The Problem: The main goal of this
project is to support and enhance multidisciplinary social science research in
the area of regional and rural community social cohesion. It will address broad
policy issues concerning social cohesion in the context of human adaptation to
environmental and social and economic changes on the Prairies of Saskatchewan.
Six major objectives are proposed: (1) To identify the historical
characteristics and patterns of social cohesion; (2) To identify the primary
events that have characterized the current process of transformations of the
rural community and how these events have affected the main actors and level of
social cohesion of the community; (3) To identify the contribution of
educational and training programs to community cohesion; (4) To examine the key
policies, institutions and other external economic phenomena as they impact
upon the social cohesion and integrity of Prairie communities with a view to
policy formulation; (5) To assess human adaptation to environmental change on
the Prairie and assess the relative impacts of climatic variability and change
on the viability of rural communities; and (6) To develop social, economic and
biophysical indicators of social cohesion for Prairie rural communities that
will act as measures of further changes in social cohesion, as well as measures
to develop effective policy.
Importance: In the rural areas of the
Saskatchewan prairies, the social cohesion of the region has been dramatically
impacted by unfavourable global and national markets and disparate government
policies for resource production that have contributed to economic instability,
financial hardships, radical changes in family agriculture, high family stress,
rural out-migration, significant changes to rural infrastructure impacting on
transportation, health care and education, and significant environmental
impacts upon prairie ecosystems. This study proposes an interdisciplinary
approach emphasizing social science approaches to develop policy guidelines for
action to address these region-wide problems of cohesion in what has been
termed the ‘economic bread-basket’ of Canada.
Anticipated Results: The research will: (1)
generate advances in our historical and current understanding of social
cohesion within a regional, rural context; (2) it will produce targeted
information and policy recommendations for communities and governments in the
areas of community leadership, education and training, the role of women, the
role of civil society community organizations, and adaptive changes required to
meet a changing biophysical environment; (3) it will provide indicators of
social cohesion that can be monitored to assess trends and impacts of
activities; and (4) it will significantly develop the capability of social
science researchers to work in an interdisciplinary fashion with communities,
industry and government in developing viable policy guidelines and
recommendations to address social cohesion.
CONTEXT
Background: Rural communities
on the Canadian Prairies have been affected by a broad array of socio-economic,
cultural, political and environmental processes that have led to disruptive
impacts on social cohesion. On the Saskatchewan Prairie, the regional focus of
this study, these processes are affecting the stability and cohesion of the
rural communities (Stirling and Conway, 1988). In a context of unfavorable
global and national markets, commodity prices have been extremely volatile
along a path of secular decline, creating among agricultural producers a recurring
climate of insecurity, and long-run vulnerability. Financial hardships and farm
bankruptcies are a recurring feature of the Saskatchewan rural scene (e.g., farmer bankruptcies in the first
four months of 1999 were up 58% from the same period in 1998). Net income for
agricultural producers has declined during the 1980s and 1990s, impeding many
families from reaching a minimum standard of living, while land prices have
been increasing. This economic instability has been accompanied by radical
changes in family agriculture, with repercussions throughout rural communities.
An increasing process of differentiation is occurring characterized by dual
directions toward both large heavily capitalized, as well as smaller,
agricultural operations. This process has been accompanied by increasing
specialization and more intensive use of non-farm products, such as machinery,
fertilizers, and pesticides. Companion trends include greater reliance on
off-farm labour and entrepreneurial income, an area where female contribution
is increasingly important. Furthermore, this situation has created
significantly higher levels of stress within rural families (Belyea and Lobao,
1990). A no less significant consequence has been the depopulation of many of
the rural communities. The instabilities of the agricultural economy and the
lack of employment opportunities existing in small towns, coupled with the
attraction of large cities, have given new impetus to the process of
rural-urban migration, especially among young people. Despite
the dominance of agricultural activities on the landscape, the majority of the
population is now found in urban centres, at a percentage exceeding the
national average. At the same time, the reduction in the infrastructure and number of
community services in the rural areas, along with the concentration of the
remainder in urban localities, has decreased the viability of many rural
communities (Gallagher, 1983; Diaz and Gingrich, 1992). In response to that
reality, community organizations are playing an increasingly important role in
rural community cohesion. Human activities have also greatly modified the
original ecosystems and engendered a host of environmental factors affecting
the sustainability of rural prairie communities (Sauchyn and Beaudoin, 1998).
Increased mechanization as a response to economic conditions has resulted in
larger areas of land ploughed leading to removal of shelterbelts and
substantial reduction of native wildlife habitat and decreases in biodiversity
(Government of Canada, 1996). Gauthier and Henry (1989) have reported that 40%
of the original wetlands have been converted to agricultural use; that
practically all of the tall-grass prairie is gone; that less than 20% of the
short grass prairie remains in its native state and 25% of the mixed grass
prairie. Less than one-quarter of the original native prairie is now left
(Gauthier, in press). In terms of
future environmental impacts, the Canadian Climate Centre’s general circulation
model predicts that the largest CO2-induced rise in mean surface
will occur in the Interior Plains (Boers et
al., 1992; Government of Canada, 1997). While, historically, prairie
agriculture has adapted to climatic variability, the unprecedented scale and
rate of climate change is predicted to seriously affect Prairie farm
communities (Hill and Vaisey, 1995). The impacts of human activities on the
prairies and the social and economic adaptations being made to accommodate
those changes are related to an array of Federal and Provincial government
policies and institutions (for an historical account see Fowke, 1957; Conway,
1983; Voisey, 1988). For example, the implementation of policies aimed to
redefine the process of integration of Canadian agriculture to the global
markets have exposed Prairie farmers to the volatility of international
commodity markets. Additionally, the climate of provincial and federal fiscal
probity has impacted directly on transportation systems, health care provision
and educational provision for families and communities in the Prairie. These
last three were key policy issues on the Saskatchewan policy agenda as
reflected by the three main party platforms in the September 1999 election.
This complexity of factors
are directly threatening the social cohesion and viability of rural communities
as people struggle to adapt to a bewildering array of forces, many of which
appear to be completely out of their control. The response of the members of
the farm community varies from despair to rearranging their formal and informal
networks (Kubick (forthcoming); Reimer, 1997).
