Although much of the community development work undertaken by women in Northern Ireland could be described as community relations, women's reluctance to use that label has led to neglect of their significant contributions. A more inclusive definition of community relations is needed. (SK)

Three years' observation of a community development project on a council housing estate in England, focusing on housing issues, produced a qualitative assessment of the process of the project at the management and community level. (JOW)

The Bristol (England) Festival against Racism illustrates the value of personal contacts and informal networking in developing community coalitions. The project resulted in a 12-step model for conflict resolution. (SK)

O'Gorman provides "Five Points for Reflection" on nongovernmental and community organizations in Brazil. Speyer and Tedrus discuss "Community Libraries: An Experience in Community Development in the Periphery of Sao Paulo." (SK)

Since the 1980s, community development in Australia has become professionalized and operates in a milieu of deregulation and privatization. Development workers struggle with questions of integrity and compromise and the contradictory pulls of modernism and postmodernism. (SK)

The social inclusion emphasis of recent British policy has renewed community development efforts for capacity building and civic participation. Funding remains precarious and the independence of the community development sector be continuously asserted. (Contains 26 references.) (SK)

Focuses on the community disintegration caused by violence and conflict in South Africa. Examines the need for social reconstruction and development and the challenges facing community workers in the changing social and political context. (SK)

Attempts to clarify empowerment as used in black communities in the United Kingdom, using Liverpool as a case study. Illustrates the ambiguity of the concept and the incomplete success of empowerment initiatives for community development and improvement. (SK)

Both community development and sustainable livelihood approaches ignore value contestations that underlie people's interests and experiences. A case from Bolivia demonstrates that local values, social relations, actions, and language strategies must underlie policy and method in development. (Contains 28 references.) (SK)

Discusses a study of burnout among 25 community development practitioners. Indicates that those experiencing more severe forms of burnout were employed in grassroots staff positions. (JOW)

The authors describe their experiences working with a community organization to get their landlords to make needed repairs on their rental units. (JOW)

Offers a case study that examines the methodological problems of evaluating a community relations program in Northern Ireland. Recommends a quantitative and qualitative approach to evaluation and raises issues that must be addressed when evaluating community development programs. (Author/JOW)

In conflict-torn Afghanistan, international nongovernmental organizations are attempting to build indigenous capacity for development. Strategies include support for women, involvement of local elders, and integration of internal and external value systems. (SK)

The author presents an account of participatory research and argues for its relevance and development in Europe. He includes two illustrations showing that the knowledge that people themselves produce opposes abstract theories about them. The author concludes that the two main types of participatory research are those of professional intervention…

Two community councils in England (Middlesbrough and Islington) used very different organizational models in implementing decentralization and democratization policies. Both communities considered community development and participation central to the success of the policies. (SK)