scholarly journals The “Closet” and “Out of the Closet” versus “Private Space” and “Public Space”: Indigenous Knowledge System as the Key to Understanding Same-Sex Sexualities in Rural Communities

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 711
Author(s):  
Lindiwe P Khuzwayo-Magwaza
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Private Life ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Safe Place ◽  
Sexual Discourse ◽  
Individual Interviews

This paper is produced from the author’s Ph.D. project on indigenous same-sex sexualities. It interrogates the way same-sex sexualities or homosexuality is understood in the West and how the Western interpretations of sexualities and genders are imposed on African rural communities. The paper argues that such Western impositions impede our understanding of same-sex relationships, and it threatens any attempt made to bring sexual orientation awareness programmes to rural areas. The study is framed on African indigenous knowledge systems to accommodate African indigenous perspectives on same-sex sexualities. This approach introduces indigenised same-sex discourse into contemporary discourses. The study was conducted in rural communities of Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN), where families of same-sex individuals (SSI) reside. The research employed a qualitative methodology that involved SSI, families, traditional and Church leaders. Triangulation methods involve individual interviews, focus groups, and workshops, this method is meant to validate research findings. The results reveal that, before Western debates on African same-sex sexualities, the idea of the “closet or out of the closet” did not exist, instead people lived a private life. Meaning, approaching sexual discourse by respecting this choice gives people of different sexualities the privacy they want, and this is regarded as a “safe place” for them.

Implementing Play Streets in Low-Income Rural Communities in the United States

2020 ◽  
pp. 152483992095722
Author(s):  
Keshia M. Pollack Porter ◽  
Christina N. Bridges Hamilton ◽  
M. Renée Umstattd Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
The United States ◽  
Active Play ◽  
Safe Place ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Temporary Closure

Play streets involve the temporary closure of streets that for a specified time create a safe place for active play. Play streets have been implemented primarily in cities; it is unknown if they could be adapted and implemented in rural areas. To learn about implementation, core components of play streets and inform adaptation, we conducted systematic peer-reviewed and grey literature searches and interviews with a purposive sample of key informants. Data were analyzed by theme and used to inform implementation of play streets by four community organizations in low-income rural areas of Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas from June to September 2017. Core elements of play streets in urban areas were present in rural settings—the content (e.g., activities offered), delivery of the intervention in partnership with community members and local organizations, and reoccurrence of play streets at a single location. There were three key adaptations relating to delivery and context to consider uniquely when implementing play streets in rural areas (1) using locations other than streets, (2) varying locations to account for geographic dispersion, and (3) maximizing participation and resources by coupling play streets with community events. Play streets can be successfully implemented in rural settings with these modifications, which support feasibility, reach, and access. Play streets in rural areas should include activities for active play that are age-appropriate and fun, without necessarily tailoring content for rural areas.

scholarly journals Super Network on the Prairie: The Discursive Framing of Broadband Connectivity by Policy Planners and Rural Residents in Alberta, Canada

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Bakardjieva ◽  
Amanda Williams
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Provincial Government ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Departure Point ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Research Initiative ◽  
Rural Broadband ◽  
Industry Policy

This paper focuses on the case of the SuperNet, an infrastructure project designed and sponsored by the provincial government of Alberta, Canada with the objective of providing broadband connectivity to public facilities, businesses and residences in rural communities. The data were collected through individual interviews, focus groups, and town hall meetings in the course of a collaborative research initiative (The SuperNet Research Alliance) that investigated the social construction of the broadband network from multiple perspectives. The objective of the paper is to examine in parallel the discourses in which the concept of broadband connectivity acquired meaning and substance at the levels of 1) provincial government and industry policy planners and 2) the residents of the rural communities who were the intended beneficiaries of the SuperNet. Using actor-network theory as a departure point, this analysis takes stock of the framing devices employed in the two sets of discourses and of the distinctive worldviews that generated them. It looks for the meeting points and the disjunctions between the grand visions and the grounded projections underlying the positions taken by the two respective categories of actors. Differences in the interpretation and appropriation of broadband among rural Albertans themselves are discerned and related to social factors characterizing different situations within rural areas. Rural broadband connectivity thus emerges not so much as a one-dimensional access equalizer for rural people, but as a complex mediator of opportunity, participation and identity.

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 Tackling Rural Health, Energy, … and Technological Issues All at Once: A Call for a Global Interdisciplinary Platform for Strengthening Rural Setting Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Challenges ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Farshad Amiraslani
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Health ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Global Challenges ◽  
Rural Settings ◽  
Research Studies

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has revealed flaws in rural settings where most people live without the necessary tools, income, and knowledge to tackle such unprecedented global challenges. Here, I argue that despite the research studies conducted on rural areas, these have not solved rising rural issues, notably poverty and illiteracy. I propound a global institute to be formed by governments that provides a platform for empowering rural communities through better training, skills, and competencies. Such global endeavour will ensure the remaining rural communities withstand future pandemics if they occur.

scholarly journals Solid Biomass Energy Potential as a Development Opportunity for Rural Communities

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3398
Author(s):  
Mariusz Jerzy Stolarski ◽  
Paweł Dudziec ◽  
Michał Krzyżaniak ◽  
Ewelina Olba-Zięty
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Biomass Energy ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Development Opportunity ◽  
Biomass Resources ◽  
Administrative Units ◽  
Solid Biomass

