Argues that rural two-year colleges must go beyond traditional job training programs for business/industry to have a decisive impact on local economic development. Presents a comprehensive economic development model, including human capital development; economic development awareness; and business, special group, infrastructure, and agricultural…

Reviews labor market needs projected for the year 2000. Discusses specific efforts of community colleges nationwide to promote economic development through customized contract training programs. Examines the role of small businesses in contract training and the likely impact of changing telecommunications technology on customized training and…

Assesses economic development on American Indian reservations focusing on the work of the Coalition for Indian Development, the failure of past economic policies and development efforts, and roles to be played by tribal governments, the federal government, and tribal colleges. (DMM)

Describes Northwest Indian College's Business Assistance Center which provides technical support, advice on business planning and operation, and assistance in dealing with local lending institutions for entrepreneurs starting or expanding businesses on the Lummi Reservation. Highlights the success of the new center's first client, a carpenter.…

Analyzes the complex interaction between economic, political, and cultural variables demonstrating how the Choctaw Nation, in the southeastern Oklahoma timber region, has become a politically dependent labor force alienated from its land resources. Discusses benefits of Choctaw economic initiatives as well as potential moral and cultural costs of…

Community revitalization efforts based on community partnerships between educators, civic leaders, local employers, entrepreneurs, and parents are gaining momentum. Local schools play a leading role in many of these. Discusses three models of school/community interaction, how relationships build social capital, mapping community assets, getting…

Superior pay and benefits associated with technology-intensive manufacturing offers promising job prospects for moderately skilled workers that may offset the negative impacts of declining unionization. Technology-intensive plants hire workers with more schooling, but also pay more at all levels of schooling. Promotion of technology-intensive…

Community colleges in Appalachia are helping boost local economies and expand educational opportunities through the national Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI). At the heart of RCCI is a nine-step strategic planning process in which a community group moves from vision to action. Kentucky's Southeast Community College has promoted…

States that, when a major local employer closed its doors, Chemeketa Community College (Oregon) joined forces with state agencies and opened the Woodburn Workforce Transition Center to help the displaced workers with vocational counseling, language and literacy assessments, developing interview skills, and resume writing. Warns that similar…

Argues that increasing the effectiveness of teacher education programs in developing nations will improve educational quality, which in turn, will eventually enhance citizens' ability to participate in the emerging global economy and improve their quality of life. Outlines strategies for preparing future teachers for their role in the development…

Since the early 1980s, neoliberalism has become the hegemonic ideology and has expedited the globalization of economies and the emergence of the market as the central organizing principle of social relations and collective life. Surveys the impact of these structural and ideological changes on politics (including democratization), economies, and…

Areas of the West with natural amenities enjoyed growing populations and income levels in the 1990s, mostly from inmigration of people with self-employment or investment income. These were usually young, well-educated professionals in service industries. Rural communities with policies that enhance quality of life (better schools, environmental…

Analyzes the trend toward ranking colleges, and what it means to community colleges. States that the National Center for Public Policy published "Measuring Up 2000" as its first state-by-state report card on higher education, including community colleges. Reports that the study ranks the states according to six key elements: preparation,…

Drawing on an ongoing project examining the literacies prevalent at an outsourcing site, this article explores the changing nature of workplace practices enabled by new information and communication technologies. It also examines the complex geopolitical dynamics of these practices, the discourses of development, and globalization. The author…

Back in November, voters in the North East of England overwhelmingly rejected the move towards an elected regional assembly. The scale of the defeat (three to one) of a Government-backed scheme was a rude awakening for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the range of regional agencies created since 1997. After all, it was felt that the…