Summarizes Indian leaders' positive and negative reactions to the reform legislation of the 1970s. Outlines gains in Indian health, education, and employment as well as actions of Congress and Executive Branch agencies that seemed designed to thwart Indian self-determination. Concludes that reform legislation created new opportunities for American…

Explains some socioeconomic problems of farmworkers. Explains a Training and Technology project to train economically disadvantaged Southern farmworkers for industrial jobs. Examines the project's long-term effects on employment, wage rates, and quality of life of 118 participants. Discusses implications for rural social workers serving…

In this paper, we argue that new computational tools problematize the concept of thought within current sociocultural theories of technology and cognition, by challenging the traditional position of privilege that humans occupy in sociocultural analyses. We draw on work by Shaffer, Kaput, and Latour to extend the analytical reach of activity…

Located along the U.S. Mexico border, colonias are unincorporated areas with no building codes, city taxes, or infrastructure. Most colonia residents live in poverty. Involving rural colonia residents from Hildago County, Texas, in a concerted effort to solve their problems became a central focus for a task force of educational and social…

This tool kit was developed at the request of volunteers, advocates, self-advocates, and professionals concerned that the progress made towards the inclusion of people with cognitive, intellectual and developmental disabilities into the mainstream of community life in America was at risk. Information included provides: (1) General information to…

A study examined community, workplace, and social issues faced by professionals in education, health, human services, and law enforcement in eight rural British Columbia (Canada) communities. Surveys and interviews with 36 professionals revealed a dissonance between views of rural issues in the literature and views of local practitioners. The…

This policy report is intended to be a vision, a design, for certain public systems that have significant involvement with an aging population. It focuses on the central question: What can be done to build community capacity for dealing with an aging society in Minnesota? The report focuses on these three topics: (1) life-cycle…

In the face of changing agriculture, an aging population, and the outflow of citizens seeking livable wages, rural Southern communities are challenged with how to enhance their economies to insure long-term business viability. Home-based businesses are an effective aspect of rural economic development. They allow flexibility and choice of work…

More children are riding school buses longer distances than ever before, but this review of research on busing finds a surprising shortage of information on the subject, apart from safety figures and costs and efficiencies of the buses themselves. Historically, increased student transportation has been the by-product of school consolidation, but…

This overview provides basic information on the causes of deaf-blindness and the particular challenges faced by individuals who are deaf-blind. Causes of deaf-blindness include various syndromes, multiple congenital anomalies, prematurity, congenital prenatal dysfunction, and various postnatal causes. Differences between people deaf-blind from…

Every school day, hundreds of West Virginia children ride school buses much longer than state guidelines say they should. Under those guidelines, no elementary student should be on the bus more than 30 minutes one way, middle school students 45 minutes, and high school students 1 hour. In fall 1999, public hearings about school transportation…

This overview provides basic information on the causes of deaf-blindness and the particular challenges faced by individuals who are deaf-blind. Causes of deaf-blindness include various syndromes, multiple congenital anomalies, prematurity, congenital prenatal dysfunction, and various postnatal causes. Differences between people deaf-blind from…

The basic assumptions of a society bear directly on the kinds of schooling and education that it has, including the ways that it develops or beleaguers academic talent. In the United States, the pervasive influence of capitalism, which is predicated on limitless growth, tends to equate affluence with academic talent. By imagining futures for…

Rural areas around the world face problems stemming from the globalization of agricultural and other markets, the resulting competitiveness for existing and shifting markets, loss of population, and consequent decline of economic and social infrastructure. Rural communities need to develop the ability to manage change, and this requires engaging…

Over the last 50 years, American attitudes toward rural areas have shifted from pride and concern to indifference and ultimately neglect. This shift in attitudes has accompanied the decline in rural population. The media tend to portray rural areas in extremes, depicting either poverty, neglect, and despair, or breath-taking scenery and an idyllic…