The Inter-American Foundation (IAF), an independent agency created by Congress, funds local private organizations that support the self-help efforts of the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean. In fiscal year 1988, IAF approved 208 new grants, 173 grant supplements, and other program activities totaling nearly $25 million. The average grant…

The purposes of the National Rural Studies Committee (NRSC) are to develop a comprehensive and coherent framework for viewing rural area problems, and to provide legitimacy for rural studies as an academic field of specialization. This first NRSC meeting focused on the picture of rural America drawn in American literature, the nature of employment…

Agriculture and the rural economic bases in mining, fisheries, forestry, and natural resource extraction are experiencing major social and economic changes. The farm and rural crises of the 1980s are not short-term aberrations, but symptoms of long-term trends that were partially hidden by the relatively good times for agriculture and rural areas…

This paper argues that the socio-economic transformation caused by the 1971 Suki Agricultural project in central eastern Sudan has had contradictory effects on children. The Suki Agricultural Project was expected to transform the rural economy from production for consumption to production for exchange and profit. Ten years after the project's…

This paper summarizes the history of rural communities (moshavim and kibbutzim) in Israel and attempts to rehabilitate those that have experienced difficulties. The first section of the paper outlines the context of these communities, most of which are cooperatives. Before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, most of the communities…

Tested by vocational agriculture teachers in four states, this teacher's manual is part of an effort to implement the 15-year old Building Our American Communities Program in secondary schools. The manual contains detailed plans and materials for 10 lessons which cover all aspects of designing, implementing, and evaluating a community development…

Part of an effort to implement the 15-year old Building Our American Communities Program in secondary schools, this student handbook provides detailed information for designing, implementing, and evaluating community development projects. Each chapter presents introductory and background information, student objectives, related activities, and…

This overview of changes in the field of telecommunications development produced by satellite communications over the last 15 years focuses on applications of satellite systems for educational and health purposes in developing countries. Satellite communications development from 1974 to 1986 is identified as the first stage of telecommunications…

The origins and development of the Missoula Council for Child Protection and Family Support are traced during its first 9 months as a community group focusing upon projects and issues to alleviate child abuse and neglect. The approach used is described as a mixture of rural community development and planning. Among projects listed as completed…

The Facilitator's Role in Collaborative Rural Development Project began in 1979 as a study of 12 rural development efforts which comprised the North Carolina Rural Employment Laboratory and was expanded in 1980-81 to include rural development in 6 other states (California, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and Vermont). A wide range of…

Presenting a methodological statement for a study of quality of life variability in rural development, this paper is based upon a dimension of expansive/nonexpansive ideology of community leaders. The three hypotheses to be tested state that among communities: the greater the social organization for development among nonexpansive leaders, the…

Using factor analysis (both principal factor solutions and rotated factor solutions) to search for underlying statistical commonality among 12 indicators of community satisfaction in 6 Colorado communities, the research explores various dimensions of community satisfaction that may be important across different communities. The communities under…

The text of a speech at a UNICEF conference in Australia, this document discusses how development education has come into being, why it is important, and prospects and problems for furthering the work. Amidst criticism of the sincerity of donor charity, the honesty and effectiveness of helping agencies, media overexposure, and the questioning of…

Criteria for establishing a project management plan for local community development of forestry programs in Africa are provided in the lead article, which elaborates upon approaches for encouraging participation in fuelwood production, determining community needs and responsibilities, assigning technical support personnel, and revitalizing rural…

The major objective of this pilot survey was to pretest questions for use in the development and design of a larger, more definitive survey of residents of rural communities in Appalachia, planned for the spring of 1981, and to obtain preliminary descriptive data about the area's residents. Telephone interviews covered respondents' family…