Communities with a flexible, open leadership structure may weather energy booms better than communities with old-guard leadership cliques, according to a study of community governance in two small Texas towns. Although similar in location, ethnic composition, population, access to transportation, economic base, and importance in the county,…

Compares traits and attitudes of two Illinois farming communities with populations characterized as "German yeoman" and "Yankee entrepreneur." Discusses how community characteristics shape responses to social and economic changes and affect the course of economic development. (SV)

Effective rural education depends on active community involvement. This ethnographic case study examines three models of community organization as an explanation of how community action occurs. The three models are: (1) individuals interacting in formal and informal groups; (2) networks of "weak ties" effective for diffusing information and…

In order to acquaint students with other environments and to develop an awareness of their own community, the study of a small community in Canada was undertaken by this project development team. The Alpha students studied Chilliwack the first year (ED 066 352) and this second report covers their study of Powell River. The aim of the developers is…

Economic status determined the effects of declining public revenues and a tighter economy on residents of Farmville, Virginia, a small, conservative, rural, Southern community with underdeveloped social services, whose class relations still reflect racial segregation, whose concern for local autonomy is so great that external funding sources are…

Data on the social effects of boomtown growth and industrialization were collected from residents of three western communities (Craig, Colorado; Price, Utah; and Gunnison, Colorado) via a fairly detailed mail questionnaire sent to a random sample of 900. Completed questionnaires were received from 443 (a return rate of 65%). A number of different…

This article presents a case in which age was isolated as a highly significant factor affecting reported community satisfaction. Authors explain the findings as the result of four factors: (1) selective migration, (2) influence of length of residence, (3) acceptance of one's surroundings as one ages, and (4) rising expectations among the younger…