compares the relative importance residents and family members place on attributes of the environment, the programs, and the policies of assisted living; describes their satisfaction with these features; and identifies factors associated with congruence between residents' and family members' ratings of importance and satisfaction. Both residents and their family members had high importance and satisfaction ratings. Family members gave the assisted living setting lower satisfaction ratings on all features than did residents. Congruence ranged from 34% to 71% for importance items and from 29% to 63% for satisfaction. Female residents, affectionate family relationships, and residing in an AL owned by a chain were positively associated with congruence on importance items, while resident and family education, resident income, and family involvement were negatively associated with congruence on importance items. For congruence on satisfaction items, having an affectionate relationship was positively associated and higher ADL dependency, more family involvement at the facility, and family members who viewed the facility as a safe place were negatively associated with congruence. This study makes a major stride forward because cognitively intact residents' perspectives are compared and contrasted with their own family members' perspectives, thus showing that residents and family members are two distinct groups, each with a unique set of preferences.     

A Study of Reputational Community Leaders Using The Concepts of Exchange and Coordinative Positions*

The general purposes of this study were to investigate the group and organizational affiliates of reputed community leaders in a rural community. The specific hypotheses were that the higher one is ranked as a reputational leader, (1) the more exchange influence he will likely have accumulated through occupying economic, kinship, occupational, ownership, and political-governmental positions which are reputedly influential in the community, (2) the more likely he is to be an active participant in formal and/or informal coordinative interstitial groups in the community, and (3) the more likely he is to be an active participant in those formal coordinative groups which are reputed to be influential over community affairs. The hypotheses were tested by comparing the sets of rankings of twenty-eight reputational leaders with (1) their rankings in terms of exchange positions scores, (2) their rankings in terms of social participation scores, and (3) their rankings in terms of weighted social participation scores. The results of the study tended to support the hypotheses, as stated, for the community involved.     

Nursing home performance on select publicly reported quality indicators and resident risk of hospitalization: grappling with policy implications

This study examines how resident risk of hospitalization varies in relation to facility performance on select quality indicators (QIs). Using a 15% sample, three years of Medicaid reimbursement data from over 525 nursing homes (NHs) were linked with four years of hospital claims data and facility-level data to investigate whether residents of NHs with worse (better) than expected performance on QIs experienced increased (decreased) risk of hospitalization. Logistic regression results indicate that variations in hospitalization risk among NH residents are explained in part by facility performance on QIs. Residents from NHs with more decubitus ulcers, with greater use of physical restraints, and with a higher than expected incidence of unexplained weight loss/gain experienced increased risk of hospitalization.     

Continuing Care Retirement Communities' Response to Residents Aging in Place:

While many administrators of continuing care retirement communities continue to insist that their facilities are for independent residents only, their resident populations are becoming older and frailer, aging-in-place. This paper describes Part 1 of a two part study examining how the C.E.O.s at nineteen Wisconsin C.C.R.C.s responded to a survey about changing characteristics of their resident populations, and how their facility was responding to these changes.     

Resident and Family Perspectives on Assisted Living

Abstract

This research describes and compares the relative importance residents and family members place on attributes of the environment, the programs, and the policies of assisted living; describes their satisfaction with these features; and identifies factors associated with congruence between residents' and family members' ratings of importance and satisfaction. Both residents and their family members had high importance and satisfaction ratings. Family members gave the assisted living setting lower satisfaction ratings on all features than did residents. Congruence ranged from 34% to 71% for importance items and from 29% to 63% for satisfaction. Female residents, affectionate family relationships, and residing in an AL owned by a chain were positively associated with congruence on importance items, while resident and family education, resident income, and family involvement were negatively associated with congruence on importance items. For congruence on satisfaction items, having an affectionate relationship was positively associated and higher ADL dependency, more family involvement at the facility, and family members who viewed the facility as a safe place were negatively associated with congruence. This study makes a major stride forward because cognitively intact residents' perspectives are compared and contrasted with their own family members' perspectives, thus showing that residents and family members are two distinct groups, each with a unique set of preferences.