Research Interests

I am interested in better understanding the condition of communities and how they respond to change. Some of the work I have been involved with in recent years includes:

• agricultural restructuring and diversification
• rural tourism
• rural community condition
• geography of music (Music and Rural Canada)

Click here to read the Research Connection (March 2017) that Chris Malcolm and I wrote which summarizes our research on small town museums. https://www.brandonu.ca/research-connection/rc-article/understanding-quality-in-small-town-tourism-destinations/

Click here to read the Research Connection (March 2019) that Tatanja Thimm and I wrote which summarizes some of our research on cross-border shopping tourism in Europe and North America. https://www.brandonu.ca/research-connection/rc-article/cross-border-shopping-economic-growth-and-drain/

Click here to read the Research Connection (March 2023) that Chris Malcolm, Derrek Eberts and I wrote which summarizes our recent research on the impacts of Covid-19 on youth recreational hockey. https://www.brandonu.ca/research-connection/article/impact-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-on-youth-recreational-hockey-in-southwestern-manitoba-canada/

Selected Service

• 2024-Present: Board Member, Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation (Crown Agency)
• 2011-2021: Chair, Department of Rural Development.
• 2011-2021: Member, Graduate Studies Committee of Senate.
• 2015-2018: President, Brandon University Faculty Association.
• 2009-2016: Board Member, Keystone Centre, Brandon, Manitoba.
• 2004-Present: Founding Editor, Journal of Rural and Community Development.
• 2012-2014: Faculty Senator, University Senate, Brandon University.
• 2004-2010: Board Member, Travel Manitoba, Manitoba.
• 2003-2008: Board Member, Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, City of Brandon (Chair, 2006-2007).
• 2002-2011: Associate Board Member and Editor, Canadian Human Landscape Example Series, The Canadian Geographer.
• 2000-Present: Chair, Rural Geography Study Group, Canadian Association of Geographers.

Courses

Fall 2024:

• Rural Tourism (88-463/88-563/38-463*)
• Research Methodology (88:491/591)

Winter 2025

• Rural Canada: An Introduction (88-150)

*Cross-listed as an undergraduate course with Geography

Selected Refereed Journal Articles

Rauch, K., Ryan, K., Ramsey, D., Epp, D., Lee, S., Herron, R., Mullins, S., Thomson, A., & Waddell-Henowitch, C. (2023). Suicidality in rural communities: A scoping review of research in Canada. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health. 42(1). doi:10.7870/cjcmh-2023-004

Epp, D., Rauch, K., Waddel, C., Ryan, K., Herron, R., Thomson, A., Mullins, S. and D. Ramsey. 2022. Maintaining Safety While Discussing Suicide: Trauma Informed Research in an Online Focus Groups. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. 21: https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221135973

Herron, R., Lawrence, B., Newall, N., Ramsey, D., Waddell, C. and J. Dauphinis. 2022. Navigating and negotiating valued resources during COVID-19: Learning about resilience process from older adults. Social Science and Medicine. 306: 1-9.

Waddell, C., de Jager, M., Herron, R., Ramsey, D., Rauch, K., Lawrence, B., and N. Newall. 2021. Examining rural healthcare workers needs and experiences during COVID-19. Journal of Rural and Community Development. 16(4): 54-75.

Herron, R., Newall, N., Lawrence, B., Ramsey, D., Waddell, C., & J. Dauphinias. 2021. Conversations in times of isolation: Exploring rural-dwelling older adults’ experiences of isolation and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic in Manitoba, Canada. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 18(6): 3028 (1-14). 

Ramsey, D. and T. Thimm. 2019. Cross-border Shopping Between Switzerland and Germany: Tensions with Growth. European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation. 9(1): 3-17. In Press.

Benoit, A., Johnston, T., Maclachan, I. and D. Ramsey. 2018. Identifying Ranching Landscape Values in the Calgary, Alberta Region: Implications for Land-Use Planning. The Canadian Geographer. 62(2): 212-224.

Ramsey, D. and C. Malcolm. 2018. Destination Tourism in Rural Areas: The Case of the Morden Fossil Discovery Centre, Manitoba. The Canadian Geographer. 62(2): 250-265.

Rockett, J. and D. Ramsey. 2017. Rural Revitalization Through Tourism: The Case of Fogo and Change Islands, Newfoundland, Canada. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change. 15(4): 299-318.

