Biomass-based CHP (bCHP) can provide reliable electricity in remote and rural areas because it is an on-site generation resource, and it is designed to support continued operations in the event of a disaster. However, the benefits of such facilities can only be realized if a reliable and economical feedstock supply system is designed, given the system not only efficiently transports biomass under normal scenarios (e.g., when depots and transportation links are functioning properly) but also hedges against unexpected infrastructure/transportation link failures due to severe weather events (e.g., hurricanes). To serve this purpose, this study proposes a three-stage stochastic programming model to design a reliable feedstock supply system, where decisions are made sequentially to realistically represent pre-and-post disaster situations) under uncertain infrastructure status (e.g., unavailability of the road and facility conditions) and customer demand situations. In stage one, pre-disaster decisions are made (e.g., the opening of depots and regular feedstock transportation decisions), while stages two and three represent, respectively, immediate decisions following a disaster (e.g., damaged timber transportation, pellet production) and post-disaster decisions (e.g., transportation pellets to end-users, storage) with a timeframe between several days to weeks. By collecting data from 15 coastal rural counties in Mississippi, we create a real-life case study and derive important managerial insights. Our experimental results reveal that the biomass-to-bCHP supply chain decisions (e.g., depot location, storage, transportation decisions) are highly sensitive to intensity and the probabilistic infrastructure availability following a hurricane. The second chapter extends the research by introducing high and low priority end-users so the demand prioritization is met.

The United States is in the middle of a gripping nursing shortage; a shortage that is putting patients' lives in danger. This study determined the impact community and tribal colleges in severely economically distressed counties of the United States have on the nursing shortage faced by health care facilities serving these areas. The initial sample of 24 institutions selected in the Ford Foundation's Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI) (1995-2000). Data were collected from the Fall 1998 National Study of Post Secondary Faculty to obtain characteristics of faculty and from the 2003 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to obtain characteristics of students, both at all publicly-controlled community colleges, all tribal colleges, and the 24 RCCI colleges that included 18 community and six tribal colleges. A survey was sent to the directors/deans/chairs of the nursing programs to ascertain issues related to the nursing program, nursing faculty, and nursing students. Respondents were asked to identify the healthcare facilities used for students' clinical experiences. A survey was then sent to each of these facilities asking about rural health, and source of nursing staff. Findings: 1) 87% of these these rural healthcare facilities are experiencing a significant shortage of nurses, and they are challenged to recruit and retain nursing staff; 2) Nursing programs, including both Licensed Practical Nursing and Associate's Degree Nursing are important to these rural community and tribal colleges, have seen growth over the past 5 years and expect to continue growth (86%); 3) Financial aid for nursing students is critically important; 4) Students are predominantly white and female; minorities are significantly under-represented; 5) Lack of subsidized public transportation and child care for nursing students even at tribal colleges are barriers that impact program completion; and 6) A shortage of nursing faculty exists at rural community and tribal colleges that negatively impacts student enrollment in these programs, thus reducing the rural nursing workforce pipeline. It is the rural community and tribal college nursing programs help provide severely economically distressed counties of the United States with the nursing workforce needed to decrease the nurse to patient ratio.

A qualitative research study was undertaken within a participatory action research design in order to identify the role of the social worker in the advancement of relationships between parents with challenging social circumstances and teachers in a rural community. By making use of visual aids, the discussion groups with parents, teachers and members of the community could be facilitated and it was during these discussion groups that they could describe their experiences with regard to parent-teacher-relationships in the specific rural community. From the data that was collected several challenging social circumstances in the home and school context were identified that can hamper parents’ involvement in school activities as well as parent-teacher-relationships. During the cooperation with the members of the community several responsibilities were attributed to social workers through which they can contribute to the advancement of relationships between parents with challenging social circumstances and teachers in the specific rural community. The responsibilities attributed to social workers include addressing the challenging social circumstances that parents and children experience, supporting parents in their parenting roles, informing parents on the importance of schooling and a vision for the future for their children, empowering parents and children with regard to their rights to education and their rights within the school context and equipping teachers to be able to handle challenging social circumstances in the community. The ways in which social workers can act as social brokers, teachers, facilitators, mediators and advocates in terms of these responsibilities are also discussed. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

