Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Rural-urban interaction'

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2013.<br>Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.<br>Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-79).<br>This thesis examines the means and ends of development by addressing two main questions: 1) How does the Colombian state's neoliberal understanding of development affect the socio economic conditions of small farmers? And 2) How do nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that embrace the neoliberal approach to development interact with local communities in their land struggles? To explore these questions, this thesis focuses on a rural intervention by the organization Entrepreneurial Rural Development (ERD), in the Afro-Colombian correginiento of Las Marías (pseudonyms). I focus on this area because it embodies the contradictions in Colombia's agricultural policies: while government-supported programs such as ERD aim to ignite the social and economic development of small farmers, operating concurrently neoliberal policies curtail it. I first analyze how the ERD depoliticized its intervention, and how at the same time its activities have led to the emergence of new leadership in the community. Moreover, I investigate how socio political conditions within the community have significantly limited the success of the ERD's intended process of shaping the peasants with whom they work as small entrepreneurs. I also consider the extent to which the technologically and culturally oriented approach to the community's issues espoused by many of the organization's workers limited their understanding of the farmers' (already) entrepreneurial behavior. Micro-level interventions such as ERD cannot be studied in isolation. Rather, they need to be set in the context of the macro policies that either hinder or encourage the development of small farmers. In a country such as Colombia, which exhibits highly concentrated land ownership and wealth, I argue that neoliberal restructuring and the forms it has taken in the government's agricultural policies have shown a class bias toward large farmers. This bias has led to exclusionary growth, which undercut both access to land and employment for small farmers. The thesis concludes by outlining reforms to address these structural challenges.<br>by Paula Winicki.<br>M.C.P.

Cette étude est fondée sur le fait que la croissance urbaine a accru les niveaux d'interaction entre le rural et l'urbain dans les pays en voie de développement. Ces interactions jouent un rôle significatif dans l'amélioration des moyens d'existence, en particulier pour les banlieusards. L'objectif général de cette étude est d'analyser cet état de fait. L'étude contribue à la compréhension des moyens d'exitence à travaers les frontières spatiales et sectorielles. L'étude examine les formes d'activités, cherchant à définir l'influence des facteurs politiques et des stratégies des ménages. L'étude a été menée dans la région de Bugisu à l'est de l'Ouganda et couvre cinq districts du "grand" Mbale : Mbale, Manafa, Budduda et Sironko. L'étude a mobilisé des méthodes de collecte d'information et d'analyse à la fois qualitative et quantitative. Parmi les principales conclusions, on constate que le Bugisu rural a des liens plus importants avec les centres urbains. La ville de Mbale, une des plus vieilles villes de la région, sert de hub au Bugisu concentrant 69% des activités de navette, qui dans la région, sont fortement influencées par la pression sur la terre, les conditions du marché, les relations de voisinage, la capacité des ménages et les différents moyens accessibles aux banlieusards, ainsi que l'augmentation de la pauvreté dans les zones rurales. Une politique délibérée devrait être mise en place pour soutenir les conditions d'existence des populations et réduire le coût du business<br>This study is premised on the understanding that rising trends of urbanisation have led to increasing levels of interactionsbetween rural and urban settings and vice versa across the developing world. It is also envisioned that, rural-urban interactions play a significant role in supporting livelihoods especially of commuters. The overall objective of the study was to analyse the role of rural-urban interactions in supporting livelihoods of the commuters in Bugisu region. The study contributes to the understanding of livelihoods across spatial and sectoral boundaries looking at the synergistic coexistencefound between rural and urban and urban and rural settings. The study examined patterns of interaction and commuting activities in Bugisu region, looking at the influence of policy factors on commuting activities and commuter livelihoods strategies. The key concern was to establish a “fit” between rural-urban interaction and their potential for sustainable livelihoods. This study was conducted in Bugisu region, eastern Uganda covering the five districts of the then greater Mbale namely; Mbale, Manafa, Budduda and Sironko. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis.In examining patterns of interaction and commuting activities in Bugisu, the studynotes that rural Bugisu relates more closely with its urban centres. Mbale town, one of the oldest towns in the region serves as the hub of Bugisu region with, 69% of commuting activities in the area centred in it

Fall cankerworm (FCW) outbreaks have recently increased in frequency and intensity in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, especially around cities of Charlotte, NC and Richmond, VA. This study evaluated the effects of two landscape features associated with urbanization, impervious surface and forest cover, on population patterns of FCW and its parasitoids across eastern Virginia. Forest cover was positively related to parasitism rates while impervious surface was positively related to FCW abundance, suggesting that FCW outbreaks may be amplified in urban areas. FCW abundance declined over the two-year period of this study, but parasitism rate increased at most sites. Parasitism was highest at sites that experienced FCW outbreaks first, indicating that parasitoid populations are responding to moth abundances. It remains to be seen whether this outbreak was an aberrant occurrence, or represents a regime shift to more frequent defoliation in Virginia, similar to that in North Carolina urban areas.

