Catastrophe theory may provide a possible model for describing and explaining the boom town phenomena at a generalized level; catastrophe models deal with phenomena in which changes in continuous independent variables lead to sudden, or abrupt, discontinuous changes in a dependent variable. Rural energy boom towns are the result of sudden, abrupt…

Informal research and development (R & D) is defined as any small-scale, decentralized agricultural or extension education program that involves the population of learners in the process of planning, implementation, and evaluation of a learning process. It involves simple experimentation with potential solutions to common problems. The presence of…

Based on four regional conferences organized by the Action Agenda Project on the theme of "Serving the Rural Adult," these proceedings examine the similarities and differences the diverse participants contributed to the discussion of rural adult education; the successes and concerns expressed in finances and funding, policy, models, and…

The overall economic well-being of U.S. rural communities is on the decline. Rural America is now dependent on a highly diversified economy, and its problems will not be resolved through improved farm income alone. Various weaknesses in rural development policies must be addressed. The narrow policy focus on attracting manufacturing industries to…

Decentralization and budget reduction in the public sector, and globalization and downsizing in the private sector have placed more responsibility on localities to address challenges to the health of their economies, ecosystems, and people. Community development theory and practice are also changing, evidenced by changes in vocabulary. Community…

The principal sociological frameworks used in energy research on developing countries can be appraised in terms of the view of the energy-rural development problem that each framework implies. "Socio-Technical Analysis," which is used most in industrial and organizational sociology and in ecological anthropology, is oriented to the decomposition…

Few national level programs in the United States directly support both local development and education/training. Although both are needed to accomplish the desired goals of economic stability and low unemployment, distinctly different sets of policies exist for each, and because of limited federal resources, each program is in competition with the…

In August of 1978 the Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) published an annotated bibliography on Education Needs Projection and Rural Development; this synthesis paper follows that bibliography and is intended to relate some of the useful applications derived from the survey of the literature. Five papers are included in the synthesis. The…

The implications of rapid change in rural areas demand an effort on the part of planner educators to prepare professional planners for new, transactive roles with skills to build the capacity of communities to become self-reliant. As one of the partner institutions working collaboratively in rural development and planning with the Partnership for…

This essay examines the role of investment capital in rural development. The development of government capitalism is traced. Outlined next are the premises for private and public investment. Geographic/geopolitical concerns in the formation of investment priorities are described. The need for greater availability of investment capital for small…

Historical developments in rural India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and China are the empirical basis of this study which offers a theory of rural development for all Asia keyed to fundamental humanistic values rather than narrower techno-economic considerations. Previous efforts have often been "top-down" processes tending to serve…

The erosion of the credibility of the classical diffusion paradigm by recent challenges to its fundamental assumptions has resulted in a "paradigmatic crisis" as related to research on the diffusion of agricultural innovations. Such basic assumptions as that of a harmonious and cooperative society and of agricultural research guided by endogenous…

As the traditional water carriers and water managers, third world women are crucial to the success of rural water supply projects whose short term goal is increased water quality and quantity and whose long term goal is improved family health. Change depends on the utilization of local learning systems of the society and women are most often the…

Social capital helps communities respond positively to change. Research into managing change through learning in communities and in small businesses, particularly farm businesses, has highlighted the importance of relationships between people and the formal and informal structure of communities to the quality of outcomes experienced by…

Based on an extensive review of the literature, this analysis of the special role of communications in relation to social development examines three major groups of writings: (1) those concerned with perceptions and definitions of early concepts of communication/communication theory and underdevelopment/development, which provide the basis for a…