Poetic Justice? Rural policy clashes with rural poetry in the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK

In 2001, the foot and mouth disease epidemic in the UK gave rise to widespread individual and community trauma and has had negative health, economic and social impacts on the people who live in affected rural areas. Many found strength by sharing their experiences with friends and relatives; others expressed their feelings in poems and art. Using insights from linguistics, cultural studies and rural studies, this paper analyses three poems written by a former farmer, a poet and a vet from the three most affected regions: Devon, Northumberland and Cumbria. It examines how an analysis of this type of ‘grounded poetry’ can provide new insights into individual and community trauma, how it can complement other work on FMD in rural studies and how it can be used to improve social policy decisions regarding future outbreaks of animal disease.     

Growing-up in the countryside: children and the rural idyll

The recent surge of interest in the study of children and childhood has brought with it a keener recognition of the diversity of growing-up. In this emerging geography, most attention has been given to the experiences and behaviours of urban children. Few studies have explicitly focused on what it is like to grow-up in the countryside, particularly within the United Kingdom today. In this paper we begin to address this hidden geography by reporting on a study undertaken within rural Northamptonshire. We explore some of the ways in which children encounter the countryside through their own experiences, and (re)examine the `rural’ from their own viewpoint. We uncover an alternative geography of exclusion and disenfranchisement. Rather than being part of an ideal community many children, especially the least affluent and teenagers, felt dislocated and detached from village life. Yet socio-spatial exclusion of this kind is also typical of many childhoods away from the rural and can relate to children almost anywhere. What particularly distinguishes a rural upbringing, however, is the sharp disjunction between the symbolism and expectation of the Good Life (the emblematic) and the realities and experiences of growing-up in small, remote, poorly serviced and fractured communities (the corporeal).     

The parenting role of African-American fathers in the context of urban poverty

This qualitative study examines low-income African-American fathers' perceptions of their parenting role and the strategies they employ to bring up children in poor urban neighborhoods. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with 36 fathers who had contact with their children at least twice a month. Men in the study expressed conventional views of their fathering roles as provider, nurturer, and teacher, but placed the most emphasis on ‘being there’ for their children, as their financial circumstances limited other forms of involvement. Many fathers felt their circumstances to be exacerbated by a hostile child-support system. They desired to teach their children alternatives to the negative practices and values they saw in their urban neighborhoods and to have the skills to prosper in mainstream society. Overall, the findings suggest that many low-income urban fathers already desire to be responsible fathers but see themselves as limited by material and structural challenges. Services and policies that promote the economic stability of low-income fathers are recommended.     

Drawing Family Boundaries: Children's Perspectives on Family Relationships in Rural and Urban Ethiopia

This article explores how children conceptualise and practice family relationships in two social settings in Ethiopia. Based on ethnographic data, it discusses (i) how urban and rural children construct family; (ii) what family activities children do and which social positions they assume; and (iii) the convergence and divergence of meanings and practices of family relationships between urban and rural Ethiopia. The analysis demonstrates how ‘normative family’ and actual ‘family practices’ are shaped by socio‐cultural, material and spatial contexts. Insights drawn also reveal the complex ways in which access to material resources, geographical distance, rural‐urban locations and cultural traits such as patterns of marriage and child relocation practices shape family relationships.     

Women with disabilities in the North West province of Cameroon: resilient and deserving of greater attention

Cameroonian women living with disabilities face three‐fold discrimination as a result of their sex, perceived inability and low socio‐economic status. A needs assessment using focus groups (two focus groups, n = 24) and key participant interviews (n = 12) was conducted to explore the experiences of women with disabilities in the North West province in both urban and rural areas. The findings show that women faced both physical and attitudinal barriers, lived in poverty and felt that they lacked opportunities for gaining an education, finding employment and forming meaningful social ties. There was significant complexity of relationships, marriage and children in their lives. Participants generated ideas on changes that needed to be made for the betterment of their lives. Aspirations included increasing empowerment and education, gaining support from family and friends, increasing public awareness, adapting the physical environment and finding allies.     

Understanding career development amongst immigrant youth in a rural place

There is little research into the career trajectories and occupational aspirations of rural youth with immigrant backgrounds in Europe. This article presents new research based on field observations and interviews with five young immigrants of Persian descent in one rural town in Sweden. The findings highlighted gender differences in how the research participants felt their immigrant background would shape their future career plans and aspirations. The boys anticipated that by staying in the local town they might experience less of the stigma that they knew immigrants in urban areas often face. In contrast, the girls did not think of their rural home town as the best place to establish a career. One of the girls also spoke of an ambition to divide her working life between her new homeland and her family’s country of origin. The analysis stresses the importance of an intercultural understanding of both the local and the global when counselling immigrant youth in rural areas regarding their career choices.     

