Showing papers on "Rural area published in 1994"

What is rural tourism

Abstract: This paper reviews the development of tourism in rural areas. It defines rural tourism as a discrete activity with distinct characteristics which may vary in intensity, and by area. It discusses the differences between agri‐tourism and rural tourism, and examines why there should be a special relationship between tourism in the countryside and the concept of sustainable tourism.

An end to poverty

Abstract: The African continent is distinguished by a much higher fertility rate than other regions. Fertility in Africa has remained almost constant at slightly over six children per woman on average while important declines have occurred elsewhere over the past 25 years. High fertility in Africa is often attributed to poor diffusion of family planning early marriage and low female educational attainment but other cultural and economic factors are involved. The significant decline of infant mortality over the past several decades has produced growth rates never before observed. Africas very young populations may be at the origin of uncontrollable political disorder as young persons with bleak prospects fall easy prey to ethnic religious and political extremism. Demographic growth has become an additional barrier to development. High fertility is tolerated or encouraged as constituting a cultural trait but the resulting population growth is not a cultural trait. Demographic pressure has increased environmental problems in many regions. It is estimated that over ten million rural residents of the Sahel have been affected by soil degradation. The per capita availability of arable land fell from one-half to one-third hectare between 1965 and 1987. Shortages of firewood and water have become more common. The relationship between demographic growth environmental crisis and poverty in the countryside depends on other factors such as production techniques modes of access to land and water and the degree of security of land tenure. Population pressure was not the initial factor that disturbed the balance of the traditional societies but it exacerbated the effects of other forces such as the introduction of cash crops and monetarization of the economy. Rural exodus and accelerated urban migration have been prompted in large part by the higher incomes and greater availability of services of all types in the cities. Achieving control of fertility in Africa will require stabilization of rural populations territorial management and reduction of disparities between rural and urban areas.

The new 'burbs: the exurbs and their implications for planning policy

Abstract: The exurbs are currently home to sixty million Americans, and may be home to more people than urban, suburban, or rural areas are by early in the next century. Planners may be unprepared to address the special needs and challenges presented by the exurbs, because the tools that planners use to manage cities, suburbs, and rural areas may be inappropriate. Before planners can respond adequately to the challenge of exurban development, they must first understand who lives there and why. Using a case study of the Portland, Oregon area, we find that although ex-urbanites have many socio-economic characteristics in common with suburbanites, they prefer a different lifestyle. This lifestyle includes rural amenities, large house lots, and longer drives to work. We also find substantial differences between exurbanites living in small towns and those living in rural areas.

Community Policing in Small Town and Rural America

Abstract: Community policing has become a popular approach. Discussions of community policing have focused on urban and suburban departments, generally ignoring rural and small town police organizations. Ironically, many of these departments have a history of practices that correspond directly to the principles of community policing. For example, officers in these agencies typically know the citizens personally, have frequent face-to-face contact with them, and engage in a variety of problem-solving activities that fall outside of law enforcement. In neglecting small town and rural police, researchers have denied themselves an important natural laboratory for studying community policing.

Is rural tourism a lever for economic and social development

Abstract: The development of tourist activities in rural areas has accelerated in recent years, and there is nothing to suggest it will not continue. This expectation of growth is underpinned by a number of factors that can scarcely be concerted. But the problem is now to make rural tourism a possible engine for development, for many reasons. As with any export activity, tourism is a source of income and employment. Because it requires upstream goods and services, tourism serves as a lever for a whole series of activities. The vital question is then how can the services rendered and the products offered be made as varied as possible, so as to be able to attract an increasing number of tourists and maximise the amount they spend locally. Some rural tourism policies must then be implemented: protecting and providing amenities for potential areas of attraction; aiding the renovation and extension of supply; ensuring solvable demand; training people in rural development