A qualitative research study was undertaken within a participatory action research design in order to identify the role of the social worker in the advancement of relationships between parents with challenging social circumstances and teachers in a rural community. By making use of visual aids, the discussion groups with parents, teachers and members of the community could be facilitated and it was during these discussion groups that they could describe their experiences with regard to parent-teacher-relationships in the specific rural community. From the data that was collected several challenging social circumstances in the home and school context were identified that can hamper parents’ involvement in school activities as well as parent-teacher-relationships. During the cooperation with the members of the community several responsibilities were attributed to social workers through which they can contribute to the advancement of relationships between parents with challenging social circumstances and teachers in the specific rural community. The responsibilities attributed to social workers include addressing the challenging social circumstances that parents and children experience, supporting parents in their parenting roles, informing parents on the importance of schooling and a vision for the future for their children, empowering parents and children with regard to their rights to education and their rights within the school context and equipping teachers to be able to handle challenging social circumstances in the community. The ways in which social workers can act as social brokers, teachers, facilitators, mediators and advocates in terms of these responsibilities are also discussed. / MSW, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Submitted by Verena Pereira (verenagoncalves@uefs.br) on 2018-11-12T23:33:02Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ASSOCIATIVISMO RURAL NO MUNIC?PIO DE TEOFIL?NDIA-BA.pdf: 6882741 bytes, checksum: e7815ba60699f0e31711a1cadb04b588 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-12T23:33:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ASSOCIATIVISMO RURAL NO MUNIC?PIO DE TEOFIL?NDIA-BA.pdf: 6882741 bytes, checksum: e7815ba60699f0e31711a1cadb04b588 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-05 / The municipality of Teofil?ndia - Ba, located in the semi - arid region of Bahia, presents characteristics that do not differ significantly from the Territory of Sisal as a whole, since most of its population is a resident of rural areas historically marked by contradictions, conflicts and social exclusion. These facets were appropriated and diffused through a representation of a fragile space, associated with hunger and misery with little visibility or effective actions of the public power. However, it is possible to observe a significant number of rural community associations present in the Territory of Sisal and in this particular municipality, which point to a struggle for the guarantee of greater political participation and of rights that allow the population to survive in the countryside. The struggle for these rights involves the establishment of complex and diversified relations of rural community associations with other entities, establishing networks with multi-territorial actions, in which they establish relations at different scales (local, territorial, state and national) using complex and several strategies of articulation to obtain to obtain benefits for the rural population, that at the same time, is triggered like syntagmatic actors of this process. The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze how rural community associations in the municipality of Teofil?ndia - Ba contribute to the construction of territorialities, using solidarity networks to strengthen them. Seeking a greater understanding of this reality, we seek to articulate the categories of associativism, territory, territorialities and networks as tools to understand the nature of this process, investigating the interactions and appropriations derived from this reality / O munic?pio de Teofil?ndia ? Ba localizado no semi?rido baiano, apresenta caracter?sticas que n?o diferem de forma significativa do Territ?rio do Sisal como um todo, pois apresenta a maior parte de sua popula??o ? residente do espa?o rural historicamente marcado por contradi??es, conflitos e exclus?o social. Essas facetas foram sendo apropriadas e difundidas atrav?s de uma representatividade de um espa?o fr?gil, associado ? fome e a mis?ria com pouca visibilidade ou a??es efetivas do poder p?blico. No entanto, ? poss?vel observar um n?mero expressivo de associa??es comunit?rias rurais presentes no Territ?rio do Sisal e neste munic?pio em particular, que apontam para uma luta pela garantia de maior participa??o pol?tica e de direitos que possibilitem ? popula??o sobreviver no campo. A luta por esses direitos, perpassa pelo estabelecimento de rela??es complexas e diversificadas das associa??es comunit?rias rurais com demais entidades, estabelecendo redes com atua??es multiterritoriais, nas quais estabelecem rela??es em diversas escalas (local, territorial, estadual e nacional) utilizando-se de complexas e diversas estrat?gias de articula??o para conseguir angariar benef?cios para a popula??o rural, que por vez, ? acionada como atores sintagm?ticos desse processo. Desta forma, a presente disserta??o tem por objetivo analisar como as associa??es comunit?rias rurais do munic?pio de Teofil?ndia ? Ba contribuem para a constru??o de territorialidades, utilizando-se de redes de solidariedades para o fortalecimento das mesmas. Buscando um entendimento maior dessa realidade, buscamos articular as categorias de associativismo, territ?rio, territorialidades e redes como ferramentas para entender a natureza desse processo, investigando as intera??es e apropria??es derivadas dessa realidade

In this case study, I examine the graduation patterns of students attending Chief Dull Knife College located on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana. While comparing the characteristics of students attending this college with that of two-year colleges nationally and tribal schools throughout the nation, we begin to understand the unique situation that this community faces. With the use of logistic and linear regressions, I explored the characteristics of those who graduate and ask the question, who graduates and what makes them unique? This study found that the credits attempted per semester, the number of credits they earned divided by the number of credits they attempted, and the number of semesters enrolled were the most significant factors. Using the information collected from the literature review, this study then used linear regressions to explore the effects of the initial variables on these three significant variables.

