Pub Date : 2018-05-04DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2018.1472914
Angela T. Ragusa, A. Crampton
ABSTRACT Online learning increasingly embodies distance education as a flexible delivery mode in higher education in Australia and beyond. Attractive to adult learners, among others, its market advantages are well-documented, as are its challenges which vary by degree and technological delivery style. Nevertheless, for geographical reasons, notably rurality/remoteness, and caring responsibilities, for many students, it remains the only option for career change/progression as online degrees are increasingly marketed and pursued for employment reasons. Despite increasing popularity, online study is characterised by high attrition rates. “Sense of connection” is one way to identify if students feel isolated or connected to others sharing/delivering their higher education experience – classmates and lecturers – while self-identifying as a university student generally or part of one’s course specifically may help further knowledge of the complex relationship self- and social-identity play in the process of achieving academic success. Quantitative and qualitative data generated from telephone interviews with 122 undergraduates enrolled in arts, paramedics, policing and science courses at a rural-regional Australian university are presented to reveal if and how identity and perceived sense-of-connection affected student experiences.
{"title":"Sense of connection, identity and academic success in distance education: sociologically exploring online learning environments","authors":"Angela T. Ragusa, A. Crampton","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2018.1472914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2018.1472914","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Online learning increasingly embodies distance education as a flexible delivery mode in higher education in Australia and beyond. Attractive to adult learners, among others, its market advantages are well-documented, as are its challenges which vary by degree and technological delivery style. Nevertheless, for geographical reasons, notably rurality/remoteness, and caring responsibilities, for many students, it remains the only option for career change/progression as online degrees are increasingly marketed and pursued for employment reasons. Despite increasing popularity, online study is characterised by high attrition rates. “Sense of connection” is one way to identify if students feel isolated or connected to others sharing/delivering their higher education experience – classmates and lecturers – while self-identifying as a university student generally or part of one’s course specifically may help further knowledge of the complex relationship self- and social-identity play in the process of achieving academic success. Quantitative and qualitative data generated from telephone interviews with 122 undergraduates enrolled in arts, paramedics, policing and science courses at a rural-regional Australian university are presented to reveal if and how identity and perceived sense-of-connection affected student experiences.","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"27 1","pages":"125 - 142"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2018.1472914","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45998317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-04DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2018.1472909
G. Cooper, R. Strathdee, J. Baglin
ABSTRACT While improving educational aspirations has been positioned by various stakeholders (e.g. governments, researchers, educators) as an important part of increasing higher education participation, there appears to be disagreement in the literature about this relationship. If a key goal of eliciting students’ educational aspirations is to reliably predict future university participation, researchers should choose aspiration measures supported by evidence regarding their predictive validity. In this article, the authors examine students’ university intentions considering past research has demonstrated the relative strength of its predictive validity. The key aim of this article is to investigate if, and to what extent, distance predicts students’ intentions to attend university. Over 9400 Australian students are included in the analysis. Findings indicated students from provincial areas were significantly less likely to report intent to study at university when compared with metropolitan students. Furthermore, remote students were less likely to report an intention to attend university than students in the metropolitan category. Controlling for socio-economic status (SES), as distance increases from an Australian metropolitan area, the likelihood of students reporting intentions to study at university decreases.
{"title":"Examining geography as a predictor of students’ university intentions: a logistic regression analysis","authors":"G. Cooper, R. Strathdee, J. Baglin","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2018.1472909","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2018.1472909","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT While improving educational aspirations has been positioned by various stakeholders (e.g. governments, researchers, educators) as an important part of increasing higher education participation, there appears to be disagreement in the literature about this relationship. If a key goal of eliciting students’ educational aspirations is to reliably predict future university participation, researchers should choose aspiration measures supported by evidence regarding their predictive validity. In this article, the authors examine students’ university intentions considering past research has demonstrated the relative strength of its predictive validity. The key aim of this article is to investigate if, and to what extent, distance predicts students’ intentions to attend university. Over 9400 Australian students are included in the analysis. Findings indicated students from provincial areas were significantly less likely to report intent to study at university when compared with metropolitan students. Furthermore, remote students were less likely to report an intention to attend university than students in the metropolitan category. Controlling for socio-economic status (SES), as distance increases from an Australian metropolitan area, the likelihood of students reporting intentions to study at university decreases.","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"27 1","pages":"83 - 93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2018.1472909","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43489603","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-05-04DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2018.1477512
W. S. Kearney, Elizabeth T. Murakami, Kriesti Bunch, C. Viamontes, Alisa A. Campbell
ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of a districtwide teacher development initiative in a rural high-need area in Texas in the United States. This article examines the effects of the Teacher and Student Advancement Program (TAP), a system for teacher and student evaluation, designed to improve school culture and climate and positively impact student learning. When comparing the district’s reform strategies in generating equal opportunities for students, the article considers how this district is addressing inequities and creating opportunities in this rural area by demonstrating leadership advocacy towards teacher and student success. The article adds to the existing literature by exploring the challenges and success related to implementing the TAP model in a rural school district, aiming for information gleaned from this study to be of relevance to global audiences working in similar settings.
