Endorsement of the positive imagery of rurality and rejection of the negative representations of rural life is commonly referred to in the literature as the rural mystique. Using data collected in a 2012 survey of persons living in small and rural places in Texas, we tested the hypothesis that increased acceptance of the rural mystique is positively associated with community attachment, community satisfaction, perceived influence in community decision-making, and self-reported engagement in community-oriented actions. Bivariate and multiple correlation-regression analyses provided moderate support for our proposition. Rural and small-town residents' endorsement of the rural mystique was associated with their levels of community attachment, community satisfaction, and perceived influence in community decision-making. Acceptance of the rural mystique was not statistically related to respondents' self-reported engagement in community-oriented actions. The findings also revealed that certain sociodemographic variables are independently and statistically related to one or more of the four dependent variables.

This study used data from a 2012 survey of persons living in small and rural places in Texas to assess their views concerning selected positive and negative descriptions of rural and urban life. Findings suggest that ruraland small town Texans tended to accept positive images of rural life, toreject negative views of rurality, and to be somewhat ambivalent with respect to urban living. Bivariate and multiple correlation and regression analyses found relationships between subjects' selected sociodemographic characteristics and their views related to rural and urban life. The article presents comparisons of these findings with the results of previous research on the rural mystique and advances suggestions for additional exploration of these ideas.

Rapid development of the US natural gas industry over the last decade has been fueled primarily by technological advances in horizontal drilling and high-volume, multistage hydraulic fracturing (IEA 2012). Hydraulic fracturing - an industrial process frequently called fracking, fracing, or frac'ing - involves flushing large volumes of frac fluid (i.e., a mixture of water and proppant, along with small volumes of friction reducers, disinfectants, and other chemicals) into wells at extremely high pressure levels to create and/or magnify small fissures, or fractures, in the shale formations (King 2012; Theodori et al. 2014). The fracturing of shale gas formations increases recovery by enabling higher permeability through the reservoirs to the wellbores (King 2012).Of late, the topic of hydraulic fracturing has increasingly dominated public discourse and popular press writings (Dobb 2103; Marsa 2011; Walsh 2011). Environmental, social, and behavioral scientists have also begun studying various environmental/natural resource, social, and public health issues associated with increased hydraulic fracturing and shale gas and oil development (Colborn et al. 2011; Olmstead et al. 2013; Shonkoff, Hays, and Finkel 2014; Weber, Geigle, and Barkdull 2014). Citing both perceived and objective environmental and health concerns, lawmakers in municipalities across the country - and recently at a state level (New York) - have passed legislation banning the process of high-volume, multistage hydraulic fracturing within their jurisdictions.The purpose of this paper is to add to the sociological literature on issues associated with hydraulic fracturing. Recent studies have sought information on American's views of hydraulic fracturing from national samples of residents (Boudet et al. 2014; Davis and Fisk 2014) but do not focus on the views of residents living in areas such as Pennsylvania that are most affected by the rapid development of the natural gas industry. Other studies provide information on the views of selected stakeholder groups and community and/or key informants (Brasier et al. 2011; Ceresola and Crowe 2015; Ladd 2013; Schafft et al. 2014) rather than assessing residents' views directly. A 2009 survey of Pennsylvania residents in the Marcellus Region provided early baseline information about residents' perceptions (Alter et al. 2010), and a subsequent study (Willits, Luloff, and Theodori 2013a) documented changes in residents' views in the intervening years. The current analysis drew upon the latter survey data to assess residents' self-reported familiarity with hydraulic fracturing and its association with support or opposition to the development of natural gas. Specifically, the following research questions were addressed:Research Question 1: To what extent do residents report they are familiar with hydraulic fracturing and how does reported familiarity differ depending upon the individuals' sociodemographic characteristics, primary sources of information, density of well development in their counties, and the mode of data collection?Research Question 2: How does perceived familiarity with hydraulic fracturing relate to residents' support or opposition to development of the natural gas industry in their area?DATAIn 2012, random samples of persons living in 21 counties in the Marcellus Shale region in Pennsylvania were contacted and asked to participate in a survey concerning their opinions about natural gas development. All counties were located in the central core or tier one areas of the Marcellus region as defined by geologists at the time (Dell et al. 2008), and all had experienced at least some Marcellus Shale drilling activity. However, the well densities of the areas varied widely. Twelve of the counties contained between 1 and 128 wells in 2012, with 12 or fewer wells per 100 square miles of land area. The remaining nine counties each had two hundred to more than one thousand wells, with densities between 20 and 93 wells for every 100 square miles. …