Privatization and Income Change in the Czech Republic: Tensions in the Lives of Rural and Urban Employed Men1

In the Czech Republic, the privatization of property and the emergence of a market economy after the fall of communism created a unique “experiment in nature.” Before 1989, there was virtually no private sector and salary differences between rural and urban workers were relatively small. By the end of 1993, a substantial portion of both the rural and urban labor force had moved into the private sector. Using data from a sample of 443 men who were employed in 1989 and at the beginning of 1994, we found that urban workers who moved to the private sector had obtained larger salary increases and felt less economic pressure than rural workers and those who stayed in the public sector. Economic pressure, in turn, mediated between salary change and subsequent reports of health problems and psychological distress. Respondents also reported that the private sector offered them greater job flexibility. Job flexibility may reduce depressive symptoms by improving the match of workers' skills with the demands of the job, but private sector jobs may also be a source of uncertainty. Tensions associated with increasing rural disadvantage and with moving to the private sector are discussed.     

Changing Childrearing Beliefs Among Indigenous Rural‐to‐Urban Migrants in El Alto,Bolivia

Sociologists have long noted that childrearing shapes young people's life chances. Worldwide, rural‐to‐urban migration is growing, yet we know little about whether or how migrants adopt new childrearing beliefs during this rapid social transformation. Using interviews with 63 parents and ethnographic observation at a public school, I examine how rural‐to‐urban migration affects the childrearing beliefs of indigenous peasants who move to the city of El Alto, Bolivia. Many migrants reject rural childrearing's reliance on corporal punishment and limited verbal communication, instead embracing more open communication, limited physical punishment, and parent–child trust. Urban organizations and social ties expose parents to a new childrearing model, and parents find this model credible when they observe that it buffers children from urban dangers that threaten young people's mobility chances. Adopting urban childrearing ultimately entails accepting an underlying model of children's agency, wherein children need internal motivation instead of external impulsion. This case shows that individuals’ childrearing beliefs are more malleable than previous sociological studies suggest. I close with policy implications for parental education and child well‐being initiatives.     

Mother–child and teacher–child relationships and their influences on Chinese only and non-only children's early social behaviors: The moderator role of urban–rural status

Investigations regarding the differences between Chinese only and non-only children primarily examine children's social behaviors, which are closely related to their early relationships with mothers and teachers. In recent years, the number of non-only children born in urban areas has increased because of the softening of the One-Child Policy, which leads to the distribution of non-only children shifting from being primarily in rural areas to being in both urban and rural areas. The present study investigates the current characteristics and influences of mother–child and teacher–child relationships on Chinese only and non-only children's early social behaviors from the perspective of urban and rural differences. Data were obtained from 126 rural only children, 94 rural non-only children, 168 urban only children and 155 urban non-only children from 38 semi-urban kindergartens in Beijing, China. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that mother–child closeness positively predicted children's social skills particularly in non-only children, whereas mother–child conflict positively predicted internalizing behavior problems in all four groups. Teacher–child conflict negatively predicted children's social skills most strongly in urban only children. Teacher–child conflict aggravated rural only children's, urban only children's and non-only children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems, but mother–child closeness buffered rural only children's externalizing behavior problems. Findings underscore the importance for mothers to improve closeness, especially with rural only children, and for teachers to avoid conflict with both urban only and non-only children, as well as with rural only children.     

Non-engagement of Mid-aged and Elderly Residents in Rural Civic Livability Initiatives

In the context of public budget cuts and rural areas facing depopulation and aging, local governments increasingly encourage citizen engagement in addressing local livability issues. This paper examines the non-engagement of mid-aged and elderly residents (45+ years old) in civic initiatives that intend to improve the livability of their community. We focus on residents of depopulating rural areas in the North Netherlands. We compare their engagement with the behavior of residents in other, not depopulating, rural areas, and urban areas. Using logistic statistical analyses, we found that the majority of the aging residents did not engage in civic livability initiatives during the past two years, and one-third of this group had no intention to do so in the future. In all areas, the main reasons for non-engagement were that residents had other priorities, felt not capable of engaging, or felt that the responsibility for local livability belonged to the local government. Furthermore, it appeared that non-engagement was predominantly explained by the unwillingness to engage, rather than by specific motivations or lacking abilities.     

Urban and Rural Differences in the Provision of Health Insurance Coverage for Children of Divorce

Abstract

Using data from divorce case records in New Hampshire this study examined urban and rural differences in the provision of health insurance coverage for children of divorce. In the overall sample of cases (N= 474) results from a chi-square test found rural children (N= 123) to be nearly twice as likely to be uninsured than urban children (N= 351). Results from the logistic regression in the urban county found fathers' and mothers' incomes to increase the log odds of children having access to health insurance. Mothers' employment also increased the log odds of children being insured. In the rural county fathers' earnings and mothers' employment increased the log odds of children having access to health insurance. Pre-school age (0-5) decreased the log odds of children being insured. Implications for family practitioners in rural areas are discussed.     

