Recent efforts to explain the persistence of rural poverty have made frequent use of the concept of poverty traps, understood as self-reinforcing poverty. The dynamic dimension of the poverty trap concept makes it a potentially useful tool for understanding conditions of persistent poverty, especially in circumstances where outside interventions…

In the United States, for various reasons, fewer farm families rely solely on their farming operations for their livelihoods. As the structure of agriculture changes and farm families adjust their livelihood strategies, do the discourses around gender relations in households also change? This article analyzes the portrayal of women's roles in…

This article examines the influence of community context and land use on the monthly odds of first birth in a society in the midst of dramatic fertility transition. The theoretical framework guiding our work predicts that proximity to nonfamily services should delay first births by creating opportunities for competing nonfamily activities and…

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…

Globalization and shifting societal relations with nature generate change and conflicting politics in rural areas of industrialized nations. In this context, "multifunctionality" has emerged as an important policy logic to stabilize commodity production while encouraging amenity-based development and the production of ecological…

In this study we identify factors that influence farmers' expectations to sell some or all of their farming operation in areas where the increase in the conversion of agricultural land has been relatively rapid. Findings indicate that the following factors increase farmers' propensity to sell some or all of the agricultural operation for…

A nationwide survey of U.S. Forest Service employees examined values and management priorities across employment levels. Compared to agency policies, respondents gave higher priorities to noncommodity uses of national forests, such as recreation and wildlife. This disparity of opinion was greatest among new district rangers, who were more educated…

Examines research relating farm size inversely to specialization and directly to farm-enterprise diversification. Develops model of farm management decision making. Tests model using survey examining land tenure, off-farm work, education, and environmental factors. Concludes diversification linked to farm size, human capital, and environmental…

In this paper we examine the effectiveness of growth management policies in Wisconsin cities, villages, and towns. Unlike most other studies, we consider the impact of growth management policies on agriculture, specifically the preservation of farmland, in addition to population growth. Our analysis examines these relationships separately in towns…

Data from 92 towns in northern New York were used to examine the influence of community social-class composition on both de facto and de jure discrimination against such housing. The positive influence of population growth on mobile-home occurrence was found to be conditioned by intercommunity class composition. (JHZ)

A number of potential consequences are discussed (problems of social integration, fiscal effects, land utilization issues) and the analytic utility of a social systems perspective is examined. Understanding the reversal phenomenon and its sociocultural impacts, it is suggested, represents a formidable research challenge for rural sociologists.…

Case studies of Black farmers identified as successful were made to identify individual and institutional factors which facilitated or inhibited their achievement as farm operators over time. The interrelationship of the variables over time fitted Myrdal's principle of circular and cumulative causation. (Author/BR)

We argue that attempts to superimpose park regulatory regimes on existing land uses in the tropics represent conflicts between alternative cultural models of natural resource management. The results of such conflicts are unique regulatory regimes emerging from distinctive processes that redefine the terms and limits of natural resource use. In…

Analyzes survey data on attitudes of university agriculture faculty, farmers, and advocacy groups regarding traditional versus alternative agriculture. Data examined for differences in age, sex, education, department, and farm background. Suggests faculty beliefs generally more traditional than farmers but less than conventional-agriculture…