Explores quantitative and qualitative dimensions of rurality in pursuit of a definition. Distinguishes between rural education and education in rural areas. Discusses rural-urban differences in values and lifestyle. Advocates defining rurality from the rural resident's perspective, emphasizing diversity of social, cultural, and occupational…

Discusses psychographics, lifestyle characteristics, and the cluster system of targeted market analysis and their potential use by public libraries for correlating lifestyles in local communities and collection development. Preliminary studies are reviewed, data verification is discussed, future research is suggested, and six lifestyle tables are…

Examines recent evidence on the relations between physical activity, physical fitness, and health, noting the possible causal nature of the associations. The article evaluates the public health burden of sedentary lifestyles in the United States and provides suggestions for increasing participation in physical activity. (SM)

Interviews with homeless people in east Tennessee reveal how they came to be homeless and the problems encompassing homelessness. Most did not develop the sense of home that is formed early in life in stable families and that contributes to formation of self-concept. (LP)

Conducted seven-year cohort study of adolescents in two communities, one of which had school-based intervention on cardiovascular health promotion. Physical appearance was most valued characteristics of adolescents in both communities and was only value which grew in importance over time. Students in intervention community tended to retain…

Studied 43 youthful male offenders. Over 50% of subjects had antisocial, antiauthority values; did not know how to be anything other than criminal; had been subjected to physical, psychological, or sexual abuse; were members of minority group; and were gang members. Whites were less likely to be gang members; those who were tended to be Skinheads…

Examined whether brief, take-home fitness and wellness lessons given to college physical education activity classes could teach students lifetime fitness concepts. Pre- and post-intervention surveys found that intervention students showed significant cognitive improvements compared to controls. They engaged in regular physical activity and…

The human capital model is described as it relates to health promotion and exercise behavior change strategies, and possible limitations are discussed. An alternative called the human development-potential perspective is presented. The alternative model broadly frames health in socioecological terms with economic, moral, and sociocultural…

Adopted a structural perspective in examining life events in the context of an individual's life story. Ten men and 10 women at each of 3 age groups identified personally significant life events from their past and anticipated future. Women identified more life events and reported a younger age corresponding to their first event than men.…

A rural Mississippi Delta study found that participation in subsistence activities was greater among whites, persons with higher income and education, and those from larger families, suggesting an element of lifestyle choice (rather than economic strategy). However, a subsistence lifestyle may deter youth from leaving to pursue higher education,…

Mattering to others has been associated with psychosocial well-being and overall wellness. The relationship of perceived interpersonal and general mattering to overall wellness was studied with a sample of 462 high school students (229 males and 233 females). The two measures of perceived mattering (the Mattering to Others Questionnaire and the…

The dot-com crash of 2000-01 provides unique opportunities for historicizing what Manuel Castells calls the information age. This age is characterized by the dominance of information capital, a regime of accumulation organized around networks of computers and other information technologies whose production is partly centered in Northern…

In this article, the author discusses the frustration he encounters when teaching his students about philosopher Henry David Thoreau's views, in particular, Thoreau's idea of simplified living. He finds that his students cannot imagine how anyone would want not more but fewer things, and the idea that the quality of life could actually be improved…

According to a survey by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, over 76% of parents concerned about the escalating childhood obesity rates and the rise of Type II diabetes, see daily physical activity as key to optima health and academic success. Physical education program should help students develop health-related fitness,…

In recent years efforts have been made to emphasize the need for physical education by showing how physical activity helps students reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease; strengthen bones and muscles; supply energy, reduce stress, and help maintain a healthy body weight. This article describes a variety of proactive fitness strategies…