The first part of this report contains a case study from each of the eight southern states participating in a late 1970s project which focused primarily on the organization of rural counties for making decisions that affect the well-being of county residents. In the second section, the study counties (identified as low income in 1950) are placed…

In developing programs to foster purposive social change, it is imperative that program planners receive information regarding the perceptions of those in key positions and the general public concerning the major problems or issues facing a county. This report assesses the characteristics of leaders from several North Carolina counties in regard…

An investigation of effects of community change on children's lives explored the proposition that, in both rural and urban Kentucky since the Second World War, children have lost shared multigenerational activities, freedom to roam, and open unstructured time. Data included oral histories from residents born 1895-1950, archival research, and…

In rural northeast Nevada, the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and Lander County School District collaborated to develop and administer an after-school program for at-risk elementary students that provided care, homework sessions, and life skills education. Results included increased community support for such programs and improvements…

This document consists of two guides that were developed to assist small rural communities in northern Alberta (Canada) in conducting surveys. A community survey can be used to develop long- and short-range plans, define and solve problems, establish priorities, confirm public opinion, develop community support and stimulate action, and reveal new…

Study results on the feasibility of and methods for providing non-traditional, postsecondary educational opportunities for the Fayette, Greene, and Washington counties area of Pennsylvania comprise this report. Summaries of the operations of the John Wood Community College in Illinois, the Hudson Community College Commission in New Jersey, and the…

Based on the premise that ecological and health problems, and human responses to these problems, are directly related to community social and economic conditions, this study examined differences in health, housing, and human concerns across socioeconomically defined neighborhoods in West Virginia. Counties were grouped into three environmental…

An indigenous, village-controlled, largely village-funded youth organization in a remote Western Alaska village serves educational, social, recreational, service, and economic functions; provides activities vital to community social/recreational life, relief from stress, and alternatives to substance abuse; and increases competency and sense of…

Focuses on the academic decision making of several female African Americans in a rural southern (primarily African-American) town by considering their personal school experiences and their interpretations of the value of education in their community contexts. Preliminary findings show many contradictions between educational beliefs and actual…

Evaluated the need for school-based health centers in rural New York state. Examination of existing data, community organizational activities, parent telephone surveys, school staff surveys, and focus groups with community members, school staff, and 6th- to 12th-grade students indicated that respondents had varying opinions about school-based…

This paper addresses the shortage of physicians providing medical services to rural communities in Queensland, Australia. Queensland is the fastest growing Australian state, but it has the lowest ratio of total doctors to population. Data indicate there may be twice as many patients per rural doctor compared with the city, which represents a…

This paper analyzes principles of knowledge diffusion and provides a framework for applying new ideas or innovations, particularly in relation to rural community development. As new knowledge is created or old knowledge is found to have new applications, the art of spreading knowledge and managing innovation has become more crucial in both urban…

Institutional effectiveness can be defined as the extent to which internal priorities coincide with the priorities of the external groups that provide funding and support for the institution. If a lack of congruence exists between these priorities, a college administrator has the options of attempting to change the values of the external groups or…

Sessions during the four day meeting of the Rural Sociology Section explored 14 major areas of interest. Most of the papers presented are included in this document which serves as the proceedings of the 1979 annual meeting. The first session of the meeting was devoted to methodology; four papers were presented and three of them are included in the…

ALL PROFESSIONAL TEACHING PERSONNEL AND A RANDOM SAMPLE OF CITIZENS FROM AN EASTERN WISCONSIN SUBURB AND A NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN RURAL COMMUNITY WERE SURVEYED BY AN 88 ITEM OPINION QUESTIONNAIRE TO COMPARE THE PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND CITIZENS IN REGARD TO PROBLEMS AND ISSUES OF EDUCATIONAL VIEWPOINT, THE TASK OF THE SCHOOL, AND DIFFERENTIAL…