This article briefly describes and analyzes (in a historical perspective) the role of local neighborhood committees as they exist in hundreds of urban neighborhoods in Israel, describes the study procedures and the research findings, and in the final part discusses and analyzes the findings. (CT)

Discusses the concept of public health education and its affinity with the development of the community. Presents the opinions of various authorities or the fundamental opinions of the development of the community. Underlines the importance of these principles for the direction and evaluation of programs. (RR)

Introduction of cereal mills in Gambian villages affected the lives of women and their communities in terms of women's access to the technology, the time and energy it saves, its sustainability, and their level of control. The energy saved enabled greater participation in the community, but they were still constrained by illiteracy and poverty.…

In Jamaica, people most likely to be affected by environmental degradation are less likely to be involved in environmental nongovernmental organizations and community-based conservation projects. Funders, practitioners, and policy makers should work to remove barriers to participation and ensure equitable allocation of funding. (SK)

The author discusses ritual as a process of creating social frameworks through the mobilization of communal sentiment and purpose. He presents a case study in which the ritual process was applied by an external change agent to develop social partnerships and local support for the establishment of a community center. (SK)

A survey of 45 managers of South African welfare agencies found that post-apartheid policy seeks to increase community participation and decrease racial inequities in governing boards. However, social integration in terms of race, gender, and class has not yet been achieved. (Contains 34 references.) (SK)

Summarizes competing approaches to the role of culture in community development and use of community media--as top-down dissemination of messages or as participatory action research. Presents a case study of the use of video for community participation and empowerment in Burkina Faso. (Author/SK)

Responses from 565 of 1,200 former urban residents who moved to a simpler rural lifestyle show that they hold progressive views on environmental and social issues. However, their levels of community organizing and activism are much more modest. (SK)

A participatory dialogue model was used to engage a Scottish community in identifying expressed and unmet needs for children's services. The move toward a partnership model needs to be made gradually so that participatory ownership and empowerment can develop. (SK)

A report by the Regional and Community Development Section of the United Nations which states that community development has to give close attention to the strategy and tactics it considers using and the time needed to realize its goals. (Author/DR)

A community water supply project in Cameroon illustrates the following constraints on community participation in development: paternalistic authorities, prescriptive role of the state, selective participation, bias toward "hard" issues, inattention to negative results, group conflicts, gatekeeping, pressure for immediate results,…

The community development program, initiated in 1952, failed, in the author's opinion, because no sustained attempt was made to involve the people in the development process. Discussed are: program objectives, implementation, administrative structure, an evaluation of 15 program aspects, a community development strategy, and the failure of the…

The article describes the contributions of social work in two areas, in grass roots community organization and in social planning. As a partial response to the growing connection between the two areas, the writers have attempted to adapt the community organization curriculum of a professional school of social work. (Author/AG)

Discusses the Gulbenkian Rhetoric (which sees the purpose of community work as inducing and enabling people to adapt to changed circumstances), outlines different models of change in respect to policy, social relations, and politics, discusses middle-range factors which influence change, and outlines the relevance of the 'social movements'…

Describes projects of the School of Social Work at Central America University, Nicaragua: (1) development of a postgraduate course for professionals; (2) discovery learning and participatory action research in a fishing village; and (3) application of participatory approaches to rural development. (SK)