Describes several grassroots initiatives in the Asian region that are concerned with raising the self-awareness of underprivileged rural workers through educational processes that differ from conventional formal methods. (JOW)

Reviews the research on the effects of new technologies on employment, work, and society. Indicates that advanced technologies can reduce the cost and improve the quality and range of goods and services and can raise employment levels. Care must be taken to ensure that certain groups do not suffer disproportionately from labor force adjustments.…

New corporate practices and strategies, technological advances and rising job skill requirements are making postsecondary training a virtual necessity for a high-paying job. This is driving a wedge between the earnings of education "haves" and "have nots." Corporate restructuring is eliminating hundreds of thousands of jobs,…

Includes " A Bridge Too Far: Democracy, Development and Education in Rural South Africa (Parker); "Khuphuka: A Skills Training and Employment Programme in Durban, South Africa" (Comninos); "Reconstruction and Development Programme and Tertiary Institutions in South Africa"; and "Report on the First Session of the…

Driven by restructuring, marketplace competition, and technological change, rural electric co-ops are implementing early retirement and severance packages, instituting staffing changes to reflect changing functions and needed skills, hiring business managers to develop business strategies and marketing plans, providing consumer-choice advocates,…

Rural development is rarely defined and there is no clear definition of what the development process intends to accomplish. The nature of the larger economy in which rural places must operate has changed in ways that reduce the relative advantage of most rural areas and have left them struggling to define new economic functions. The political…

Rural communities have long experienced an outmigration of talented people to urban areas for better employment opportunities. The traditional rural economic model, especially prevalent in Appalachia and the rural South, involves outside capital promoting industrial development separated from community needs and culture. This, at worst, is…

The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Social Responsibilities Discussion Group was officially established in December 1997 to address the role of libraries in society. The group is initially concentrating on the following themes: equality of access to library collections and facilities; the growing gap…

Examines the condition of human resources in the rural South, particularly educational attainment, outmigration, illiteracy, and quality of rural schools. Discusses strategies for the development of human resources in the 1990s involving local, state, and federal governments and the role of rural sociologists. Contains 40 references. (Author/SV)

While the adoption of new mechanical and biological-chemical technology has brought revolutionary changes in agricultural production, these changes have also contributed to a decline in employment in many rural industries. There are, however, a number of new technologies, likely to impact on rural areas in the 1980s and beyond, that should level…

The South can move out of the shadows of the harsh economic realities of the last 15 years and into the sunshine of developing new strategies to take advantage of the region's strengths. These strengths include a vast wealth of natural resources; a Sunbelt location; and most important, a huge reservoir of undeveloped human capital. The road to…

Argues that rural two-year colleges must go beyond traditional job training programs for business/industry to have a decisive impact on local economic development. Presents a comprehensive economic development model, including human capital development; economic development awareness; and business, special group, infrastructure, and agricultural…

Two views within the federal government regarding funding medical education--"just send money" and "prudent purchaser"--and their implications for rural America are discussed in the context of budget shifts toward pediatric training and National Institute of Health programs, different agency mandates, the high cost of health care and medical…

The policies and performance of the post-Mao Chinese government (1976 to the present) in the four modernization areas of industry, agriculture, science and technology, and the military are examined. Realizing that the program to modernize the economy of the People's Republic of China, which was initiated by Mao's successors in 1977, was much too…

During the second half of the 20th century, two-year colleges in the rural South were transformed from "junior" appendages of other institutions to community colleges that responded to the needs of local workers and businesses. This paper examines how the South's rural community colleges contribute to economic development today and what…