The antecedents and consequences of social capital were investigated in this thesis, in the context of addressing the conceptual debate as to whether social capital is an individual or a group based phenomenon. The social status of individuals and the rurality of place of residence were both found to play a significant role in determining the social capital of an individual. Investigating the consequences of social capital on self-rated happiness and health status, it was found that both individual and context level social capital were important, particularly in determining an individual’s level of happiness. Findings showed that social capital comprised of both individual and group aspects. By investigating social capital in Bhutan, the thesis contributes to understanding the operation of social capital in a developing country context.

Le Madhya Pradesh offre un cas d’étude particulier, tant par la présence numérique descommunautés classées comme tribales (ādivāsī) que par le panorama culturel et social danslequel elles agissent, enrichissant le tissu des traditions différentes qui habitent cette ceinture du pays. Le témoignage d’une telle fécondité culturelle encadre le scénario socioanthropologique, ainsi que la vivacité historique qui, depuis des siècles, caractérise cette «Terre du Milieu ». L’approche comparative adoptée autour de la ritualité funéraire chez certains groups de Pardhan du Madhya Pradesh oriental a permis le développement de l’enquête dans une alternance continue et stimulante entre le savoir ancien de la tradition et culture royales gond (Rāja Gond) ‒ dont les Pardhan sont les premiers témoins et dépositaires ‒ et le niveau de pénétration de l’hindouisation conçue et qui va modifier les expériences de la dévotion et les pratiques du deuil. Sous cet aspect, la progression de l’enquête a suivi une évolution que nous définirions circulaire : du contexte urbain de Bhopal à celui rural des villages d’origine des districts de Mandlā et Dindori, le cadre ethnologique qui en est dérivé n’a pu se soustraire à la relation entre ces deux implantations. C’est à partir de la « culture funéraire» que nous avons commencé à appliquer notre regard sur les implications sociales mises en action pendant ce«perfectionnement » (saṃskāra) terminal. L’analyse des interrelations Gond-Pardhan dansl’Inde centrale nous a fourni l’occasion pour reconstituer un imaginaire culturel partagé, qui encore résiste, et entamer ainsi une réflexion sur d’autres aspects apparemment moinsévidents : les relations de parenté et de lignage face aux processus de migration etd’urbanisation, ou les changements et les interactions entre les catégories de « tradition » et « modernité », les discours sur l’identité indienne/hindoue et le concept d’indigénéité. Nos terrains se sont enrichis d’un travail comparatif nécessaire, où le dialogue entre les lieux impliqués a tracé des coordonnées significatives dans la lecture de la ritualité funéraire, actualisant la thématique du pluralisme social, celle de la cohabitation avec les formes régionales de ce qui est considéré, dans l’Inde d’aujourd’hui, comme l’hindouisme classique. Des conceptions cosmogoniques et thanatologiques des Pardhan, notre enquête s’étend au rapport caste-tribu dans le contraste de milieux urbain-rural et du concept de «glocalisation » avec les redistributions qu’il pilote<br>Madhya Pradesh is a singular case, both because of the high number of inhabitants belongingto communities classified as tribal (ādivāsī), and because of the cultural and social variety present and which enriches the fabric of the different traditions occupying this part of the country. What remains of this great cultural fecundity, along with the historical intensity with which this “Middle Land” has been shot through for centuries, both provide a favorable setting for the socio-anthropological scenario. The comparative approach to funerary rituality amongst some Pardhan groups of Eastern Madhya Pradesh has made it possible to pursue the study by constantly switching, in a very stimulating way, between classical knowledge of royal Gond tradition and culture (Rāja Gond) on the one hand ‒ of which the Pardhan are the main witnesses and bearers — and, on the other hand, the level of penetration of Hinduization which will modify the experiences of devotion and the practices of mourning. In this respect, the study developed in a way that would be qualify as circular: from the urban context of Bhopal to the rural context of the home villages in the Mandlā and Dindori districts, the ethnological framework that has been derived was forced to come to terms with the relationship between these two sites. It is from the “funerary culture” that this research started to examine the implications of the social as it is implemented during this final “refinement” (saṃskāra). The analysis of Gond-Pardhan interrelationships in central India provided us with the opportunity to find a shared cultural imaginary, which still resists, and for embarking on a reflection on other aspects which are apparently less obvious : the impact of the migration and urbanization processes on kinship and clan relations, or the changes to and interactions between the categories of “tradition” and “modernity”, the discourses on Indian/Hindu identity and the concept of indigeneity. Our field survey was enhanced by necessary comparative work, in which the dialogue between the places involved traced out significant coordinates in the reading of funerary rituality, by actualizing the theme of social pluralism, that of cohabitationbetween regional forms of what is considered, in today’s India, as classical Hinduism. From the cosmogonic and thanatological conceptions of the Pardhan, our study intersects with thetheme of caste-tribe relation in the contrast of urban-rural environments, as well as with the concept of “glocalization” and the re-distributions that it directs

