The most pressing social problems facing humanity in the 21st century are what systems theorist Russell Ackoff referred to as "messes"--complex dynamic systems of problems that interact and reinforce each other over time. In this article, the authors argue that the lack of progress in managing messes is in part due to the predominance of…

This case involves a small town in the southwestern United States. Background descriptions of the community and school are provided, including historical and demographic information. As the community and school transition from a small ranching town into a bedroom community for the large city nearby, tensions related to race and wealth erupt in a…

The purpose of this report is to disseminate the findings from an analysis of the proposals submitted by English councils under the Sustainable Communities Act for England 2007 (SCA), conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in August/September 2009, as requested by the Local Government Association (LGA). It aims to…

The Catholic Church, with deep roots in the history of Latin America, exercises considerable influence on all levels of society. Especially after the Second Vatican Council and the bishops' conference at Medellin (1968) the Church took up the banner of human rights and the cause of the poor. During the dictatorships and in the midst of the…

The Episode of Purposive Change Model was used to evaluate the statewide redesign of human services for vulnerable children/families. Significant findings included the following: (1) community context is important; (2) long-term change requires keeping the initiative on the community agenda; and (3) participants must remain focused on ultimate…

This extension education publication contains insights and tools to help community members develop a strategic vision and action plan for their community. Presented first are an executive summary and an introduction that includes 10 reasons for a strategic visioning process. The first section, which deals with harnessing the power of vision,…

Phase I of this study is an exploratory study searching for hypotheses. Phase II is a test of the five hypotheses emerging from Phase I. All but the last hypothesis are found to be related to effectiveness in community development. [Available from Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, New York, New York 10011]. (Author/AM)

The article reports on a three-year community development project in rural Louisiana involving seven small communities under the supervision of the local extension community resource development agent. The community development principles presented focus on methodology rather than program content, and may thus be used by extension agents and…

The paper addresses the importance of developing a rural community's commercial sector for economic development by providing some analytical tools. Procedures are outlined to estimate commercial sector activity in a community, to estimate commercial sector activity for various counties within a state (Nevada is used as an example), and to develop…

Engelhard is a very isolated rural community in Hyde County, North Carolina, economically dependent on seafood, small scale agriculture, and logging. In the mid-1980s the agricultural crisis, the decline in seafood landings, and changes in timber industry technology contributed to rising unemployment. Several decades of declining population and…

The rural community college has a unique opportunity to bring about social change in rural areas. This paper summarizes the needs and resources of the rural community and discusses the change techniques useful to the college administrator. The most valuable resource is the college staff who offer technical expertise and leadership not available…

Describes attitudes and strategies used by two small rural towns to foster economic development and improve local housing, schools, professional facilities, and recreational programs for youth and adults. Emphasizes individual leadership qualities useful in creating a vision for community survival, communicating the vision through town meetings,…

Changing economic, political, environmental, and social conditions continue to have a cumulative impact on Australian regional communities, and in many instances, rural communities are being forced to initiate their own strategies in order to remain economically and socially viable. However, while communities respond in differing ways to similar…

This paper looks systematically at the experiences of two demonstration projects, Plain Talk and Community Change for Youth Development (CCYD), and discusses their attempts to implement resident involvement strategies. Chapter 1 is an introduction. Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of the two demonstration projects that indicates all sites in…

Describes the creation and development of a Citizen Leadership Institute (CLI) and its corresponding Citizen Leadership Training Program (CLTP) by Gulf Coast Community College in an effort to foster systemic change in community problem-solving. States that solutions found by CLI may contain responses to similar problems faced by sister…