{"title":"Leadership advocacy towards teacher and student success: Addressing inequities and opportunities in a rural district","authors":"W. S. Kearney, Elizabeth T. Murakami, Kriesti Bunch, C. Viamontes, Alisa A. Campbell","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2018.1477512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2018.1477512","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to examine the effects of a districtwide teacher development initiative in a rural high-need area in Texas in the United States. This article examines the effects of the Teacher and Student Advancement Program (TAP), a system for teacher and student evaluation, designed to improve school culture and climate and positively impact student learning. When comparing the district’s reform strategies in generating equal opportunities for students, the article considers how this district is addressing inequities and creating opportunities in this rural area by demonstrating leadership advocacy towards teacher and student success. The article adds to the existing literature by exploring the challenges and success related to implementing the TAP model in a rural school district, aiming for information gleaned from this study to be of relevance to global audiences working in similar settings.","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"27 1","pages":"143 - 156"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2018.1477512","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42511429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2018.1443415
Kirstie Petrou, J. Connell
ABSTRACT Seasonal worker programmes are promoted as a quadruple win, bringing benefits to participating countries, employers and workers. These benefits, however, are most often framed as economic, while the social costs of such schemes have received less attention. In 2009, Australia introduced a short-term agricultural employment scheme to provide unskilled labour for farmers, and temporary work for migrants from Pacific island states. The scheme has contributed to economic development in Australia and in the participating island nations. Migrants from Vanuatu constitute the largest group from the Melanesian states. Temporary ni-Vanuatu migrants in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, have received substantial cash incomes, but this has come at some social cost, as they constitute an un-free precariat. Institutional structures have not responded by providing adequate pastoral care or monitoring, or changed employment, residential, and visa conditions. Parallels exist between the present employment scheme, century-old plantation systems, and similar labour migration schemes in New Zealand and Canada which emphasise the exploitative contexts of temporary agricultural employment schemes.
{"title":"“We don’t feel free at all”: temporary ni-Vanuatu workers in the Riverina, Australia","authors":"Kirstie Petrou, J. Connell","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2018.1443415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2018.1443415","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Seasonal worker programmes are promoted as a quadruple win, bringing benefits to participating countries, employers and workers. These benefits, however, are most often framed as economic, while the social costs of such schemes have received less attention. In 2009, Australia introduced a short-term agricultural employment scheme to provide unskilled labour for farmers, and temporary work for migrants from Pacific island states. The scheme has contributed to economic development in Australia and in the participating island nations. Migrants from Vanuatu constitute the largest group from the Melanesian states. Temporary ni-Vanuatu migrants in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, have received substantial cash incomes, but this has come at some social cost, as they constitute an un-free precariat. Institutional structures have not responded by providing adequate pastoral care or monitoring, or changed employment, residential, and visa conditions. Parallels exist between the present employment scheme, century-old plantation systems, and similar labour migration schemes in New Zealand and Canada which emphasise the exploitative contexts of temporary agricultural employment schemes.","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"27 1","pages":"66 - 79"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2018.1443415","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44122744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2018.1443727
Catherine O’Mullan, Jospeph Debattista, Helen Keen-Dyer
ABSTRACT Increases in risk-taking behaviour, including alcohol, drugs and violence, are often associated with the cyclical nature of the mining sector in Australia. To date, such behaviour has been portrayed by mining companies and governments as an individual problem; little attention has been paid to the social contexts of such behaviour. This research uses a case study approach to explore the social determinants of risk taking in three mining communities in the Bowen Basin, Queensland, Australia. Interviews with a cross-section of health and social service providers highlight a number of social determinants underpinning risk taking and reveal a complex interplay of structural risk factors including shift work, income inequality and workplace culture. If we are serious about tackling risk taking in mining communities, governments, policy makers and mining companies need to recognise the influence of contextual factors, and shift attention to the physical, social and economic environments that impact on health outcomes.