博士<br>國立中山大學<br>中國與亞太區域研究所<br>103<br>The purpose of this dissertation is to discuss the imbalance between urban-rural financial development in China, exploring why China’s urban-rural financial development has been unbalancing, and how interaction between the urban and rural finance. Firstly, this dissertation explores the gap and the degree of imbalance between urban-rural finance in China. Based on the Word Bank’s framework about benchmarking financial systems around the world, this dissertation builds analysis dimensions and indications to examine the urban-rural financial development. Furthermore, comparing the proportion of urban-rural lending and economic contribution measures the degree of urban-rural financial imbalance. The results show Chinese urban-rural financial development has been unbalancing, and especially the degree of imbalance went from bad to worse during the mid-1990s and early 2000s. The urban-rural financial development is mainly influenced by three roles that have the capacity to control the urban-rural capital flows and allocation: the central government, local governments and financial institutions. The economic development strategy of central government, the investment impulse of local governments and the profit orientation of financial institutions cause urban bias in the urban-rural capital flows and allocation. Especially since the marketization reform of state-owned banks in 1998, financial institutions have widely closed down their branch offices at or below the country level, worsening the vicious cycle of mutual-limitation between supply and demand in rural financial market. Since Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao came to power in 2003, the central government has been paying attention three rural issues and actively engaging in rural financial reforms. Although the central government tried to change the structure of urban-rural capital flows, the rural capital outflows have been continuing and expanding the proportion in the gap between the rural capital supply-demand. Chinese dual financial system based on the dual economy theory causes that the urban-rural financial development has two aspects of dual structure. The urban and rural financial system each has different dual financial structure, and among of them the interest of informal financial market in urban is the highest attracting rural capital outflows, strengthening the path dependence of imbalance between urban-rural financial development. However, domestic capital has been concentrated in urban area tending to invest non-productive sectors like the real estate, which influences the stability of economic growth and the transformation of economic structure in China.

In this dissertation, I describe patterns of interaction that were identified from in-depth narrative interviews with LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) people in two contrasting research sites. Thirty-five participants live in a small town in the Midwest known for its religious and political conservatism, and thirty-one live in a mid-sized city on the east coast that is known for being “liberal.” The dissertation focuses on these patterns of interaction at three key social sites. First, in interactions with straight family and friends, I show that sexuality—like race, class, or gender—influences the emotion work one is expected to perform. LGBTQs’ deliberations about belonging lead them to suppress or evoke emotions as they work to overcome relational boundaries. Second, in interactions with the general public, I find that LGBTQs in the small town describe a moral framework of “respect” that compels them to refrain from acts of visibility; while LGBTQs in the urban site feel they have a “responsibility” to enact a visible gay presence. Beliefs, in this case, influence LGBTQs’ decisions to engage in acts of “everyday queer visibility.” Finally, I find that rural LGBTQs engage in a process of intragroup boundary-work as they distance themselves from other LGBTQ people and from a larger gay community. Contrary to other scholarship and hypotheses about how marginalized people construct identity and community, LGBTQ people in this site reject collective identity, while simultaneously solidifying boundaries between “straight” and “gay.” While a good deal of other research focuses on LGBTQ identity, this dissertation utilizes a “critical interactionist” framework in order to examine the influence of dominant, place-based ideologies on LGBTQs’ patterns of interaction. Such an approach offers a more inclusive portrayal of the variety of LGBTQ experience, one that does not simply privilege narratives of resistance, but also sheds light on how social power functions in the everyday lives of LGBTQs.

