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AttachmentG <br />Goetz,whoworkedwithAnilRupasingha,adjunctprofessorofagriculturaleconomicsandagriculturalbusiness,New <br />MexicoStateUniversity,andScottLoveridge,professoranddirectoroftheNorthcentralRegionalCenterforRural <br />Development,MichiganStateUniversity,saidthatlocalmerchantsmayfinditdifficulttocompeteagainstlargeretailers <br />andbeforcedoutofbusiness. <br />businessownersaretypicallymembersofcommunityandcivicgroups,suchastheKiwanisandRotaryclubs. <br />Local <br />Losingmembersofthesegroups,whichhelpestablishprogramsthatpromotecivicengagementandfostercommunity <br />values,maycauseadropincommunitycohesion,accordingtoGoetz. <br />"WhileweliketothinkofAmericansocietyasbeinglargelyclassless,merchantsandbankersarepartofwhatwecould <br />callaleadershipclassinacommunity,"Goetzsaid. <br />Thelarge,anonymousnatureofbigboxretailersmayalsoplayaroleinfrayingsocialbonds,whicharestrongestwhen <br />individualsfeelthattheiractionsarebeingmorecloselywatched.Forexample,peoplemaybelesslikelytoshopliftata <br />localhardwarestoreiftheyknowtheownerpersonally,Goetzsaid. <br />Religiousprimingusingcertainwordsorphrasestopromotearangeofattitudesandbehaviorsmayalsoplayarole, <br />ng,afterparticipantsreviewedalistofChristianwords,such <br />accordingtotheresearchers.Inonestudyofreligiousprimi <br />asBible,gospelandMessiah,theyalsotendedtosupportracistattitudesagainstblacks. <br />TheresearcherssaidthatbecauseWalMartpromotestypicalProtestantvalues,suchassavingsandthrift,thecuesmay <br />leadcustomerstoadoptotherbeliefs,includingintolerantattitudes,accordingtotheresearchers. <br />TheresearchersuseddatacollectedbytheSouthernPovertyLawCenter,agroupthatmonitorstheactivitiesofhate <br />groups,onhategroupsineachU.S.countyin2007.TheyusedthenumberandlocationofWalMartstoresfrom1998. <br />Goetzsaidthelagtimebetweenthedatasetsprovidedtimeforthepossibleinfluenceofastoretoaffectacommunity. <br />GoetzsaidthattheresearcherschoseWalMartforthestudybecauseoftheavailabilityofdataonthestores.Headded <br />thatthepresenceofWalMartinanareagenerallyindicatestheestablishmentofothertypesofbigboxretailers,such <br />asHomeDepotandTarget. <br />"We'renottryingtopickonWalMart,"saidGoetz."Inthisstudy,WalMartisreallyservingasaproxyforanytypeof <br />largeretailer." <br />ayaroleinsupportinglocalgroupsthatcanfosterstrongersocial <br />Thestorechaincouldusethisstudytofindwaystopl <br />andeconomictiesinacommunity. <br />"WedoubtstronglythatWalMartintendstocreatesucheffectsorthatitspecificallyseekstolocateinplaceswhere <br />hategroupsform,"theresearcherssaid. <br />PennState:http://live.psu.edu <br />ThankstoPennStateforthisarticle. <br />Thispressreleasewaspostedtoserveasatopicfordiscussion.Pleasecommentbelow.Wetryourbesttoonlypost <br />pressreleasesthatareassociatedwithpeerreviewedscientificliterature.Criticaldiscussionsoftheresearchare <br />ktotheoriginalarticle,pleasecontactusontwitterorviaemail. <br />appreciated.Ifyouneedhelpfindingalin <br />AdditionalInformation: <br />Formsubmittedon:4/11/20124:53:39PM <br />SubmittedfromIPAddress:98.240.228.222 <br />ReferrerPage:http://www.ci.roseville.mn.us/Directory.aspx?did=17 <br />FormAddress:http://www.ci.roseville.mn.us/Forms.aspx?FID=115 <br />2 <br />Page49of95 <br /> <br />