Research by faculty members parallels the graduate concentrations described above. Areas of concentrated effort involving a number of faculty members include work on globalization, displacement, gender relations and peasant mobilization; domestic and international migration; human impacts of environmental conservation and destruction. Additionally, individual faculty members have longstanding research programs on the spatial dimensions of population and land use change; post-socialist community and population change; trends in poverty and inequality; education and human capital development; fertility and family formation. The following list provides summary information on funded research.

BROWN
(David L. Brown, Nina Glasgow)
USDA-Hatch
Rural Population Change
Rural populations are transforming rapidly because of increased immigration, changes in age and ethnic composition, and economic restructuring. The purpose of this research is to produce analyses of the determinants and consequences of rural population change in the U.S. essential for effective public decision making at local, state, and national levels.

Rural New York Initiative
Rural areas of NYS have undergone significant economic, demographic, social, and environmental change in recent years. They lag urban areas in income and quality employment opportunities. The Rural New York Initiative enhances the engagement between Cornell research, outreach-extension, NYS stakeholders and policymakers to help create a productive dialogue around public policies, conduct research that is responsive to rural needs, and provide critical information which supports economic opportunities and the quality of life for rural people and places.

ELOUNDOU
(Alex Travis, Vet School)
Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resource Management in Zambia
Unsustainable agricultural and natural resources management practices and unsound economic strategies contribute significantly to food insecurity, limitations in livelihood opportunities, and diminished biodiversity throughout southern Africa. Targeted research and training of host country nationals will inject new technologies and generate critical knowledge needed to scale up the COMACO approaches with Zambia and across the southern Africa to improve food security, rural livelihoods, and biodiversity conservation.

Historical Development Patterns Associated With the Introduction of Pigeon Peas and Groundnuts in Rural Malawi
This study seeks to explore how certain households get to be socially included or excluded in 'development projects' and assess how new modes of cooperation affect traditional ways of lives in the rural community. Further, the study will explore the extent to communities organize and shape discourse in contesting technologies that are imposed from above. Spatial inequalities in the distribution of economic and other gains from these technologies will be assessed. Last, the study will attempt to explore the role of women in demanding spaces for democratic decision making in crop mixes as well as in supply chain management.

FELDMAN
(Feldman and Geisler)
ISS Seed Grant
Building a Sociology of Displacement
This ISS initiative is intended to outline key analytic contributions to dislocation and exclusion research and identify key areas for further research. This project will complete three collaborative products: 1) a framework to integrate campus interests and expertise as the basis for a theme project, 2) identification of national and international institutes for future collaboration, and 3) an integrative workshop to provide a venue for scholars of displacement able to draw campus attention to the salience of displacement and social exclusion.

FRANCIS
USDA Hatch
Rural Communities, Rural Labor Markets and Public Policy
New York State municipalities, rural and urban industries, and its citizens are feeling the effects of the recession, which produces fiscal stress on communities, rural areas, property values, labor markets, and wages. The purpose of this study is to determine the key processes, events, and policies that can be utilized to improve both community and its citizens' economic and social stresses.

FFF-Hatch (Hilchey)
The New York Consumer and the Market for Local Foods
Rising income among consumers in advanced economies, the restructuring and integration of global markets, and changing values of consumers are fundamentally changing the way farmers must do business. In response to the call for new marketing information, we are conducting the first comprehensive survey of New York consumers interest in locally-produced food. Our goal is to enable farmers to change the way they do business.

GEISLER
(Geisler, Mt. Pleasant, Richardson, and Porter)
Federal Formula Funds
Community-Based Education and Management of Transboundary Waters: Learning Native Ways
We aim to protect and enhance the National natural resource base and environment. We plan to operationalize, in culturally appropriate and sustainable ways, the 2000 Millenium Development Goals pertaining to the global/local water crisis, focusing on New York State. We will employ community-based water resource planning; identify linkages between water-based ecological services and the economic vitality of NYS communities, both Native and neighboring; reinvigorate extension/outreach in Cornell’s American Indian Program; and foster dialogue between Western Tribal Leaders and Eastern.

