Latent Cosmopolitan and Local Orientation Among Rural Emergency Service Volunteers

Abstract

In rural regions, trained volunteer firefighters and medics provide emergency services, often with considerable personal risk and without financial reward. However, these Volunteers exhibit two different latent orientations: firefighters are more localistic in their outlook than medical volunteers. These latent orientations reflect the structural characteristics of the two emergency service agencies. These orientations are empirically demonstrated to persist in the volunteering and personal attributes of the volunteers themselves. Survey data are incorporated into a probit model to indicate the relative influence of orientational factors on where the volunteers offer their emergency services.