This article challenges researchers and practitioners to reconsider the utility of insider/outsider constructs of the rural school superintendency. We draw on case studies of two diverse rural Rust Belt communities and the school superintendents to demonstrate the new demands placed on rural superintendents given changing social and economic…

The state of Oregon's (USA) land use planning framework has long been characterized by tensions between state and local authority, between traditionally-defined "urban" and "rural" concerns, and between the competing interests of various landowners. An examination of Wallowa County, Oregon's implementation of House Bill 3326, a…

Tests relationship between local resource production and social systems in two natural resource industry communities: one timber-dependent, the other mining-dependent. Data collected for 13 resource-production indicators and 15 social-change indicators. Confirms hypothesis that social change is associated with the production level of local…

Engelhard is a very isolated rural community in Hyde County, North Carolina, economically dependent on seafood, small scale agriculture, and logging. In the mid-1980s the agricultural crisis, the decline in seafood landings, and changes in timber industry technology contributed to rising unemployment. Several decades of declining population and…

Since the 1970s, Tamworth has become well known as Australia's "country music capital". Its annual Country and Western Music Festival has become the leading event of its type in Australia, attracting over 60,000 visitors every year. The festival, and country music more generally, have become central to the town's identity and tourism…

Changing economic, political, environmental, and social conditions continue to have a cumulative impact on Australian regional communities, and in many instances, rural communities are being forced to initiate their own strategies in order to remain economically and socially viable. However, while communities respond in differing ways to similar…

For many small-town citizens the post office remains an essential institution, not only as a collector and distributor of the mails but also as a focal point of sociability and intimacy, as a news center, and as a provider of special neighborhood services and counseling. In order to provide data for the Postal Rate Commission (charged with…

Examines effects of agricultural and socioeconomic attributes of rural households on household members' outmigration. Uses data from 180 households surveyed in 1963 and 1971 in 3 diverse Colombian "counties." Suggests that different patterns of community structure and structural change produce different patterns of migrant selectivity.…

The theoretical differentiation of the village from the town is made on the basis of a complex of characteristics, which includes: the village was engaged mainly in agriculture; the culture, living conditions and organization of public services were far behind those of the town; the village did not exercise the functions of an administrative,…

To examine what changes occurred in the acute health care delivery systems of rural Texas energy impact communities from 1978 to 1983, a retrospective survey was used to acquire data from which a database could be generated that could provide information for community and state policy decisions. From a pool of communities chosen by a panel of…

Examines 3 stabilizing principles of small town organization that are intertwined with the survival of local schools: (1) centripetalism (inwardly focused community involvement); (2) inclusiveness of local associations and activities; and (3) distinctive identity. Discusses the effects of state pro-consolidation policies on rural economic…

A 1983 case study of four rural Utah communities assesses the early phases of a United States Forestry Service rangeland project which has as one of its goals a systematic intervention to arrest the decline of rurality and reinforce it in communities impacted by construction of a nearby major electrical power plant. With 1980 populations that…

In the period from 1950 to 1970, there were 298 persistent low-income (PLI) counties in the United States, but between 1970 and 1975, 43 counties left the persistent low-income status (LPLI) due to private sector influence and earnings from mining and agriculture. LPLI counties were largely located in Georgia, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Most PLI…

In evaluating the impacts of increased industrialization on small rural communities, some factors to consider are: how much employment and income will go to local people; will industry alleviate poverty; how will income benefits be distributed; and how will industry change community values, local politics and volunteer organizations, local…

Even as conceptual models, distinctions between "rural" and "urban" have become blurred--by changes in transportation, telecommunications, computer technology, business expertise, formal education, health care, and citizenry expectations/knowledge. Two typologies describing future trends and incorporating changes in rural/urban…