Rural Transformation Through Digitalisation? Understanding the Digital in the Context of Rural Change

[1] Anastasiou, E., Manika, S., Ragazou, K. & Katsios, I. (2021). Territorial and Human Geography Challenges: How Can Smart Villages Support Rural Development and Population Inclusion? Social Sciences, 10(6), 193. DOI: 10.3390/socsci10060193. Search in Google Scholar

[2] Atkočiūnienė, V. & Vaznonienė, G. (2019). Smart Village Development Principles and Driving Forces: The Case of Lithuania. European Countryside, 11(4), 497–516. DOI: 10.2478/euco-2019-0028. Search in Google Scholar

[3] Bell, M. M., Lloyd, S. E. & Vatovec, C. (2010). Activating the Countryside: Rural Power, the Power of the Rural and the Making of Rural Politics. Sociologia Ruralis, 50(3), 205–224. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2010.00512.x. Search in Google Scholar

[4] Bernard, J. (2019). Where Have All the Rural Poor Gone? Explaining the Rural–Urban Poverty Gap in European Countries. Sociologia Ruralis 59(3), 369–392. DOI: 10.1111/soru.12235. Search in Google Scholar

[5] Bernard, J., Steinführer, A., Klärner, A. & Keim-Klärner, S. (2023). Regional opportunity structures: A research agenda to link spatial and social inequalities in rural areas. Progress in Human Geography, 47(1), 103–123. DOI: 10.1177/0309132522113998. Search in Google Scholar

[6] Bielska, A., Stańczuk-Gałwiaczek, M., Sobolewska-Mikulska, K. & Mroczkowski, R. (2021). Implementation of the smart village concept based on selected spatial patterns – A case study of Mazowieckie Voivodeship in Poland. Land Use Policy, 104, 105366. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105366. Search in Google Scholar

[7] Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. DOI: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa. Search in Google Scholar

[8] Brennan, M. A., Flint, C. G. & Luloff, A. E. (2009). Bringing Together Local Culture and Rural Development: Findings from Ireland, Pennsylvania and Alaska. Sociologia Ruralis, 49(1), 97–112. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2008.00471.x. Search in Google Scholar

[9] Budziewicz-Guźlecka, A. & Drożdż, W. (2022). Development and Implementation of the Smart Village Concept as a Challenge for the Modern Power Industry on the Example of Poland. Energies, 15(2), 603. DOI: 10.3390/en15020603. Search in Google Scholar

[10] Cowie, P., Townsend, L. & Salemink, K. (2020). Smart rural futures: Will rural areas be left behind in the 4th industrial revolution? Journal of Rural Studies, 79, 169–176. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.08.042. Search in Google Scholar

[11] Csurgó, B., Kovách, I. & Megyesi, B. (2018). After a long march: The results of two decades of rural restructuring in Hungary. Eastern European Countryside, 24(1), 81–109. DOI: 10.2478/eec-2018-005. Search in Google Scholar

[12] Doyle, A., Hynes, W. & Purcell, S. M. (2021). Building Resilient, Smart Communities in a Post-COVID Era. International Journal of E-Planning Research, 10(2), 18–26. DOI: 10.4018/IJEPR.20210401.oa2. Search in Google Scholar

[13] Enengel, B., Penker, M. & Muhar, A. (2014). Landscape co-management in Austria: The stakeholder’s perspective on efforts, benefits and risks. Journal of Rural Studies, 34, 223–234. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2014.02.003. Search in Google Scholar

[14] Eversole, R. (2011). Community Agency and Community Engagement: Re-theorising Participation in Governance. Journal of Public Policy, 31(1), 51–71. DOI: 10.1017/S0143814X10000206. Search in Google Scholar

[15] Ferrari, A., Bacco, M., Gaber, K., Jedlitschka, A., Hess, S., Kaipainen, J., Koltsida, P., Toli, E. & Brunori, G. (2022). Drivers, barriers and impacts of digitalisation in rural areas from the viewpoint of experts. Information and Software Technology, 145, 106816. DOI: 10.1016/j.infsof.2021.106816 . Search in Google Scholar