{"title":"Moving beyond the individual: addressing the social determinants of risk taking in mining communities","authors":"Catherine O’Mullan, Jospeph Debattista, Helen Keen-Dyer","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2018.1443727","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2018.1443727","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Increases in risk-taking behaviour, including alcohol, drugs and violence, are often associated with the cyclical nature of the mining sector in Australia. To date, such behaviour has been portrayed by mining companies and governments as an individual problem; little attention has been paid to the social contexts of such behaviour. This research uses a case study approach to explore the social determinants of risk taking in three mining communities in the Bowen Basin, Queensland, Australia. Interviews with a cross-section of health and social service providers highlight a number of social determinants underpinning risk taking and reveal a complex interplay of structural risk factors including shift work, income inequality and workplace culture. If we are serious about tackling risk taking in mining communities, governments, policy makers and mining companies need to recognise the influence of contextual factors, and shift attention to the physical, social and economic environments that impact on health outcomes.","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"27 1","pages":"35 - 51"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2018.1443727","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44931414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2018.1443725
Alanna Sincovich, T. Gregory, A. Wilson, S. Brinkman
ABSTRACT The mining industry forms an important pillar of the global economy. While the economic impacts of mining have been thoroughly explored and social impacts recently have received growing attention, increasingly, mining developments are being required to consider how they affect local communities and implement strategies to minimise negative impacts they may be causing. Research is limited, but growing, and studies have identified how mining developments can affect nearby communities and town residents. This article conducted a critical literature review that synthesises contemporary Australian research on the social impacts of mining on local communities. It identified 68 studies organised into seven themes: adverse impacts of increasing non-resident workforces; pressures on infrastructure, housing and services; income inequality; poor child development and education outcomes; pressures on families and relationships; drug and alcohol abuse; and impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. These themes discuss the breadth of findings and critical knowledge gaps of existing research.
{"title":"The social impacts of mining on local communities in Australia","authors":"Alanna Sincovich, T. Gregory, A. Wilson, S. Brinkman","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2018.1443725","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2018.1443725","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The mining industry forms an important pillar of the global economy. While the economic impacts of mining have been thoroughly explored and social impacts recently have received growing attention, increasingly, mining developments are being required to consider how they affect local communities and implement strategies to minimise negative impacts they may be causing. Research is limited, but growing, and studies have identified how mining developments can affect nearby communities and town residents. This article conducted a critical literature review that synthesises contemporary Australian research on the social impacts of mining on local communities. It identified 68 studies organised into seven themes: adverse impacts of increasing non-resident workforces; pressures on infrastructure, housing and services; income inequality; poor child development and education outcomes; pressures on families and relationships; drug and alcohol abuse; and impacts on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. These themes discuss the breadth of findings and critical knowledge gaps of existing research.","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"27 1","pages":"18 - 34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2018.1443725","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41340592","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2018.1446301
Lucy Mercer-Mapstone, W. Rifkin, K. Moffat, W. Louis
ABSTRACT Social licence to operate (SLO) acknowledges the need for extractive industries to move beyond regulatory requirements into social accountability, which requires engagement between companies and their stakeholders. Engagement efforts point to dialogue as being integral for increasing the inclusivity of, for example, land-use decision-making in rural governance. Since little research explores what constitutes “constructive dialogue”, this research empirically explored how dialogue is conceptualised by expert engagement practitioners in SLO. Practitioners conceptualised constructive dialogue as both a threshold for, and an indicator of, social licence. This finding aligns with academic theorisation of dialogue wherein dialogue represents a collaborative form of engagement core to the development of SLO. Practitioners suggested dialogue is most commonly, and potentially problematically, operationalised as a goal-oriented process, aligning with previous work suggesting a “spectrum of dialogue” from strategic to learning-oriented. Contextual realities, such as time and costs, define where implemented dialogue practice ultimately falls. Analysis of practitioners’ views suggests industry and academia may consider future engagement practice and research in light of the centrality of reciprocal dialogic processes for increasing the inclusivity of SLO processes.