Ramsey, D., Michalos, A., and D. Eberts. 2016. How Much Is Too Much? Perceptions of Community Change in Brandon Manitoba, Canada, 2000-2010. Growth and Change. 47(4): 682-699. 

Malcolm, C. and D. Ramsey. 2014. Specialization and Importance-Performance in Visitors to a Natural History Museum: The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. European Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Recreation.  5(1):9-34.

Irwin, S. and D. Ramsey. 2014. Creating Access to Opportunities: The Case of the Toledo Cacao Growers’ Association, Belize. International Journal of Co-operative Studies. 4(1):1-12.

Ramsey, D., V. Soldevila, and L. Viladomiu. 2013. Environmental Regulations in the Hog Farming Sector: A Comparison Between Catalonia, Spain and Manitoba, Canada. Land Use Policy. 32: 239-249.

Michalos, A., Ramsey, D., Eberts, D. and P. Kahlke. 2012. Good health is not the same as a good life: Survey results from Brandon, Manitoba. Social Indicators Research. 107(2): 201-234.

Lemoine, M. and D. Ramsey. 2011. ‘Digital Youth’: ICT Use By Young People in Rural South-western Manitoba. Prairie Perspectives. 14(1): 17-24.

Ramsey, D. and A. Moss. 2009. The Use of the Traditional Media in the New Rural Economy. Zeitschrift für Kanada-Studien. 29(2): 107-131.

Ramsey, D. and J. Everitt. 2008. If You Dig It, They Will Come!: Archaeology Heritage Sites and Tourism Development in Belize, Central America. Tourism Management. 29: 909-916.

Ramsey, D. and J. Everitt. 2008. ‘You Better Belize It’! The Development of Tourism in Belize, Central America. Tourism Research Journal. 1(1): 1-14.

Tarleton, M. and D. Ramsey. 2008. Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change and Other Forces in Manitoba Agriculture. Journal of Rural and Community Development. 3(2): 47-63.

Ramsey, D. and K. Beesley. 2007. ‘Perimeteritis’ and Rural Health in Manitoba, Canada: Perspectives from Rural Health Care Managers. Rural and Remote Health. 7: 1-11.

Ramsey, D. and J. Everitt. 2007. Route-based Tourism Development and the ‘Turkey Trail’ in Manitoba. Prairie Forum. 31(2): 87-110.

Ramsey, D. and J. Everitt. 2007. Called to the Bar: A Historical Geography of Beverage Rooms in Brandon, 1881-1966. Manitoba History. 56: 12-21.

Reviewed Book Chapters Since 2007

Peuramaki-Brown, M., Irwin, S. and D. Ramsey. Belize-Guatemala. 2015. In. E. Brunet-Jailly (ed.) Border Disputes: A Global Encyclopedia (Volume 1 – Territorial Disputes). ABC-CLIO: Santa Barbara, CA. 34-52.

Ramsey, D. and K. Beesley. 2012. Defining Rural, Community and Well-being: Perspectives of Residents and Health Care Managers in Rural Manitoba. In J.C. Kulig and A. Williams (eds.) Rural Health: A Canadian Perspective. UBC Press: Vancouver. 197-215.

Ramsey, D. 2010. Agricultural Restructuring of the Ontario Tobacco-belt in Canada. In Winchell, D., Ramsey, D., Koster, R. and G. Robinson (eds.) Rural Change, Connections and Scale: Agriculture and Environment. Rural Development Institute: Brandon. 484-505.

Ramsey, D. 2009. Rural Restructuring and the New Rural Economy: Examples from Germany and Canada . In Halseth, G., Bruce, D. and S. Markey (eds.) Space to Place: Next Rural Economies. CABI International. 115-127.

Beesley, K. and D. Ramsey. 2009. Agricultural Land Preservation. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography. Elsevier Press: Oxford. 65-69.

Ramsey, D., D. Eberts, and J. Everitt. 2007. Revitalizing Small City Downtowns: The Case of Brandon, Canada. In B. Ofori-Amoah (ed.) Beyond the Metropolis: Urban Geography as if Small Cities Mattered, University Press of America. 221-244.

Selected Edited Volumes

Winchell, D., Ramsey, D., Koster, R., and G. Robinson. (eds.) 2010. Geographical Perspectives on Sustainable Rural Change. Rural Development Institute, Brandon University.

Ramsey, D. and C. Bryant. (eds.) 2004. The Structure and Dynamics of Rural Territories. Jointly Published Between the Rural Geography Study Group, Canadian Association of Geographers and the Rural Study Group of the International Geographic Union.