[16] Górecka, A. K., Ježić, Z. & Kardum, B. (2021). Smart villages and rural development. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Oeconomia, 20(2), 39–46. Search in Google Scholar

[17] Grimes, S. (2003). The digital economy challenge facing peripheral rural areas. Progress in Human Geography, 27(2), 174–193. DOI: 10.1191/0309132503ph421oa. Search in Google Scholar

[18] Gullino, P., Devecchi, M. & Larcher, F. (2018). How can different stakeholders contribute to rural landscape planning policy? The case study of Pralormo municipality (Italy). Journal of Rural Studies, 57, 99–109. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.12.002. Search in Google Scholar

[19] Hajdarowicz, I. (2022). Does participation empower? The example of women involved in participatory budgeting in Medellin. Journal of Urban Affairs, 44(1), 22–37. DOI: 10.1080/07352166.2018.1431048. Search in Google Scholar

[20] Halfacree, K. (2006). Rural space: constructing a three-fold architecture. In Cloke, P., Marsden, T. & Mooney, P., eds., Handbook of Rural Studies (pp. 44–62). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications Ltd. Search in Google Scholar

[21] Hanninger, L.-M., Laxa, J. & Ahrens, D. (2021). A roadmap to becoming a smart village: Experiences from living labs in rural Bavaria. JeDEM – eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government, 13(2), 89–109. DOI: 10.29379/jedem.v13i2.635. Search in Google Scholar

[22] Hart, L. G., Larson, E. H. & Lishner, D. M. (2005). Rural definitions for health policy and research. American Journal of Public Health, 95(7), 1149–1155. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.042432. Search in Google Scholar

[23] Hawley, L. R., Koziol, N. A., Bovaird, J. A., McCormick, C. M., Welch, G. W., Arthur, A. M. & Bash, K. (2016). Defining and Describing Rural: Implications for Rural Special Education Research and Policy. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 35(3), 3–11. Search in Google Scholar

[24] Hoggart, K. & Paniagua, A. (2001). What rural restructuring? Journal of Rural Studies 17(1), 41–62. DOI: 10.1016/S0743-0167(00)00036-x. Search in Google Scholar

[25] Janc, K. & Czapiewski, K. Ł. (2013). The Internet as a Development Factor of Rural Areas and Agriculture – Theory vs. Practice. Studia Regionalia KPZK PAN, 36, 89–105. Search in Google Scholar

[26] Jenkins, T. N. (2000). Putting postmodernity into practice: endogenous development and the role of traditional cultures in the rural development of marginal regions. Ecological Economics, 34(3), 301–313. DOI: 10.1016/S0921-8009(00)00191-9. Search in Google Scholar

[27] Keaveney, K. (2009). Contested Ruralities: Housing in the Irish Countryside [Unpublished PhD Thesis], Department of Geography, Maynooth University. Search in Google Scholar

[28] Kelly, W., McGrath, B. & Hubbard, D. (2023). Starting from ‘scratch’: Building young people’s digital skills through a coding club collaboration with rural public libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 55(2), 487–499. DOI: 10.1177/09610006221090953. Search in Google Scholar

[29] Komorowski, Ł. & Stanny, M. (2020). Smart Villages: Where Can They Happen? Land, 9(5), 151. DOI: 10.3390/land9050151. Search in Google Scholar

[30] Li, Y., Westlund, H. & Liu, Y. (2019). Why some rural areas decline while some others not: An overview of rural evolution in the world. Journal of Rural Studies, 68, 135–143. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.03.003. Search in Google Scholar

[31] Liu, Y. & Li, Y. (2017). Revitalize the world’s countryside. Nature, 548, 275–277. DOI: 10.1038/548275a. Search in Google Scholar

[32] Lønning, D. J. (2018). The power of human agency: successful community development strategies in Norway’s rural northern margins. Community Development Journal, 53(3), 518–536. DOI: 10.1093/cdj/bsy024. Search in Google Scholar

