In five Great Plains states, more counties have fewer than six persons per square mile (once a definition of "frontier") than in 1920. Forces of nature and technology have produced fewer farms, resulting in fewer residents and loss of local businesses and schools. Carrington, North Dakota, worked hard to attract a pasta plant, but it may…

Discusses the use of participatory video in rural underdeveloped countries and describes a video project in Costa Rica that helped farmers with agricultural management and soil erosion problems. Video production considerations are described, and the use of role playing to supplement documentation is explained. (four references) (LRW)

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…

This chapter reports on the activities of the Rural Continuing Education Centre (CREPA), a nongovernmental organization run by volunteers from small agricultural villages in the Las Villas area of Salamanca, Spain. The organization was founded in 1983 with the goal of improving living conditions and community life for villagers through social…

Describes cooperative campaign by central Chilean farmers to reduce use of dangerous chemicals. Describes cooperative's rural extension program targeting misuse of pesticides. Describes concern of chemical danger to local and foreign consumers. Cooperative's effort described as balancing short-term economic gains with long-term health and…

A Vermont project, the Environmental Programs/Partnerships in Communities (EPIC) project provides a transferable model for rural development. The program is sensitive to people and environmental needs, and emphasizes long-term functioning of the entire community system, not just specific outcomes. EPIC has supported leadership training, local…

Social capital helps communities respond positively to change. Research into managing change through learning in communities and in small businesses, particularly farm businesses, has highlighted the importance of relationships between people and the formal and informal structure of communities to the quality of outcomes experienced by…

Reviews one of the little-known failures of the New Deal social programs. The Subsistence Homestead Division and the Resettlement Administration attempted to resettle urban slum dwellers in autonomous garden cities and submarginal farmers in new farm villages. Discusses the reasons these communal efforts failed and provides suggested teaching…

Traditional and nontraditional education in Taiwan are considered, based on interviews with educators and scholars in Taiwan, observations, and research materials. To provide a picture of the evolution of academe in the Chinese-Taiwan setting, attention is directed to philosophy, history, academic ethics and excellence, methodology, and policy…