The "digital divide" refers to inequitable access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) between wealthy and poor countries and between privileged and underprivileged social groups within all countries. This presentation outlines global parameters of the digital divide, discusses the use of ICTs in education in…

The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) seeks to strengthen the capacity of the region's 29 land-grant institutions to address critical, contemporary rural development issues impacting the well-being of people and communities in the rural South. Work force development, education, leadership training, food security, civic engagement, urban…

A community development program in rural China aimed to enhance women's economic and social opportunities as a means of lowering fertility rates. The program involved agricultural seminars and extension services, organized cultural and entertainment activities, and political meetings. Village leaders took part in seminars on community development,…

This annual report of the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) describes the agency's extension and research activities from October 1, 1995, to October 1, 1996. SRDC is one of four regional centers coordinating rural development research and extension education programs cooperatively with the land-grant institutions. SRDC cooperates with 29…

Describes many ecological, social, and economic problems of Bangladesh in order to show the need for development of nonformal education to increase productivity in agriculture and related industries. Describes nine nonformal education projects in various areas of rural development, cooperatives, extension services, and adult education. (MF)

Complex community health promotion programs are being held accountable for their effectiveness, but rural public health departments lack staff and expertise to carry out evaluations. In Kentucky, a university evaluation expert trains local public health staff in technical skills for program evaluation and provides ongoing mentoring and technical…

An analysis of the use of a survey on a state-level conservation tillage program was conducted to assess the effects of personal influences. Personal factors influenced timeliness, user's desire for and ownership of information, interaction among decision makers and the evaluator, methodological appropriateness and quality, and use planning. (TJH)

Central America's macroeconomics, land tenure patterns, and population growth are forcing small-scale farmers to alternatives based on farmer-to-farmer teaching and farming in concert with the environment. Discusses major schools of thought that have fueled this phenomenon, and how extension services and isolated groups are joining to form a…

Agricultural development programs often produce unexpected results. This can be attributed to the fact that the target-farmers already have their own knowledge and competencies which, in turn, determine their practices. In order to be adopted, an innovation has first to be discussed, and then appropriated by a local group of farmers in their…

Over the last decade, there have been rapid developments in field methodologies within participatory approaches to rural and agricultural development. At the same time, the use of "soft systems" methodologies for bringing potentially conflictual or disparate actors together for action has spread from the business world to other applications. These…

The five papers in this volume examine the methods, costs, and effects of traditional agricultural extension services and basic education and about the use of mass media for extension and education. The first paper, a literature review regarding the effectiveness of agricultural extension, reports that extension agents' studies of internal…

Most science curriculum innovations seem to have their origins and emphases in urban intellectual concerns and their content generally caters to university bound students. The reason for the failure of rural students in science subjects may be the lack of relevancy of the program to the needs of individuals living in rural areas. This 22-hour…

This annual report from the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), a federal development agency, includes letters from foundation officials describing the IAF-funded work in poverty areas of Latin America and the Caribbean. The report describes IAF's In-Country Support System (ICS), staffed by local professionals who assist grantees and report their…

This guide provides agricultural extensionists with basic information that will help them design plans for the conservation of soils and the management of water runoff in specific agricultural plots. It is based on experiences with small hillside farms in Honduras and takes into account the resources and constraints commonly encountered there.…

During the second year of a 3-year study involving 112 Iowa farm families, mothers of children aged 4 to 10 years old expressed expectations of independence, responsibility, and hard work from their children during home interviews. The importance of the parent-child relationship together with the lack of sufficient child-rearing research on rural…