Cortland County Research Articles

A Tale of Two Bloomer Costumes

This article analyzes the history of two extant bloomer costumes from the 1850 s, one in the collections of the San Diego History Center and the other in the Cortland County, New York Historical Society. An analysis of the two bloomer costumes reveals two different styles of dress-reform outfits worn by women during this era. Biographical information on the women who owned these outfits expands upon the reasons the wearers might have chosen one design over another. Through a material culture analysis of these outfits and a textual analysis of the history of dress reform, I argue that for a variety of reasons nineteenth-century women might have owned, but perhaps not worn, a bloomer costume.

Risk factors for HCV infection among young adults in rural New York who inject prescription opioid analgesics.

We investigated a cluster of new hepatitis C cases in rural New York among a cohort of young people who inject drugs (PWID) and misuse prescription opioid analgesics (POA). We recruited a purposive sample of PWID from Cortland County for an in-person survey and HCV rapid antibody test (March-July 2012). We examined sociodemographics, drugs currently injected, and lifetime and recent injection behaviors to ascertain associations with HCV antibody (anti-HCV) positivity. Of 123 PWID, 76 (61.8%) were younger than 30 years, and 100 (81.3%) received HCV rapid testing. Of those tested, 34 (34.0%) were positive. Participants who reported injecting POA in the past 12 months were 5 times more likely to be anti-HCV positive than those who injected drugs other than POA, and participants who reported sharing injection equipment in the past 12 months were roughly 4 times more likely to be anti-HCV positive than those who did not. Our analysis suggests people injecting POA may be at higher risk for HCV infection than people who inject heroin or other drugs but not POA.

Chain stores and local economies: a case study of a rural county in New York

Retailing in rural America has been transformed over the last several decades by the explosive growth of retail chains. Cortland County, a rural county in central New York State, is examined to assess the effect of chain stores en masse on a rural county. Data on individual establishments were generated by an original census of all the chain stores in the county. Additional data came from the Economic Census and other sources. Results show that chains account for about two-thirds of sales in the county. The percentage of the proceeds of the sales at chain stores that leaves the county, and thus is not available to be recirculated locally, is estimated to be approximately 14%. It is argued that the contribution of chain stores to the local economy is less than that of local independent merchants. Chains, furthermore, have problematic implications for social capital, political capital, and other aspects of community development.

Disruption or Convention? A Process-based Explanation of Divergent Repertoires of Contention Among Opponents to Low-level Radioactive Waste Disposal Sites

Violence, disruption and convention constitute three well established categories of collective action repertoires available to contemporary social movements. What factors shape differences in repertoire selection across social movement groups? I take a process-based approach to answer this question, examining two grassroots opposition movements to the disposal of low-level radioactive waste in the United States. The two rural New York State counties I consider each faced a state-imposed low-level radioactive waste site proposal in 1988. Activists in each county mounted vigorous collective opposition to the proposed facility, while exhibiting distinct repertoires of collective action. Activists in Allegany County pursued disruptive civil disobedience, while activists in Cortland County pursued a conventional repertoire of citizen lobbying and litigation efforts. Similarities across a variety of demographic, political, and social characteristics in these two counties leave the standard explanations for repertoire selection put forth in the social movement literature wanting. I argue that the relationship developed between the respective county governments and citizen activists during the waste-site proposal dispute had a dramatic effect on the dominant repertoire of collective action adopted by each community. More specifically, identifying the presence or absence of the social mechanism of brokerage between local government and activists is crucial to understanding the different trajectories of these movement groups. This article highlights the utility of fine-grained process-based analysis as a complement to variable-based approaches for explaining social movement activity, and the importance of the mechanism of brokerage among local government and activists for understanding bottom-up movements responding to proximate grievances, such as the environmental justice movement.