碩士<br>逢甲大學<br>建築及都市計畫研究所<br>90<br>Abstract There are three purposes of this research. First, to investigate the changes of inhabitants’ living sphere and the urban-rural relationship. Second, to find out if the living sphere and urban-rural interaction will be affected by social-economical background of the residents. Third, to discuss if the urban-rural relationship might be influenced by the transition of inhabitants’ living sphere. Because of the special geographic position, Sanhsia Town, which is a general town in Taipei metropolitan living sphere, has been chosen to be the study area. Sampling some residents here to know their background and daily movement places, which are divided into nine categories, in four period. And also ask the reason why they choose the place by questionnaire. The main findings are as follow： 1.Inhabitants’ living sphere in Sanhsia, are divided into four-level sphere. 2.When time goes by some events of the inhabitants’ living sphere are still the same but some of them might stretch their range. 3.The situation of linkage and communication between Sanhsia Town and neighbors turns into more closely. 4.Inhabitants’ living sphere are weakly connected with the social background of residents in Sanhsia. Education degree, residence period and occupation are three influential factors. The living sphere will change when the background of the residents changes. 5.The inhabitants’ living sphere in Sanhsia expand day by day. It shows that the linkage and communication with neighbor towns become frequently. So the transition of inhabitants’ living sphere might be one of the factors, which prompts the change of urban-rural relationship. 6.In the range of the resident’s activities in Sanhsia Town, there are two particular activities. One is religion the other is special medical treatment. Ching-shoei Tzuu-shuey Temple and En-zhu-gong Hospital become the important urban-rural linkage place. Keywords：inhabitants’ living sphere, urban-rural relationship, urban-rural interaction, change, transition, Sanhsia Town

Abstract: This study examines how differential accessibility to regional markets and natural resources affects smallholder livelihoods in the northeastern Peruvian Amazon, particularly in terms of household income diversification or specialization. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods were applied to semi-structured smallholder household (N = 319) and community leader interview data collected in 40 communities in 2006-2007, in addition to change detection performed on Landsat satellite imagery (1987, 1993, and 2001). First, the dissertation explores changes in smallholder land use patterns across the study region during a period of profound macroeconomic changes and continual urbanization, finding that overall land use trends of agricultural abandonment reflected national reductions in agrarian subsidies. Second, based on interview data, household processes of income diversification and specialization were analyzed in two sections of the study area, the Itaya and Nanay basins. In the Itaya Basin, it was observed that smallholder livelihood specialization was aided by road development increasing transportation accessibility to important regional markets. In the more isolated Nanay Basin, livelihood choices were found to be influenced by processes of livelihood displacement caused by conservation efforts, in addition to remoteness and river seasonality. This study concludes by reflecting on the importance of the spatial relations of access to resources and markets in the region and in similar places in the developing tropics. This kind of information can help make national and regional policy decisions on such issues such as conservation, agrarian credits, road development, which may differentially affect smallholder livelihoods and their environments.<br>text

碩士<br>景文科技大學<br>旅遊管理系觀光與餐旅管理碩士班<br>105<br>Most of the style of promoting the food and agricultural education has been promote by the local government, agricultural units and education units. Which include the nutritional lunch for the junior high school and elementary school are deliver by the local government and the agricultural units as a team, and it has been start from the school’s daily food and beverage, to increase the percentage of the use of local ingredients for the nutritional lunch. Food and agricultural education not only promote by the government and the education units. In recent years, Europe and the United States, Japan and other countries by the Growing Home, Orange fiber, Ooooby, JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) and other civil society organizations to promote food and agricultural education, local dishes, produce and sell from the local and organic agriculture activities, and successfully lead consumers contact with food and agricultural education and local agricultural development and solve the problems of agricultural products sales, and through the activities of the revitalization of local development. The purpose of the study is to discuss the change of the cognition, point of view and behavior after the consumer join several times of food and agricultural activities, the study try to observe the change of the consumers in the activity by participation and questionnaire. The conclusion shows the consumers can be clearly understand the idea of producing by directly experience, local consumption and interaction with the agricultural producer. After the activity the thought of consumers used to think of food and agricultural education is just about the education of food and beverage, has been upgrade in to another level, start to think of the gravity between food and beverage education and agricultural experience. After experiencing the process of the food and agricultural education activity, consumer can strongly experience all the difficulty and hard work that the agricultural producer had face. So on the desire of join the activity and pay close attention to the food and agricultural education and the behavior of consumption has change obviously.