Lionel J. Beaulieu

Rural Entrepreneurship: One Key to Rural Revitalization

The changing structure of traditional rural industries and the impacts of those changes on rural communities have been sources of concern to many groups interested in the welfare of rural areas. Income and employment declines in agriculture, other natural resourcebased industries, and in manufacturing have left few rural areas and sectors of the rural economy untouched (Henry, Drabenstott, and Gibson; Drabenstott, Henry, and Gibson). Additional employment opportunities are needed to utilize labor and management resources in rural areas. As a result, there is increasing interest in the potential for rural entrepreneurs to start new businesses and generate economic activity. Most new rural businesses are expected to be small, and many may be started by persons employed in farming or other traditional rural occupations on a part-time or full-time basis. Unfortunately, the failure rate of new, small businesses is high. Information about factors contributing to successful entrepreneurship may reduce failures and costs for those who would be entrepreneurs. More needs to be known about the personal traits and behavior patterns associated with successful entrepreneurs, about the influence of community institutions on the success rate of entrepreneurs, about the types of business that are sustainable in rural areas, and about the potential of entrepreneurs to make rural communities viable.

Social conservatism: Determinants and structural stability over time

Abstract The decade of the 1970s is generally regarded as one of increasing conservatism in attitudes and lifestyle. Using general social survey data from the period 1972–1980 the paper describes and explains some of the fundamental shifts in socially conservative attitudes (i.e. attitudes concerning civil liberty, abortion, racial segregation) which occurred during the 1970s. Findings suggest the following: (1) attitude structures changed little over time; (2) levels of conservatism showed a statistically significant increase over the decade; (3) the overall explanatory structure (both slopes and intercepts) changed over the time period investigated. However, levels of education and levels of church attendance had consistent (but inverse) impacts on degree of conservatism; (4) size of place of current residence was conspicuously absent as an important predictor. Since this is the most often used proxy for rural vs urban milieu, we encourage caution in interpreting much of the literature on rural-urban differences.

Crime Reporting Patterns among Nonmetropolitan Residents: Strategies for Action

Past research has noted that the size of a communitys population may influence the nature of the interactions that local residents have with one another. Smaller-sized places help nurture a preponderance of strong, close-knit ties among people, while larger, more urbanized communities tend to have weak, secondary ties prevailing among residents. This paper tests the relevance of this framework in understanding crime reporting behavior among residents of different-sized nonmetropolitan places in Florida. The findings show that size of nonmetro place of residence does not significantly affect crime reporting behavior. The results provide important guidance to practitioners involved in crime prevention activities. Included are recommendations regarding the nature of educational and informational programs that hold promise for enhancing the crime reporting activities of nonmetropolitan residents.