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This article describes the results of a study that helped determine common barriers to active commuting to and from school, as well as the results of a Walking School Bus program that was implemented at two neighborhood elementary schools in Nebraska. While parental perceived barriers to active commuting may influence the travel choices of elementary school students, the results of the study indicate that children wanting to actively commute and their maturity may account for the greatest variance in the decision to actively commute. In addition, results indicate that perhaps only the availability of adult supervision may lessen the barriers associated with safety concerns that prevent parents from allowing their children to actively commute. On the other hand, the Walking School Bus program may overcome parental perceived barriers and provide enough social stimulus to increase children's desire to actively commute. The program offers a number of attractive benefits. Children who participated in the program demonstrated higher levels of physical activity as well as more enjoyment of walking to and from school. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

In recent decades, scholars have discussed eBay and how its selling platform has altered basic exchange patterns. Numerous other studies haveexamined the valueof postcards.This studycombinesthose two ideas and reveals how eBay can be used to acquire postcards - primary data -to conduct research. One goal is to discuss eBay and provide a snapshot of its value as a research archive. The other goal is to evaluate postcards and how they provide research opportunities. To accomplish these goals weekly eBay samples were collected during 2021 and the overall number of postcards was tallied, as was the number of real photo postcards. Unique searches for postcards from Alabama, Nebraska, Ohio, and Vermont that contain specific themes were also completed. Searches were broadly divided into two popular categories - natural events and signs of progress and development. Findings reveal that eBay has brought to market an amazing volume of postcards and potential research possibilities are near limitless. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past few decades several scholars have studied garage sales. Recent works focus on certain time periods and/or gender issues, while others have examined the social implications and economic [...]

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 had a significant impact on northwest Missouri's settlement patterns. Missouri's slave state status attracted a higher number of southern pioneers than what would have normally been expected. These early settlers brought with them their entire cultural-economic system--the production of hemp and tobacco with slave labor. Within the Platte region, the geographic distribution of these cultural variables is explained by pioneer origins. Those areas settled primarily by Upper Southerners possessed the greatest number of slaves and produced the most hemp and tobacco. The findings demonstrate that by 1850 the Upper South's slave culture had been transplanted to northwest Missouri's Platte region. Key Words: culture, demography, pioneer settlement, and slavery.

The primary goal of this project is to examine the opportunities regarding healthcare accessibility across Nebraska. We use GIScience to examine the socio-economic status of communities throughout Nebraska along with the accessibility of internet access at home for the use of mHealth technology. GIScience analyses provide a spatial understanding of mHealth logistics and reveal the potential for its increased application in the state. This project brings together the concepts of socio-economic development and population density along with the goal of examining healthcare accessibility through mHealth adoption. As a result, new knowledge on sustainable adoption of mHealth to provide equitable access to healthcare options is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first few decades of the early 1900s, the United States was postcard crazy; thousands of cards were exchanged daily. A distinct type, now referred to as exaggeration postcards, used photographic manipulation to create unique visual images. This, in turn, often presented places in a positive light and helped to articulate a sense of regional identity. Archer King was one artist who created exaggerated images to promote and sell Nebraska to a larger audience. King's postcards from the early 1900s were intentional and featured giant garden produce and oversized livestock along with, of course, larger-than-life ears of corn. His work gave Nebraska credibility, showing signs of progress and productivity with linkages to markets outside of the Great Plains. This study begins by evaluating trade cards and the history of postcards, then transitions to focus on the importance of King's exaggeration cards used to market and sell place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By Steven H. Murdock. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1999. List of tables and figures, preface, acknowledgments, appendix, references, index and authors, xx+232 pp. $29.50 paper. The management and storage [...]