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Architecture in Sustainable and Energy Efficient Cities. May 2018<br>The study is rooted in the food-security and job-creation drive for urban areas as urbanisation and unemployment intensifies thus driving urban-agriculture innovations that focus on small-scale crop and animal production. In contrast, several rural areas with high potential agricultural land are stagnating mainly due to a lack of farming knowledge and skills especially as the younger generation migrate to cities. As a result, an opportunity emerges for the diffusion of innovations in sustainable agricultural practices from innovative urban-agriculture farmers to the slow-to-innovate rural farmers. This study therefore substantiates on this scenario based on diffusion opportunity from urban-to-rural case study communities in South Africa Based on a qualitative study approach and case-study method as well as interviews with purposely selected respondents, the study appraised and compared status-quo practices in the Tshwane Food and Energy Centre (TFEC) and kwaSwayimane communities. Primary data were also collected through direct observation based on field visits to the two case studies. Secondary data on purposely-selected reported cases on diffusion of innovation models/processes in various sectors were also captured and analysed. Data analyses were guided mainly by a comparative approach where status-quo practices across both case studies were compared, variations in practices were applied as the guide to diffusion opportunities, and secondary data on models guided the conceptualisation of the diffusion model. Following on the comparative data analysis, the study finds that even though the initially planned innovation practices for TFEC were not sustained beyond a period of about two months, the case study still serves the diffusion opportunity by demonstrating the integration/synthesis of interventions and optimisation of the economies-of-scale-benefits. Equally, the diffusion shortfalls in the project highlight areas for caution especially with regard to the critical significance of provision for initial piloting at small-scale before scale-up, security system, beneficiary-selection criteria/process and sustaining/expanding on initial networks. Coupled with additional insights from secondary data analysis of reported diffusion models/processes, the study conceptualised a two-phase model (partnering and piloting) for innovation diffusion to host community in kwaSwayimane. As part of the findings, guidelines towards implementation of the model were also conceptualised and substantiated. Besides the innovation diffusion model to be shared with the actors in the diffusion opportunity, the other key recommendation of the study is that innovations such as the integrated sustainability interventions and cooperative business model diffused into the TFEC are adaptable through reinvention towards the uplifting of rural communities such as kwaSwayimane.<br>MT 2018

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, History, 2013<br>This thesis explores the changing social life and practices of rural-urban migrants who migrated to colonial Harare (then known as Salisbury) from several rural reserve areas such as Kunzwi, Chinyika, Seke, and Chinamhora in the Goromonzi District in a period spanning over 30 years from 1946 to 1979. The study aims to capture autonomous, plural and contextual transformations in both the rural and urban spaces emanating from, or because of increasing rural-urban interaction. This challenges conventional interpretations of rural-urban migration and examines the role of material culture, associational life and livelihoods in African social transformation and engages with the possibilities of independent agency of Africans and cultural reconstruction. I propose that in much the same way as the colonial state, the African colonised people constructed alternative discourses that shaped their daily realities and identities. This was partly as a form of resistance against the state or other power holders but principally in pursuit of individualising and seizing various contexts in attempts to bring about the cultural elements preferred, and the social relations wished for. I contend that while one of the defining features of twentieth-century Africa was, undoubtedly, the growth of cities and the accompanying transformations in urban life; such change has largely been treated under several other accounts such as the emerging African elite, the rise of nationalism and trade-unionism. This study, however, posits that the unprecedented multiplication of rural-urban linkages in colonial Zimbabwe, more so, in the decades following the end of the Second World War, calls for a separate interrogation of how subaltern classes transformed or reframed their own social environment. The thesis, therefore, contributes to the scholarship on rural-urban interactions by foregrounding the social history analytical framework through exploring how those who traversed between the rural and urban spaces transformed their own socio-spatial environments and livelihoods. By elevating urban-based rural migrants into the investigation and analysis, the study shows that colonialism and “modernisation” were not the only forces shaping the lives of the African colonised people. The aim is to reconstruct the inner workings of an indigenous community for which colonial rule was but one (though important) thread in the fabric of social life. This brings into analytical space the lives, goals and transformations of those who experienced the complex and often-contradictory effects of migration in colonial Zimbabwe daily and restores the inner workings of the socio-cultural systems emanating thereof.