(Feldman and Geisler)
ISS Seed Grant
Building a Sociology of Displacement
This ISS initiative is intended to outline key analytic contributions to dislocation and exclusion research and identify key areas for further research. This project will complete three collaborative products: 1) a framework to integrate campus interests and expertise as the basis for a theme project, 2) identification of national and international institutes for future collaboration, and 3) an integrative workshop to provide a venue for scholars of displacement able to draw campus attention to the salience of displacement and social exclusion. ·

GILLESPIE
Clarkson University
Measuring North Country, New York Farmer Attitudes About, and Knowledge Of, Anaerobic Digester Technology
Two important structural changes affecting the New York dairy industry may make dairy farmers receptive to new energy production technologies. The number of large farms (i.e., 500 cows or more) has been increasing, resulting in farm operations with potential for environmental conflicts with non-farming residents over odors. At the same time, energy costs have been increasing at a time dairy farm profitability has declined. Anaerobic digester technology represents a possible benefit to farmers and their neighbors; bacterial digestion of manure reduces odor while simultaneously producing methane (a greenhouse gas), which is then captured to be burned for heat or electricity. The energy generated can be used for on-farm needs or sold through the grid. However, the initial investments required for startup would deter this group without government support, both in the form of reliable grants and a favorable policy environment. A survey of the population of dairy farmers in five Northern New York Counties (Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, & St. Lawrence) was conducted in the spring of 2007 to gather information on farmers’ views on the need for and the value of this technology. The data are being analyzed in collaboration with Rick Welsh of Clarkson University.

USDA - HATCH
Factors Influencing Viability of Small and Mid-size Dairy Farms in New York State
Rising costs of living and production, and low milk prices have led to difficult financial situations on many dairy farms, especially smaller ones. This project will help to make small and mid-size farms more economically viable and competitive through (1) clarified understanding of successful management strategies in small and mid-size dairies and increasing understanding of the links between these strategies and farm operator characteristics and local farm culture, and (2) identifying opportunities for cooperation among farms of various sizes.

Smith-Lever
Catalyzing Ag-Based Economic and Community Development Through Professional Development and Outreach
The goal of this project is to improve the economic well-being of New York’s agricultural industry and help communities partner with this industry as an engine of economic and community development. This project will train, equip and support agricultural development professionals to successfully undertake local agricultural development projects. The project will also help town/village council members, planning boards, and county legislators better understand how farms and food businesses contribute to both urban and rural community viability.

(Hilchey)
Kellogg Foundation
Developing Local Agriculture and Food System Sustainability Indicators
Despite agriculture being an important part of many communities, local leaders often lack information about the changing health and viability of local agriculture. The purpose of this project is to develop a model for local officials to design and collect information about the viability of agriculture.

Sustaining Local Food Systems in a Globalizing Environment: Forces, Responses, Impacts
Local communities respond to the forces of globalization in different ways and local food systems make both social and economic contributions to the community. This research will increase knowledge and understanding about the forces that motivate and shape the formation of local food systems.

GLASGOW
(Michael Hastrich, Leader; Beverly Mancuso and Nina Glasgow Co-Leaders)
CCE Director’s Special Call for County Association-Campus Collaboration Grant
A Learning Network and Conference Series on Community and Economic Development in Rural Central and Western New York
The purpose of our project is to establish a learning network and semi-annual conference series focused on community and economic development issues vital to rural central and western New York. The broad goals of this program are to: enhance the quality of public and private decision making with evidence-based information and technical assistance; enhance community development, economic opportunity and the quality of life of citizens of rural central and western New York; enhance inter-local cooperation among rural communities in the region.

(Co-PI’s David Brown and Nina Glasgow)
USDA-Hatch
Population Change in Rural Communities
Rural populations are transforming rapidly because of increased immigration, changes in age and ethnic composition, and economic restructuring. The purpose of this research is to produce analyses of the determinants and consequences of rural population change in the U.S. essential for effective public decision making at local, state, and national levels.

GONZALES
(D. Buchwald)
Native People for Cancer Control (NCI)
Is Social Capital Related to Cancer Knowledge and Attitudes?
A Pilot Study of American Indians in the Southwest There are persisting inequalities in health among U.S. racial and ethnic groups. American Indians have among the worst health profiles. Understanding the association of socio-cultural variables and American Indian health will provide an important step toward developing more powerful public health interventions. Such knowledge will enable community-based health programs to better tailor their prevention initiatives to meet the unique needs of this and other special populations.

