Given increasing political and financial commitments to wildfire preparedness, risk policy demands that risk identification, assessment, and mitigation activities are balanced among diverse resident groups. Essential for this is the understanding of residents' perceptions of wildfire risks. This study compares wildfire-risk perceptions of…

The relative cost of living in rural areas has long been of interest to rural sociologists. Today, the popular perception is that rural prices are lower. This study examines geographic differences in the costs of living in Kentucky. The results indicate that, contrary to the popular perception, when prices of the same products and services were…

Rural industrial restructuring, including growth in meat processing and other nondurable manufacturing, has generated employment opportunities that have attracted Latino in migrants to new nonmetropolitan destinations. Long-time residents, however, are not always receptive. While some observers point to economic and social benefits of a Latino…

Economic shocks are sudden events causing a significant impact on the local economy. Disaster community literature predicts that community outcomes from shocks will depend on the kind of shock. Consensus crisis shocks will be followed by increases in social capital and quality of life. Corrosive community shocks will result in declines in these…

Histories of the environmental movement have emphasized the importance of a shift in focus from those issues traditionally associated with the movement, such as resource and wildlife protection, towards "new" quality of life issues, such as environmental pollution and its human health effects. Here, time-series data between 1970 and 2000…

Used 1934-1978 Missouri county-level data to analyze hypotheses related to Goldschmidt thesis. Confirmed hypothesis that scale of farm operation is negatively related to rural community quality of life. Received limited support for hypothesis that quality of life indices are negatively related to amount of increase in farm size over time.(NEC)

Perceptions of local social dimensions are hypothesized to be more efficient predictors of community satisfaction than are perceptions of services. To test this, a mail-questionnaire study of residents of small Iowa communities was conducted. Correlation and regression analyses suggested that social dimensions relate to three…

Data from a statewide sample of Wisconsin residents are used to test the hypothesis that ruralism is more strongly associated with environmental concern than is agrarianism. Only weak support for this hypothesis is obtained among the total sample; however, the results for the upper-middle class are more in accord with it. (Author/NQ)

Investigating rural residents' satisfaction with their residential environment, this study's general objective is the formulation and empirical testing of a conceptual framework of community satisfaction that examines the contention that objective measures of environmental attributes are inadequate in themselves as life-quality measures.…

Population growth in rural areas characterized by high levels of natural amenities has recently received substantial research attention. A noted concern with amenity-driven rural population growth is its potential to raise local costs-of-living while yielding only low-wage service sector employment for long-term residents. The work presented here…

A 1981 mail survey revealed evaluations by 701 Alabama farmers of recent life experiences in farming and expectations for life quality in the future as a function of farm structural characteristics were more important determinants of well-being than were farm structure dimensions. (NEC)

The study of the relationship between satisfaction and spending preferences among 522 community leaders and 926 household residents in 8 rural Alabama counties indicated that generally higher levels of satisfaction were found among community residents; but, with some exceptions, leaders tended to prefer more spending on community services. (NQA)

Reviews a book assessing the effects of central grid rural electrification on the social and economic development of 192 communities in India and Colombia. The study examines the impact on agricultural productivity (through increased irrigation), the quality of life of women and children, business activities, and regional inequities. (SV)

Utilizing data from Maine, this article suggests that the relatively young, highly educated professionals currently migrating into rural areas should be considered in terms of rural development resources. (JC)