scholarly journals Bouncing forward in challenging times

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 12-19
Author(s):  
Jeannine Kralt ◽  
Donald Cole
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food System ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Organizational Resilience ◽  
Delivery Methods ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Quantitative Indicators

The COVID-19 pandemic is a disruption which has posed challenges to food sector organizations. Yet it may also provide an opportunity for growth of and change in these organizations. Our aims were to describe the surge in demand and innovations introduced by a rural food distribution cooperative and to critically assess responses in light of organizational resilience literature. We chose an organizational case study approach with mixed methods. Data sources included: existing reports, newsletters, policies and quantitative indicators; and new stakeholder interviews (n=20). We describe: the development and nature of the cooperative; its consolidation and anticipatory planning; the March 2020 surge in orders (133/week in February to 205/wk in March); the prioritization of health and safety in modifying product receiving and delivery methods; the warehouse reorganization and product aggregation doubling to twice per week; the strains on employees and human resource challenges; yet the growing organizational resilience.  We reflect on the small role of the cooperative in the inequitable agri-food system of the counties it serves, yet the strong role it plays with other food security oriented organizations in keep with its values. Further work, both research and practice development, can continue to explore the ways in which complex multi-stakeholder, not-for-profit, socially and environmentally principle food organizations can better navigate disruptions in the coming years, particularly in rural areas.

scholarly journals Acquisition, mobility, and food insecurity: Integrated food systems opportunities across urbanicity levels highlighted by COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Yeeli Mui ◽  
Gabby Headrick ◽  
Samina Raja ◽  
Anne Palmer ◽  
Johnathon P. Ehsani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Food Distribution ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Food Acquisition ◽  
Cross Sectional

Abstract Objective: Investigate acquisition and mobility experiences of food-insecure individuals across urbanicity levels (i.e., urban, suburban, rural) in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Cross-sectional study using a nationally representative online panel to measure where food-insecure individuals acquired food, food acquisition barriers, and mobility to food sources, which were evaluated across urbanicity levels using chi-squared tests and 95% CIs. Setting: United States Participants: 2,011 adults (18 years or older) Results: Food insecurity impacted 62.3% of adults in urban areas, 40.5% in rural areas, and 36.7% in suburban areas (p<0.001). Food acquisition barriers that were significantly more prevalent among food-insecure adults in urban areas were a change in employment status (34.2%; 95% CI = 27.2%, 41.1%; p<0.0001) and limited availability of food in retailers (38.8%; 95% CI = 31.7%, 45.9%; p<0.001). In rural areas, food-insecure adults primarily acquired food for the household from supercenters (61.5%; 95% CI = 50.4%, 72.5%; p<0.05), while locally sourced foods were less common among food-insecure adults in rural areas (6.9%; 95% CI = 0.01%, 13.0%) compared to urban areas (19.8%; 95% CI = 14.3%, 25.4%; p<0.01). Transportation as a barrier did not vary significantly by urbanicity, but food-insecure adults across urbanicity levels reported utilizing a range of transportations modes to acquire food. Conclusions: A planning approach that links urban and rural areas could address food insecurity by enhancing the integration of food production, transportation, and food distribution, building toward a more resilient and equitable food system for all Americans.

TURNING FARMERS INTO SOCIAL FARMER ENTREPRENEURS FOR DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remus Runcan
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Physical Work ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural Development Programme ◽  
Rural And Urban

According to Romania’s National Rural Development Programme, the socio-economic situation of the rural environment has a large number of weaknesses – among which low access to financial resources for small entrepreneurs and new business initiatives in rural areas and poorly developed entrepreneurial culture, characterized by a lack of basic managerial knowledge – but also a large number of opportunities – among which access of the rural population to lifelong learning and entrepreneurial skills development programmes and entrepreneurs’ access to financial instruments. The population in rural areas depends mainly on agricultural activities which give them subsistence living conditions. The gap between rural and urban areas is due to low income levels and employment rates, hence the need to obtain additional income for the population employed in subsistence and semi-subsistence farming, especially in the context of the depopulation trend. At the same time, the need to stimulate entrepreneurship in rural areas is high and is at a resonance with the need to increase the potential of rural communities from the perspective of landscape, culture, traditional activities and local resources. A solution could be to turn vegetal and / or animal farms into social farms – farms on which people with disabilities (but also adolescents and young people with anxiety, depression, self-harm, suicide, and alexithymia issues) might find a “foster” family, bed and meals in a natural, healthy environment, and share the farm’s activities with the farmer and the farmer’s family: “committing to a regular day / days and times for a mutually agreed period involves complying with any required health and safety practices (including use of protective clothing and equipment), engaging socially with the farm family members and other people working on and around the farm, and taking on tasks which would include working on the land, taking care of animals, or helping out with maintenance and other physical work”

scholarly journals Building Bio-Districts or Eco-Regions: Participative Processes Supported by Focal Groups

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 511
Author(s):  
Raquel S. Dias ◽  
Daniela V.T.A. Costa ◽  
Helena E. Correia ◽  
Cristina A. Costa
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Organic Farming ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Food System ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Agricultural Activities ◽  
Family Farmers ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Environmental Component

