The Southern Rural Development Center (SRDC) at Mississippi State University fosters innovative approaches to sustainable rural development and builds collaborative networks among agencies, institutions, and communities. The center's key goals are to: 1) strengthen and support the capacity of Southern land-grant institutions and their partners to…

A 5-year collaborative project between Missouri, Michigan State, and Nebraska Universities to provide new opportunities for rural community self-development through sustainable agriculture had mixed results. This happened because community members did not understand the principles of sustainability, and because the extension education system was…

This report provides a comprehensive look at the challenges facing mothers and children during and after armed conflict. The examination is divided into the sections "Mothers in War,""Mothers Rebuilding," and "Call to Action." Key findings include the following: (1) the nature of war has changed dramatically in recent…

State-mandated reforms in educational practices, such as class-size reduction, have created the need for more and better educational facilities, but pressure from growth and poor planning decisions are stretching other forms of public infrastructure development to the limit and draining economic vitality from cities and towns. Current programs,…

A study sought to identify the existence of neighborhood effects on school achievement that are independent of social class and family background among students from poor, rural neighborhoods. Ethnographic material yielded a concept of rural West Virginia neighborhoods in which residents expect their encounters to be friendly, informal, almost…

Entire issue discusses crime control policy in the United States, including such issues as the relation of social and environmental variables to criminal activity, dealing with the career offender, biological correlates of criminal behavior, juvenile delinquency, and white collar crime. (CS)

The human costs of the arms race are outlined, including how children die from preventable malnutrition and disease while the world spends $600 billion annually on arms. The author supports attending to the needs of children and the poor through action for peace. (MD)

This article provides an overview of the implications of technical advancement on the roles of schools and teachers in society. An alternative model for teacher education is suggested that responds to shifting patterns of teacher needs, critical issues, and institutional resources. (FG)

Explores the role of Navajo women in a remote area of the western reservation in the processes of production, consumption, and distribution of resources. Emphasis is placed on the way women selectively activate kin ties in order to perform tasks, obtain resources, and accumulate wealth. (Author)

Highlights a meeting of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Includes various issues as presented in addresses by representatives of member nations. Issues focus on all aspects of the deteriorating state of the earth's environment and on what to do about it over the next 10 years. (Author/JN)

Evaluates the justifications for affirmative action and rebuts current arguments against it. Focuses on the major rationales that underlie arguments for affirmative action: compensatory justice, distributive justice, and social utility. (Author/MJL)

Societies know how to create material wealth and physical health, but their ultimate success lies in creating a human culture conducive to happiness. Positive and negative adaptations to technololgical change are discussed. Educators must prepare for the future by providing creative education for all age groups. (PP)

Suggests that the hospice approach includes several elements that can be utilized to improve the quality of life in nursing homes: a total needs emphasis, increased patient autonomy, open discussion of death, a community ideology, a team orientation, a role blurring of caregivers, and focus on patients and families. (Author)

Rural people consistently support environmental protection less than urban people. Four hypotheses tested reasons for this using 1973-1978 General Social Survey data. Socialization in metropolitan areas which leads to favorable consideration of social solutions to environmental problems received the most support, but nothing explained much of the…

Paul Hurd, Professor Emeritus of Stanford University, addresses the subject of improving the quality of life in the future by developing a more humanistic approach in biology teaching. (SA)