A study was undertaken to explore the power structure in a Southwestern community of 93,000 and to determine which elements in that power structure had the most influence in a local school bond referendum. The data for the study were collected using two techniques. First, a panel of knowledgeable community members identified 85 politically…

Described are two approaches for using newspapers to teach local, regional, or state geography courses to college students. In the first approach, the instructor developed a manual to supplement an introductory geography course which examined spatial patterns of various phenomena as they are found in the Cincinnati (Ohio) metropolitan area. He…

Needs assessment is not in and of itself a complicated, difficult, or expensive process but is simply one facet of good institutional management closely related to other management processes. Needs assessment is an integral part of: (1) institutional decision making and management information systems; (2) institutional planning, which should be…

Not only is industry seeking a closer relationship with the community college, but employees themselves are becoming more interested in making career advances or mid-career changes. The Metropolitan Community Colleges of Kansas City, Missouri, have become aware of these changing educational needs through the realization that 2% of the students…

Support systems research has expanded its therapeutic horizons beyond the family, often using the concepts and methods of social network analysis. Recent network developments provide useful suggestions for support systems research in the analyses of social ties and social networks, and the implications of large-scale social structure for…

Community colleges, because of their strategic placement within the community, are particularly well-suited to becoming catalysts in the problem-solving process of the community by performing the research which underlies community development. Social science faculty, given their methodological training, community orientation, and teaching focus,…

Effective rural education depends on active community involvement. This ethnographic case study examines three models of community organization as an explanation of how community action occurs. The three models are: (1) individuals interacting in formal and informal groups; (2) networks of "weak ties" effective for diffusing information and…

A 1983 four-community survey of 220 rural Utah households had as its central analysis issue the extent to which conflict plays a modulating role in linking network positions. Not only do most network analysis approaches reflect an implicit assumption that network ties involving conflict are mutually exclusive from and incompatible with support…

This report contains the text of five briefings on research in Rand's Urban Policy Analysis program. "Brief History of Rand's Urban Policy Analysis Program," by Barbara R. Williams, discusses the changing Federal role in urban policy, problems encountered in Rand's attempt during the early 1970s to examine the central policy problems of…

In order to identify and obtain an assessment of public attitudes about "quality of life" conditions and issues in Tuscarawas County, 25 students enrolled on the Tuscarawas Campus of Kent State University were specially trained to conduct interviews with a random sample of 307 Tuscarawas County residents and 50 specially selected…

The urbanization and industrialization of a society based on commercial competitiveness has resulted in the marginalization of rural communities and the disempowerment of rural people. An alternative view of the future is needed, and rural schools have a part to play in creating it. Four sets of forces are driving society toward a different…

The rationale for conducting a community survey to obtain information on a specific problem or issue for local school board policy formation is illustrated in this case study. A survey mailed to 10 percent of all district households in a small midwestern city yielded a 31 percent response rate. Survey analysis was utilized by the school board to…

A study of the process of a 1977-1983 oil and gas boom in Caldwell, Texas, disproved the assumption that local social effects of rapid energy development are severe and negative. Using interviews, surveys, observation, local newspapers, and other writings as data sources, researchers determined that during the boom, Caldwell's population grew…

In this paper, a college economics professor shares his ideas and experiences related to teaching a regional economics course for seniors at Bucknell University. In an attempt to depart from the traditional content and the passive teaching procedures prevalent in such courses, the professor implemented a course in a regional, political, economic…

The concept of community satisfaction is often discussed in sociological research on subjective social indicators. The hypothesis of this paper is that clearer understanding of the concept of community satisfaction is necessary if research measuring the concept is to be valid. The paper concentrates on three areas of concern. Section I reviews…