Project Goal: The main goal of
this project is to support and enhance multidisciplinary social science
research in the area of regional and rural community social cohesion. Funds are
requested to facilitate research that will address broad policy issues
concerning social cohesion in the context of human adaptation to environmental
and social and economic changes on the Prairie. The project’s thematic focus is
social cohesion as we aim to apply interdisciplinary research approaches to the
impacts of disparate but related forces on the sustainability of rural Prairie
communities. As described above, these forces are largely social, economic,
political, and biophysical and the project, therefore, proposes targeted
interconnected studies in several of those areas. The rural community provides
a suitable empirical base for attempting to clarify issues regarding processes
of social cohesion since the everyday consciousness of community is generally
considered to be strongly held by rural people. The processes that this
proposal contemplates are the historical patterns that social cohesion has
assumed in the community; the form and direction of the recent changes that
have affected the rural community; the effects of these changes upon the main
actors of the community –with an especial interest in women as main actors in
the farm and the community—and their participation in the community activities;
the roles of local non-government organizations (NGOs) for the integration of
the community; the role that educational institutions and programs have in
social cohesion; the role of government policies in affecting social cohesion;
the linkage between environmental change and community sustainability and the
attitudes and opinions of the different actors of the community towards
environmental issues such as climatic change; and, the indicators of community
sustainability and social cohesion that can be used as inputs to effective
policy. Moreover, this project also proposes adopting a regional context as a
fundamental dimension of the rural community, especially in terms of the
relationships between the communities and government policies. Thus, the
attitudes and opinions of the community’s actors with regards to specific
policies and programs are also part of the research focus.
Project Objectives:
1. To identify the
historical characteristics and patterns of social cohesion by analysing the
social, economic, political, environmental and demographic historical
dimensions of change and continuity within the community and the region, as
well as the individual, family and community adaptations to these changes.
2. To identify the primary
events that have characterized the current process of transformations of the
rural community and how these events have affected the main actors and level of
social cohesion of the community. Thus, this work will identify the main actors
within the rural community, their understanding of social cohesion and how they
contribute or not to that cohesion. Sub-objectives are to: (a) examine the
historical and contemporary roles of individual women and women’s organizations
in defining, preserving, and challenging notions of social cohesion in the
rural community, and the development of women entrepreneurs and their role in
earning off-farm income and their contribution to social cohesion, and (b)
examine the role of civil society organizations in emerging forms of governance
and incipient social movements and their impact on social cohesion in Prairie
rural communities.
3. To identify the
contribution of educational and training programs to community cohesion through
the (a) analysis of recent educational and training policies in the areas of
human development, social cohesion and integration and (b) the relevance of skills
and knowledge that rural residents, particularly marginalized individuals,
acquire through participation in educational and training programs.
4. To examine the key
policies, institutions and other external economic phenomena as they impact
upon the social cohesion and integrity of Prairie communities with a view to
policy formulation. This work will assess the attitudes and opinions of the different
actors of the rural community towards specific development policies and the
potential effects of these policies upon the level of social cohesion of rural
communities. It will also evaluate responses by rural communities to have
access to basic services such as education and health.
5. To assess human
adaptation to environmental change on the Prairie and the relative impacts of
climatic variability and change on the viability of rural communities. This
work will assess the implications of climate variability for the sustainability
of prairie agriculture and identify areas of landscape sensitivity where the
potential impacts of climate change may require adaptation of agricultural
practices. It will assess the reactions of communities towards the potential
climatic changes and their effects on community social cohesion.
6. To develop social,
economic and biophysical indicators of social cohesion for Prairie rural
communities that will act as measures of further changes in social cohesion, as
well as measures to develop effective policy.
The six
objectives have been designed with broad policy implications in mind to create
a base of interdisciplinary knowledge to assist policy-makers and others. They
focus on past, current and future trends and their policy implications. The
objectives are multi-faceted and interconnected, integrating social and natural
science research with the consumers of knowledge produced from that research.
Objective 1 (historical dimensions of change) provides essential historical
context for each of the remaining objectives. Objective 2 (role of community
actors) characterizes decision-making in rural communities adapting to change
and links to Objectives 3, 4 and 5 relative to the role of community actors in
education and training programs, government policy development and responses to
environmental change. Objective 3 (education and social cohesion) builds upon
the historical overview of Objective 1 and the characteristics of rural
communities and their environment identified in Objectives 2, 4 and 5. It is
intended to develop recommendations on educational programming to address rural
community adaptations to change and the changing nature of work. Objective 4
(policy and institutional assessment) builds upon the previous 3 objectives and
Objective 5 to assess government and institutions as agents of change for rural
communities and in terms of policy responses to change. Objective 5
(environmental change) links to the previous four objectives by characterizing
past environmental change and its role in affecting community adaptation and
social cohesion, as well as developing a model by which to identify areas
subject to potential further environmental stresses. Objectives 1 through 5
help to identify and characterize measures of social cohesion that inform
Objective 6 (indicators of social cohesion).
The intellectual and social significance of the project
are manifest in 4 principal ways: (1) The project will advance theoretical
foundations for a more in-depth understanding of the tensions between the
forces of cohesion and disintegration and a further clarification of the
concept of community and of the roles that different actors and organizations
play in its development or dismissal. (2) The successful completion of the
project will provide important policy insights regarding the effects of social,
political, economic and environmental processes on the cohesion and integrity
of small, human settlements on the rural Prairie, and in doing so it will
advance the knowledge base needed to provide effective solutions. (3) In
applied terms, the project has been designed to transfer knowledge achieved by
the research to the research community, rural communities and policy-makers. It
will provide a valid empirical ground for the assessment and design of
government policies and programs for the rural sector within the context of
social cohesion. (4) The project will increase the capacities of social science
researchers to work as an interdisciplinary team and develops opportunities for
young researchers and students to be trained in policy-relevant social science
research.
