Focusing on small, independent businesses, this primer answers questions relating to starting and operating a new firm and how local development organizations can help in the process. The general pattern of the company forming process (displacement, disposition to act, credibility, and availability of resources) is discussed. Success factors for…

Home to 65 million people, rural America is no longer insulated from national and international events. Once dependent entirely upon agriculture and natural resource industries, today rural America relies upon manufacturing and service industries. Jobs and other income opportunities in rural America must respond to global business cycles and…

This report identifies those federal programs that are essentially rural and pursue economic development purposes. Using the 10 Beale population codes, 2,097 of the 3,096 U.S. counties, containing 16% of the U.S. population, were defined as rural (had urban populations of less than 20,000). The approximately 800 federal domestic assistance…

This bibliography contains 137 entries of English-language materials available from the National Agricultural Library's (NAL) AGRICOLA database. Each of the bibliography's 137 entries pertains to some aspect of transportation services in rural areas. Each entry, including books, reports, studies, and so forth, offers bibliographical information…

This paper provides first-time grant writers with suggestions on how to approach a private funding source. While intended for rural health care advocates, the remarks are equally applicable for educators and others. The rural crisis has produced many heart-rending stories about medically indigent people, but there is a lack of reliable statistics…

Intended for rural development practitioners and extension educators, this publication examines trends and issues in the revitalization of rural America. Chapter 1 defines community economic vitality as the capacity to ensure a flow of jobs and income over time; focuses attention on the realities of competition between communities and the…

This survey was undertaken by the Peace Corps to assist Senegal in identifying energy needs in rural areas and in implementing alternative, renewable energy projects at the community level. This book describes the sample, energy use, energy needs, and resources. Fifteen villages of fewer than 5,000 people were selected for data collection. The…

The purposes of this report are: to describe the main elements of the U.S. agricultural extension model and its effects on the agricultural revolution; to analyze attempts to extend this model to non-agricultural technology and/or to less developed countries; and to draw general conclusions about the diffusion of technological innovations, with…

Based on five working papers developed as part of the Program of Studies in Nonformal Education at Michigan State University, this monograph suggests a conceptual framework for analysis of rural development and nonformal education and the relationship which exists between them. The four sections of this monograph are titled and subtitled as…

The Congressional Rural Caucus, the Midwest Caucus of Democratic Senators, and a number of Republican Senators are all focusing their attention on rural issues and problems. (Author)

The keynote article in this issue summarizes some of the lessons learned after a decade of using satellites for public service, and after five years of experimentation with information technologies designed for specialized audiences. Community service programs in the Appalachian Mountain and Rocky Mountain regions and in the state of Alaska are…

Thirteen papers by graduate students who participated in a 1971 summer field program in Hidalgo, Mexico, are presented. Twelve of the papers are presented in the English language and one is presented in Spanish. Research for seven of the papers was undertaken in established Otomi Indian villages or hamlets. Research for the remaining six papers…

Aurora, a village of 147 residents in north central Kansas, was the focus of a 1978 investigation of the community development potential for Kansas rural villages. Students and staff from the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare worked with community residents to identify three programs the village wanted (a recreation program, a…