(S. Manson)
Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
Native Elder Research Center (NIA/NINR) Native Investigator Development Program
The goals of this program are to: 1) establish a culturally relevant, scientifically rigorous career development program for American Indian and Alaska Native investigators; 2) augment partnerships with Native communities; 3) capitalize on collaborative links to recruit Native investigators in aging research and ensure their success as researchers; 5) expand disciplinary expertise to address questions related to the aging of Native elders; and 6) promote research to reduce differentials in health status and access to care.

GURAK
(Kritz and Gurak)
Sloan Foundation
An Assessment of Data on Foreign Student Flows to the United States and Other Countries
How many foreign students does the Unites States receive annually? Have the numbers and origins of U.S. foreign students changed in recent years? How do U.S. foreign student numbers and trends compare to those of other countries? If U.S. foreign student numbers are declining, what factors underlie those trends and what are the implications for U.S. global competitiveness? In order to explore the feasibility of answering these questions by drawing on existing and new data sources, we request a Planning Grant from the Sloan Foundation. We will carry out several tasks during this period. We will review strengths and weaknesses of the two principal sources of U.S. and international data on foreign students. We will explore the feasibility of gaining access to a new database. We will travel to Montreal, Canada, in order to further information on cross-national databases on foreign students and we will explore the feasibility of generating information on foreign students drawing from other sources.

(Kritz & Gurak)
Russell Sage Foundation
Non-Traditional Destinations: Who is Moving Where and Why?
To guide our research, we draw on theories of spatial assimilation; human capital and economic restructuring; and nativity group social networks. The analysis focuses on foreign-born migration to metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) as well as to non-metropolitan areas. It draws on confidential census files from the 1980, 1990 and 2000 censuses and will be carried out at the New York Census Research Data Center (NYCDRC) based at Cornell University. The study premise is that internal migration and settlement processes differ significantly across foreign-born groups and that social networks play an important role in channeling immigrants to non-traditional destinations.

HILCHEY
National Geographic Society
A Place at the Table: The Geography of America’s Disappearing Agricultural Heritage
In an age of globalization, place-based conservation, ecotourism and food tourism are emerging as opportunities for rural American communities to thwart economic displacement and cultural homogenization. The goal of this project is to gather field data which will build the case for establishing agricultural heritage areas in the United States, a new category of state or federal heritage areas that is based on historically or environmentally significant agricultural production regions. Heritage area status could help to preserve the fragile economic and social fabric of these regions by tapping their rich regional identity.

(Joe Francis)
FFF-Hatch
The New York Consumer and the Market for Local Foods
Rising income among consumers in advanced economies, the restructuring and integration of global markets, and changing values of consumers are fundamentally changing the way farmers must do business. In response to the call for new marketing information, we are conducting the first comprehensive survey of New York consumers interest in locally-produced food. Our goal is to enable farmers to change the way they do business.

Smith Lever
A Place at the Table: Proliferating the Establishment of Agricultural Heritage Areas in NYS
The purpose of this project is to support increased economic opportunities and improved quality of life in rural America by building the capacity of project cooperators to lead in the feasibility and possible establishment of up to three new agricultural heritage areas in New York State; to create a network of agricultural heritage associations; to encourage other farm organizations and communities to consider establishing agricultural heritage areas.

(Gillespie)
Developing Local Agriculture and Food System Sustainability Indicators
Despite agriculture being an important part of many communities, local leaders often lack information about the changing health and viability of local agriculture. The purpose of this project is to develop a model for local officials to design and collect information about the viability of agriculture.

HIRSCHL 
Cornell University Federal Formula Funds 
Fighting Poverty in the 21st Century
This research program will identify how communities can effectively organize to accommodate higher poverty in the 21st Century. Poverty is expected to increase or remain level in New York State over the next five to ten years due to global economic trends and reduced funding for anti-poverty programs. Communities will therefore require new approaches to contain and fight growing poverty in the face of fewer anti-poverty resources. The research is designed to recover primary data on community social relationships between the poor and non-poor using focus groups in three upstate communities. This information will be used to devise and implement appropriate techniques for poverty reduction. The research will be assessed using secondary data on the community mortality rate and follow up interviews at t+5 years.

HOWE
Economic Development Admin. University Center at Cornell
Institutions of higher education have many assets, such as faculty, staff, libraries, laboratories, and computer systems, which can help to address local economic problems and opportunities. With funding from EDA, institutions of higher education establish and operate University Centers, which provide technical assistance to public and private sector organizations with the goal of enhancing local economic development. Cornell will focus its economic development objectives based on the concept of universities as a catalysts and accelerators for economic growth. Through a combination of research, outreach and application, technological innovation and venture creation, Cornell will catalyze community economic development. The desire to positively affect the economic vitality of local, regional and communities is central to the University’s mission.