[33] Lopolito, A., Prosperi, M., Sisto, R. & De Meo, E. (2015). Translating local stakeholders’ perception in rural development strategies under uncertainty conditions: An application to the case of the bio-based economy in the area of Foggia (South Italy). Journal of Rural Studies, 37, 61–74. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2014.12.005. Search in Google Scholar

[34] Malecki, E. J. (2003). Digital development in rural areas: potentials and pitfalls. Journal of Rural Studies, 19(2), 201–214. DOI: 10.1016/S0743-0167(02)00068-2. Search in Google Scholar

[35] Miller, R. (2013). More Than “Not Urban”: Seeking a Quantifiable Definition of Rural. Berkeley Planning Journal, 26(1), 39–62. DOI: 10.5070/BP326117853. Search in Google Scholar

[36] Mitchell, J., Bradley, D., Wilson, J. & Goins, R. T. (2008). The aging farm population and rural aging research. Journal of Agromedicine, 13(2), 95–109. DOI: 10.1080/10599240802125383. Search in Google Scholar

[37] Moren, R., Milazzo, J., McAreavey, R. & Keaveney, K. (2023). Perceptions of sustainability in Ireland’s small villages during immigration times: Exploring discernments of social, economic, and environmental challenges in rural Cavan and Leitrim. Irish Geography, 56(2). DOI: 10.55650/igj.2023.1485. Search in Google Scholar

[38] Muilu, T. & Rusanen, J. (2004). Rural Definitions and Short-Term Dynamics in Rural Areas of Finland in 1989–97. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 36(8), 1499–1516. DOI: 10.1068/a36169. Search in Google Scholar

[39] Müller, O., Sutter, O. & Wohlgemuth, S. (2020). Learning to LEADER. Ritualised Performances of ‘Participation’ in Local Arenas of Participatory Rural Governance. Sociologia Ruralis, 60(1), 222–242. DOI: 10.1111/soru.12287. Search in Google Scholar

[40] Naldi, L., Nilsson, P., Westlund, H. & Wixe, S. (2015). What is smart rural development? Journal of Rural Studies, 40, 90–101. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.06.006. Search in Google Scholar

[41] Nugin, R. (2014). “I think that they should go. Let them see something”. The context of rural youth’s out-migration in post-socialist Estonia. Journal of Rural Studies, 34, 51–64. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2014.01.003. Search in Google Scholar

[42] Öztaş, Ç. C. (2021). How to Best Classify Rural in Metropolitan Areas? The Turkish Case. Planning Practice & Research, 36(4), 456–466. DOI: 10.1080/02697459.2021.1878426. Search in Google Scholar

[43] Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Search in Google Scholar

[44] Pělucha, M. (2019). Smart Villages and Investments to Public Services and ICT Infrastructure: Case of the Czech Rural Development Program 2007–2013. European Countryside, 11(4), 584–598. DOI: 10.2478/euco-2019-0032. Search in Google Scholar

[45] Philo, C. (1992). Neglected rural geographies: a review. Journal of Rural Studies, 8(2), 193–207. DOI: 10.1016/0743-0167(92)90077-J. Search in Google Scholar

[46] Radovanović, D., Holst, C., Belur, S. B., Srivastava, R., Houngbonon, G. V., Quentrec, E. L., Miliza, J., Winkler, A. S. & Noll, J. (2020). Digital Literacy Key Performance Indicators for Sustainable Development. Social Inclusion, 8(2), 151–167. DOI: 10.17645/si.v8i2.2587. Search in Google Scholar

[47] Roberts, E., Anderson, B. A., Skerratt, S. & Farrington, J. (2017). A review of the rural-digital policy agenda from a community resilience perspective. Journal of Rural Studies, 54, 372–385. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.03.001. Search in Google Scholar

[48] Salemink, K., Strijker, D. & Bosworth, G. (2017). Rural development in the digital age: A systematic literature review on unequal ICT availability, adoption, and use in rural areas. Journal of Rural Studies, 54, 360–371. DOI: 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2015.09.001. Search in Google Scholar