Who Gets Primary Schooling in Pakistan: Inequalities among and within Families

Abstract: This multivariate analysis is an examination of factors affecting primary school attendance among and within families in Pakistan. Data were obtained from the 1991 Pakistan Integrated Household Survey on a national sample of 4711 households and 6872 children. Pakistan is described as experiencing rapid growth in per capita income despite low levels of investment in education. Development policy is slow to recognize the need for guaranteeing at least a primary education. Additional problems are the inability to keep pace with facilities particularly in rural areas. Schooling is not compulsory. Access is limited and parents must pay expenses. School enrollment was reported as 49.3% in 1989-90. The enrollment reflects a slight increase and a wider gap between genders (64% for boys and 34% for girls). The Punjab reports the highest enrollment and the lowest gender differences. In urban areas completion of primary school is the same for both genders (60-61%) but in rural areas there is a gap (53% for boys and 43% for girls). Primary school costs may be 5-20% of a familys average annual income. 18% of urban girls and 5% of boys lack access to any school within one kilometer of home. 21% of rural girls either lack access or have access only to a public facility. Private facilities are lacking in rural areas. The statistically significant findings indicate that maternal schooling and household consumption increase the probability of completion of primary school and the probability of school enrollment for both sexes in urban and rural areas. The quality and accessibility of single sex schools for girls is a significant determinant of girls schooling. The number of siblings does not affect enrollment but does reduce parents investment in educational quality. Access to a private school increases the likelihood of girls completing primary school in urban and rural areas while additional children reduces the probability of completion of school. The determinants of educational quality are maternal education household consumption and fathers literacy.

Urban and rural differences in health insurance and access to care.

Abstract: This study considers differences in access to health care and insurance characteristics between residents of urban and rural areas. Data were collected from a telephone survey of 10,310 randomly selected households in Minnesota. Sub-samples of 400 group-insured, individually insured, intermittently insured, and uninsured people, were asked about access to health care. Those with group or individual insurance were also asked about the costs and characteristics of their insurance policies. Rural areas had a higher proportion of uninsured and individually insured respondents than urban areas. Among those who purchased insurance through an employer, rural residents had fewer covered benefits than urban residents (5.1 vs 5.7, P < 0.01) and were more likely to have a deductible (80% versus 40%, P < 0.01). In spite of this, rural uninsured residents were more likely to have a regular source of care than urban residents (69% versus 51%, P < 0.01), and were less likely to have delayed care when they thought it was necessary (21% versus 32%, P < 0.01). These differences were confirmed by multivariate analysis. Rural residents with group insurance have higher out-of-pocket costs and fewer benefits. Uninsured rural residents may have better access to health care than their urban counterparts. Attempts to expand access to health care need to consider how the current structure of employment-based insurance creates inequities for individuals in rural areas as well as the burdens this structure may place on rural providers.

Long distance truck drivers in India: HIV infection and their possible role in disseminating HIV into rural areas.

Abstract: In this study, a large number of truck drivers were found to be having sex with the prostitutes in rural areas along the highways of India. Some were having sex with men also. HIV/AIDS awareness and condom use was poor among them. Three out of 302 truck drivers were found to be infected with HIV. The truck drivers could play an important role in the spread of the infection in rural India.

Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes: Variations of Crash Characteristics Within Rural Regions

Abstract: Motor vehicle crash (MVC) fatality rates have been shown to be inversely related to population density. The purpose of this study is to describe and compare crash variables of fatal MVCs between urban and rural regions, as well as among rural regions with different population densities. Data from four midwestern states over the five year period from 1986 to 1990 were retrospectively analysed. The study population included 10.932 people in 6.318 vehicles involved in 4.926 crashes resulting in 4.970 fatalities. Several variables that were related to population density were found, which may help planners to develop interventions for rural populations. For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 873507.

