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To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2004.08.008 Byline: Kerry A. Sullivan, Ted L. Napier Abstract: Data were collected during the summer of 2000 from 146 residents living in a rural area located in central Ohio that had been identified as a possible site for a national wildlife refuge. The purpose of the study was to assess anticipated socio-economic and environmental impacts of the proposed refuge on local people and natural ecosystems. A 'vested interests' theoretical model was developed to guide the investigation. The theoretical model posits that attitudes of local people toward externally induced projects are a function of costs and benefits individuals expect to receive as a result of the development action. The theory posits that individuals who expect to receive greater benefits from the refuge will exhibit more favorable attitudes toward the proposed project. Anticipated impacts of the proposed refuge were assessed with a Likert-type attitude scale that was shown to be highly reliable. Variables measuring specific costs and benefits associated with the proposed project were used as predictive variables. Descriptive statistics demonstrated that respondents believed the proposed wildlife refuge would generate more costs than benefits for local residents. Multiple linear regression findings demonstrated that six variables were significant in explaining 65.1% of the variance in the attitudes toward the proposed project. The significant variables were as follows: perceived costs and benefits associated with the proposed project, perceived water quality within the Little Darby Creek at the time of the data collection, age of primary income earner, expected future water quality within the Little Darby Creek, expected impact of farmland transition on the household, and attitude toward private property rights. Study findings consistently support research hypotheses. Author Affiliation: Department of Human and Community Resource Development, The Ohio State University, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA Article History: Received 12 March 2004; Revised 23 July 2004; Accepted 25 August 2004

********** After seven decades of conservation programs that have consumed billions of dollars of economic resources and vast quantities of human resources, soil erosion and subsequent degradation of water resources [...]

ABSTRACT Data were collected in the fall of 1997 from people living near the Kokosing Gap Trail in Northeast Central Ohio to assess perceived socioeconomic impacts of the recreation facility [...]

This article examines the perceived relationship between chemical application on crops and human health by farmers in the Midwestern United States. The authors, stating that individual farmers are economically dependent on chemicals, maintain farmers did not view agricultural chemicals as a threat to human health regardless of contrary scientific information.

During the past decade, a number of public and private conservation agencies have argued that the form of social organization employed to deliver soil and water conservation programs at the [...]

Cultivated fields are susceptible to wind erosion within the Sahel because topsoil is composed of about 90 percent sand that is susceptible to displacement by wind (Sivakumar et al. 1990). [...]

Soil and water conservation programs designed to motivate land owner-operators to adopt conservation production systems have been in existence in the United States (U.S.) for approximately 60 years (Napier 1990a). [...]

Many American farmers repeatedly abused and abandoned large tracts of land during the colonial period despite conservationists' pleas to conserve and protect the country's finite soil resources. The farmers' attitudes only changed during the late 19th and 20th centuries when the closure of the western frontier, the 'Great Depression,' and the 'Dust Bowl years' plunged millions of landowners into poverty. The Congress then introduced several conservation initiatives, such as the Special Areas Conservation Program, in hopes of lessening the rate of erosion on the country's agricultural lands.

ABSTRACT: Data were collected in the spring and summer of 1991 from a systematic random sample of Mennonite(1) and non-Mennonite land owner-operators in central Ohio to compare selected farm structure [...]

Wetlands serve many valuable functions in natural ecosystems. Wetlands provide habitat for wildlife, serve as storage areas for excess flood water, act as traps for farm chemicals, contribute to recharge [...]

Implications were drawn from a survey of chief executive officers to identify national policies and strategies to control orbital debris without any negative impact on US private and governmental space sectors and to test the eclectic theoretical model. International research to measure other countries' perceptions of global orbital debris regulations is envisaged.

ABSTRACT: Data were collected from 1305 farm owner operators in the Scioto River watershed in Ohio using a systematic random sampling technique to examine factors affecting attitudes toward groundwater pollution. [...]

After more than 50 years of soil and water conservation experience in the U.S., it is becoming increasingly apparent that attempts to introduce agricultural conservation practices without consideration of social [...]

Considerable attention has focused on farming practices and behavioral patterns that characterize Amish farmers from other agriculturalists. It has been suggested that Amish farmers are more concerned about the physical environment than non-Amish farmers because Amish employ fewer technology-intensive farming practices, though there is little empirical evidence to support such an assertion. To address this issue, data were collected from a sample of Amish and non-Amish owner-operators in Ohio to compare environmental attitudes and farming systems presently in use. Discriminant analysis was used to examine factors chosen to differentiate the two groups. Findings reveal that Amish respondents believed more strongly than other farmers that ground water pollution was an important environmental problem and that farmers should reduce chemical application rates to protect ground water resources. Other farmers exhibited greater willingness to participate in educational programs designed to reduce pesticide application rates. The two groups could not be differentiated by criteria used to make adoption decisions about farm technologies and farming practices; both used productivity and efficiency criteria when making adoption decisions.

Surveyed 4,859 rural adolescents to examine the relationship of peer group influence and psychosocial identification with frequency of drug use. Results strongly supported the importance of peer influence and role models in predicting illegal drug use. (JAC)

Comparing socioeconomic characteristics of employed and unemployed heads-of-household in southeast Ohio, the authors found the traditional human resource development model to be a poor predictor of employment status in rural areas. A combined human resources structural perspective is suggested for regional development efforts implemented within lesser developed regions. (JOW)

Among 492 rural Ohio high school students surveyed in 1979, 78.3% had used alcohol at least once and 51.3% had used marijuana at least once, contrasting previous research reporting low substance use among rural youth. Socio-demographic and family variables had only limited utility for understanding drug or alcohol abuse. (SB)

Byline: Tracy R. Bridges, Ted L. Napier Few researchers have examined the roles and responsibilities of women in the farm enterprise or women's influence in the adoption of environmentally responsible farming practices; thus, women's role in the adoption of conservation practices has remained relatively unclear. A better understanding of women's role around the farm and in the adoption process could assist policy makers and conservation professionals who wish to impact farm-level decisions with their programs. The following study has empirically investigated midwestern women's environmental orientations and roles in the farm enterprise and household and whether these variables influence farm women to advocate the adoption of environmentally benign farming practices. The theoretical model used to guide the research was based on a combination of elements from social learning theory and gender socialisation theory. Questionnaires were distributed to farm women in Ohio and Minnesota to examine the factors that affect advocacy for environmentally responsible behaviours at the farm level. Discriminant analysis was used to test the theoretical model, which showed five variables as significant predictors of advocacy for environmentally benign agricultural practices. Although five variables were found as significant in the analysis, the measure of the strength of association between the dependent variable and the independent variables in the analysis was relatively low. Therefore, the theoretical model had limited utility for predicting which respondents would be advocates of soil and water conservation systems. Despite the limitations of the research model, future research should be conducted on farm women since the study has shown that some women are indeed influential in the process to adopt conservation production systems on their farms.

Millions of dollars of public funds have been appropriated for soil and water conservation research in the United States during the past 60 years. Much sponsored research has been devoted [...]

A differing conclusion The relationship between land tenure and adoption of agricultural production systems is a very worthy research topic, however, the article titled 'Rented Land: Barriers to Sustainable Ag' [...]