{"title":"What makes stakeholder engagement in social licence “meaningful”? Practitioners’ conceptualisations of dialogue","authors":"Lucy Mercer-Mapstone, W. Rifkin, K. Moffat, W. Louis","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2018.1446301","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2018.1446301","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Social licence to operate (SLO) acknowledges the need for extractive industries to move beyond regulatory requirements into social accountability, which requires engagement between companies and their stakeholders. Engagement efforts point to dialogue as being integral for increasing the inclusivity of, for example, land-use decision-making in rural governance. Since little research explores what constitutes “constructive dialogue”, this research empirically explored how dialogue is conceptualised by expert engagement practitioners in SLO. Practitioners conceptualised constructive dialogue as both a threshold for, and an indicator of, social licence. This finding aligns with academic theorisation of dialogue wherein dialogue represents a collaborative form of engagement core to the development of SLO. Practitioners suggested dialogue is most commonly, and potentially problematically, operationalised as a goal-oriented process, aligning with previous work suggesting a “spectrum of dialogue” from strategic to learning-oriented. Contextual realities, such as time and costs, define where implemented dialogue practice ultimately falls. Analysis of practitioners’ views suggests industry and academia may consider future engagement practice and research in light of the centrality of reciprocal dialogic processes for increasing the inclusivity of SLO processes.","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"27 1","pages":"1 - 17"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2018.1446301","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48340751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-01-02DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2018.1441854
K. Thompson, L. Clarkson, M. Rebbeck
ABSTRACT This article commences by outlining five perspectives on the sustainability of equestrian cultures covering the environment, the economy, human health, horse welfare, and social licence. Next, it presents findings from an online survey developed to understand how horse owners in Australia have been affected by major weather and climate events, how they responded in the short and long term, their considerations for the future, and the support they might require. Sixty-nine horse owners participated. Most (90%) reported being affected by major weather/climate event(s) in the last 10–20 years, four out of five (78%) took action at the time of the event and a similar proportion (80%) had taken actions for the longer term. Most (86%) had thought about preparations for future events, but had not yet taken any action, due to lack of time, money, materials, or storage. Almost all participants (93%) perceived a need for education, research, government policy. Since findings suggest horse owners may be less likely to engage with climate adaptation and sustainable horse keeping public education initiatives when they are related specifically to “climate change”, and more likely to engage when they are related to “land care, pasture management and improvement”, and “horse health and welfare”, an alternative rhetoric is recommended.
{"title":"Too hot to trot? How horse owners in Australia have responded to major weather events","authors":"K. Thompson, L. Clarkson, M. Rebbeck","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2018.1441854","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2018.1441854","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article commences by outlining five perspectives on the sustainability of equestrian cultures covering the environment, the economy, human health, horse welfare, and social licence. Next, it presents findings from an online survey developed to understand how horse owners in Australia have been affected by major weather and climate events, how they responded in the short and long term, their considerations for the future, and the support they might require. Sixty-nine horse owners participated. Most (90%) reported being affected by major weather/climate event(s) in the last 10–20 years, four out of five (78%) took action at the time of the event and a similar proportion (80%) had taken actions for the longer term. Most (86%) had thought about preparations for future events, but had not yet taken any action, due to lack of time, money, materials, or storage. Almost all participants (93%) perceived a need for education, research, government policy. Since findings suggest horse owners may be less likely to engage with climate adaptation and sustainable horse keeping public education initiatives when they are related specifically to “climate change”, and more likely to engage when they are related to “land care, pasture management and improvement”, and “horse health and welfare”, an alternative rhetoric is recommended.","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"27 1","pages":"52 - 65"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2018.1441854","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41946128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2017-09-02DOI: 10.1080/10371656.2017.1364889
Angela T. Ragusa, Kate Charters