Forgotten places : uneven development in rural America

Abstract: On the surface they look very different rugged northern New England with its primarily White population, the arid Lower Rio Grande Valley inhabited mainly by Hispanics, the green and humid Mississippi Delta with a mix of Black and White residents. But when it comes to economics, they have much in common fortune passed them by. Along with other predominantly rural regions, these areas have fallen behind the rest of the United States in many ways, from job opportunity and education to health care and living conditions. In Forgotten Places, Thomas Lyson and William Falk have brought together works by regional experts on some of the major forgotten places throughout the country: northern New England, the Lower Rio Grande Valley, the Delta, Appalachia, the southern Black belt, the "flannel shirt frontier" of Oregon, the Ozarks, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and rural California. In these essays, the authors focus on problems that keep the regions below the national average in income and standard-of-living surveys. Although the dilemmas vary a pre-abolition caste system retained in the Mississippi Delta; expendable resources from lumber to lead that have been nearly expended in such places as Ontonagon, Michigan and Oakridge, Oregon; and large farming operations that utilize low-paid, immigrant labor in California the predicaments are often the same. High illiteracy, dead-end jobs, lack of adequate health care, poor housing conditions, lack of industry and capital, and inability to influence government policy have too often perpetuated a vicious circle of poverty for many people in forgotten places. Each chapter, focusing on a different region, examines why the area languished during an era of economic growth; what social, economic, and political forces contributed to uneven development and poverty; what government has done to alleviate uneven development and lack of opportunity; current social and economic conditions; and locally based attempts to enhance economic development. And after delving into the past and present, the causes and the consequences, the authors speculate on what the future may bear."

A Descriptive Study of Secondary Conditions Reported by a Population of Adults with Physical Disabilities Served by Three Independent Living Centers in a Rural State

Abstract: Individuals with disabilities may be at an increased risk for a number of preventable health problems. These have recently come to be referred to as secondary conditions (Marge, 1988; Pope & Tarlov, 1991) and are receiving significant attention from the public health sector as part of a national disability prevention initiative (National Council on Disability, 1986; Houk & Thacker, 1989; Pope & Tarlov, 1991). Marge (1988) defines secondary conditions as those conditions that may be experienced by an individual after they have a primary (or first) disability. They may range from such medical complications as pressure sores and urinary tract infections to problems of psycho-social adjustment, such as depression, to environmental issues such as access problems (Seekins, Smith, McCleary, Clay & Walsh, 1991; Graitcer & Maynard, 1991). In this framework, having a disability is viewed as increasing one's risks for a variety of preventable problems that can limit health, functional capacity and independence. Secondary conditions may be particularly significant to the 11-15 million individuals with a disability living in rural areas. For example, both rural rehabilitation providers and consumers living in rural areas have reported that access to health providers knowledgeable about disability is one of their major problems (Jackson, Seekins, Dingman & Ravesloot, 1990; Zafonte, Penny & Sarr, 1992). Despite the significance of secondary conditions to rehabilitation and independent living, little is known about how often they occur or how many people with disabilities develop them. Personal reports, clinical observations and hospital records suggest that the personal and social cost of these conditions can be high. For example, Sugarman (1985) reports that approximately 50% of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) will develop pressure sores that cost over $30,000 and require up to six months' hospitalization to treat. Few other data are available to help assess the extent and cost of such problems, however. Given the significance of these problems, this new conceptualization views further disabling consequences of a disability as part of a continuum of risk TABULAR DATA OMITTED appropriate for public health attention (Marge, 1988; Houk & Thacker, 1989). A central component of public health involves surveillance of health-related problems within defined populations (Graitcer, 1987; Thacker & Berkelman, 1988). Surveillance activities allow public health officials to measure the incidence and prevalence of health problems, target interventions to specific geographic areas or population subsets, and monitor changes over time. The purpose of this paper is to report preliminary surveillance data on the incidence of secondary conditions reported by consumers of three independent living centers in a rural state. Method Participants and Settings Respondents were selected from the current service records of three Independent Living Centers (Summit, Inc., the Montana Independent Living Project, and the Yellowstone Valley Independent Living Center) serving 39 of 56 counties in Montana. Surveys were mailed to 456 individuals selected by staff as having impairments that limited their mobility (e.g., spinal cord injuries). Procedures Data were gathered using a survey which queried consumers about various personal characteristics (e.g., age) and their experience with 40 different problems previously identified as secondary conditions (Seekins et al., 1991). Respondents were asked to rate the severity of each secondary condition on a scale of 0 to 3, where zero meant the condition had not been a problem, one meant it was a mild or infrequent problem (limits activity 1-5 hours per week), two meant it was a moderate problem (limits activity 6-10 hours per week) during the past year and 3 meant that it had been a significant/chronic problem that limited activity 11 or more hours a week. …

