Via Eighteenth Century Studies., Review of John Fea's The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Philip Vickers Fithian and the Rural Enlightenment in Early America. Reviewer notes Fea's primary claim that the Enlightenment was about self-improvement. "This gives an entirely different focus from those studies of rural American Enlightenment that address the question of modernity through agricultural improvement."
A study of the rise in popularity of radio in rural America in the 1920s and the portrayal of farmers in the press during this time. In the effort to promote the general value of radio, the press focused on how it was adopted by farmers. The media exaggerated the shortcomings of farm life, supporting the increasingly urban and modern way of life, and isolating and marginalizing rural dwellers.
Analysis of an online social microblog, Sina Weibo. Researchers found that "the poor and rich areas were more willing to behave immorally, and the relation between GDP and collective moral motivation was curved. Also, normal people were less ethical when prices increased than when incomes decreased. Ecological construction and the value added by industries which used more farmers and off-farm workers were both correlated with morality. We also found a dark side to science and technological innovation, which harmed collective morality when areas grew richer."
Via online access. 7 pages., Examines the elements of an "honest vision for the future with a shared language that accurately describes our world." Size of farm is not the key indicator, the author argues.
