2008

This project, which is an example of cross-company collaboration, focuses on the challenges involved in dealing with cumulative, or multi-mine, impacts at the local level. The project builds on an earlier Australian Coal Association Research Program (ACARP)-funded project conducted in 2004, undertaken by the Centre for Social Respo ....

The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives facilitated a workshop designed to assess the usability of existing disaster risk management tools for local governments. The aim is for local governments to work with their local communities to develop and implement Local Resilience Agendas in order to reduce vulnerabil ....

There are increasing demands in schools to provide social-emotional learning opportunities for students. This article reports on the utility of a universal coping skills program for young people at risk for depression in a rural context. The study deals specifically with the utility of the Best of Coping (BOC) program implemented to&nbs ....

In post-demographic transition societies, the impacts of low fertility and aging are most strongly felt in peripheral areas where they are exacerbated by youth outmigration. International migration is increasingly seen to have the potential to offset these demographic constraints on economic development. In Australia, immigration policy has been ....

Global development of the biofuel sector is proceeding rapidly, driven by national policy mandates, government subsidies, and profit opportunities for farmers, agribusiness and energy companies. To date, most investment in - and dialogue on - biofuels has focused on large-scale production of liquid transport fuels. A smaller set of effo ....

This pilot study examined the experiences of 24 teacher education students and nine caregivers who participated in a weekly community play session on a rural University campus in NSW, Australia. Students completed a questionnaire at the beginning of the 13 week semester and at the end of the semester and were asked about confidence ....

Water collection in rural areas of Uganda is left primarily to women and children. Katosi Women Development Trust, an NGO based in rural Uganda has focused on addressing the gender-linked issue of increased water sources near the home through the construction of rain water collection tanks. In an effort to improve the income of mem ....

There is currently a significant gap in academic literature examining the benefits of leisure as a driver for the development of communities, especially when discussing the value of social capital developed through leisure. Leisure and social capital research fields do not yet have a common discourse. There are few examples o ....

This toolkit is the outcome of a three year research project examining resilience in the rural community of Stanthorpe in Queensland. The toolkit intends to provide ideas and information that could be included in new or existing social programs or workshops conducted Stanthorpe and other communities to enhance people's resilience. The toolkit c ....

During the 20th century, US agriculture underwent vast transformations. The number of farmers has decreased, more farmers are relying on off-farm income, agriculture's proportion of the US GDP has declined, and a minority of non-metro counties in the US are farming dependent. Agriculture's evolution will continue and we have identified ....

The development of regional measures of child social exclusion for Australia are underpinned by increasing research and policy interest in indicators of child wellbeing, multidimensional measures of poverty, and spatial differences in disadvantage. The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling at the University of Canberra ....

Until recent decades, the establishment of protected areas contributed to the dispossession and marginalisation of Indigenous peoples in Australia. Recently, governance and policy frameworks have been developed and refined to recognise protected areas as part of Indigenous land and sea country, and to enable Indigenous people to participate in co ....

Commercial sustainable use of wildlife has received increasing attention in recent years, both internationally and in Australia, as a tool to achieve both improved conservation and land management outcomes and support diverse, resilient rural economies and societies. While the concept remains relatively unfamiliar in Australia, a wide range of fo ....

This research project study centered on the examination of community capitals that exist within a thriving rural community located in the upper Great Plains region. Grounded theory helped in the analysis of the data to understand how community capitals contributed to the socioeconomic growth and well-being of a thriving rural community. ....