碩士<br>國立政治大學<br>傳播學院碩士在職專班<br>93<br>Interactive Satellite Television as a Solution to Redeem the Educational Resources Disparity between Urban and Rural Areas－A Case Study by a Simultaneous Distance Learning Project "Magic English Camp" This thesis was based on simultaneous distance learning made possible through “Interactive Satellite TV” and the “Magic English Camp” case-study to investigate development of the convergence of satellite television and distance learning. By evaluating this case-study of interactive virtual video pedagogy, the project intended to identify and understand how new technologies can “equilibrate” the digital divide between urban and rural areas. As an employee of ERA Digital Media Corporation, the author was able to take part in the preparation of The Magic English Camp event program and closely follow its evolution and outcome. In order to pursue comprehensive and objective results, this project required extensive research and work on journals, periodicals, publications etc. Furthermore, this project conducted "Participant Observation", "Literature Analysis" and "Secondary Research" methodology along with "Case Study Analysis" for both theoretical and practical concrete suggestions. To sum up, the results of this thesis indicate the following: 1. continuously to use the “Interactive Satellite TV” can step-by-step to improve the educational resource disparity in urban and rural area. 2. Simultaneous Distance learning leveled the playing field for children in rural areas who were now able to benefit both from advanced educational material and the teaching of native English-speakers. 3. The effect of multi-media pedagogy is significant. Real-time instruction and simultaneous visual and audio pedagogy captured attention, motivated learning and increased learning efficiency. 4. It is easier to build the “Interactive Satellite TV system” that could be used repeatedly. With high speed mass data transmission as a characteristic and priority, satellite and internet made it possible to establish a “Simultaneous Distance learning Platform” thus making it more facile to access instruction for students without geographic limitations. Moreover, there are two suggestions for this research: 1. Combine the most of educational resources and to produce the synchronous video-information courses for the people. 2. To build up the distance learning platform for everyone students in the whole environment, and standardize the process to reach the goal of educational resources of equilibrium. Keyword(s): Educational resources, e-Learning, Interactive TV, Satellite.

Chez les personnes âgées, la dépression est un problème important en santé publique, à cause de sa prévalence élevée et de son association avec les incapacités fonctionnelles, la mortalité et l’utilisation des services. La plupart des études ont montré que le manque de relations sociales était associé à la dépression, mais les résultats ne sont pas clairs. Au Québec et au Canada, on possède peu de données sur la prévalence de la dépression chez les personnes âgées et de son association avec les relations sociales. Peu d’études ont examiné le rôle des relations sociales sur l’utilisation des services de santé par les personnes âgées déprimées. Le but de cette recherche était d’examiner le rôle des relations sociales dans la présence de la dépression et dans la consultation chez un professionnel de la santé des personnes âgées déprimées, au Québec. Plus spécifiquement, ce travail visait à : 1) examiner les associations entre les relations sociales et les troubles dépressifs selon la région de résidence; 2) examiner les associations différentielles des relations sociales sur la dépression des femmes et des hommes âgés; 3) examiner le rôle des relations sociales dans la consultation auprès d’un professionnel de la santé des personnes âgées déprimées. Pour répondre à ces objectifs, nous avons utilisé les données de l’enquête ESA (Enquête sur la Santé des Aînés), réalisée en 2005 -2006 auprès d’un échantillon de 2670 personnes âgées résidant à domicile au Québec, qui nous ont permis de rédiger trois articles. Les troubles dépressifs (incluant la dépression majeure et mineure) ont été mesurés, selon les critères du DSM-IV, en excluant le critère de l’altération du fonctionnement social, professionnel ou dans d’autres domaines importants, à l’aide du questionnaire ESA développé par l’équipe de recherche. Les relations sociales ont été mesurées à l’aide de cinq variables : (1) le réseau social; (2) l’intégration sociale; (3) le soutien social, (4) la perception d’utilité auprès des proches et (5) la présence de relations conflictuelles avec le conjoint, les enfants, les frères et sœurs et les amis. Des modèles de régression logistique multiple ont été ajustés aux données pour estimer les rapports de cote et leur intervalle de confiance à 95 %. Nos résultats ont montré des prévalences de dépression plus élevées chez les personnes qui résident dans les régions rurales et urbaines, comparées à celles qui résident dans la région métropolitaine de Montréal. La pratique du bénévolat, le soutien social et les relations non conflictuelles avec le conjoint sont associés à une faible prévalence de dépression, indépendamment du type de résidence. Comparés aux hommes, les femmes ont une prévalence de dépression plus élevée. L’absence de confident est associée à une prévalence de dépression élevée, tant chez les hommes que chez les femmes. La