AIDS and African development

Abstract: Because AIDS affects primarily the most productive age group and is fatal and widespread, it will have a larger impact on African development than other more common diseases. Infection rates are higher in urban than in rural areas, and studies suggest that they are highest among urban high-income, skilled men and their partners. Macroeconomic models show that the greater the infection rate among educated workers and the greater the propensity to finance medical care out of savings, the more detrimental is the impact of AIDS on the growth of per capita income. Regardless of the macroeconomic effect, most households and businesses directly affected by AIDS will be economically worse off, at least in the short run. It is not clear, however, what effect AIDS will have on poverty in sub-Saharan Africa or on income inequality. Governments need to assess the potential economic impact of AIDS, implement cost-effective programs to mitigate the impact, and target prevention programs to the economic sectors most sensitive to HIV infection.

Women's and Health-Care Providers' Views of Maternal Practices and Services in Rural Nigeria

Abstract: Maternal mortality and morbidity estimates in Nigeria continue to be dramatically high largely because maternal services, especially in rural areas, are often deficient and inappropriate to women's situations. The Safe Motherhood Project in Zone A examined the pregnancy-related knowledge, attitudes, and practices of community members, and women's use of community maternal health services. Focus-group discussions and interviews confirmed a number of recent findings by other studies; they also documented extensive hostility between the two most commonly used health-care providers: traditional birth attendants and midwives. The hostility resulted in rumors, deliberate attempts to discourage women from seeking higher levels of care, and refusals to accept referrals or treat patients, which were found to be serious constraints to good maternal care in the targeted rural area.

Beyond the Conventional Wisdom: Rural Development as If Australia's Rural People and Communities Really Mattered.

Abstract: When we were approached by Australia's Commonwealth Department of Primary Industries and Energy (DPIE) in June 1993 and asked to write a report on rural Australia, the officials there did not have in mind the document now in your hands. They asked us to prepare a paper that would focus on strategies for advancing \"rural development\" through education and entrepreneurship. While they encouraged us to establish the broader context-to sketch the whole puzzle into which the education and entrepreneurship pieces could be placed-this was assumed to be a minor part of the assignment. Their idea made sense to us. It suited our backgrounds and seemed like a fairly straightforward task. Katrina brought years of teaching in rural South Australia to this assignment-including her work as the director of a Commonwealth Schools Commission special project in the outback communities of Hawker, Leigh Creek, Marree, Nepabunna, and Parachilna. Complementing Katrina's perspective were Jonathan's years of international experience as a researcher, author, and program developer in both rural education and entrepreneurship-including his work at Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the head of such initiatives as the Education and Local Development Program. To be frank, we reckoned this would be a reasonably easy assignment (even given the Department's draconian two-month deadline!). Everyone simply assumed the contextual information required was readily available. Surely, the government had a comprehensive rural development policy lying around somewhere (even if only gathering dust). Similarly, we all assumed that Australia's seemingly unending \"rural crises\" must have prompted some journalists, officials, or professors to publish useful overviews of the people, places, and economy of rural Austra-

Providing community-based services to the rural elderly.