As urban areas have come to increasing dominate the social landscape, rurality is often defined in negative ways such as being backwards, simple, or even deviant. Urbanormativity is a theoretical approach developed to capture the normative and structural impacts and implications of privileging the urban. The result is not only the construction of urban as correct and positive and rurality as abnormal and backwards, the cultural ideology impacts the structural flow of resources which negatively impacts and results in a marginalization of rural areas. The primary question motivating this research is how does urbanormativity shape the interactions between rural towns and private institutions of higher education located in these towns? In particular, this research examines how the rural anti-idyll and idyll concretize the urbanormative cultural ideology in a local context. Additionally, this research investigates how everyday processes of inequality are enacted adding complexity to how urbanormativity plays out in a particular setting. While much research has examined the role of higher education in urban areas, very little research has examined private higher education in rural places. Still, rural located higher education is important for rural locales as an employer, as a gathering place, as a source of job skills training, and for economic development. Emplacing rural higher education in its respective locale is also important because as an institution, rural located higher education is one mechanism through which rural localities are integrated into larger urban-focused normative and structural systems. Using a case study, this research examined the effects of urbanormativity on local constructions of rurality and the impacts for both the rural locale and the rural located private higher educational institution. In particular, urbanormative cultural ideology played out in concrete ways for both local residents and for faculty and staff of the local private university as they explained the anti-idyllic and idyllic aspects of the local context. These conceptualizations of rurality and their place within the local context hold concrete implications for decision making by residents, those employed by the institution, and the institution itself. Viewed within urbanormativity as an institution that integrates the locale with the larger society and system, this research found that the impact and implications of urbanormativity resulted in challenges including employee and student recruiting and retention as well as becoming a regional university rather than a local college placing both the local community and the private university between a rock and a hard place.

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / The study was conducted to examine the impact of the implementation of the comprehensive rural development programme, President Zuma referred to it as the integrated rural develooment in is presidential inaugural speech in 2009. The researcher went to Muyexe village to conduct the research as well as to observe what took place. The researcher interviewed community members as well as community leadership who indicated how the community has been transformed to what it was, which they described a squalor living condition to what it is today, a community that meets the most basic needs required for sustainable livelihood. The people of Muyexe owe their changed fortunes to the government’s Comprehensive Rural Development Programme developed and coordinated by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Sector departments and other development agencies were mobilised to work together towards a common goal to improve the lives of rural people. The intervention brought numerous changes to the community of Muyexe village. The lives of the community has been improved, through the intervention the community now have access to health care, early child hood development centre, community multi community centre, and so forth. The community spoke fondly of the reduction in crime and the killings of their cattle by wild animals; the reduction is caused by the establishment of the police station and the fencing around of the village. Despite what had been achieved by the intervention, Government should regard what happened as an initial intervention to focus on meeting people’s basic needs, especially food security. The next step should be the entrepreneurial stage and large scale infrastructure development.

The purpose of this study was (1) to examine rural residents’ perceived social support from Internet use for communication and (2) to understand the meanings associated with rural Internet users’ social media use, particularly with respect to mediating diverse social ties and exchanging different types of social support. To assess how Internet use affects rural residents’ sense of social support, this study investigated dynamic relationships between online communication and perceived social support by looking at interaction effects relative to extroversion, size of social networks, broadband use, and length of time using the Internet. To explore how social media are situated in a rural area, the present study investigated how rural residents use social network sites (SNSs) to maintain social contacts and exchange social support with members of their networks. / text

The subject of the investigation is the arrangement of rural development projects. The aim of the work is to formulate recommendations for the perfection of the arrangement of rural development projects. The tasks: — to fulfill the analysis of scientific literature and other secondary references of information and summarize the methods of design arrangement; — to identify the peculiarities of the projects of rural development; — to establish the problems of the arrangement of rural development projects; — to formulate recommendations for the organizers of rural development projects. The methods of investigation of a questionnaire, logical analysis and synthesis, induction, deduction, comparing, filing, the methods of logical and diagrammatic modeling. While studying the scientific literature about rural development and projects arrangement of rural development have been presented; the general theoretic aspects requirements of projects arrangement have been established; the analysis of the requirements of different financial support sources have been fulfilled; the methodical aspects of projects arrangement according to secondary data and the characteristic of the arrangement of rural development projects have been defined; the problems of the arrangement of rural development projects according with the help of empirical research have been estimated and the recommendations of the perfection of the arrangement of rural development projects have been formulated.