probabilité de dépression est plus élevée chez les hommes veufs et chez ceux qui ne pratiquent pas d’activités de bénévolat, comparativement à ceux qui sont mariés et font du bénévolat. Chez les femmes, aucune association significative n’a été observée entre le statut marital, le bénévolat et la dépression. Cependant, la présence de relations conflictuelles avec le conjoint est associée avec la dépression, seulement chez les femmes. Les relations avec les enfants, les frères et sœurs et les amis ne sont pas associées avec la dépression dans cette population de personnes âgées du Quebec. En ce qui concerne la consultation chez un professionnel de la santé, nos résultats ont révélé que presque la moitié des personnes âgées dépressives n’ont pas consulté un professionnel de la santé, pour leurs symptômes de dépression, au cours des 12 derniers mois. Par ailleurs, notre étude a montré que les personnes âgées qui disposent de tous les types de soutien (confident, émotionnel et instrumental) consultent plus pour leurs symptômes de dépression que ceux qui ont moins de soutien. Comparativement aux hommes mariés, les femmes mariées consultent plus les professionnels de la santé, ce qui laisse supposer que le réseau de proches (épouse et enfants) semble agir comme un substitut en réduisant la fréquence de consultation chez les hommes. Vu la rareté des études canadiennes sur la prévalence de la dépression chez les personnes âgées et les facteurs psychosociaux qui y sont associés, les résultats de ce travail seront utiles pour les cliniciens et pour les responsables des politiques à l’échelle nationale, provinciale et locale. Ils pourront guider des interventions spécifiques, selon la région de résidence et pour les hommes et les femmes âgées, dans le domaine de la santé mentale.<br>Depression is an important public health problem among the elderly population due to its high prevalence and its association with disability, mortality and use of health services. Most studies have shown that lack of social networks is associated with depression but results are not clear. In Quebec and in Canada, little evidence exists on the prevalence of depression in the elderly population and on its associations with social relationships. Few studies have examined the associations between social relationships and health services utilisation among the depressed elderly patients. The aim of this work was to examine the role of social relationships on the presence of depression and on the consultation with a health professional by the elderly patient with depression, in Québec. More specifically, this work aimed at examining if: 1) the associations between social relationships and depression varied in rural and urban areas; 2) the associations between social relationships and depression were different in men and in women and 3) assessing the role of social relationships in the consultation of a health professional by the elderly patients with depression. To attain these objectives we have written three articles using data from the ESA survey, conducted in 2005-2006 on a representative sample of 2670 community dwelling people over 65 in Quebec. Depressive disorders (including major and minor depression) were measured by the DSM-IV criteria using the ESA questionnaire developed by the research team which excludes the criteria on limitations of social functioning. Social relationships were measured by aspects of social networks (marital status and diversity of ties), engagement in community social activities (religious attendance, frequenting social centers, and volunteerism), social support and perception of usefulness and presence of conflict in the relationships with spouse, children, siblings and friends. Multiple logistic regressions were adjusted to estimate odds ratios and their 95 % confidence intervals. Prevalence of depression was higher among those living in urban and rural areas of Quebec compared with metropolitan Montreal. Volunteerism, social support and not having conflict with the spouse were associated with lower frequency of depression independently of the area of residence. Women had higher prevalence of depression compared with men. Lack of a confident was associated with higher frequency of depression both in men and in women. Men who were widows and those who were not involved in volunteer work had higher odds of depression than men in other marital situations and men who were volunteering. Marital status and volunteer work were not associated with depression in women. However, conflict in marriage was associated with depression in women. Relationships with children, siblings and friends are not associated with depression in this population of elderly people from Quebec. Concerning consultation with a health professional for symptoms of depression, we have shown that approximately half of those depressed elderly, both among men and among women, have not consulted for their symptoms in the last 12 months. Consultation is associated with high levels of support, but the immediate network (spouse and siblings) seems to act as a substitute for depressed elderly men, reducing their frequency of consultation. Given the scarcity of Canadian studies on depression prevalence among the elderly population, these results on depression and its associated factors provide important information for clinicians and decision makers for planning and targeting of services by area of residence and for both men and women.