Background: The decline in active commuting to and from school in the United States is, in part, due to urban design standards and public policies that promote automobile travel and discourage pedestrian activity. Purpose: The current investigation examines active commuting at neighborhood schools and how it is altered by distance to school, student age and its potential impact on Body Mass Index. Methods: Demographic and transportation datasets were obtained for 5367 elementary students (K-5th grade) and middle school students (6th-8th grade) in 2 Midwestern communities. Results: 4379 (81.6%) students were successfully geocoded and 21.9% actively commute to school at least half of the time meeting the Healthy People 2010 objective 22-14. Of those students who could potentially actively commute to school (0.5 mile for grades K-5 and 1 mile for grades 6--8) 36.6% are passive commuters. No significant negative associations were found between BMI z-score or BMI percentile with accumulation of activity through active commuting (frequency x distance) for elementary (r = --0.04, P = .27) or middle school students (r = .027, P = .56). Conclusion: Many elementary students living within 0.3-0.4 miles are being driven to school. Promoting pedestrian-friendly communities and making healthy and sustainable transportation choices should be priorities for community leaders and school administrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs geographic information science (GIScience) to analyze accessibility between cancer survivors and the nearest exercise program and general fitness facility designed for their needs in a metropolitan statistical area (MSA), a micropolitan statistical area (µSA), or rural area. Initial findings indicate that approximately 59 percent, 19 percent, and 22 percent of survivors respectively, reside in counties designated as MSA, µSA, or rural. Survivors living in an MSA had a mean distance of 16.1 ± 28.8 miles from the nearest exercise program and 3.2 ± 5.2 miles from the nearest exercise facility. Survivors living in a µSA had a mean distance of 149.3 ± 113.7 miles to the nearest exercise program for cancer survivors and 6.4 ± 8.4 miles to the nearest exercise facility. Rural survivors had a mean distance of 164.6 ± 115.7 miles from an exercise program and 24.9 ± 19.6 miles from the nearest exercise facility. Using GIScience to spatially evaluate exercise facilities finds that they are accessible to cancer survivors throughout Nebraska, however, for many cancer survivors exercise programs are not located within reasonable distances to rural survivors. Strategies are needed to address rural access to fitness programs and facilities among cancer survivors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initially established in 1965, Medicaid was expanded in 2010 to include the working poor. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012, however, ruled that the provision of the Affordable Care Act requiring states to expand Medicaid was unconstitutional. This made it a state option whether or not to expand Medicaid. In Nebraska, the approved expansion is projected to cover approximately 90,000 Nebraskans who are 19 to 64 years of age with annual incomes 138 percent of federal poverty level. In conjunction with current Medicaid expenses, expansion is expected to make the program the second largest general fund appropriation in the state. The spatial aspects of Nebraska's Initiative 427, the measure regarding expansion in Nebraska, are noteworthy as well. The measure passed with 356,891 in favor compared to 309,533 against. Only nine Nebraska counties, however, voted in favor of Initiative 427 and eighty-four voted against the measure. A similar rural-urban divide also appeared at the legislative district level. Nebraska has forty-nine legislative districts and twenty-eight voted in favor of the measure. Although, simply stating the number of districts for and against hides a sharp rural-urban divide. Twenty-four of the twenty-eight districts that supported Initiative 427 are located in the Omaha and Lincoln metropolitan areas, with only four legislative districts favoring expansion located outside Omaha and Lincoln. A similar pattern was witnessed in the 2018 gubernatorial election in Nebraska as well. Ricketts-R carried the state by a significant margin, winning 59.0 percent to the Democrat challenger's 41.0 percent, yet a pronounced rural-urban divide was evident. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This particular study provides a brief history of the death penalty in the United States and evaluates in more detail the death penalty in Nebraska. Information regarding Nebraska's legal position on the issue is provided, but this study goes beyond that to spatially examine recent vote patterns regarding the death penalty. The geographical breakdown demonstrates how Nebraskans vote compared to their elected officials in the legislature's single chamber known as the unicameral, which was implemented in 1937. In 2015, with support from liberal Democrats and moderate Republicans, unicameral members voted for life imprisonment to replace the death penalty, a measure which also withstood the governor's veto in an override vote (LB268). In 2016, Nebraska's citizens by a wide margin (60.6 percent of Nebraskans voted in support of the death penalty) retained the death penalty with Referendum 426. Four unicameral members were also voted out of office in 2016; history demonstrates that outside of term limits sitting senators are rarely replaced. All four had voted against the death penalty but resided in districts that supported the measure, and three of the four were Republicans replaced by Republicans. Ultimately, Nebraska's citizens decided the state's stance on the death penalty, which supports long-time Nebraska politician George Norris' contention that elected officials would be held accountable by the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This project builds on previous material culture research by providing a detailed examination of material diffusion at the Treasure Hunt along Highway 36 in Kansas. Now in its 11th year, the Treasure Hunt annually attracts thousands of participants from across the United States. This project briefly defines material culture and reviews several distribution methods—auctions, the Internet, and garage sales. Treasure Hunt organizers provided datasets to analyze spatially: participant surveys, guest book registrations, vendor information, and shopper guide purchases. Beyond selling "stuff," this study evaluates the commodification of place and how communities along Highway 36 can capitalize on local culture and history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars from a variety of disciplines have analyzed voter participation, with most studies focusing on socio-demographic issues to explain turnout. Often overlooked, however, is the geography of voter participation. Omaha, Nebraska presents an economically and ethnically diverse study area to examine geographic factors related to turnout. Over 51 percent of the state's registered voters live in three counties--Douglas, Sarpy, and Lancaster--which contain the Omaha and Lincoln metropolitan areas. This project employs Geographic Information Science (GIScience) along with electoral geography principles and spatial analysis to evaluate voter participation across the Omaha metropolitan area. Getis-Ord Gi* statistic is utilized to demonstrate statistically significant spatial clustering of high and low values of voter participation and turnout at the census block-group level. This study also examines a number of demographic variables through stepwise regression that help explain voting patterns in the Omaha metropolitan area. Results indicate that, independent of party affiliation, educated, middle-class, white populations in Omaha have higher voter participation rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Balcom-Green Collection, a collection of glass photographic negatives taken by photographers Henry Balcom and Ray Green during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Biographical details on Balcom and Green, who was Balcom's son-in-law, are presented. Topics discussed include dry plate photography, photographs depicting Cairo, Nebraska, and the U.S. Homestead Act of 1862

The article discusses the diary and experiences of Michigan native and U.S. Civil War soldier Franklin E. Fox between January 1, 1865, and May 9, 1865. According to the article, Fox was a member of the 15th Michigan Infantry and joined on September 10, 1864. The article discusses Fox's diary entries, his experiences liberating slaves in February 1865, and an account of U.S. Army general William T. Sherman's destruction of Columbia, South Carolina.