This essay examines how the social construction of community may influence faculty perceptions, roles, and actions in rural community development outreach. Special attention is given to the social construction of rural communities and how disciplinary perspective and popular culture influence these perceptions of community. The essay considers how…

Community-Oriented Mental Health Education is viewed as an economical and effective approach to the delivery of mental health services in rural areas. This review explores the issues in design and implementation of mental health education programs, with particular reference to the program developed in Madison County, New York. A descriptive…

When metropolitan universities refer to serving the entire metropolitan area, they often refer to rural fringes as well as concentrated urban populations. Working with rural communities requires somewhat different approaches to planning programs and understanding needs. Survey research helps the campus understand the perceptions and realities of…

Describes a student service-learning program in the Cumberland Mountains in southeastern Kentucky called Appalachian Leadership and Community Outreach (ALCOR). ALCOR provides various community services in 20 counties with six mountain colleges and private and public organizations. Several ALCOR colleges give academic credit for the ALCOR learning.…

A survey was conducted to explore the potential of weekly newspapers for information dissemination in rural Saskatchewan. Articles about engineering research of relevance to the community had been mailed to eighty weekly Canadian newspapers on a free-choice basis over a ten month period. A random sample of 1,020 subscribers selected from the…

The Department of Commerce's Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) is designed to address technology needs in the public and nonprofit sectors of the United States. This report is one of many ways that TIIAP is sharing the stories and the lessons that are being learned by recipients of TIIAP awards. The case…

Lewis-Clark State College, Idaho, developed a model program, Partnerships Project, designed to provide rural community residents with access to higher education and to assist communities in increasing their local capacity for development. In pursuing these objectives, the program helped to change the nature of the postsecondary undertaking in…

This publication contains 10 articles on nonformal adult education in the Pacific Region. The first describes the Mobile Training Team in Micronesia and its strengths and weaknesses. The second article introduces the Micronesian Seminar and an examination of its methods of combating social problems through seminars and workshops. The next two…

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…

This document explores the themes of sustainability, rural poverty, community activism, and challenging racism in the United Kingdom. The book presents 21 case studies demonstrating ways in which 18 organizations and 3 activists in the United Kingdom have worked successfully with adult learners to empower their communities, develop capacity, and…

In the 1970's Rural Development Counselors and Community Affairs Specialists of the Manitoba Department of Agriculture were part of an effort to reverse trends of economic depression and rapid outward migration from rural to urban centers by assisting rural Manitobans individually, in groups, and as communities. Low- to moderate-income farmers and…