The land-grant university system was founded in the 19th century as a public means to help improve people’s everyday lives. A century and a half later, the challenges that the public faces to live a quality life are constantly changing, creating a need for the land-grant system to respond and adapt to continue to fulfill its mission. While the literature contains a wealth of conceptual papers addressing the role and mission of land-grant universities, relatively few papers could be found that reported empirical data or proposed and tested metrics for public engagement constructs. The current study sought to address this void in the literature through the investigation of factors influencing Indiana residents’ level of interest in engaging with Purdue University. Mail survey methods were used in which up to three contacts were made with adult members of 4,500 Indiana households identified through address-based sampling. Stratified random sampling was employed to ensure adequate rural household participation for other project purposes. Usable responses were received from 1,003 households representing 87 Indiana counties for a total response rate of 26%. <br><div><br> </div><div> A theoretical perspective was developed from Public Sphere Theory and the social science writings of Jurgen Habermas and Alexis de Tocqueville. Descriptive findings revealed some to moderate concerns about community and social issues such as affordable health care, violent crime, pollution and prescription drug abuse. Moderate levels of anomie, or perceived social disconnectedness, were also reported by respondents. Several items tapped respondents’ past levels of interaction with and current perceptions of Purdue University. Nearly a fifth of respondents reported interacting with Purdue University by having visited a website for news or information, followed by interacting with a Purdue University Extension professional. Regarding perceptions of Purdue University, the results of this study revealed relative consensus among respondents that Purdue University makes a positive contribution to the state of Indiana through its educational, research and outreach programs. For a majority of the perceptual items regarding Purdue University, more than one-third of the respondents neither agreed nor disagreed with the statement, suggesting some areas in which the university might improve its reputational standing with Indiana residents in the future. Nearly one-quarter to about half of the respondents indicated interest in topical areas addressed by Purdue Extension programs as well as an interest in engaging with the university. Respondents reported the highest levels of interest in free Extension programs in their local area, followed by the topics of science and technology, health and well-being, and gardening.</div><div><br> </div><div> A predictive model of respondent interest in engaging with Purdue University was developed and tested using binary logistic regression procedures. The model was shown to be of modest utility in accounting for variance in respondent interest in engaging with Purdue University, explaining 12% to 16% of total variance. Past interaction with Purdue University, perceived level of concern for social and community issues, and highest level of education were the strongest predictors in the model.</div><div><br> </div><div> The current research was completed in 2019 as Purdue University celebrated its 150th anniversary. Results and implications of this study provide important insight into current engagement levels, concerns and perceptions of residents within the state of Indiana, whom the university is mandated to serve. One of the study’s primary contributions is the establishment of baseline engagement data on current levels of Indiana residents’ interest in engaging with Purdue University on selected topics. Findings from this study could be of benefit to university administrators, faculty, staff and Extension professionals in assessing and improving future programming and setting strategic priorities. This study also adds to the conceptual and empirical body of literature, which may help inform future public engagement efforts at other land-grant universities. Periodic social science and public opinion research is needed to keep pace with the changing needs and perceptions of Indiana residents. Different data collection modes should be utilized to reach more audience segments and add to the growing knowledge base of public engagement.</div>