In celebration of SEGRA’s (Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia) 20th anniversary, Rural Society is pleased to provide readers with this special edition that showcases research presented at the SEGRA National Conference held 25–28 October 2016 in Albany and the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Focused upon building “naturally stronger regions for regional Australia”, this conference explored factors enabling regions to transform natural assets while growing, maintaining and retaining local values around the environment and lifestyles. With SEGRA’s mission, “to explore the key issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia and be part of providing positive sustainable outcomes to ensure future prosperity” (http://2016.segra.com.au/about/index.html) and Rural Society publishing “social research of interest and relating to rural communities and societies” (http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journa lCode=rrso20) that explores social problems for the purpose of building sustainable communities, this edition features five topics critical to rural and regional Australia’s sustainable future. First, the topic of biodiversity conservation on private land at rural–urban nexuses is explored in the first manuscript by Associate Professor Rosemary Black and Dr. Luisa Perez-Mujica of Charles Sturt University and Dr. Shelby Laird of Stephen F Austin State University, Texas in the United States. Drawing upon survey findings of residents’ attitudes, knowledge and behaviours, the research offers practical insights local government and conservation organisations may utilise to increase biodiversity strategies and conservation actions in regional and rural communities. Second, the hot topic of renewable energy experiences in Queensland and South Australia is examined by using multiple data sources by Dr. Breda McCarthy and Professor Lynne Eagle of James Cook University in Queensland. Taking a “complex systems” approach, the authors critically review the vastly different experiences of these two Australian states’ experiences with, and approaches towards, energy provision, deducing that greater collaboration is required, along with addressing energy security concerns, to minimise conflict and enhance future energy transitions that can deliver more sustainable alternatives. Third, we learn how Australia’s experience with community food hubs compares with international models as Dr. Nicholas Rose from the William Angliss Institute in Melbourne presents a critical literature review and case study arguing the potential of food hubs for regional economies, producers and consumers alike. Advocating for the necessity of transitioning to more sustainable agriculture, this manuscript applies a social justice lens to our global food system, offering excellent food for thought in the process! Fourth, we encounter the concept of “resilience”, a term that loosely links each of these five manuscripts together as all
{"title":"SEGRA 2016 Conference Special Edition Editorial: creating naturally stronger regions for regional Australia","authors":"Angela T. Ragusa, Kate Charters","doi":"10.1080/10371656.2017.1364889","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/10371656.2017.1364889","url":null,"abstract":"In celebration of SEGRA’s (Sustainable Economic Growth for Regional Australia) 20th anniversary, Rural Society is pleased to provide readers with this special edition that showcases research presented at the SEGRA National Conference held 25–28 October 2016 in Albany and the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Focused upon building “naturally stronger regions for regional Australia”, this conference explored factors enabling regions to transform natural assets while growing, maintaining and retaining local values around the environment and lifestyles. With SEGRA’s mission, “to explore the key issues affecting regional, rural and remote Australia and be part of providing positive sustainable outcomes to ensure future prosperity” (http://2016.segra.com.au/about/index.html) and Rural Society publishing “social research of interest and relating to rural communities and societies” (http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journa lCode=rrso20) that explores social problems for the purpose of building sustainable communities, this edition features five topics critical to rural and regional Australia’s sustainable future. First, the topic of biodiversity conservation on private land at rural–urban nexuses is explored in the first manuscript by Associate Professor Rosemary Black and Dr. Luisa Perez-Mujica of Charles Sturt University and Dr. Shelby Laird of Stephen F Austin State University, Texas in the United States. Drawing upon survey findings of residents’ attitudes, knowledge and behaviours, the research offers practical insights local government and conservation organisations may utilise to increase biodiversity strategies and conservation actions in regional and rural communities. Second, the hot topic of renewable energy experiences in Queensland and South Australia is examined by using multiple data sources by Dr. Breda McCarthy and Professor Lynne Eagle of James Cook University in Queensland. Taking a “complex systems” approach, the authors critically review the vastly different experiences of these two Australian states’ experiences with, and approaches towards, energy provision, deducing that greater collaboration is required, along with addressing energy security concerns, to minimise conflict and enhance future energy transitions that can deliver more sustainable alternatives. Third, we learn how Australia’s experience with community food hubs compares with international models as Dr. Nicholas Rose from the William Angliss Institute in Melbourne presents a critical literature review and case study arguing the potential of food hubs for regional economies, producers and consumers alike. Advocating for the necessity of transitioning to more sustainable agriculture, this manuscript applies a social justice lens to our global food system, offering excellent food for thought in the process! Fourth, we encounter the concept of “resilience”, a term that loosely links each of these five manuscripts together as all ","PeriodicalId":45685,"journal":{"name":"Rural Society","volume":"26 1","pages":"195 - 196"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/10371656.2017.1364889","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44616726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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