RESEARCH
PLAN
Conceptual Framework: Informed by an interdisciplinary perspective, this research will adhere broadly to a cultural ecological framework. Cultural ecology is a holistic approach to human-environment relations examining culture in the context of the environment, in particular the extent to which the environment is involved in the origin of cultural features and patterns of behaviour via the process of adaptation (Steward 1955). The physical environment is conceived as dynamic because of changing parameters (e.g., climate), changing land use practices, and changing perceptions. Southern Saskatchewan is viewed at a broad level as an integrated, functional system with highly interdependent rural and urban components predicated to a considerable extent on an agricultural-based economy. Yet geographical, environmental, social and economic diversity is recognized and therefore case study communities will be chosen that realize the variety of rural contexts that exist within the region. The region and the communities contained therein are not seen as abstract a priori spatial categories but are perceived as products of “historical interactions between large scale institutional and ideological developments, on the one hand, and place-specific activities, interactions, and understandings on the other”(Murphy 1991: 29).
Research Strategy: The proposed
research will take place over a period of three years. Years 1 and 2 will
involve data collection and analysis. Year 3 will synthesize research findings
and produce papers, reports and presentations relative to each objective. The
study area will consist of a group of at least six farm or rural communities
selected according to the following criteria: (i) sub-region and soil zone
(southwest, central, northeast); (ii) type of farm production (grain,
livestock, mixed); (iii) services available in the community (e.g., elevator, hospital, school,
regional college); (iv) proximity to urban centers; and (v) location in areas
affected by environmental changes. The minimum of six communities will provide
the foci of study for parts of all six objectives. The attainment of Objective 1 will proceed in three broad
phases. Phase 1 will involve a review of existing research and literature
relating to cultural ecology, oral history, the settlement of southern
Saskatchewan, rural development, the history of rural development planning in
western Canada, the history of the education and training systems and the
biophysical environment. Phase 2 will involve a broad structural analysis of
the history of Saskatchewan from the initial (European) settlement period to
the present, outlining the major economic, social, demographic, and
environmental dimensions of continuity and change over time particularly as
they relate to the culture core model outlined by Steward (1955). This research
will be based on sources such as the census, published census reports,
government department reports, and academic studies, as well as archival
research. These two stages will take place in Year 1. Phase 3 will be
implemented during Years 2 and 3 and will involve a survey investigating
strategies and behaviour of rural families and communities and institutional
and organizational bodies that operate within this region. Questions will be
designed to identify strategies, constraints, opportunities, forces, etc. that have played a major role in
adaptation to changing conditions. In addition, an analysis of the province’s
excellent collection of local histories will be conducted and an oral history
project will be designed in order to discern the different kinds of adaptations
made by previous generations. Objective
2 will be attained during Years 1 and 2 of the research. Data identifying
primary events characterizing current processes of transformation will be
collected during Year 1 through ethnographic (informal interviews),
semi-structured interviews, participant-observation and archival work, as well
as through the analysis of census data and the existing histories of the
communities. Data collected previously by the Sample Survey and Data Bank Unit
(SSDBU) of the University of Regina for a large number of Saskatchewan farm
communities will be also used to attain this objective. Data on the role of
different community actors will be attained during Year 2 through a survey
based on a random sample of at least 50% (approximately 700) of the households
residing in the selected communities. This survey will be carried out in order
to determine the attitudes and opinions of the different actors regarding
community changes and social cohesion and about their degree of cohesion (sense
of belonging, inclusion in the activities of the community, degree of
participation, recognition and management of differences, and legitimacy). We
are also expecting to use the same survey in order to get information relevant
to attaining Objective 4 (attitudes and opinions about some of the policies
pursued by the different levels of government, including access to different
services such as education and health); and the information specified for the
third phase of Objective 1. Given the large amount of data to be collected, the
survey approach will combine an interview and a questionnaire. Given the
flexibility of the interview approach, it will be used for issues requiring a
good quality of response (information pertaining to Objectives 1, 2 and 4),
while data will be collected through the questionnaire (for Objective 4).
Questionnaire and interview designs, administration of the questionnaire
procedures, sampling, and data analysis and interpretation will be carried out
by the researchers, while interviews will be carried out by the SSDBU. Sub-objective 2a will be attained by
examining the historical and contemporary roles of individual women and women’s
organizations in defining, preserving, and challenging notions of social
cohesion (De Brou and Moffatt 1995). Research in Year 1 will begin by analysing
women’s early narratives of community building. Memoirs, family histories,
minutes of community organizations and complete oral histories in the
Saskatchewan Archives will be examined in order to determine the nature and
range of women’s community involvement. In Year 2 oral history interviews and
visits to community organizations will take place. The analysis of contemporary
women’s accounts of their community identities will help policy makers
understand what factors maintain or challenge community resiliency and will be
linked to the oral history component of Objective 1 that concentrates on
farmers adaptation to change over time.
This sub-objective will also assess the impact of women’s entrepreneurship in
the study area using the database of women entrepreneurs that is available to
us through our partnership with the Women Business Owners of Canada. This
component will chart the source of women successes, what policies might assist
their future development, and what contributions they make both financially and
emotionally to the well being of their families and their communities. Sub-objective
2b will comprise a longitudinal ethnographic study of the “spatial reach”
(Guyer, 1994) of the civil society organizations and government bodies in the
study area. Working within the interview/questionnaire instruments described
above, this study will in Years 1 and 2 investigate the ways in which civil
society organizations have established themselves spatially in a
socio-political field, an important indicator of their success in achieving
their goals (Reilly, 1995; Rutherford, 1997). Objective 3 will be attained by a strategy that focuses on the
position of education and training in social cohesion and examines public
policy debates on education and training in rural Saskatchewan during the
1990s. Data collection in Year 1 will include document analysis, focus group
meetings, semi-structured interviews with key informants, and an analysis of
the evidence about the outcomes of education and training that underpins and is
used to evaluate policy and progress of marginalized groups. In addition,
research in Year 1 will involve investigation of the role of education and
training in promoting social cohesion and integration among these groups and
communities and identifying what they label as systematic barriers to their
participation in employment. In Year 2, focusing on the six case study
communities, researchers will conduct statistical and document analysis, focus
group meetings, and semi-structured interviews with key informants, linking to
the interview/questionnaire instruments described above for Objectives 1 and 2.