Public debate concerning possible threats to water quality and quantity as a result of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the natural gas industry is widespread. In response, scientists working at universities, public research centers, and in the private sector have developed a variety of methods for treating wastewater from hydraulic fracturing operations for re-use. This report examines the public’s views about the potential safe uses of such treated water for industrial and farm use and animal and human consumption. Data for this analysis were drawn from a 2012 survey of 800 residents in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. The analysis addresses the following research question: How are these perceptions of safe usage related to residents’ sociodemographic characteristics, usage of various sources of information about hydraulic fracturing, and the extent to which these sources are “trusted”? Implications of the findings are discussed.

Issues associated with the public's views on hydraulic fracturing and the management, disposal, and reuse of frac flowback wastewaters are empirically examined in this paper. The data used in the analyses were collected in a general population survey from a random sample drawn from 21 counties located in the geological Central Core and Tier 1 of the Marcellus Shale region in Pennsylvania. Differences in the information reported by survey respondents living in high well-density counties (20 or more wells per 100 square miles) and their counterparts living in low well-density counties (fewer than 20 wells per 100 square miles) were examined. Substantive findings from the overall sample, as well as statistically significant differences between the two groups of respondents, are reported. The results contained in this paper should prove beneficial to members of the general public, community leaders, oil and gas industry representatives, government and regulatory agency personnel, environmental and non-governmental organization representatives, and other interested stakeholders.

Monitoring public opinion, especially about controversial environmental/natural resource issues, through various survey modes remains an important social science tool used by scholars, advocates, newspaper reporters, and policymakers alike. However, with this use there has been a concomitant decline in response rates. To address this problem, increased use of mixed modes of surveys has occurred. The degree to which results of different modes can be combined remains a basic question. Can findings be compared to assess changes in public views across time or differences among various regions when different modes of data collection are used? We addressed this question by assessing how two comparable samples of residents' responses to the same questions differed depending upon survey mode (telephone or mail) while controlling for sampling procedures and survey content.

Data from comparable surveys of residents in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania conducted in 2009 and 2012 are analyzed to ascertain changes in public views over time. The proportions of residents indicating they knew very little or nothing about the economic, social, and environmental impacts of gas drilling declined sharply. Further, residents increasingly formed opinions about the possible costs and benefits of developing the industry and whether they opposed or supported developing the gas industry. The proportions of respondents expressing various concerns about possible negative environmental impacts of drilling increased. However, most residents supported developing the industry and there was little change in that support over the survey period. Rapid expansion of the natural gas industry in the Marcellus Shale region has brought change and controversy to numerous communities in Pennsylvania. Many regions affected are rural areas long beset by high unemployment, low wages, and declining populations. Such areas are precisely the places where gas-related development offers the promise of economic growth, job creation, and increased business opportunities (Ercolino 2013; Van Ryan 2010). However, optimism over these positive outcomes has been at least partially offset by heightened concerns over the possible negative social, economic, and environmental consequences associated with such development (Brasier et al. 2011; Kargbo, Wilhelm, and Campbell 2010).

