16 pages., Via online journal., Indigenous Mexican immigrants (Mixtecs) from rural Oaxaca, Mexico, experience a high
level of isolation and seasonal farm work, but the increasing speed of communication
technology stands to overcome these difficulties. For farm workers, the initial experience
of landlines and public pay phones was filled with anxiety and missed connections.
Despite the benefits of mobile phones, their adoption was delayed among Mixtec in
Oxnard, California, because of a combination of legal status, high cost, and seasonal
work. This article finds that a surge in mobile phone adoption and use took place during
a time where production of labor-intensive crops like strawberries increased throughout
California, farm worker settlement patterns matured, and mobile phone plans changed
becoming more affordable and easier to understand. The widespread adoption of mobile
phones brought more predictability to the informal agricultural job market for farm
workers, but this did not necessarily mean higher wages in the strawberry fields.
8 pages., via online journal, OBJECTIVE:
We examined work-related homicides and suicides among farm operators/workers in the United States from 1992 to 2010.
METHODS:
Work-related homicide and suicide cases from 1992 to 2010 were obtained from the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. To calculate rates, denominator data on the US working population were also obtained from 2003 to 2010 Current Population Survey. Logistic regression was used to identify factors that were differentially associated with homicide and suicide.
RESULTS:
Over these 19 years, 171 farm operators/workers died from homicide and 230 died from suicide. When compared to rates of all workers, suicide rates were higher while homicide rates were lower among farm operators/workers. Males (OR = 6.1), whites (OR = 4.7), and 35- to 54-year-old (OR = 2.3) farm operators/workers had increased odds of suicide over homicide compared with their respective counterparts (ie, females, nonwhites, <35-year-olds). Those working in smaller farm operations with <11 employees had 1.7 times the odds of suicide over homicide.
CONCLUSIONS:
Suicide and homicide are both present in the agricultural industry, with suicide being more common than homicide. Translation of suicide prevention programs should be explored for the agricultural industry.