Will Economic Crises in Africa Weaken Rural‐Urban Ties? Insights From Child Fosterage Trends in Cameroon*

Abstract The welfare of rural families in many African countries depends on their solidarity ties with urban kin. These ties often channel remittances from urban workers and support the education and economic mobility of children from rural families through fosterage into urban families. The continued operation of these rural‐urban solidarity networks, however, is challenged by recent economic downturns and increased urban poverty. Using Cameroon as a case study, we examine the effects of economic downturns on child fosterage as a component of changes in rural‐urban solidarity. Results show a net decline in rural outfosterage rates during the years of economic decline. Such findings raise concern for the economic mobility prospects for children from rural families, especially in a climate of increased competition for limited formalsector employment.     

Predicting Children's Asthma Hospitalizations: Rural and Urban Differences in Texas*

Abstract Asthma is the number one chronic health condition facing children today; however, little is known about rural‐urban inequalities in asthma. This “area effects on health” study examines rural‐urban differences in childhood asthma hospitalizations within the state of Texas using negative binomial regression models. Effects associated with residence on the Texas‐Mexico border, where the majority of rural Texas children live, are also considered. Neighborhood‐level social class and proportion of the population that was native‐born Hispanic were significant predictors of asthma hospitalizations, independent of rural‐urban location. Conversely, proportion African American, Native American, and foreign‐born Hispanic, not a citizen; median year of home construction; and neighborhood location on the Texas‐Mexico border were conditional on urban‐rural location, and the strength of these predictors was stronger in rural areas. This suggests that locational and social factors intersect in marginalized spaces (like the rural and border regions of Texas) to create vulnerability to asthma hospitalizations.     

Adolescents’ understanding of poverty and the poor in rural Malaysia

The aim of this research was to explore Malaysian adolescents’ perception of poverty and the poor. The data consisted of 79 semi-structured interviews with school children aged 12-13 and 15-16 years old from rural and urban areas in Sabah, Malaysia. According to them, poverty is mainly economic. Their responses about the causes of poverty can be categorised as individualistic, structural, fatalistic and other factors (such as age, geography, land and encouragement). Older respondents from rural and urban areas gave more individualistic and structural attributions compared to the younger respondents. While they believed that government is most responsible to help the poor, other parties such as the poor, public and NGO’s should also work together to alleviate poverty. They suggested that these parties can contribute in terms of donation, infrastructural improvement, education, attitudinal change and job opportunities. Respondents acknowledged that hard work and education are important to improve their standard of living. However, education is regarded as a ticket to seek their fortune elsewhere. These results emphasised the need for the Malay adolescents to learn about not being dependent on the government for employment in order to avoid mass urban migration in the near future.     

Children's interaction with urban play spaces in Tabriz,Iran

While children have the least influence on their physical environment they are deeply affected by it. Play areas for children have been increasingly limited in third‐world cities. In many developing countries population growth has encroached on play areas as low‐density housing and open space are transformed into high‐rise apartment complexes; the availability of urban open space for children is being constricted. While adults design the urban to meet their requirements, they tend to give too little thought to the needs of children. This essay reports on a visual study of urban open spaces for children in Tabriz, a city in northwestern Iran. Children between 6 and 12 years of age were asked to paint pictures of their ideal play spaces. The children's imaginary spaces are contrasted with photographs of actual playgrounds and open spaces in Tabriz. The goal is to understand why children's active use of existing urban playgrounds and open space is on the decline.     

上海郊区农村社会问题调研报告

通过对上海郊区农村调研,农村社会发展呈现出人口老龄化、外来人口日益增多、社会保障不足、基层组织在乡村事务发展中作用弱化等四大社会问题。面对当前郊区农村出现的社会问题,上海要从建设国际大都市的高度和要求出发,立足未来上海郊区农村发展目标,在养老服务、外来人口管理、农业现代化、社会保障等方面,合理、有序地推动市郊的城市化进程。     

Old Age Care Preferences Among Chinese Middle-Aged Single-Child Parents and the Related Policy Implications

We contrast rural and urban single-child parents’ old age care preferences and factors determining their preferences. The results show that single-child parents are more likely to report specific old age preferences than parents with multiple children; urban single-child parents are also more likely to have specific old age care preferences than their rural counterparts. Pension/social insurance is most preferred by urban single-child parents; whereas the preferences of rural single-child parents are more diverse. The most significant rural and urban differences lie in the effects of social and medical insurance on the respondents’ selection of care sources. Policy implications are discussed in the end.     