Development of unconventional natural gas resources in the Marcellus Shale region of the northeastern United States has progressed rapidly over the last decade. The discourse surrounding such development recalls quarter-century-old debates about positive and negative implications for the well-being of such energy boomtowns. Potential support or opposition relates to trust in the industry and its regulators, perceived knowledge, and perceived impacts. Our research project takes advantage of the opportunity for a natural experiment in comparing these elements between two spatially adjacent sites with contrasting approaches to gas development: in Pennsylvania, drilling of unconventional natural gas reserves has been proceeding for nearly a decade, whereas, at the time of this writing, drilling has not begun in New York. A mail survey of a random sample of New York and Pennsylvania residents within the Marcellus region revealed important differences between sites. New York residents were more opposed to development, characterized the industry in a more negative light, and were more likely to have engaged in various forms of public participation. In contrast, respondents did not differ by state on their perceived level of knowledge, even though gas development is more advanced in Pennsylvania. Potential explanations for these findings are offered, as are implications for understanding newly emerging energy boomtowns.

The ideas that urban residents and decisionmakers have about rural people and places can influence rural-urban interactions and the nature of rural development policies. In Pennsylvania, residents, business people, and State officials/employees in urban areas often hold nostalgic, positive images of rural places and misunderstand the economic and social characteristics of the State's rural population. This disjuncture is problematic for rural development and creates a need for educating policymakers and urban residents about the realities of rural conditions.

The lack of empirical testing of theories in past studies in distance education has resulted in a fragile theoretical basis of this field. Investigating 121 learners’ experiences with videoconferencing, this study used path analysis to examine the postulates of Moore’s Theory of Transactional Distance. A major focus of the study was estimating the effects of the dimensions of dialogue, structure, learner autonomy, and transactional distance—the constituent concepts of Moore’s theory—on learning outcomes in such a learning environment. In-class discussion, one of the dimensions of dialogue, was found to contribute positively, directly, and indirectly to learning outcomes, whereas transactional distance between instructors and learners was inversely related to learning outcomes. None of the dimensions of structure and learner autonomy was found to have significant effects on learning outcomes. The data suggested that when learning outcomes were assessed only in terms of the student’s perception of how much he or she has learned, the relationships among the concepts in the transactional distance theory were only partly supported. Dans les études antérieures menées en éducation à distance, le peu de vérifications empiriques des théories nous a légué des fondements théoriques faibles. Cette étude, qui analyse les expériences d’apprentissage par vidéoconférence de cent vingt et un apprenants, a adopté une analyse causale des postulats de la théorie de Moore sur la distance transactionnelle. L’étude s’est attachée à évaluer les effets du dialogue, de la structure, de l’autonomie de l’apprenant et de la distance transactionnelle--concepts constituants de la théorie de Moore--sur les résultats d’apprentissage dans un tel environnement d’apprentissage. La discussion en classe, qui est l’un des aspects du dialogue, s’est révélée contribuer de manière positive, directement et indirectement, aux résultats d’apprentissage, alors que la distance transactionnelle entre formateurs et apprenants était en rapport inverse avec les résultats d’apprentissage. Il est apparu que ni la structure ni l’autonomie de l’apprenant n’entraînaient d’effets significatifs sur les résultats d’apprentissage. Les données laissent entendre que si l’on évalue les résultats d’apprentissage en s’appuyant seulement sur la perception du « combien » les étudiants ont appris, les corrélations entre les concepts de la théorie de la distance transactionnelle ne sont que partiellement corroborées.

Objectives: This study assesses the impact of number and quality of family ties on the health and well-being of elderly people. Method: Measures of the quantity and quality of family ties, adjusting for gender, education, and income, were correlated with the self-rating of health and well-being of a sample of 534 married parents between 68 and 73 years of age. Results: The quality of an individual's relationships with spouse, children, and other family members was associated with personal feelings of well-being, but the quantity of such associations had little impact on either physical or psychological health. Discussion: Researchers and those working with elderly people should not assume that the presence of family members necessarily implies that social support affecting physical health and well-being will be forthcoming.