Objective 4 will focus on a review
of government policy approaches and programs in Year 1. In Years 2 and 3, it
will link to the survey/interview instruments used in Objectives 2, 3 and 5 to
assess community views on policy issues and processes. Objective 5 will involve research in Years 1 and 2 devoted to an
analysis of historical weather and water data and tree ring records. These data
enable the statistical analysis of the frequency, magnitude and timing of
hydroclimatic events, and of seasonal and annual climate. A key component is
the spatially continuous modeling of the sensitivity of soil and water
resources to climatic change. Soil landscapes and regional ecosystems will be
defined using a geographic information system (GIS), working with the Centre
for GIS at the UR, and digital maps of climate, soil, land cover, topography
and hydrography. The results will include the development of digital maps of
landscape sensitivity showing “hot spots” (sensitive landscapes and ecosystems)
where the potential impacts of climate change may require adaptation of agricultural
practices and a large-scale regional model of climate change impacts on soil
and water resources. Linking to the previous objectives as part of the
interview/questionnaire instruments, research questions will assess the
reactions of the different actors of the community towards the potential
climatic changes and their effects on community social cohesion. Approximately
one-quarter of the respondents involved in the larger second year questionnaire
will be targeted for this survey.
Objective 6 will produce, in Year 1, a synthesis of an international body
of literature on socio-economic and environmental indicators of sustainability
and sustainable communities, already partially synthesized through our
partnership with Saskatchewan Environment and Resource Management (SERM)
(Kubick and Gauthier, 1998). This work involves a review of Statistics Canada
data (available through the Data Liberation Initiative), Agricultural Census
Data, federal and provincial government monitoring programs, OECD indicator research
and others. In Year 2 an analysis of data for the selected indicators will be
conducted for the Saskatchewan Prairie and a “State of the Prairie Community”
report released in Year 3 with recommendations to policy-makers and community
leaders for on-going monitoring. Statistical analysis for the project will
involve both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Statistical software will
include SPSS and Nudist with the Arc/Info GIS and FragStat used for spatial
pattern analysis.
The research team is comprised
of five social science, two natural science and one humanities researcher. Dr.
Widdis (historical and rural geographer) will lead Objective 1 research with
the assistance of a post-doctoral fellow. The PDF (Lisa Dale) is
highly knowledgeable about the region, has the experience and interdisciplinary
background to help in coordinating the extensive historical research that
underlies all of the components of the study, and has the skills to conduct the
study of adaptation using local and oral histories. She will also serve as a
resource person for the entire team, providing all specific projects with the
historical background necessary in pursuing their objectives. Dr. Gauthier’s
home institute, the Canadian Plains Research Centre, has long-term, formal,
research partnerships with its sister institute, the Centre for Great Plains
Studies (University of Nebraska), which will work with Dr. Widdis, and his
associated PDF, in relation to providing international historical context for
Objective 1. Dr’s. Jones (economist), Powell (Women’s Studies), Diaz
(sociologist) and Rutherford (anthropologist) will comprise an
interdisciplinary team focusing on Objective 2. They will link with the
partners (listed below in ‘Partners’), and will receive additional support
through their association with Saskatchewan Department of Justice, the
Saskatchewan Institute for Public Policy (SIPP; Dr’s. Jones and Diaz are
Research fellows of SIPP), the Prairie Women's Health Center of Excellence, and the Centre for the Study of Cooperatives (U. of
Saskatchewan). Dr. Quinlan (education) will lead research for Objective 3,
working with two research fellows, and linking with the partners listed below,
as well as receiving additional support through his association with the
Saskatchewan Instructional Development Unit, the Centre for International
Teacher Education, the Saskatchewan Education Committee for Practical and
Applied Arts, the Saskatchewan Labor Force Development Board, and the
Saskatchewan Ministry of Post-secondary Education and Skills Training. Dr’s.
Diaz and Jones will lead research for Objective 4 linking with the partners
listed below, as well as with SIPP. Dr. Sauchyn will lead the research for
Objective 5 linking with the partners listed below, as well as receiving support
through his association with International Global Climate Change Program, the
Geological Survey of Canada and the Prairie Agro-Climate Forecasting Unit of
PFRA. Dr. Gauthier will act as Project Director and Chair of the Project
Steering Committee. He has had substantial experience working and leading team
research, e.g. CIDA Tier 2 project on
training for regional sustainable development, the Tri-Council (SSHRC, NSERC,
MRC) Ecosystem Research Project on Prairie Ecosystem Sustainability. He will
lead Objective 6 research on indicators linking with the partners listed below,
as well as receiving support through his association with the Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment Network of the federal government, and the Indicators
Analysis Branch of Environment Canada. The nature of the support from the
associated organizations includes, but is not limited to, provision of data,
access to databases, consultation with research and policy staff, and
communications support.
The training
strategy focuses on training of graduate students, government policy-makers,
and non-government (civil society) organization representatives and community
leaders. Nine masters-level graduate students will receive field training by
working with the principal and co-applicants during field research. These
students will undertake thesis research relative to the respective objectives,
under the supervision of the 9 Researchers. They will also each be expected to
produce a minimum of one academic paper and one presentation at an academic
conference (see ‘Communication’, below). One post-doctoral fellow will be hired
for two years to work with Dr. Widdis in relation to Objective 1. In addition
to training of students, two training workshops on interdisciplinary approaches
and methodologies will be held annually for government policy-makers,
non-government organization representatives and community leaders. Because of
the interdisciplinary nature of the project, workshops for team members and
graduate students will be held monthly in Year 1 and quarterly in Years 2 and 3
to expose participants to varying research philosophies and methodologies.