Migration,urbanization, and fertility in the Philippines

3 groups of women are compared in this study of the effect of migration on fertility in a less developed country: 1) rural sedentary; 2) rural to rural migrants; and 3) rural to urban migrants. The data are from a 1970 household interview study conducted by the Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado in Magsayay and Matanao, Davao Province, Mindanao, the Philippines. Social, economic, and mortality data were gathered from the household head and/or spouse for each household member and each child living elsewhere. Reproductive histories were obtained only from women for all women 15 years of age and older living in the 2 rural communities and living elsewhere. Age specific fertility rates and child woman ratios showed a declining gradient of fertility with social distance from the rural home communities. Age at marriage and education were positively associated with distance from the home communities and negatively associated with fertility. The data provide support for the hypothesis that recent migration is innovative, engaged in by more modernized persons who are motivated by aspiration to new goals, thus migration has a negative effect on fertility. Urbanization had its major impact after peak fertility years, 20-29, influencing urban migrants to bring their fertility under voluntary control. No such curtailment appeared in the late reproductive behavior of rural sedentary or migrant women. Urbanization seems to have a negative effect on fertility independent of migration. Young migrant women, in their teens, particularly those migrating to urban areas, did not fit the social mobility model; they tended to complete fewer years of school and married at an earlier age. These young urban migrants also had higher fertility than both rural sedentary and rural migrant females while in their teen years.     

Population growth and rural-urban migration,with special reference to Ghana

While the population of Ghana is expected to double in 25 years at the current rate of increase (approximately 2.5% per annum), the population of urban centers is increasing even faster. The 1970 census shows the urban population growing by 4.8% per annum. This is mainly the result of rural to urban migration and, to a smaller extent, the increase in the number of urban centers from 39 in 1948 to 98 in 1960 to 135 in 1970. In the 1970 census only 57.1% of the population were enumerated in their locality of birth and only 20.9% in a locality other than their place of birth but in the same region. 4.1% were born outside Ghana, mostly in another West African country. 1 striking difference between urban and rural areas is the differing sex ratio of the working population. In rural areas there are 91.0 males aged 15-64 years for every 100 females while in urban areas there are 107.1. Most migration in Africa is for employment and those most likely to migrate are working-age males. Because secondary schools are scarce in rural areas, urban dwellers generally have a higher education level. There are no significant differences between overall labor force participation rates for females. The nationwide participation rate was 38.9% for both males and females (males 43.8%, females 34.1%); in urban areas the total was 40.0% (males 46.3%, females 33.7%) and in rural areas 38.5% (males 42.7%, females 34.3%). Ghanaian women have traditionally occupied a prominent place in the labor force. The theory that urban migration is due to urban-rural income disparities is not confirmed by figures. Considering the high amount of unemployment in urban areas, a rural dweller can average as much as a city dweller. In fact, poorly educated migrants are the ones most affected by urban unemployment. A recent study by Kodwo Ewusi considered the impact of many variables on migration; he found depressed social conditions at the place of origin are more compelling motivations than economic factors but that once people decide to migrate, they base their choice of destination primarily on economic opportunities available at that end. Distance bears little relationship to choice of destination. To stem this tide efforts need to be made to increase rural income, provide employment opportunities for those displaced as agriculture becomes more efficient, and to provide for greater amenities in rural areas. Urban unemployment is an ever-increasing problem, accentuated by population growth and migration. Intensive rural development is needed to reverse this trend.     

Lentic and lotic odonate communities and the factors that influence them in urban versus rural landscapes

Habitat alteration via urbanization has very different effects on even closely related taxa. Most research investigating the ecological effects of urbanization has focused on birds or mammals, resulting in a relatively poor understanding of how the species richness and community composition of invertebrates may change. We quantified differences in species richness of adult odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) at lentic and lotic sites in urban and rural landscapes, and we examined environmental factors that might drive the differences in community composition that we observed. For lotic sites, species richness did not differ between urban versus rural sites for either dragonflies or damselflies. For lentic sites, urban and rural sites contained similar dragonfly species richness, but damselfly species richness was significantly lower at urban sites than at rural sites. Differences in lentic odonate community composition were associated with the amount of urban development within 150 m of each site, mean algal coverage, and distance to the urban center. At lotic sites, water temperature and distance to the urban center were correlated with differences in odonate community composition. The differing responses to urbanization observed in this study were probably a consequence of differences between lentic versus lotic ecosystems and between dragonflies versus damselflies in dispersal capability and habitat specificity. Given that different environmental factors affected these taxa differently in lentic and lotic sites, maintaining the highest level of odonate diversity possible across a landscape will require the use of different management practices for each ecosystem type.