Search

An occupational community is a bounded work culture characterized by common norms, values, work practices, and conceptions of identity closely related to work. Most occupational community studies are developed as case studies of workers in a particular setting. In this article we adopt a comparative case study approach to understand commonalities and differences within two pulp and paper mills. The mills differ in demographic setting (metropolitan and non-metropolitan) and corporate structure, factors that we argue qualitatively affect the nature of occupational community as experienced by the workers themselves. The article contributes to the literature on the culture of work and workplace in manufacturing ubiquitous products (paper) from an important natural resource, timber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We examine the potential rural development impacts of a highly decentralized system of feedstock production, biorefining, and consumption of locally-produced lignocellulosic biofuels in Alabama, a heavily forested state in the southeastern United States. Primary data based on in-depth interviews and public presentations by experts were used to establish a realistic scenario for development of a lignocellulosic biofuels industry in Alabama. Based on these data, we applied an input–output model to illustrate economic impacts of establishing six biorefineries, each with an annual capacity of 189 dam3. We applied this same model to analyze the impact of one biorefinery of that size on a set of rural counties in west Alabama, a region characterized both by abundant timber resources and persistent rural poverty. Research findings reveal a high potential for economic development and job growth, especially in the logging sector and in rural regions of the state. The trajectory of this development and distribution of benefits from this incipient industry will depend on federal, state and local policies. We identify types of policies that would simultaneously encourage growth of this industry and ensure that those who live in areas where production and refining operations take place benefit from this development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We examine efforts to broaden support for wilderness preservation in the southeastern United States. Three closely linked Alabama organizations—Wild Alabama, WildLaw, and the Alabama Wilderness Alliance—have adopted a way of framing wilderness issues in Alabama that draws on a deeply rooted populist distrust of corporate and governmental elites as well as a sense of cultural connection to the land. Framing wilderness in this emotionally resonating manner, they have attracted public support for wilderness protection and fostered the emergence of new social movement organizations in this arena. We discuss the impact of this alternative wilderness frame for shaping policy in the southeastern United States and how it relates to similar wilderness frames applied in nonindustrialized nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]