[49] Satoła, Ł. & Milewska, A. (2022). The Concept of a Smart Village as an Innovative Way of Implementing Public Tasks in the Era of Instability on the Energy Market – Examples from Poland. Energies, 15(14), 51–75. DOI: 10.3390/en15145175. Search in Google Scholar

[50] Schutt, R. K. (2009). Investigating the Social World: The Process and Practice of Research. 6th ed. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press. Search in Google Scholar

[51] Turkalj, D., Biloš, A. & Kelić, I. (2015). Integration of Croatian farmers in the EU information society – issues and implications. Ekonomski Vjesnik, 28, 41–52. Search in Google Scholar

[52] Vaishar, A. & Šťastná, M. (2019). Smart Village and Sustainability. Southern Moravia Case Study. European Countryside, 11(4), 651–660. DOI: 10.2478/euco-2019-0036. Search in Google Scholar

[53] Whitacre, B. E. (2021). COVID-19 and Rural Broadband. Choices, 36(3), 1–10. Search in Google Scholar

[54] Wolski, O. (2019). Digitalisation of Rural Areas and Agriculture in the EU Debate: How Far from What Research Says? Wieś i Rolnictwo, 2(183), 7–30. DOI: 10.7366/wir022019/01. Search in Google Scholar

[55] Woods, M. (2005). Rural geography: processes, responses and experiences in rural restructuring. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. DOI: 10.4135/9781446216415. Search in Google Scholar

[56] Woods, M. (2010). Rural. London: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9780203844304. Search in Google Scholar

[57] Ye, C., Ma, X., Gao, Y. & Johnson, L. (2020). The lost countryside: Spatial production of rural culture in Tangwan village in Shanghai. Habitat International, 98, 102137. DOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2020.102137. Search in Google Scholar

[58] Zhang, Y. (2023). Measuring and applying digital literacy: Implications for access for the elderly in rural China. Education and Information Technologies, 28(8), 9509–9528. DOI: 10.1007/s10639-022-11448-z . Search in Google Scholar

[59] Central Statistics Office. (2023a). Census of Population 2022 – Summary Results. Retrieved 20/01/2025 from https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/pcpsr/censusofpopulation2022-summaryresults/keyfindings/. Search in Google Scholar

[60] Central Statistics Office (2023b). Internet Coverage and Usage in Ireland. Retrieved 01/11/23 from https://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/informationsociety/internetcoverageandusageinireland/. Search in Google Scholar

[61] Central Statistics Office (2024). Census of Population, 2022 – Appendix 2. Definitions. Retrieved 20/01/2025 from https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/census/documents/vol3_appendix.pdf. Search in Google Scholar

[62] European Commission (2021). Long-Term Vision For Rural Areas: for stronger, connected, resilient, prosperous EU rural areas. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_3162. Search in Google Scholar

[63] Government of Ireland (2018). Project Ireland 2040 National Planning Framework Retrieved from https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/246231/39baaa8c-48dc-4f24-83bd-84bbcf8ff328.pdf#page=null. Search in Google Scholar

[64] Government of Ireland (2021). Our Rural Future – Development Policy 2021–2025. Retrieved from https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/132413/433aebac-f12a-4640-8cac-9faf52e5ea1f.pdf#page=null. Search in Google Scholar

[65] OECD (2006). The New Rural Paradigm: Policies and Governance, OECD Rural Policy Reviews, OECD Publishing: Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264023918-en. Search in Google Scholar

[66] OECD (2020a). Implications of Coronavirus Crisis for Rural Development. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/policy-implications-of-coronavirus-crisis-for-rural-development-6b9d189a/. Search in Google Scholar

[67] OECD (2020b). Rural Well-being: Geography of Opportunities, OECD Rural Studies, OECD Publishing: Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/d25cef80-en. Search in Google Scholar

[68] Western Development Commission (2024). Bridging the Divide: 25 Years of Transformation in the Western Region. Ballaghdereen, Co. Roscommon: WDC. Search in Google Scholar