"So, how do Americans in a small town make community today? This book argues that there is more than one answer, and that despite the continued importance of small-town stuff traditionally associated with face-to-face communities, it makes no sense to think that contemporary technological, economic, and cultural shifts have had no impact on the ways Americans practice community life. Instead, I found that different Viroquans took different approaches to making community that reflected different confluences of moral logics their senses of obligation to themselves, to their families, to Viroqua, and to the world beyond it, and about the importance of exercising personal agency. The biggest surprise was that these ideas about obligation and agency, and specifically about the degree to which it was necessary or good to try to bring one's life into precise conformance with a set of larger goals, turned out to have replaced more traditional markers of social belonging like occupation and ethnicity, in separating Viroquans into social groups." from Habits of the Heartland

Although most Americans no longer live in small towns, images of small-town life, and particularly of the mutual support and neighborliness to be found in such places, remain powerful in our culture. In Habits of the Heartland, Lyn C. Macgregor investigates how the residents of Viroqua, Wisconsin, population 4,355, create a small-town community together. Macgregor lived in Viroqua for nearly two years. During that time she gathered data in public places, attended meetings, volunteered for civic organizations, talked to residents in their workplaces and homes, and worked as a bartender at the local American Legion post.

Viroqua has all the outward hallmarks of the idealized American town; the kind of place where local merchants still occupy the shops on Main Street and everyone knows everyone else. On closer examination, one finds that the town contains three largely separate social groups: Alternatives, Main Streeters, and Regulars. These categories are not based on race or ethnic origins. Rather, social distinctions in Viroqua are based ultimately on residents' ideas about what a community is and why it matters.

These ideas both reflect and shape their choices as consumers, whether at the grocery store, as parents of school-age children, or in the voting booth. Living with and listening to the town's residents taught Macgregor that while traditional ideas about "community," especially as it was connected with living in a small town, still provided an important organizing logic for peoples' lives, there were a variety of ways to understand and create community."

Rural schools, and the large chunk of the nation's students who attend them, face challenges every bit as daunting as those of their urban counterparts. It is important to keep in mind that rural schools differ greatly from one another. But as a group, students in these schools generally score as well as or better than non-rural students on standardised tests. The makeup of student populations in rural schools differs considerably across the country as well. As a whole, rural students are predominantly white. Studies in several states have shown that small schools and districts can overcome the adverse effects of poverty on student achievement and narrow the achievement gap between poor students and their more affluent peers.

A collection of true stories told by the hearty Midwest families that lived through them when life was hard and living was even harder.

Women may not fit the common image of a rancher, but on the range and in the ranch office women are at home. With their parents, children, or spouses - or alone - women own, manage, and do the daily work of ranching, as they have since pioneer days. Increasingly, they also fill the productive roles of the highly technological industry growing up around beef cattle. Women of the Range describes the roles of women in the Texas cattle industry of the past, the present, and the likely future. Based on a decade of interviews, observation, and data analysis, Elizabeth Maret, a sociologist and rancher, tells the story of the women who serve as an often unpaid labor force in this classic American enterprise. Through profiles of typical (and some atypical) women, with photographs she took of them at work, Maret shows how women serve not only as "keepers of the land", but also as a force for modernization in the cattle industry. The women she shows include a cattle fitter, sale barn manager, and herd health veterinarian. They are owners and managers of historic family ranches. They write computer software for planning optimal crossbreeding operations, they run equipment in artificial insemination companies, and they encourage industry emphasis on nutrition and consumer interests. Women have always been there, Maret shows, participating in ranching and the cattle industry as silent but active partners. Maret's portrait of their involvement and analysis of its significance will fascinate readers with an interest in ranching, social history, women's studies, and the sociology of work.

Where bank deposits are the only profitable savings instrument available in the rural centers of India that have few or no bank outlets, there is ample scope for faster mobilization of deposits. The data presented is enriched by a comparative analysis of the growth of bank deposits in ten economically developed states, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Delhi, and ten developing areas, Assam, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh between the years 1973 and 1999.

