Sierra Leone is currently emerging from a brutal civil war that lasted most of the 1990s, and now has the dubious distinction of being ranked among the world's poorest countries. As thousands of displaced people move back to their villages, a large proportion of the predominantly farm-based rural population are growing food crops for the first…

MDC's mission is to help organizations and communities close the gaps that separate people from opportunity. The organization has been working to create positive change in disadvantaged communities for 40 years--by conducting research and demonstrating effective programs at the community level. MDC focuses on three areas: education, economic and…

This report provides a general review of the significant activities and accomplishments of the New York State Legislative Commission on Rural Resources. A letter from Senator Charles D. Cook outlines the task set before the Commission, which is to improve the conditions of New York's rural residents. The next section, "Reprise 1988: A Glance…

The direction, complexity and pace of rural change in affluent, western societies can be conceptualized as a multifunctional transition, in which a variable mix of consumption and protection values has emerged, contesting the former dominance of production values, and leading to greater complexity and heterogeneity in rural occupance at all…

The need for a better understanding of the value of adult education and its significance to successful rural development in Nigeria is urged in this article. (Author)

Proposes reasons for the precipitous drop in the number of Black farmers since the 1950s. Today, most Black farmers have very small operations and are at an advanced age. A healthy rural nonfarm economy is essential to supplement farmers incomes. The Agriculture Credit Act of 1987 offers low-interest loans to Black farmers. (KS)

The role of science education in rural development is of great interest to science educators. In this study I investigated how residents of rural Kirumi, Kenya, approach health and healing, through discussions and semistructured and in-depth interviews with 150 residents, 3 local herbalists, and 2 medical researchers over a period of 6 months. I…

Discusses Participatory Rural Appraisal, a research method that shifts the impetus for research in rural development from outside experts to rural people. Residents do their own investigations, share their knowledge, and own the outcomes. Rather than use standard questionnaires, information gathered is represented in visual form using maps,…

Classified, selected bibliography for Appalachian Studies includes over 400 entries: books, journal articles, government documents, and dissertations published 1996-97. Contains 25 categories including agriculture; Appalachian Studies; architecture, historic sites; arts, crafts; Civil War; coal, industry, labor; description, travel; economic…

Reviews influence of technology on rural peoples' interaction patterns throughout this century. Describes importance of information as an input into production against background of uncertainties as transition to information age occurs. Discusses five features of emerging rural information structure. Identifies four areas of significant social…

Some actors in the ''mainstream'' agricultural sector are beginning to engage in strategies of influencing public perceptions of farming, responding to public anxieties over industrialised agriculture and to a supposed separation of non-farming publics from food production. This paper focuses on agricultural shows as sites and events central to…

The study examines programs aimed at encouraging the economic, social, and cultural development of rural areas; the nature of activities undertaken and results achieved; major provisions of the new Rural Development Act; and directions which future policies and programs should take. A statement by the National Planning Association (NPA)…

Suggests the need for more emphasis upon popular participation as a means of rural development. Proposes alliances between governments and people's organizations to cooperate in research, education and training, and mobilization. Describes contributions of international organizations toward this goal. (SK)

The institutions and practices of agricultural extension in Australia are changing to meet the changing needs of rural people and communities. Issues and challenges facing rural people include the declining relative economic importance of agriculture; the declining agricultural workforce; and the shift in agriculture from a purely production…

The first brief paper advocates the position that school-attending older children be used to teach health, hygiene, nutrition, and crafts to adult women and to conduct neighborhood-based literacy classes in rural communities in India. It is argued that the number of 10- to 14-year-old adolescents available for such a project would be above 60…