Examines land tenure alteration in relation to rural development programs in Botswana. Development efforts have had a class differentiated effect, aiding the relatively well-off cattle owners, but ignoring the small crop producers. A rural development strategy that benefits all rural groups must contain measures specifically tailored to each. (DHP)

Discusses information networking in Bangladesh and describes the formation of the Information Network on Rural Development (INRD) which was initiated by the Center on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP). Organization, membership, activities, participation, and finance are examined. (four references) (LRW)

Draws upon community field theory and human ecology and uses data from 120 rural Pennsylvania school districts to examine the relative contributions of past community actions, development of solidarity, and ecological variables (socioeconomic status, remoteness, previous industrialization, and percentage of residents commuting to work) to the…

A mail survey of 1,524 adult residents of Pennsylvania cities found positive images of rural places and a desire to preserve rural areas and lifestyles. Recreational visiting of rural areas by urban people was related to age, gender, education, income, and the desire for rural preservation. Social visiting was related to support for rural…

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,…

The Isoya Rural Development Project appears to have enhanced Nigerian women's multiple roles (maternal, occupational, conjugal, domestic, kin, community, and individual). Limitations of the project include poor rural infrastructure, male-oriented cultural norms, and lack of direct access to land by women. (SK)

A survey of 23 chairpersons of town unions (rural sociocultural organizations) in Nigeria indicated that self-help projects in education and rural development were concentrated in areas lacking infrastructure. Recommendations were made for an organizing framework, leadership training, government assistance, and efforts to encourage active…

Progress toward rural development has been hampered by flawed views of rural America; serious limitations to existing social and economic data on sparsely populated areas; treatment of rural America as a geographical entity unconnected to the larger U.S. economy and society; perceived lack of feasible political solution to rural problems; and…

The Institute for Integrated Rural Development in the Maharashtra State of India seeks to break the cycle of poverty through sustainable rural development. It works closely with rural women on health and nutrition education and in other community partnerships based on horizontal structures. (SK)

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…

A nonprofit community action agency, BusinesStart, provides business training and small loans to entrepreneurs in 18 rural counties in southwestern Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. The entrepreneurs, many with no previous business experience, cite the agency's basic business training as key to their success. (SV)

Commentators tend to agree that the rural resource is becoming increasingly subject to pressures arising from an ever wider range of economic, social, political and environmental influences. This paper focuses on the case of rural tourism in illustrating the advantages of adopting a sustainable development approach to identifying suitable policies…

If economic recovery occurs, land development and construction will revive simultaneously with land-use controls. Already the Federal government has affected land use by passing the Coastal Zone Management Act and the Clean Air Act. The states have also initiated land-use regulations concerning community planning and environmental quality. (MR)