Foot and mouth disease and BSE have both had a devastating impact on rural society. Alongside these devastating developments, the rise of the organic food movement has helped to revitalize an already politicized rural population. From fox-hunting to farming, the vigour with which rural activities and living are defended overturns received notions of a sleepy and complacent countryside. Over the years "rural life" has been defined, redefined and eventually fallen out of fashion as a sociological concept--in contrast to urban studies, which has flourished. This much-needed reappraisal calls for its reinterpretation in light of the profound changes affecting the countryside. First providing an overview of rural sociology, Hillyard goes on to offer contemporary case studies that clearly demonstrate the need for a reinvigorated rural sociology. Tackling a range of contentious issues--from fox-hunting to organic farming--this book offers a new model for rural sociology and reassesses its role in contemporary society.

The bestselling Church of England report, "Mission-Shaped Church" is having a profound effect on the way local churches view themselves and their futures, yet its focus is very urban. Not only that, it was critiqued by John Hull as lacking in any new theological insights into the task of mission. Alan Smith, bishop of the rural diocese of Shrewsbury, responds to both of these issues in this theological and practical exploration of mission drawing on what is happening in the rural church. Part One explores some of the issues facing the church today, especially in rural areas, and some theological strands in the New Testament that underpin the way we go about mission. Part Two tells the stories of a range of new mission initiatives actually taking place in rural areas and identifies good practice. Part Three identifies opportunities for sustainable growth for churches - tourism, working in association with church schools, making the best use of church buildings, involvement in environmental issues. Part Four summarizes the way ahead for sustaining mission through developing appropriate leadership.

Often used but little understood, the word 'sustainability' is potent in its ability to evoke a better world based on economic, social, and environmental justice. The concept of sustainability, however, has been strikingly under-theorized. "Sustainability and the Civil Commons" provides what has been lacking since the publication of the Brundtland Report - a firm foundation and a clear vision of alternatives.

Using rural communities as her reference-point, Jennifer Sumner exposes the unsustainable impacts of corporate globalization, and develops a framework to explain why current definitions of sustainability are profoundly inadequate. From this foundation, she allies sustainability with the concept of the civil commons - including universal healthcare, environmental protocols, workplace safety regulations, and public education - demonstrating how globalizing the civil commons, not corporate-sponsored trade treaties, opens the way for truly 'sustainable globalization.' "Sustainability and the Civil Commons" moves beyond rural roots through Antonio Gramsci's model of hegemony, JA1/4rgen Habermas's theory of communicative action, and John McMurtry's life-value ethics to build a comprehensive understanding of sustainability that combines global reach with local focus. It will be an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners interested in sustainability, globalization, community development, and rural studies.

This book assesses the capacity of the rural populace in terms of their ability to perceive a change in climatic variables and, if so, how they react to these changes in order to minimize the adverse effect of climate change. It evaluates the role of education and exposure to change in physiological variables like temperature, precipitation, etc., in forming the right perception of climate change. While analysing livelihood diversification as a strategy to cope with climate change concerns across geography (districts), caste, education and the primary occupation of the households, the book also considers factors affecting diversification. One important aspect of well-being is consumption; thus, by focusing on consumption changes over time and relating it to livelihood diversification, the book makes an in-depth analysis of the coping mechanisms. Diversification adopted in the face of compulsion and in a situation of stagnancy may result in a range of low productivity activities, whereas diversification as an attempt to explore newer pathways in a vibrant context to reduce income risks and smooth consumption can be highly beneficial. The book, thus, focuses on job profile and occupational diversification of the sample households, the extent of instability in occupations and the distribution of households in terms of consumption pattern, the inter-temporal changes in it and the determinants. The book is useful for researchers, students in environmental studies, policy-makers, NGOs and also the common reader who wants to understand climate change, its effects on livelihoods and ways to overcome the shocks. It reflects on effective policies which can create awareness and empower people to explore opportunities for livelihood creation so that the overall is sustained if not improved.

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

An exploration of the traditions and experiences in the lives of Highland Scottish women - in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and in the eastern counties of Nova Scotia where so many settled. Oral accounts obtained from descendants, enriched by written sources - precious archival collections and rare books - offer insight into the influences central to the cultural, religious, working, caring and devotional lives of Highland women: the dreams and realities of a better life in Nova Scotia.

