shape how we think. Regional definitions color the way we understand rural America, rural change, and rural prospects. Regional definitions trigger financial flows and program eligibility. At issue is not whether to opt into the region idea. We readily create regions to suit the human purposes of discovering order, appraising conditions, exercising control, prescribing change, and expressing id...

Options for a New Rural America, revealed important insights into the theoretical foundation for analyzing rural economic issues (Barca) and provided focus for new public policies for rural and urban regions (Stauber, Rosenfeld). Indeed, viable regions, by necessity, contain both rural and urban areas; else the “region” is conceived too narrowly. My comments will focus attention on several of t...

This study examines the effect of 13 strategic management activities on the financial performance of a national sample of 797 U.S. rural hospitals during the period of 1983-1988. Controlled for environment-market, geographic-region, and hospital-related variables, the results show almost no measurable effect of strategic adoption on rural hospital profitability and liquidity. Where statisticall...

Perinatal mortality is high in rural hospitals in South Africa. In part this is due to less than optimal care. This study determined the perinatal mortality experienced by a rural hospital and its clinics. Avoidable causes of death are described and various intervention strategies that effectively and rapidly prevented such deaths, reducing perinatal mortality by one-third, are outlined.

The article presents a methodology for assessing the environmental sustainability of rural areas. study was conducted in twenty-one administrative districts Vitebsk region. indicators assessment were combined into two sets that characterize ecological subsystem areas: anthropogenic impact on environment and degree use natural resources. As result assessment, areas divided three groups: sustaina...

This paper explores the concept of rurality and the rural-urban relationship as perceived by young people. First, there is a brief review of the main theoretical approaches to the issue of the definition of “the rural”. Then, the theory of “social representation” is taken into consideration to better understand what makes the rural and natural environment attractive, together with the perceptio...