Economic Development Admin. University Center at Cornell - Part II 
Institutions of higher education have many assets, such as faculty, staff, libraries, laboratories, and computer systems, which can help to address local economic problems and opportunities. With funding from EDA, institutions of higher education establish and operate University Centers, which provide technical assistance to public and private sector organizations with the goal of enhancing local economic development. Cornell will focus its economic development objectives based on the concept of universities as a catalysts and accelerators for economic growth. Through a combination of research, outreach and application, technological innovation and venture creation, Cornell will catalyze community economic development. The desire to positively affect the economic vitality of local, regional and communities is central to the University’s mission.

KRITZ
(Kritz and Gurak)
Sloan Foundation
An Assessment of Data on Foreign Student Flows to the United States and Other Countries
How many foreign students does the Unites States receive annually? Have the numbers and origins of U.S. foreign students changed in recent years? How do U.S. foreign student numbers and trends compare to those of other countries? If U.S. foreign student numbers are declining, what factors underlie those trends and what are the implications for U.S. global competitiveness? In order to explore the feasibility of answering these questions by drawing on existing and new data sources, we request a Planning Grant from the Sloan Foundation. We will carry out several tasks during this period. We will review strengths and weaknesses of the two principal sources of U.S. and international data on foreign students. We will explore the feasibility of gaining access to a new database. We will travel to Montreal, Canada, in order to further information on cross-national databases on foreign students and we will explore the feasibility of generating information on foreign students drawing from other sources.

(Kritz and Gurak)
Russell Sage Foundation
Non-Traditional Destinations: Who is Moving Where and Why?
To guide our research, we draw on theories of spatial assimilation; human capital and economic restructuring; and nativity group social networks. The analysis focuses on foreign-born migration to metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) as well as to non-metropolitan areas. It draws on confidential census files from the 1980, 1990 and 2000 censuses and will be carried out at the New York Census Research Data Center (NYCDRC) based at Cornell University. The study premise is that internal migration and settlement processes differ significantly across foreign-born groups and that social networks play an important role in channeling immigrants to non-traditional destinations.

MCMICHAEL
Institute for Social Sciences
Embedded Neo-Liberalism in the Gear of Social Change: A Comparative-Historical Analysis
This proposal is for a working conference at Cornell, rethinking methods of social movement analysis in comprehending the multiple ways in which neo-liberal political culture is embedded across the world. We plan 14 presentations, and 4-5 invited commentators. The conference will culminate several years of collaborative work on developing a methodology sensitive to social movement contestation of the categories through which they are analyzed and/or depicted. Our theoretical point of departure is that neo-liberalism represents a transformative moment in modern political-economy, and that this is expressed in a variety of movements for social justice. We bring to this proposition a historical, relational method of "incorporated comparison," in which our case studies of different expressions of neo-liberalism are examined, separately and together, as power struggles over social change and over the terms through which we understand social change (whether categories of political sociology, or modernist narratives). Our goal is to produce an edited collection.

MIZE
USDA Hatch
Latinization of Rural New York? Exploring $45,000 Migration and Settlement Trends Through Multi-Level Data Analysis
Scholars who are currently studying rural demographic changes refer to a `Latinization' or `browning' of America. The nature of the impact of Latino, in this research predominately Mexican, community formation on non-traditional receiving areas is still an open empirical question. The purpose of this study is to study how Mexican immigrants are adjusting to rural New York and how an infrastructure of social support eases the processes of adjustment.

PFEFFER
(Pfeffer, Project Director)
NIH/Fogarty International Center
Health-Environment Relationships in the Brazilian Amazon
Environmental changes have direct and severe impacts on human health conditions, and socio-economic conditions mediate the dynamics health-environment relationships. This research identifies and evaluates the factors contributing to human health status and exposure to health risks, especially malaria, in frontier areas of Brazilian Amazonia. There is a need to better understand the extent, patterns and determinants of land cover change and it impacts on human health.