Conventional energy sources often do not fully satisfy the needs of a modern economy, especially given the climate changes associated with them. These issues should be addressed by diversification of energy generation, including the development of renewable energy sources (RES). Solid biomass will play a major part in the process in Poland. The function of rural areas, along with a well-developed agricultural and forest economy sector, will be a key aspect in this as these areas are suitable for solid biomass acquisition in various ways. This study aimed to determine the solid biomass energy potential in the commune of Goworowo to illustrate the potential in the smallest administrative units of Poland. This research determined the environmental and natural conditions in the commune, which helped to identify the crucial usable solid biomass resources. The total energy potential of solid biomass resources in the commune of Goworowo amounted to 97,672 GJ y−1. The highest potential was accumulated in straw surplus (37,288 GJ y−1) and the lowest was in wood from roadside maintenance (113 GJ y−1). This study showed that rural areas could soon play a significant role in obtaining solid biomass, and individual communes could become spaces for the diversification of energy feedstock.

scholarly journals Moving beyond Limitations: Designing the Helpdys App for Children with Dyslexia in Rural Areas

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7081
Author(s):  
Andres Larco ◽  
Jorge Carrillo ◽  
Nelson Chicaiza ◽  
Cesar Yanez ◽  
Sergio Luján-Mora
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Educational Games ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Self Confidence

Dyslexia is a relatively common language disorder which is generally ignored in rural communities. It hinders children’s learning processes and, in some cases, is the cause of dropouts or violence in schools. The present work strives to create a web and mobile app as a preliminary step towards the diagnosis and treatment of dyslexic children. Apps providing didactic educational games and activities improve literacy skills for students with reading disabilities. The current work incorporates user experience and prototyping to fulfill app requirements. The authors evaluated the apps with the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) tool to assess engagement, functionality, aesthetics, and information. The app’s improvements were immediately implemented and tested in the “Escuela Linea Equinoccial” (Ecuador) school, proving its utility for future use in the education system. The app can be a valuable tool for children with dyslexia to progress successfully through school, raising their self-confidence and, thereby, helping them reach their full potential as adults able to make a positive contribution to society.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Community Resilience in Rural China—Taking Licheng Subdistrict, Guangzhou as an Example

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5827
Author(s):  
Jianhong Fan ◽  
You Mo ◽  
Yunnan Cai ◽  
Yabo Zhao ◽  
Dongchen Su
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Social Resilience ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Guangzhou City ◽  
Local Sustainability

Resilience of rural communities is becoming increasingly important to contemporary society. In this study we used a quantitative method to measure the resilience regulating ability of rural communities close to urban areas—in Licheng Subdistrict, Guangzhou City, China. The main results are as follows: (1) Rural systems close to urban areas display superior adapting and learning abilities and have a stronger overall resilience strength, the spatial distribution of which is characterized by dispersion in whole and aggregation in part; (2) the resilience of most rural economic subsystems can reach moderate or higher levels with apparent spatial agglomeration, whilst the ecological subsystem resilience and social resilience are generally weaker; the spatial distribution of the former shows a greater regional difference while the latter is in a layered layout; (3) some strategies such as rebuilding a stable ecological pattern, making use of urban resources and cultivating rural subjectivity are proposed on this basis, in order to promote the sustainable development of rural areas and realize rural revitalization. This work also gives suggestion for the creation of appropriate and effective resilience standards specifically targeted for rural community-aiming to achieve the delivery of local sustainability goals.

The magic bullet for rural development? Exploring the impacts of community telecenters in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
pp. 026666692199750
Author(s):  
Noore Alam Siddiquee ◽  
Md Gofran Faroqi
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Rural Livelihoods ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Magic Bullet ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Marginalized Groups

This paper explores the impacts of Bangladesh’s Union Digital Centers (UDCs) as government information and service delivery hubs in rural areas. Drawing on user-surveys and semi-structured individual interviews it demonstrates that the UDCs have produced generally positive yet modest impacts on governance of service delivery. It shows that the UDCs are at an early stage of development, and that they offer only a limited set of services. While they helped extend ICT-enabled services to sections of population that would otherwise have missed them, the UDCs do not have much to do with rural livelihoods and empowerment of the poor and marginalized groups. These findings point to current inadequacies and pitfalls of the UDC approach to development. We argue that enhanced viability and effectiveness of the UDC experiment would warrant embedding more value-added governmental services and further strengthening of their capacity, mandate, and connectivity with government agencies at various levels, among others.

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 The role of employment in the development of Czech rural areas

2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (No. 10) ◽  
pp. 465-470
Author(s):  
G. Pavlíková ◽  
P. Maříková
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
National Economy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Small Enterprise ◽  
Legal Form ◽  
Space Transformation ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
And Function

The rural area is a very important multifunctional space, with landscape enhancement value and function. These factors are then necessary for the directions of development process in rural communities. The countryside creates an important part of economic and social state system. The area of work and the employment of population into the productive age present ones of significant macro-economic indicators of the capacity of national economy. Changes of economy in the market space, transformation of companies of agricultural primary production to new legal form, restructuring of production and manpower in agriculture  caused leaving of part skilled of the workers, as well as other workers to another branches of national economy. In 1990’s, especially in the beginning during the transformation of Czech economy, there was a big boom of private business and new forms of business activities and subjects emerged. Traditional lifestyle, which continues in the Czech countryside, determined that small enterprise prevails here. Current economics clearly shows that small and medium enterprises have an unsubstitutable role in our economic development and greatly contribute to creating new jobs in individual regions.

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