All corners of the media are scrutinising David Cameron's "Big Society", from every conceivable angle. While the concept has caught the public's imagination, the greater challenge of fleshing out what the Big Society will actually offer and require of communities is unfinished business. The National Council for Voluntary Organisations…

In March 2006, Premier Wen Jiabao acknowledged that the situation in the Chinese countryside is desperate and claimed new resources would be devoted to healthcare and education. This announcement should have pleased architects of the Chinese "learning initiative" who are building learning cities and villages. The authors describe why…

Asset mapping--drawing a map of what is valuable in a community--is an exercise in community development. A process for determining assets in the individual and in the community is provided in this workbook. It begins by asking the reader to perform a self-assessment to determine personal assets. Knowledge of each asset enhances self-awareness,…

This document summarizes what was learned from a 3-year Manchester (United Kingdom) project designed to combat racism in higher education and the community. The lessons learned from the study are intended to help other colleges focus on the issue of racism and how it can be tackled openly in a community education context. After some background…

Communities Alive For Living and Learning (Project CALL), designed at Kishwaukee College to help three local, rural communities develop educational, recreational, and cultural programs, is described in this report. The first sections of the report consider the need for and purposes of the project. The Project Coordinator's report presents an…

A national evaluation study was conducted to ascertain the effects of the large quantity of manpower devoted to community organization and leadership development work by state cooperative extension services. Data were sought on evaluation questions which addressed objectives and policies related to community organizational and leadership…

Describes adult educational program by University College Galway in rural West Ireland, following significant out-migration of young people. Aim is to encourage development initiatives, community participation, and self help. Program includes lectures, seminars, and class projects. Program's successes noted. (Author/TES)

This Project SHARE bibliography lists 43 documents that are representative of the literature concerning the effects of neighborhood consensus on human services delivery. It is divided into three sections: abstracts, an alphabetical list of personal or corporate authors, and a title index. The abstracts are preceded by citation data to aid in…