Utilizing his fieldwork done in south Gujarat between 2004 and 2006, Jan Breman critically analyses the historical roots of the ongoing subordination of the rural poor in what has come to be recognized as a booming economy.

"Issues of rural development and women s empowerment receive critical attention in various debates. Trends and patterns of agricultural development in recent years have not always been favourable to women, especially rural women, who face marginalisation. Some of the essays make us rethink the relationship between employment and empowerment in a more nuanced way. An attempt has, therefore, been made in this book, to take stock of the contemporary challenges in rural women s empowerment in India and suggest viable solutions through a process of networking and dialogue to evolve a coherent perspective for the region as a whole. It is towards this end that the book would serve as a launching pad for further discussions."

A Cotswold Village - Or Country Life And Pursuits In Gloucestershire By J. Arthur Gibbs. Originally published in 1898. 452 pages. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Home Farm Books are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents include: Flying westwards - A Cotswolds village - Village characters - The language of the Cotswolds with some ancient songs and legends - On the Wolds - A Gallop over the walls - A Cotswold trout stream - When the may fly is up - Burford: A Cotswold town - A stroll through the Cotswolds - Cotswold pastimes - The Cotswolds three hundred years ago - Cirencester - Spring in the Cotswolds - The promise of May - Summer days on the Cotswolds - Autumn - When the sun goes down - George Ridler's oven

This book highlights some of the main areas of debate around the subject of agricultural policy in Eastern Africa. Its major aim is to introduce the reader to different issues of economic and social change arising from agricultural development and to provide an understanding of some of the major difficulties faced by African countries in pursuing an agricultural policy.

This work documents the history of change during the colonial period in the Abakaliki division and town of south-eastern Igbo Nigeria over four main historical periods: pre- British Abakaliki; the beginnings of colonialism from the early twentieth century until the 1920s; the 1920s until the 2nd World War; and the post-war period through to independence in 1960. Within the context of rapid urbanisation and urban sprawl in Africa, the study focuses on one Nigerian town and its rural environs. It is the story of successful rural farmers and of an emerging town in their midst; and a study of ethnic interrelationships, integration and conflict between the town and the rural areas. It is a study in colonial history within the framework of British control and conquest; and also a story of African responses to colonialism: resistance, accommodation and innovation. The author characterises his work as more descriptive than theoretical, and as having regard for both anthropological and historical approaches and the positive and negative aspects of colonialism, without being overtly ideological.

Multiple caretaking arrangements exist in non-western societies with other members of the household and the community assisting the mother in child care. These others include the children's older siblings especially in subsistence based horticultural and or pastoral societies where sibling caretaking comprises a large portion of children's daily activities. During these caretaking sessions, older siblings may intentionally or unintentionally transmit culture to the younger children. Caretaking of small children thus implies transmitting cultural values to the children in everyday context during everyday activities. As very little research has been conducted in the area of sibling teaching, this study sets out to investigate sibling teaching among the Agikuyu of Kenya by means of video recording. It looks at the different teaching abilities and strategies of the children according to age and social status. It also pays attention to the cultural context, in which the teaching occurs, as well as to the reflection of social relationships found in the children's interaction. The author points out, that and in what way children can be important socialization tools to their younger siblings.

prestigious and significant volume offering theological relection on a wide range of issues relating to the countryside, the rural economy and rural life. At a time when it has been officially recognised that British society is deeply uninformed about rural matters, this is a critical contribution from the Church to the wider debate taking place. Chapters focus on: Cultural Diversity, Agriculture, Globalisation and Local Economy, Food Production, Biodiversity, Isolated Communities, Spiritual Refreshment for an Urban Population and more. Rowan Williams distils this shared wisdom in a theological afterword. Contributors include Graham James-Norwich, John Saxbee-Lincoln, John Oliver-Hereford, John Davies-St Asaph, Richard Clarke- Meath & Kildare, Anthony Russell- Ely, Bruce Cameron- Aberdeen & Orkney.

The assembled stable of writers has produced a highly readable - and nostalgic - volume. Some will make you laugh; some may bring tears. Any one is worth the price of the book.