In addition to
the 13 associated organizations listed under ‘Team’ (above), 10 partners are
providing direct support to this project. The Prairie Conservation Action Plan
(PCAP) Coalition, Saskatchewan Economic and Cooperative Development, the
Saskatchewan Women’s Secretariat, and the Women Business Owners of Canada Inc.
are partnering with Dr’s. Powell, Jones, Diaz and Rutherford in relation to
Objectives 2 and 4. The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations and the
Saskatchewan Indian Federated College are partnering with Dr. Quinlan in
relation to Objective 3. The Atmospheric and Hydrologic Sciences Division of
Environment Canada, and the Atmospheric Environment Service are partnering with
Dr. Sauchyn in relation to Objective 5. PCAP, Saskatchewan Environment and
Resource Management and the Canadian Council on Ecological Areas are partnering
with Dr. Gauthier to achieve Objective 6. The partners are providing direct
funding and in-kind support (e.g. data,
equipment, mailing lists, facilitating communication, personnel support for
field work who will assist in student training). A Project Steering Committee,
chaired by Dr. Gauthier, will be established consisting of the nine project
team researchers (including the PDF) and the project partners. It will meet
quarterly to provide ongoing direction, establish annual work plans, identify
case study sites, review research findings, develop a communications plan to
assist with dissemination of findings, review budget, cooperate on analysis of
policy documents and develop additional sources of support.
The project proposes 4
principal ways by which the intellectual and social significance of the
project’s goal and objectives will be are manifested: (1) advancing theoretical
foundations; (2) advancing policy guidelines and planning; (3) transfer of
knowledge; and (4) increasing social science research capacity. Those aims will
be achieved in the following ways. Findings emphasizing policy and theoretical
research results will be presented at academic conferences in the areas of
sustainable development, rural communities, women’s studies, civil society, education,
government policy, geography, sociology, history, anthropology and economics.
Also, all of the UR researchers belong to academic associations through which
they will communicate their findings. It is expected that each of the research
projects will generate a peer-reviewed journal article. Because funding to
support travel for students to conferences is included in the budget, students
will receive experience in preparing and delivering academic paper
presentations. The final product of the project will be an international
conference on public policy recommendations generated through the research.
This will be open to representatives of governments, non-government
organizations and the general public. The University of Regina Press is
committed to publishing an edited, peer-reviewed book from that conference for
distribution nationally and internationally.
AUDIENCE (Non-academic)
The audience to be involved
in the research process and dissemination of interim and final results includes
partner organizations, federal and provincial government departments and
agencies, business and industries operating in rural areas (e.g. Saskatchewan Wheat Pool), First
Nations organizations, women’s groups, agricultural organizations (e.g. Saskatchewan Stock Grower’s
Association), rural municipal councils, school divisions, education and
training agencies, environmental non-government organizations (e.g. Ducks Unlimited, Nature
Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, Saskatchewan Wetland
Conservation Corporation) and other civil society organizations who have an
interest in rural sustainability. Annual reports summarizing each years work
and outlining the workplan for the subsequent year will be produced for each of
the research projects and distributed among the partners and associated
organizations. The activities planned for dissemination of results include the
following: (1) All of the researchers will be holding information meetings with
specific partner organizations throughout the life of the project; (2) Representatives
of all partner organizations will sit on a Steering Committee for the project
that will meet quarterly (see ‘Partners’); (3) Two workshops per year for the
wider partnership network are proposed for years one and two, and a workshop
and conference is proposed for year three; (4) The research methodology calls
for a series of townhall meetings and community forums to be held, as well as
meetings with boards and members of community-based organizations; and (5) All
available communications links will be utilized, such as local newspapers,
association and organizational newsletters, websites, and governmental
communications networks. Our many partnerships, particularly with Saskatchewan
Economic Development, will create a high visibility of our research findings
among policymakers. In addition, all of our partners have committed resources
to insure that findings of the research are distributed through their
communication networks to their respective audiences.
Only one member of the
research team has experienced a significant career interruption in the recent
past. Dr. Marion Jones was required to take one term of sick leave due to
Fibromyalgia as part of two years spent learning to manage the disease and
rehabilitation while working 1997-98.
.
The principal applicant and
seven co-applicants have collectively acted as Thesis Advisors on 12
undergraduate theses, 45 masters theses and three Ph.D. theses. They have
served as Committee Members on 9 undergraduate theses, 21 masters theses and 2
Ph.D. theses. They have acted as Outside Examiners on 4 undergraduate theses, 6
masters theses, and 5 Ph.D. theses. They have acted as Departmental Supervisors
on 1 undergraduate thesis, 5 masters theses and 1 Ph.D. thesis. Finally, they
have served as Research Supervisors on 33 Masters theses.
Addo, E. (1992) “A Geographical Analysis of the Rural Development
Corporation Programme in Saskatchewan,” MA Thesis, University of Regina.
Agriculture and Rural Restructuring
Group Research Network. 1994. Towards a Whole Rural Policy For Canada. A Presentation to the Joint Commons/Senate
Standing Committee on Agriculture, Agri-food and Forestry, Ottawa, October 4,
1994. Brandon, Manitoba. Canadian Agriculture and Rural Restructuring Group.
Working Paper Series Number 7.
Allen, John C., and Don A.
Dillman. 1994. Against
all odds: rural community in the information age. Rural studies series of the Rural Sociological Society. Boulder, Colo: Westview Press.
Audirac, Ivonne (ed). 1997.
Rural Sustainable Development in America. New York, NY.: John
Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Baker, H.R. (1993) Restructuring
Rural Communities, Part I, with special emphasis on multicommunity
collaboration Saskatoon: University Extension Press.
Baker, H.R. and McConnell, G.A. (1979) Rural Development Issues in Saskatchewan: Conference Report, February
18-20, 1979, Saskatoon Saskatoon:
The Canadian Council on Rural Development and Rural Development Education
Program Extension Division, University of Saskatchewan.
Bargatzky, T. (1984) “Culture, Environment, and the Ills of
Adaptationism,” Current Anthropology 25,
4: 399-406.
Beaulieu, L. and Mulkey, D. (eds.) (1995) Investing in people: The human capital needs of rural America.
Boulder, CO: Westview.
Belyea, M. and L. Lobao. (990) “Psychological Consequences of
Agricultural Transformations: The Farm Crisis and Depression”, Rural Sociology, 55, pp. 58-75.
Bennett, J. (1993) Human Ecology
as Human Behaviour: Essays in Environmental and Developmental Anthropology
New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers.
Bennett, John William, and
Seena B. Kohl. 1996. Settling the CanadianAmerican West,
1890-1915: Pioneer adaptation and community building. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 295
p.
Bennett, J. and
Kohl, S. (1995) Settling the
Canadian-West, 1890-1915 Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Blau, O., &
Duncan, O. (1967) The American
occupational structure. New York:
John Wiley and Sons.