Over the years, rural areas have faced a number of problems and difficulties, such as an increase in the average age of the population, desertification, loss of employment and the abandonment of rural and agricultural activities, which have led to the emergence of new initiatives aimed at revitalizing these territories from a social, economic and environmental perspective, such as the successful Bio-districts or Eco-regions (e.g., Bio-district of Cilento). Understanding and establishing a proper framework for each territory based on agroecology and participatory methodologies is still a challenge. In this sense, based on the analysis of two European examples—Cilento, Italy and São Pedro do Sul, Portugal—we described each of the building processes and defined a set of drivers that might constitute guiding principles to serve as a basis for the creation of Bio-districts or Eco-regions. The drivers’ matrix identified was discussed in three focus groups carried out in Portugal in 2020. Such drivers included a technical and environmental component (the quality of the environment and landscape, the food system and the implementation of organic farming and agroecological practices), a social and economic component (valorization of the farmers, products and territories and a set of different stakeholders—farmers, consumers, schools, tourism entities and restaurants, local authorities) and a political component (the governance model). Most participants agreed that the recognition of a Bio-district or Eco-region should be informal, bottom-up, with farmers as the main pillar, with a fair and representative participation, namely family farmers.

scholarly journals What Are the Impacts of Social Innovation? A Synthetic Review and Case Study of Community Forestry in the Scottish Highlands

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4359
Author(s):  
Carla Barlagne ◽  
Mariana Melnykovych ◽  
David Miller ◽  
Richard J. Hewitt ◽  
Laura Secco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Community Forestry ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Local Development ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Study Approach

In a context of political and economic austerity, social innovation has been presented as a solution to many social challenges, old and new. It aims to support the introduction of new ideas in response to the current urgent needs and challenges of vulnerable groups and seems to offer promising solutions to the challenges faced by rural areas. Yet the evidence base of the impacts on the sustainable development of rural communities remains scarce. In this paper, we explore social innovation in the context of community forestry and provide a brief synthetic review of key themes linking the two concepts. We examine a case of social innovation in the context of community forestry and analyse its type, extent, and scale of impact in a marginalized rural area of Scotland. Using an in-depth case study approach, we apply a mixed research methodology using quantitative indicators of impact as well as qualitative data. Our results show that social innovation reinforces the social dimension of community forestry. Impacts are highlighted across domains (environmental, social, economic, and institutional/governance) but are mainly limited to local territory. We discuss the significance of those results in the context of community forestry as well as for local development. We formulate policy recommendations to foster and sustain social innovation in rural areas.

scholarly journals Ageing Organisations and the Extension of Working Lives: A Case Study Approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 773-792 ◽  
Author(s):  
WIETEKE CONEN ◽  
KÈNE HENKENS ◽  
JOOP SCHIPPERS
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
National Level ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Physical Work ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Working Lives ◽  
Economic Climate ◽  
Health Related

AbstractThis paper examines how the economic climate and policy changes at national level have been affecting organisational practices, aimed at the extension of working lives of older workers, over the last decade. We analyse case studies conducted among Dutch organisations. Our findings show that personnel policies are typically short-term oriented and vary in their existence and content congruous to the economic climate. Policy changes in retirement arrangements, and the debate about raising the official retirement age, have made both employees and employers realise that the extension of working lives has become an unavoidable fact, although both parties still seem intrinsically opposed to it. Changes to safety regulations and the increase in costs for employers if employees drop out of work due to ill health have led to an increasing focus on health-related measures in professions with intense physical work over the last decade. We conclude that, while national level policy changes in areas like health and safety do percolate down and begin to affect organisational practice, it is at the organisational level that they still need to be worked through.

Theory of change: Driving a digital school in rural Pakistan

First Monday ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashir Ahmed ◽  
Jason Sargent
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Developing Country ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Theory Of Change ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Rural Pakistan ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Innovative Tool

This paper reports the findings of the initial phase of a longitudinal study that aims to investigate barriers to digital literacy in rural Pakistan. The research employs the Theory of Change to plan various stages of a digital literacy program for young children living in a remote area of Pakpattan, Pakistan. A Digital Access Vehicle (DAVe) was deployed as an innovative tool to introduce digital literacy for those who were unable to travel to the project’s NGO partner headquarters to access DAVe’s array of digital technologies. An interpretive case study approach is used to perform in-depth analysis of the subject under investigation by conducting one-on-one interviews and focus groups with key informants. The contributions of this research are twofold: (a) it operationalizes the Theory of Change to systematically plan a social impact project in a resource-constrained developing country; and (b) it creates a better understanding of barriers hindering digital literacy of young children in rural areas of a developing country such as Pakistan.

scholarly journals ASHAs in rural India, the ray of hope for diabetes care

2014 ◽  
Vol 02 (01) ◽  
pp. 018-024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharathi Bhatt
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Rural Health ◽  
Diabetes Care ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Communicable Diseases ◽  
Social Health ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Grass Root ◽  
Multi Stakeholder