(Pfeffer, Principle Investigator)
USDA/Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station
Methods of Assessing Access to Health Care by Undocumented Rural Residents
Immigrants to rural areas of the U.S. are typically poor with few material and human or social capital resources. The typical workers who come from rural villages in Mexico do not speak English nor do they have work permits or visas. The problem they face is how to get access to basic goods and services like housing, transportation and health care, when they are excluded from publicly available benefits. The central aims of this research are to develop methods to generate a representative sample of undocumented rural residents and to accurately determine how they gain access to health care. We are most interested in observing how ethnicity is put to use in capturing needed goods and services like health care. Because standard measures of race and ethnicity are deficient, we must conceptualize and measure ethnicity in new ways.

WAGENET
(Hairston, Wagenet, Leopold, Driscoll, Peteet)
NYSDEC/Great Lakes Protection Fund
Lake Ontario’s Dynamic Coast: Charting History for Sustaining Environmental Health
Management decisions for aquatic embayments along the coast of Lake Ontario are best placed in the context of past environmental conditions. Dated sediment cores from sites along the south and east coast of Lake Ontario will be used to reconstruct past nutrient, metal, plankton and vegetation conditions; results and their implications for habitat management will be communicated to stakeholders.

(Trautmann, Wagenet)
CSREES-Smith-Lever Program
Watershed Education & Professional Practice: Building Collaborations among Students, Teachers, Scientists, and Planners
The goal of this project is to facilitate collaboration among Cayuga Lake watershed (NY) students, teachers, scientists, and civic leaders. In our project, high school and middle school students learn science and develop research skills by investigating relevant local water quality and land use issues; teachers become part of a professional network that supports innovative action-based teaching and learning; scientists gain opportunities to interact with and disseminate their research methods and findings to interested school groups; government and nonprofit leaders gain the opportunity to work with youth to increase civic engagement and stewardship in ways that meet curriculum needs of school classes and youth clubs; and a broadened communication network benefits all stakeholders and helps meet watershed protection goals.

(Pillemer, Wagenet)
Cornell University College of Human Ecology
Aging and the Environment: Promoting Environmental Civic Engagement and Volunteerism Among the Elderly.
The project examines the intersection of two issues of both societal and scientific importance: the need for greater social integration and participation of older persons, and the increasing concern about the sustainability of the natural environment. Preliminary evidence suggests that promoting environmental volunteerism among senior citizens has multiple social and personal benefits, including positive outcomes for health and psychological well-being. However, to date no program of research and outreach has integrated these two areas. In this project, we have undertaken a number of related research activities, including 1) conducting a comprehensive inventory of best practices in this area; 2) archiving and analyzing existing data; 3) collecting new data from surveys and focus groups; and 4) convening an invitational consultation session with research and practice experts in the areas of aging and environmental issues. A formal collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension Executive Directors in the Capital Region of New York State has broadened the program goals to include curriculum development in relation to training of older environmental volunteers.

(Wade)
USDA-Smith-Lever
Protecting the Cayuga Lake Watershed through Education on Pathogens of Concern
We propose to develop a training and outreach program focusing on microorganisms from rural and urban sources in the Cayuga Lake Watershed (CLW) that contaminate land and water. This project will focus on environmental contamination by pathogens in the CLW and will emphasize risk communication. The project is based on education and outreach, and our large team of collaborators will connect us with key personnel and stakeholders. Data on pathogens in the CLW will come from a variety of research projects in the watershed and documented in the CLW Characterization, as well as from current monitoring projects by the City of Ithaca, and Tompkins County and others. Collaborators will provide access to these data.

(Pillemer)
USDA-Hatch
Retiree Environmental Stewards Program: Linking Older Adults with Environmental Protection.
This project will create the Retiree Environmental Stewards Program (RESP) designed to involve retirees over age 60. We will develop, test, and disseminate through the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) system, a new model for creating environmental volunteer roles for older retirees. Major activities include: 1. Design the RESP. We will adapt a tested model from Rutgers University and design a program with two key elements: training in environmental stewardship and placing trainees in internship programs. 2. Recruitment Strategies. We will experiment with recruitment and marketing procedures targeted toward potential older environmental volunteers. 3. Implementation. We will implement the RESP in 4 CCE associations representing urban, suburban, rural, and mixed counties. We will train and supervise educators in conducting the program.A formal collaborative arrangement with counties in the Capital Region of New York State has already been established. 4. Evaluation. A number of methods will be used to evaluate the program, including collecting data from participants, CCE professionals, and personnel from the agencies in which older persons are placed. Data will be collected before and after participation. 5. Dissemination. We will vigorously disseminate the program as well as evaluation findings.