A GIS‐Based Ground Water Contamination Risk Assessment Tool for Pesticides

AbstractA process‐based preferential flow transport model was implemented in a geographic information system to locate areas in the landscape with high risk of contamination by agrochemicals, especially pesticides. Protecting ground water resources necessitates a reliable ground water quality monitoring strategy. It is valuable to be able to focus monitoring on areas with the highest risk of contamination because monitoring ground water is an expensive activity, especially at the landscape scale. The objective of this project was to develop a tool that quantifiably estimates distributed ground water contamination risk in order to develop reliable, cost‐effective ground water observation networks. The tool is based on a mechanistic model of chemical movement via preferential flow and uses land cover data, information about chemical properties, and modeled recharge to estimate the concentration of chemical reaching the ground water at each point in the landscape. The distributed risk assessment tool was tested by comparing the model‐predicted risk with observed concentrations from 40 sampling wells in Cortland County, New York, for atrazine (pesticide) and nitrate, the latter assumed to be an indicator of agricultural pollution. The tool predictions agreed well with observed nitrate concentrations and pesticide detections. An Internet‐based version of this tool is currently being developed for ready application to New York State.

Physical Activity Patterns of Children in a Central New York Community

1792 The incidence of obesity in children and adolescents has recently been reported to be at 13% in the United States. This percentage will vary based upon several factors, including amount of physical activity and regional geographic differences. PURPOSE: To assess physical activity levels vs amount of TV watching of children in Cortland County, NY. METHODS: 10,000 physical activity surveys were distributed to Cortland County residents through public school systems, local newspapers, and community centers. The 7-question survey contained items regarding physical activity of both adults and children. Data obtained on children were assessed in 3 age-group brackets (1–6 years, 7–12 years, and 13–18 years) using an ANOVA. Statistical differences were evaluated at p<.05. RESULTS: 1,400 surveys were returned for analysis. Children of respondents to the survey were primarily from families of the lowest annual household income (58.5% were families making < $20,000 per year) in the region. Although there was no significant difference in the average amount of physical activity participation amoung age groups of children (∼33% for all), children aged 1–6 years exhibited a 10 and 9% higher duration of physical activity (>6 hrs/wk) compared to the 7–12 and 13–18 year olds, respectively. This correlated indirectly with the amount of television (>6 hrs/day) watching of these same age groups. The 1–6 year olds watched 6% less than the 13–18 year olds. CONCLUSIONS: As age increases from 1–6 years to 13–18 years, there is an indirect trend toward a lesser amount of physical activity and greater amount of TV watching in Cortland County children.

SPIDER FAUNA OF SUGAR MAPLE AND WHITE ASH IN NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW YORK STATE

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify spiders associated with foliage of sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marsh. and white ash, Fraxinus americana L., and to investigate their distribution and relative abundance within the crowns of these two northern hardwoods. Spiders were collected during June through August 1995 from the lower and mid-crowns of ten dominant/codominant sugar maples, five white ash and understory sapling and herbaceous foliage ≤2 m from the ground in a northern hardwood stand in Cortland County New York. These samples were compared for differences in species composition and density (number/25 leaf-clusters; number/100 g dry leaf weight). The spider fauna obtained from this intensive sample was compared to that of an extensive, 20-year survey from the mid-crown of sugar maple in 15 northern hardwood stands in northern New York (St. Lawrence and Lewis Counties). The intensive overstory collection (1995) from maple provided 694 specimens (7 families, 11 genera, 13 species). The dom...

Teaching about Radioactivity: Using Low-Level Radioactive Waste Issue in Cortland County

Some of the key events that led to political unrest, demonstrations, and one high school's involvement in the radioactive waste issue.

MAXIMIZING THE VALUE OF INFORMATION FOR GROUND WATER PROTECTION: THREE TEST CASES1

ABSTRACT: Public awareness of the importance of protecting the nation's water supplies is growing. Recent studies have shown a substantial increase in the perceived value of protecting water supplies for future use. In the Northeast, much of the water supply comes from ground water. This paper examines three test cases, each with different approaches for using geographic information systems (GIS) for ground water protection planning. In Wellfleet, Massachusetts, build‐out scenarios were used to support regulatory and land acquisition decisions for siting a public water supply well. In Hadley, Massachusetts, the focus was on a decision support model for septic suitability assessment in support of regulatory efforts and infrastructure expansion. For Cortland County, New York, an interactive graphic user interface was created to facilitate the manipulation and recombination of a large volume of data by county officials to target ground water pollution prevention efforts. As personal computers become more powerful and inexpensive, and GIS data become more readily available, community and county governments are turning to GIS as a tool for developing comprehensive resource protection plans. Once appropriate data are input, a GIS can effectively and efficiently be used to derive outcomes of various land use plans and regulations.