AbstractOut of 1.21 billion population of India, 69% of them live in rural areas. There is a wide disparity in the distribution of health infrastructure and services in rural areas as compared to that of urban areas. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) launched in 2005, aimed to bridge this gap has introduced Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), as health activists into the rural health care. ASHA is an acronym for Accredited Social Health Activists and she has been so far instrumental in facilitating institutionalised delivery, child immunisation, ensuring family planning, besides organising village nutrition day. She has been the vital link between the community and the health care. India, as a nation that is progressing is trying to combat communicable diseases significantly but it is also witnessing the surfacing of a different problem. There is an increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes which poses a big economic burden so much so that NCDs have been labelled as ′a health and developmental emergency′. Diabetes competes with other health concerns in a struggle to secure government health funding. In this resource-limited context, innovative methods are required to reach out to people at grass root levels. ASHA, which means hope in Sanskrit, can be true to her name in providing increased access to diabetes care to the rural population, if adequately trained and empowered. A multi-stakeholder approach through a public-private-people partnership (PPPP) is needed to tackle the issue with this kind of magnitude. The current review focuses on providing suggestions on utilising ASHAs′ services in spreading awareness on diabetes and ensuring that people with diabetes (PWD) receive optimal diabetes care.

scholarly journals MEMAKNAI KEMISKINAN BERDASARKAN PANDANGAN ORANG MISKIN PEDESAAN

Edulib ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tine Silvana ◽  
Pawit M Yusup ◽  
Priyo Subekti
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Poverty ◽  
Social Condition ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Rural Poor ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Education Psychology

AbstractRural poverty can be understood as a social condition of a person, or a group of people who were associated with aspects of economic and non-economic aspects. Scientific aspects such as social, cultural, health, education, psychology, the environment, law, anthropology, and art, was often associated with poverty. Nevertheless, the notion of poor and rural poverty is, in general, is still viewed by researcher's perspective, rather than emic, ie see something from the perspective of the participant. This study took part of the effort to comprehensively understand the meaning of poor and poverty in the eyes of the poor, especially in rural areas, roomates point is on how to map view of rural poor people in hopes of interpreting experience of livelihood as poor in underlying survival living. By using a qualitative study approach, especially the tradition of phenomenology of Schutz, obtained a description of the results, that the meaning of poor and poverty, in phenomenology, containing context, such as: context ownership; contexts effort and trial and error; contexts powerlessness; contexts outside assistance; independence in the context of compulsion; contexts unattainable expectations; context of the struggle; context of limited access to information; contexts low curiosity; contexts simplicity needs; problems humiliation context; and context sensitivity in social communication.Keywords: Meaning poor, Poverty, Rural AbstrakKemiskinan di pedesaan dapat dipahami sebagai suatu kondisi sosial seseorang, atau sekelompok orang yang terkait dengan aspek-aspek ekonomi dan non-ekonomi. Aspek ilmiah seperti sosial, budaya, kesehatan, pendidikan, psikologi, lingkungan, hukum, antropologi, dan seni, yang sering dikaitkan dengan kemiskinan. Namun demikian, gagasan tentang kemiskinan dan pedesaan, secara umum, masih dilihat dari perspektif peneliti, bukan emik, yaitu melihat sesuatu dari perspektif partisipan. Penelitian ini mengambil bagian dari upaya untuk secara komprehensif memahami makna miskin dan kemiskinan di mata masyarakat miskin, terutama di daerah pedesaan, which titik adalah bagaimana memetakan pandangan masyarakat miskin pedesaan dengan harapan pengalaman yang menafsirkan mata pencaharian sebagai masyarakat miskin untuk bertahan hidup. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan studi kualitatif, khususnya tradisi fenomenologi Schutz, diperoleh gambaran hasil, bahwa makna miskin dan kemiskinan, dalam fenomenologi, mengandung konteks, seperti: kepemilikan konteks; Upaya konteks dan trial and error; Ketidakberdayaan konteks; konteks di luar bantuan; kemerdekaan dalam konteks paksaan; konteks harapan tercapai; konteks perjuangan; konteks terbatasnya akses terhadap informasi; konteks rasa ingin tahu yang rendah; kesederhanaan konteks kebutuhan; konteks masalah penghinaan; dan sensitivitas konteks komunikasi sosial.Kata Kunci : Makna kemiskinan, Kemiskinan, Desa

scholarly journals Using Green Infrastructure (GI), i.e., nature’s goods and services In a Land Use Planning Framework for Resilient Rural Communities

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kraehling
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Model Combining

The discussion will highlight results of recent PhD research examining the use of nature/natural systems by rural leaders in furthering their individual community interests for conditions of health/wellness, resiliency and sustainability. The research was completed using a qualitative mixed methods case study approach within a diversity of municipality settings across southern Ontario. The research examines how community planning with a diversity of GI elements is being implemented, e.g. strategic plans, plans for landscape scaled storm water management, tree planting systems, wildlife area enhancements. A further examination is made on the utility of a holistic planning model combining community greygreen infrastructures in a foundational framework for rural places. Many of the problems facing rural communities such as socio-economic challenges and climate change impacts can be addressed using the untapped natural asset features that are found within all rural areas.

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