Boer,
G.J., McFarlane, N.A. and Lazare, M.. (1992). Greenhouse gas-induced climate
change simulated with the second generation general circulation model. Journal
of Climate 5(10): 1045-1077.
Bohning, Shelley. 1996.
Social Capital and Sustainability: The Community and Managing Change
in Agriculture. Ames, IA: Video
Department, Iowa State University Extension Publication Distribution.
Bottum, J.C. (1974) “The Philosophy and Process of Community
Development,” in Brinkman, G., ed., The
Development of Rural America Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 3-14.
Bronson, Harold. (1992) “The Free Trade Agreement: Implications for
Rural Industries”, in David Hay and
Gurcharn Basran, eds., Rural Sociology in
Canada, Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Bryant, C., ed. (1984) Regional
Economic Development, Waterloo Lectures in Geography, Vol. 1 Waterloo:
Department of Geography, University of Waterloo.
Canadian Labour Force Development Board. (1994) Annual Report: 1993-1994. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services
Canada.
Carnevale, A.P. (1991) America
and the new economy. Alexandria, VA: American Society of Training and
Development.
Centre for Community
Enterprise (Port Alberni, B.C. ).
1996. Tools, strategies, and
structures for community renewal.
(Variant Title:Tools, strategies, and structures for community
renewal). Port Alberni, BC: CCE
Publications.
Cherry, G.E., ed.
(1976) Rural Planning Problems
London: Harper and Row.
Choy, K.A. and Rounds, R.C. (1992) Community
Development Strategies on the Northern Plains Brandon: Rural Development
Institute, Brandon University.
Christiansen-Ruffman, Linda. (1995) "Researching Women's
Organizations in the Labrador Straits:
Retrospective Reflections."
Their Lives and Times: Women in
Newfoundland and Labrador, A Collage.
Carmelita McGrath, Barbara Neis, Marilyn Porter (eds.). St. John's NF: Killick Press.
Cloke, P. (1985)
“Whither Rural Studies?,” Journal of
Rural Studies 1, 1: 1-7.
Conway, John.
(1983) The West: The History of a Region
in a Confederation, Toronto: James Lorimer and Co.
Danysk, Cecilia (1995). Hired Hands: Labour and the Development of
Prairie Agriculture, 1880-1930. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
Davis, N. L. & Mink, O.G. (1992) “Human resource development: an
emerging profession-an emerging purpose.” Studies
in Continuing Education, 14(2): 187-202.
De Brou, David and Aileen Moffatt, eds.(1995) "Other"
Voices: Historical Essays on Saskatchewan Women. Regina SK: Canadian Plains Research Center Press.
Deneven, W.M. (1983) “Adaptation, Variation, and Cultural Geography,” Professional Geographer 35(4):
399-406.
DesLauriers, R.C. (1990) The
impact of employee illiteracy on Canadian business: Ottawa: Human Resource
Development Centre.
Diaz, Polo and Paul Gingrich. (1992) “Crisis and Community in Rural
Saskatchewan”, in David Hay and Gurcharn Basran, eds., Rural Sociology in Canada, Toronto: Oxford University Press.
Douglas,
David J.A. (ed). 1994.
Community Economic Development in Canada, Vols. I and II. Toronto, Ontario: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.
Dunaway, D.K. and Baum, W.K. (1984) Oral
History: An Interdisciplinary Anthology
Nashville: American Association for State and Local History.
Dykeman, F.W. (1990)
Entrepreneurial Communities: Rural and Social Towns Research and Studies
Program Sackville: Mount Allison University Press.
Economic Council of Canada. (1992) Education
and training in Canada. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services Canada.
Edens, T.C. (1985) “Towards a Sustainable Agriculture,” in Edens, T.C.,
Fridgen, C., and Battenfield, S.L., eds., Sustainable
Agriculture and Integrated Farming Systems: 1984 Conference Proceedings
(East Lansing: Michigan State University Press), 2-5.
Ekstrom, Brenda L., and
Larry F. Leistritz. 1988. Rural
community decline and revitalization : an annotated bibliography. Garland
reference library of social science; v. 443. New York: Garland Pub.
Employment and Immigration Canada. (1989) Success in the works. Ottawa: Ministry of Supply and Services
Canada.
Euric, N.P. (1985) Corporate
classrooms: The learning business: A report on education in American business
and industry. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation on the Advancement of
Teaching.
Everitt, J. and Annis, R. (1992) “The Sustainability of Prairie Rural
Communities,” in Bower, I.R. and Nellis, M.D., eds. Contemporary Rural Systems in Transition, Vol. 2: Economy and
Society Melksham: Redwood Press, 213-222.
Flora, C.B. and
Christenson, J.A., eds. (1991) Rural
Policy for the 1990s San Francisco:
Westview Press.
Fowke, Vernon.
(1957) The National Policy and the Wheat
Economy, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Fowke, V. C.
(1937) The National Policy and the Wheat
Economy Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Freire, P. (1994)
Education for critical consciousness.
New York: Continuum.
Freire, P., & Macedo, D. (1995) “A dialogue: culture, language and
race.” Harvard Educational Review.
65(3), 377-402.
Freire, P., and
Macedo, D. (1987) Literacy: Reading the
word and the world. Boston, MA: Bergin and Garvey.
Galston, W.A. and Baehler, K.J. (1995) Rural Development in the United States: Connecting Theory, Practice
and Possibilities Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
Gallagher, John.
(1983) To Kill the Crow, Moose Jaw:
Challenge Publishers.
Gauthier, D.A. (in press). Landscape changes and Swift
Fox conservation. First International
Swift Fox Symposium, Ecology and Conservation of Swift Foxes in a Changing
World, February 18-19, 1998, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, L. Carbyn and M.
Sovoda (eds).
Gauthier, D.A. (1994). The
Buffalo Commons on Canada’s plains. Forum
for Applied Research and Public Safety. 9(4): 118-120.
Gauthier, D.A., and Henry, J.D., 1989.
Misunderstanding the prairies. Pp. 183-195, In: M. Hummel (ed.), Canada's Endangered Spaces, Key Porter
Press.