Abstract: PART ONE: OVERVIEW OF THE RURAL ELDERLY An Overview of Older Rural Populations and Community-Based Services - John A Krout PART TWO: SERVICE INFORMATION, ACCESS AND COORDINATION Information and Referral - Anne H McKinley and F Ellen Netting Targeting the Rural Elderly Rural Elder Transportation - Peter M Schauer and Patricia Weaver Case Management in a Rural Setting - Ene Kristi Urv-Wong and Donna McDowell Senior Centers in Rural Communities - John A Krout, Margaret M Williams and Ollie Owen PART THREE: RESOURCE ENHANCEMENT AND SOCIAL SUPPORT Employment and Retirement Services for the Rural Elderly - Lorraine T Dorfman and Robert L Ballantyne Housing America's Rural Elderly - Vera Prosper and Stockton Clark Respite and Adult Day Care for Rural Elders - Vicki L Schmall and Linda Cook Webb PART FOUR: HEALTH PROMOTION AND CARE Disease and Disability Prevention and Health Promotion for Rural Elders - Robin E Mockenhaupt and Jennifer A Muchow Nutrition and the Rural Elderly - Penny A Ralston and Nancy L Cohen Home Health Services in Rural America - Linda J Redford and Alison B Severns Mental Health Services for the Elderly in Rural America - Share DeCroix Bane, Eloise Rathbone-McCuan and James M Galliher

Health and health care of rural populations in the UK: is it better or worse?

Abstract: OBJECTIVE--To review available evidence on the problems facing rural health care in the UK. In particular, to determine whether the health of rural populations is worse than that of town dwellers and how the quality of health care is influenced by rurality. CRITERIA FOR INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION OF ARTICLES--A wide variety of publications and data sources were used. A number of computerised databases with different specialisations (for example medical, health care management) were used to identify relevant published articles. In addition, reports, reviews, and surveys produced by agencies for local circulation were identified by approaching academic, service, and voluntary bodies thought likely to have an interest in rural health. Although this "grey" literature is not subject to peer review, the relative lack of relevant UK publications made it a useful data source for illustrative purposes. Similarly, published articles based on rural health in other developed countries were used when UK data were lacking. CONCLUSIONS--Although the evidence concerning the health and health care of the UK rural populations is suggestive, it is very general and further research is needed. Levels of urban health seem to be generally worse than in rural areas, but contradictions do exist. The evidence on quality of care suggests that service accessibility is a central problem, and rural populations have poorer access than others. Within rural populations, such disadvantage is not uniformly experienced--it affects some groups more than others. In addition, the NHS does not seem to have a consistent policy about whether rurality should influence resource allocation, and how it should be incorporated.

The impact of HIV-1 infection on mortality in children under 5 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa: a demographic and epidemiologic analysis.

Abstract: The objective was to estimate the effects of the HIV-1 epidemic on mortality in children under 5 years of age in urban and rural populations in eastern central and southern Africa. Epidemiologic parameters were applied to three populations with different characteristics: a rural population with an HIV-1 prevalence of 3% an urban population (Town A) with 10% seroprevalence and a second urban population (Town B) with 30% seroprevalence among women of childbearing age respectively. The output measures were the absolute increases in and the level of the under-5-years mortality rate which represents the probability of a child dying before his or her fifth birthday per 1000 births. It was estimated that child mortality will rise substantially because of the prevalence of HIV-1 in urban areas. There will be little difference in the absolute levels of increase in mortality between areas in eastern central and southern Africa with similar levels of HIV infection; however in relative terms the effect will be more noticeable in southern Africa because of the lower baseline mortality. Towns with severe epidemics (30% adult seroprevalence) might experience a rise in child mortality of 1/3 in eastern and central Africa and 3/4 in southern Africa. This will cancel or reverse existing advantages in urban over rural levels of child mortality with more pronounced effect in southern Africa. The exact impact of HIV-1 will vary according to mortality among HIV-1-infected children and according to fertility among infected women. The main determinant of childhood infection is the scale of the epidemic among adults. The educated urban elite can be expected to suffer from more young adult AIDS-related mortality. In rural areas with low seroprevalence other diseases will remain the main cause of mortality. In urban areas health services will have to face considerably increased demands from ill and dying children.

