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…

One conference address and two reports on adult education in Zambia are presented. The address is entitled "Adult Education and Industrialization" and the reports are "Adult Education and Industrialisation" and "Adult Education and Rural Development," respectively. (CK)

The clientele served by the Technology Use Studies Center (TUSC) at Southeastern State College is updated. Manufacturing leads the list of client firms, which include a broad range of industries and a substantial number of colleges and universities. A review of field operations inherent in the functions of dissemination and assistance notes an…

Describes computer Industrial Impact Model used by Texas Agricultural Extension Service rural planners to assess potential benefits and costs of new firms on community private and public sectors. Presents selected data/results for two communities assessing impact of the same plant. (NEC)

A look at a study funded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development which is attempting to demonstrate that imaginative applications of telecommunications will enable business units'' to operate effectively over wide distances and thus prevent migrations from rural areas. (Author/AK)

A short review of the development of adult education in Ceylon, from the introduction of Buddhism in the third century B. C. to the present time, with emphasis on twentieth century programs and achievements. (JB)

Some comments on the applicability of television to aiding the rural development of underdeveloped countries. (LS)

Discusses Participatory Learning Methods (PALM), a program in which the rural population becomes involved in creative, productive, and sustainable development activities. Describes a typical PALM program and the evolution of PALM methodology. (MDH)

Includes "Introduction to International Perspectives" (Allen); "Volunteerism in the Welfare State: The Case of Denmark" (Habermann); "Grassroots Organizing in Bangladesh" (Chowdhury); and "Volunteerism in Latin America" (Guerra). (SK)

Focus groups of 147 farmers in Geauga County, Ohio, determined that the number of farms declined overall, although townships closer to Cleveland gained farms, including those with the most residential development and highest market value of farmland. Farmers in more rural areas identified urbanization problems; farmers in more urban areas…

The aim of this study was to understand the role that agricultural consultants in New Zealand were undertaking in the Research, Development and Extension (RD&E) system--and in particular in relation to environmental extension. New Zealand does not have a public extension service and hence there is a strong reliance on consultants and regional…

A new regionalism has been much documented and researched for metropolitan areas; this article documents that there is a new rural regionalism as well. In the United States, these groups appear most likely to emerge in areas that are challenged by outcomes characterizing globalization's effects on the rural condition: namely, exurban or…

Climate change is having a major effect on water cycles. There is an increased intensity and frequency of severe storms resulting in flooding. Floods in other parts of the world cause death on a major scale. Meanwhile across the planet, one billion people (a sixth of the world's population) do not have access to safe drinking water, and two…

This paper is about how rural landscape is experienced according to combinations of practical engagements with land and the ways meaning is made in relation to it. It presents the case of the ambiguous position of the Orkney Islands within categorisations of Highland and Lowland landscapes in Scotland. Through a discussion of the physical and…