Gauthier, D. Widdis, R. and Lewry, M. (1993) An Historical Ecological Review of Agricultural Activities in
Grasslands National Park and Region 1870-1930 (Microfiche Report Series
507, Heritage Branch of Parks Canada).
Gertler, Michael E. (1990) Sustainable
rural Communities in Canada. Saskatoon: Canadian Agricultural and Rural
Restructuring Group.
Government of Canada (1996). The State of the Environment. State of the
Environment Reporting Branch, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
Government of Canada (1997). Canada's Second National Report on Climate Change. Ottawa. (http://www1.ec.gc.ca/cgi-bin/foliocgi.exe/climate_e/toc)
Guyer, J.I. (1994). The spatial dimensions of civil society in Africa:
an anthropologist looks at Nigeria. In:
Harbeson, J.W., Rothchild, D., Chazan, N. (eds.), Civil Society and the
State in Africa. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, pp. 215-229.
Hardesty, D.L.
(1986) “Rethinking Cultural Adaptation,” Professional
Geographer 38, 1: 11-18.
Hardy, N. (1990) “Saskatchewan Perspective,” in Rural Development
Institute, Proceedings of the Prairie
Forum on Rural Development Brandon: Rural Development Institute, Brandon
University, 8-12.
Hill
and Vaisey (1995). Policies for Sustainable Development. In Planning for a Sustainable Future: The
Case of the North American Great Plains, edited by D.A. Wilhite, D.A. Wood, and
K.H. Smith, International Drought Information Center (IDIC Technical report
95-1), University of Nebraska, Lincoln, pp. 51-62.
Hoggart, K. and Buller, H. (1987)
Rural Development: A Geographical Perspective London: Croom Helm
Publishers.
Hommen, L. (1997) The British Columbia Labour Force Development Board:
Delivering consensus. In R.Haddow and A. Sharpe (Eds.). Social partnerships for training: Canada's experience with labour force
development boards. Kingston, Ontario: Caledon Institute of Social Policy:
Queens Univerisity School of Policy Studies.
Howell, Robert E., and Marion Bentley.
1986. Assesing, Managing, and
Mitigating the
Impacts of Economic Decline:
A Community Perspective. Corvallis,
OR:
Western Rural Development Center.
Ilbery, Brian W. 1988. The geography of rural change. Harlow : Longman, 267 p.
Jencks, C. (1979) Who gets ahead: The determinants of
economic success in America. New York: Basic Books.
Jenson, J. (October 1998) Mapping
social cohesion. Backgrounder speech presented at the Policy Research
Secretariat's Conference, Policy Research: Creating Linkages, Ottawa, Ontario.
Johnson,
Nan E. and Ching-li Wang. (eds). 1997.
Changing Rural Social Systems: Adaptation and Survival. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University
Press, 255p.
Kay, Jeanne.(1991) "Landscapes of women and men: rethinking the
regional historical geography of the United States and Canada." Journal
of Historical Geography 17(4): 435-452.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F. & Swanson, R. A. (1998) The adult learner: The definitive classic in
adult education and human resource development. Houston: Gulf Publishing
Company.
Korsching,
Peter F., Timothy O. Borich and Julie Stewart.
(eds). 1992. Multicommunity Collaboration: An Evolving
Rural Revitalization Strategy: Conference Proceedings. Ames, IA: North Central Regional Center for
Rural Development.
Kubik, Wendee. (forthcoming) “Resistance to the Farm Crisis: Churches,
Farm Groups and the Farm Stress Line”, in R. Stirling, J. Jaffe, and H. Diaz,
eds., Farm Communities at the Crossroads:
The Challenge and the Resistance, Regina: CPRC.
Kubik, W. and D. Gauthier (1998). Socio-economic indicators of
Saskatchewan’s Economic Health. Project Report prepared for Saskatchewan
Environment and Resource Management, Regina, SK.
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1990)
Situated learning: legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge, Mass.:
Cambridge University Press.
Mackintosh, W.A.
(1934) Prairie Settlement: the Geographic
Setting Toronto: Macmillan Company
of Canada.
Maley, D. (1990) “Western Diversification Fund,” in Rural Development
Institute, Proceedings of the Prairie
Forum on Rural Development Brandon: Rural Development Institute, Brandon
University, 86-90.
Marchand,
Claude, and Janine Charland. 1991. The Depopulation of Canadian Communities:
1981-1986. [n.p.]
McGowan, D.C.
(1975) Grassland Settlers Regina:
Canadian Plains Research Center.
Moran, E.F.
(1979) Human Adaptability: An
Introduction to Ecological Anthropology Boulder: Westview Press.
Murchie, R.W.
(1936) Agricultural Progress on the
Prairie Frontier Toronto: Macmillan Company of Canada.
Murphy, A. (1991)
“Regions as social constructs: the gap between theory and practice,” Progress in Human Geography 15, 1:
22-35.
Murphy, R.F. (1977) “Introduction: The Anthropological Theories of
Julian H. Steward,” in Steward, J.C. and Murphy, R.F. (1977). Evolution and Ecology: Essays on Social
Transformation by Julian H. Steward (Urbana: University of Illinois Press).
Newby, H. (1985) “Locality and Rurality: The Restructuring of Rural
Social Relations,” Regional Studies
20, 3: 209-215.
Northwest Area
Foundation. 1994. Better Row to Hoe: The Economic,
Environmental, and Social Impact of Sustainable Agriculture (A). St. Paul,
MN: Northwest Area Foundation.
OECD. (1994) Societies in transition. The future of work
and leisure. Paris.
OECD. (1996) Transition to learning economies and
societies. Paris:
OECD. (1997) Social cohesion and the globalizing economy.
Paris:
Ofosuhene, M. (1997) “A Comparison of Rural Development Strategies in
Saskatchewan and North Dakota,” MA Thesis, University of Regina.
Olfert, M.R. et al. (1995) “Non-farm labour market participation of
farm women,” Canadian Journal of
Agricultural Economics. 41(1): 81
ff.
Olfert, M.R. et al. (1994) “Community Level multipliers for Rural
Development initiatives,” Growth and Change. 25(4): 467 ff.
