The Relationship Between Food Deserts, Farmers' Markets, and Food Assistance Programs in Hawai'i Census Tracts.

Due to inadequate resources and limited access to healthy foods, residents who live in food deserts struggle to maintain a healthful diet. Living in a food desert increases the risk of developing diet-related chronic diseases such as obesity. Local farmers' markets serve as community-level interventions, bringing healthy food options to food deserts. This study explores the relationship between food deserts, placement of farmers' markets, and availability of food assistance programs in the state of Hawai'i. Data are from the 2017 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Access Research Atlas and the USDA Farmers' Market Directory. Farmers' market addresses were geocoded in ArcGIS 10.3. Descriptive statistics and spatial visualization were used to explore census tract level relationships. Of the Hawai'i census tracts, 10% are food deserts. Sixteen of the 101 registered farmers markets are located within a food desert. Of these markets, 28.7% accept Farmers' Market Nutrition Program coupons, 0% accept Women, Infants, and Children Fruit and Vegetable Checks, and 39.6% accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Fewer than 20% of farmers' markets in Hawai'i are located in food deserts, and few accept food assistance programs. Fresh food is less accessible to low-income residents in these areas and lack of access to fresh food is associated with diet-related chronic diseases. To reduce food insecurity, farmers' markets could accept food assistance program funds. Additional farmers' markets could be established in food deserts to increase availability of healthy food, thereby reducing the population's risk of developing obesity and diet-related chronic diseases.

The relationship between food deserts, farmers' markets, Nutrition Benefits, and health in Delaware census tracts; 2017.

Food desert residents struggle to maintain a well-balanced, nutritious diet, increasing their risk of obesity and diabetes. Farmers' markets are a community-level intervention, bringing healthy food to food deserts. This study explores the relationship between food deserts, farmers' market location, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes, and the availability of Nutrition Benefit Programs (NBPs) in Delaware. Data are from the 2017 USDA Food Access Research Atlas and the Farmers' Market Directory. Descriptive statistics and spatial visualization were used to explore census tract-level relationships. Twenty percent of Delaware census tracts are food deserts. Of these, 7.2% have a farmers' market within their boundary, compared to 5.7% of non-food desert tracts. Of these markets, 3.2% accept Farmers' Market Nutrition Program coupons, 9.6% accept WIC Fruit and Vegetable Checks, and 21.6% accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Sussex County has the highest obesity and diabetes rates, and the least number of markets that accept NBPs. Fresh food remains inaccessible to low-income residents, which is associated with diet-related chronic diseases. To reduce food insecurity, farmers' markets could expand acceptance of NBPs. Additional farmers' markets could be established in food deserts to increase the availability of healthy food, reducing the risk of developing obesity and diabetes.

"That's so gay!" Exploring college students' attitudes toward the LGBT population.

Traditional students are often introduced to unfamiliar subcultures for the first time on the college campus. Recent high school graduates find themselves transitioning from an atmosphere in which homophobia is likely to be tolerated and possibly even expected to an educational setting in which diversity is promoted. Research shows that the college years are influential in the re-socialization of core values, yet very little work focuses on the ideological shifts that may take place in attitudes toward the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) population. The research presented in this study includes a modified version of LaMar and Kite's Component Measure, which has been broken down into 6 distinctive components of tolerance. In addition to examining religion, gender, and race--factors that have been correlated in past research with differing levels of tolerance toward the LGBT community--this study adds politics, sexual orientation, academic class standing, and college of major--variables that have received little or no attention in this literature. Higher levels of LGBT tolerance are consistently observed across the indexes among women, more liberal Christian traditions, non-Christian faiths, the non-religious, and those who self-identify as LGBT. The distinctive contribution of this study is that students in the College of Arts and Sciences and students further along in their college careers are also more tolerant. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for inter-college curriculum changes that integrate students in all disciplines and students of all classifications.

Gender and the transmission of civic engagement: assessing the influences on youth civic activity.

The study of civic activity has become a central focus for many social scientists over the past decade, generating considerable research and debate. Previous studies have largely overlooked the role of youth socialization into civic life, most notably in the settings of home and school. Further, differences along gender lines in civic capacity have not been given sufficient attention in past studies. This study adds to the literature by examining the potential pathways in the development of youth civic activity and potential, utilizing both gender-neutral and gender-specific structural equation modeling of data from the 1996 National Household Education Survey. Results indicate that involvement by parents in their child's schooling plays a crucial, mediating role in the relationship between adult and youth civic activity. Gender differences are minimal; thus adult school involvement is crucial for transmitting civic culture from parents to both female and male youth.

Participation in operation starting line, experience of negative emotions, and incidence of negative behavior.

The prison industry in the United States has experienced an unprecedented period of growth during the past three decades. Growing dissatisfaction with the monetary investment in the criminal justice system, state-level budget constraints, and high recidivism rates have led many criminal justice professionals to rethink issues of offender resocialization and rehabilitation. Faith-based prison programs are increasingly being used as inexpensive methods for potentially improving the institutional behavior of inmates and reducing their likelihood of postrelease arrest. Unfortunately, however, there is little systematic research on this issue. Using data from Mississippi's largest state prison, the authors explore the relationship between participation in the faith-based prison event, Operation Starting Line, and subsequent experience of negative emotions and incidence of negative behaviors. Descriptive results suggest modest, yet positive, effects of attendance at the event. The article concludes with comments about the potential efficacy of faith-based prison programs and suggestions for future research.