Bank failures are at record high levels with about two-thirds of the failed banks in rural areas, especially farm areas. Most failed banks are purchased and reopened immediately with little disruption to rural communities except that new ownership tends toward lending practices that are more conservative than the average. (JHZ)

Small farmers are a diverse group, ranging from part-time hobbyists with good off-farm jobs to full-time operators. General rural development policies, rather than traditional farm policies, may be the best method to help those small farmers who earn insufficient income. (JHZ)

Appalachian Regional Commission accomplishments from 1983-1985 included education projects focusing on basic skills, vocational education, and school dropout reduction serving some 100,000 people for $11.5 million and health projects placing 350 physicians in underserved areas. Future proposals and resources may focus on special areas within…

The Nation's 678 rural manufacturing-dependent counties, hit much harder than other rural counties, have since been recovering more. Total employment growth in rural manufacturing counties exceeded growth in nonmanufacturing counties by about 1 percentage point during 1982-84 and by almost 3 percentage points during 1984-86. (Author)

Proposes new model for study of microcomputer technology in agriculture in which diffusion/adoption of innovations is conceptualized as a structural process affected by "access conditions" resulting from research and development, intrinsic technology characteristics, and distributional characteristics. Examines thesis that potential adopters…

Describes the Skyline Farms Project in Appalachian Alabama, a largely unsuccessful attempt to transform ex-tenant farmers into independent landowners. Traces the history of Skyline Farms from the 1930s to the early 1940s. Describes community attitudes and social services (education, health, recreation, home economics). Discusses reasons for the…

Nonformal education is compared to formal and informal education and viewed in relation to two explanatory frameworks assessing underdevelopment in Latin America. The frameworks--dependency liberation and deprivation development--also provide direction to nonformal efforts, described as generally weak and ineffective as a primary means of…

Rural areas of the world share many common problems, such as a lack of diverse educational and economic development opportunities. This paper argues that only when rural areas develop strong partnerships among organizations with diverse strengths, and these organizations bring some measure of power to these partnerships, will these rural areas be…

Unless disparities in education are addressed, market-oriented reforms in Vietnam will generate inequitable agricultural growth. It is argued that if the marginal gains from investment in physical capital depend positively on knowledge, but a household cannot hire skilled labor to compensate for low skills, then even if it has access to credit,…

Adoption of Sinhala and Tamil as the media of instruction in the schools, radio, and the participation of non-governmental agencies in adult education campaigns have all played a part in developing a new rural elite and given rise to a need for vocational training and continuing education in urban areas. (AG)

Objectives for non-formal education and training in Africa are discussed in this article. Specific forms for out-of-school education are suggested: National youth service training; Correspondence education; and Extension, adult and continuing education programs. The problems of resource allocation for such national programs are considered. (SM)

An article by the Secretariat of the Economic Commission for Latin America, United Nations, which discusses regional factors affecting rural and community development in the Caribbean, existing community development programs, and emerging trends in the region. (Author/DR)

The use of agricultural specialists with leadership training from the social sciences was a key program in the socialization of the rural population in communist ideology and in the advancement of agricultural production. (MB)

The following are excerpts from "The Report of the President's Task Force on Rural Development," which was released in March. Appointed by President Nixon in September 1969, the Task Force was asked "to review the effectiveness of present rural assistance programs, and make recommendations as to what might be done in the private and…

The 345 items cited in this annotated bibliographical study are listed under various aspects of education for rural development, including development planning, adult education, educational programs and content, methods, schools and colleges, higher education, and nonformal education. (LLS)