Poole, K.E. (1996) “Federal Regional Development Initiatives in Canada
and the United States: Lessons from History,” The Regionalist 1, 4: 21-40.
Potyondi, B. (1995) In Palliser’s
Triangle: Living in the Grasslands, 1850-1930 (Saskatoon: Purich
Publishing.).
Powell, Barbara and Myrna Williams.
(1996)
Piecing the Quilt: Sources for Women's History in the Saskatchewan
Archives Board. Regina:
Canadian Plains Research Center Press.
Prairie Women's
Health Centre of Excellence, "Update Report" May 1999.
Putnam, R. D. (1993) The prosperous community: social capital and
public life. The American Prospect,
13, 245-159.
Reilly, Charles (ed.) (1995). New Paths to Democratic Development in
Latin America: The Rise of NGO-Municipal Collaboration. Boulder, Colorado: Lynn
Rienner.
Reimer, W.C. (1994) Development
Strategies for Rural Canada.
Brandon: Agriculture and Rural
Restructuring Group.
Reimer, W.C. (1997) “Informal Social Networks and Voluntary
Associations in Non-Metropolitan Canada”, in Richard Rounds, ed., Changing Rural Institutions. A Canadian Perspective, Brandon: CRRF-RDI.
Roe, E. (1994) Narrative Policy analysis: Theory and
Practice. Durham, NC: DukeUniversity Press.
Rose, Gillian. (1993) Feminism and Geography: The Limits of
Geographical Knowledge. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Ross, Lois L.(1990) Harvest of Opportunity: New Horizons for
Farm Women. Saskatoon: Western
Producer Prairie books.
Rutherford, Blair (1997).
Civil (Dis)Obedience and Social development in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin
America: A Research Agenda on the Role of Civil Society Organizations in Social
Policy Reform. Assessment of Social Policy Reform Program Initiative Working
Paper Series #3, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa,
Ontario.
Salkin, Patricia E. 1991.
Preservation of Rural Character and Protection of Natural Resources.
Albany, NY. Albany, NY: Government Law Center of Albany Law School.
Sanderson, F. & Howard-Bobiwash, H. (1997) The meeting place: aboriginal life in Toronto. Toronto: Native
Canadian Center of Toronto.
Saskatchewan Women's Secretariat 1999.
Impact.Vol. 4.1 (Summer 1999).
Saskatchewan
Women's Secretariat (in press).
Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Women: Celebrating Rural and Farm Women in
Saskatchewan. Regina, Saskatchewan.
Sauchyn, D.J. and A.B. Beaudoin. 1998. Recent environmental change in
the south-western Canadian Plain. Canadian Geographer 42:337-353.
Scheurich, J.J. (1994) Policy Archeology: a new policy studies
methodology. Journal of Educational
Policy, 9(4): 297-316.
Seely, B. J., Collins, A. & Duguid, P. (1989) Situated cognition
and the culture of learning. Educational
Researcher, 32, 71-77.
Shepard, R.B. (1994) “American Influence on the Settlement and
Development of the Canadian Plains,” PhD dissertation, Canadian Plains Research
Center, University of Regina.
Stabler, J.C. (1999) “Rural
America: A challenge to regional scientists,” Annals of Regional Science.
33(1): 1 ff.
Stabler, J.C. (1996) The Changing
Role of Rural Communities in an Urbanizing World: Saskatchewan an update to 1995. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.
Stabler, J.C. (1993) “Farm
Structure and Community Viability in the Great Northern Plains,” Review
of Regional Studies. 23(3): 265 ff.
Stabler, J.C. (1992) Restructuring
Rural Saskatchewan: The Challenge of the 1990s. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Centre.
Stabler, J.C. (1989) Dualism and
Development in the North West Territories.
Thunder Bay: Lakehead Centre for Northern Studies.
Stabler, J.C. (1985) Trade Centre Viability in the Prairie Region
1961-81. Ottawa: Agriculture Canada.
Stabler, J.C. (1970) Regional
Development Theory and the Growth of the Canadian Prairie Region
1870-1961. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Ph.D. dissertation.
Stabler, J.C. (1968) Prairie
Regional Development and Prospects.
Ottawa: Royal Commission on
Consumer Problems and Inflation.
Stabler et al. (1996) “Evolution of Spatial Labour Markets in the
Northern Great Plains,” Growth and Change. 27(2): 206 ff.
Stabler et al. (1992) “positive aspects of rural transition,”
Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics. 40(4): 623 ff.
Stabler, J.C. and Olfert, M.R. (1992) Restructuring Rural Saskatchewan: The Challenges of the 1990s.
Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina.
Stake, R.E. (1995) The art of
case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Steward, J.H. (1955) Theory of
Culture Change: the Methodology of Multilinear Evolution Urbana: University
of Illinois Press.
Stewart, T. S. (1997) Intellectual capital: The new wealth of organizations.
Toronto: Doubleday.
Sticht, T.G.
(1988) “Adult literacy education”. Review
of Research in Education, 15, 59-96.
Stirling, Robert and John Conway (1988) “Fractions Among Prairie
Farmers” in G. Basran and D. Hay, eds., The
Political Economy of Agriculture in Western Canada, Toronto: Garamond
Press.
Taylor, Georgina M. (1987)
"'Should I Drown Myself Now of Later?' the Isolation of rural women in Saskatchewan and
Their Participation in the Homemakers'
Clubs, the farm Movement and the co-operative
Commonwealth Federation 1910-1967." Women: Isolation and Bonding. Kathleen Storrie (ed.). Toronto: Methuen.
Vaillancourt, F. (1995) “The private and total returns to education in
Canada, 1985”. Canadian Journal of
Economics, 28,532-554.
Voisey, Paul.
(1988) Vulcan: The Making of a Prairie
Community, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Wall, Milan and Vicki
Luther. 1992. Clues To Rural Community Survival. Lincoln, NE. Heartland
Center For Leadership Development
Watkin, K. (1991) “Many voices: defining human resource development
from different disciplines.” Adult
Education Quarterly, 41(4), 241-255.
Wilson, Barry (1990) Farming the
System. How Politicians and Producers Shape Canadian Agricultural Policy,
Western Producer Prairie Books: Saskatoon.