Oil and Gas Developments in New York in 1985

In 1985, 534 wells were reported as completions in New York. This is a 25% decrease from 1984. In existing fields, 126 oil wells and 354 gas wells were completed. Exploratory drilling resulted in 4 Queenston gas field discoveries, 15 gas field extensions, 2 shallow oil field extensions, and 1 gas field extension by a new-pool wildcat. Two deep tests in Cayuga County were unsuccessful. In Cortland County, 2 deep wildcats were also unsuccessful. A deep well in Madison County and another in Oswego County were dry. Significant Queenston gas production is being developed in central Seneca County. One Medina test and 1 deep test along the Clarendon-Linden fault trend in central Wyoming County were plugged and abandoned. Oil production in 1985 was 1,071,000 bbl; gas production was 34,500 mmcf. At year end, the price for New York crude was $26/bbl. In 1985, 73 crew-weeks of reflection seismic work were accomplished in New York. Field and exploratory drilling is expected to decline sharply in 1986, perhaps by as much as 50%. Some drilling will continue in known fields with good productivity potential.

Central assessment and alternate care days: reorganizing a long term system.

In New York State, as elsewhere, health planners and gerontologists have come to view long term care as a crucial issue for health care delivery. In particular, the problem of alternate care days, older persons remaining in acute care hospitals while awaiting long term care placement, has been a major focus of attention. This problem is particularly critical for both Medicaid recipients and the Medicaid program. The purpose of this paper is to examine central assessment as the proposed strategy for developing a coordinated system of long term care placement. The basic goals of this strategy are to improve the utilization of home care services and to reduce the number of alternate care days. First the paper reviews several models for central assessment, including ACCESS and Triage, and compares these existing programs with he Community Alternative Systems Agency (CASA) Program in New York State. This is followed by outlining the development of a central assessment model, the Cortland County (New York) Coalition for Long Term Care, that incorporates various features of these model programs. This outline includes discussions of the design, planning, and implementation of this Coalition central assessment model Policy issues, specifically problems of agency cooperation, funding mechanisms, and financial barriers to long term care are reviewed. Finally, the paper addresses the issue of alternate care days and how the Coalition model was developed to cope with this problem.

Elements of a successful pilot project: 4‐H community development in cortland county, New York

Abstract Pilot projects are useful for testing new ideas and for demonstrating how they can be implemented. A pilot project in 4‐H Community Development conducted in Cortland County, New York in 1974–75 tested six different kinds of activities in which teenagers took responsible roles in their communities. Two of these, a local government intern project and Extension sponsorship of Youth Conservation Corps, were identified as most promising on the basis of the learning opportunities provided, the benefits to the community, and the enthusiasm of adults and youth. These projects were disseminated through formal and informal channels. Within three years one or both projects had been adopted in over one‐third of New York State's counties. Among the features that contributed to this successful dissemination were the availability of small grants to start projects, the congruence of formal and informal dissemination methods, the involvement of the innovators in dissemination, and flexibility both in the testing ...

A transmission design for closed circuit educational television

Over the past few years the New York State Education Department has conducted a number of experiments using TV (television) as a means of communication between teachers and pupils. The most recent endeavor in this series is a closed circuit educational TV system in Cortland County, N. Y. The primary objective is to determine the effectiveness of elementary and high school teaching via TV. The purpose of this paper is to describe a portion of the project involving the New York Telephone Company, namely, the transmission of video and audio signals from the point of origination to the schools where the information is presented to the pupils.