Tourism promotion and potential in peripheral areas: the Austrian case.

Abstract: The tourist demand for rural areas has accelerated in recent years However, the supply side remains very much marked by the predominant types of accommodation, while on the other side there is the necessity to provide an increasing range of services to keep visitors interested or attract new clients in rural tourism From the experience in Austria the key elements of ‘new rural tourism’ in harmony with man, culture and nature and based upon future market trends are: accommodation which is original and typical for the area; a restaurant sector going for local atmosphere and both seasonal and local specialities; new profiles focusing on specific themes (eg health, culture) or groups (eg families, the active elderly); a natural and cultural environment which is refined and presented in an appealing and didactic manner, taking the interests of the resident population into account and establishing a new partnership with agriculture The guiding line for OEAR (Austria's Association for Regional Self‐Relian

Spread of AIDS in rural America, 1982-1990.

Abstract: Using a national county database, we examine the hypothesis of increasing spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in rural America. Data for county-level AIDS caseloads for the period 1982-1990 were obtained by contacting state health officials of individual states. Yearly and cumulative AIDS cases by county or health district were converted to rates with use of the 1986 population figures. The data were grouped into 3-year periods, 1982-1984, 1985-1987, and 1988-1990, and analyzed. The top 25 counties that had the highest rates of increase were identified, and their average population sizes were derived. Pearson's correlation coefficients between the rates of increase and county populations were also computed. The results corroborate data from previous studies based on selected regions and clearly point to an increasing spread in rural counties on a national basis. During 1982-1984, highly populated counties had the highest rates of increase in number of cases of AIDS, with the populations of the top 25 counties averaging 1.1 million. Between 1988 and 1990, the top 25 counties that had the highest rates of increase are mostly rural counties with an average population of 73,000. Not only are we presently faced with a much larger base of population infected with AIDS than before, the epidemic has also entered a dangerous phase of spreading to rural America where health care facilities are far less adequate than in urban areas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Impact of migration on fertility in sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract: Much lower levels of fertility in urban than rural areas throughout sub-Saharan Africa imply that fertility decline in the region may be facilitated by rapid urbanization and rural-to-urban migration. The present study uses data from Demographic and Health Surveys in six countries--Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, Togo and Uganda--to assess the impact of long-term rural-urban female migration on fertility. Results of logit analyses indicate that in most countries women who leave the countryside represent the higher fertility segment of the rural population in the years before migration. Migrants' risk of conception declines dramatically in all countries around the time of migration and remains lower in the long run among most migrant groups than among rural and urban nonmigrants. Descriptive analyses suggest that the decline in migrant fertility is related to the rapid and pronounced improvement in standard of living experienced by migrants after settling in the urban area and may be due in part to temporary spousal separation.

Survival and accumulation strategies at the rural-urban interface in north-west Tanzania

Abstract: This paper presents empirical material collected in the small town of Biharamulo (population 20,000) and four surrounding villages in 1993. The study area is located in the Kagera Region of north-w...

Making Homework Work at Home: The Parent's Perspective

Abstract: This article views homework through the eyes of parents in a rural area whose children with disabilities spent a majority of their time in general education classrooms. The qualitative analysis of data from individual interviews, focus groups, and parent action research logs yielded five themes: (a) Parents felt ill-prepared to help their children with homework; (b) parents wanted more information about the classroom teachers' expectations of their child and of their roles as parents in helping with homework; (c) parents wanted their children to be given individualized homework assignments; (d) parents valued hands-on homework and projects in which the whole family could participate; and (e) parents wanted a two-way communication system that would allow them to become partners on their child's instructional team.