Suggesting rural development research is not an academic specialty in the traditional sense and that its frame of reference should be development, this article maintains such research should emphasize identification and assessment of consequences for people and communities of programs and policies undertaken in the name of rural development.…

Telephone penetration for rural Native Americans is only 40%. Using telecommunication technology plans, reservation communities can increase telephone penetration through tribal ownership of telecommunications companies, or by working with service providers to increase service or provide community telecommunication centers. Discusses a 1995…

A survey of approximately 300 U.S. rural development officials indicates that rural-based officials often had a greater appreciation of rural environmental quality of life features than did their urban-based counterparts. Suggests decentralizing rural development policy formation to the communities affected. (SV)

Data on rural-urban differences in access to telecommunications technology suggest that the U.S. "digital divide" is diminishing. However, major shortcomings in telecommunications infrastructure persist in rural America, and more serious barriers to rural development are related to human capital shortages. These may be resolved in some…

Includes "Community Work in the U.K.: Reflections on the 1980s" (Miller, Bryant); "Multiplication and Divisions: Trends in Community Development in Ireland since the 1960s" (Cinneide, Walsh); "Reconstruction to Deconstruction: The Transformation of Community Work in Australia" (Meekosha; Mowbray): "Community…

Examines how the Mexican government's penetration into 299 rural and urban counties, 1900-40, was related to growth in trade and service jobs. Emphasizes the government's support for written literacy and mass schooling as subtle strategies for incorporating peasants into urban institutions. Contains 39 references. (SV)

Reviews a book assessing the effects of central grid rural electrification on the social and economic development of 192 communities in India and Colombia. The study examines the impact on agricultural productivity (through increased irrigation), the quality of life of women and children, business activities, and regional inequities. (SV)

Reviews book, "The Selling of the South: The Southern Crusade for Industrial Development, 1936-1980" (Cobb, 1982). Describes socioeconomic influences and history of industrialization in southern United States. Emphasizes development's negative effect on people and environment. Suggests that rural Southerners should reconsider and…

Addresses the issue related to the fact that Zambian women perform over 80 percent of the farm work in Zambia, yet have limited access to skills, technologies, labor, capital, and land that would help their work. Integration of women into development projects in Zambia and areas for future research are also discussed. (GG)

Discussion of the use of video in rural development projects highlights animation at the village level, training, and monitoring and evaluation of project management as examples of successful video integration. A pilot project to test the use of video as an integrated support to management is then described. (26 references) (LRW)

Summarizes Chinese studies of the impact of the rural responsibility system (rural development reforms) on rural primary education in China. Examines effects on elementary school enrollment and retention, curriculum content, teacher salaries and status, and teacher supply and demand. Discusses policies moving away from state support of rural…

The literature suggests that growth of rural industries in developing nations indicates rural poverty and lack of farm employment rather than rural development. A survey of 115 small producers of various goods in rural West Java (Indonesia) confirms that most are poor, have little education, and undertake production for survival reasons. Contains…

Examines how information technology (IT) might be exploited to promote rural development. Considers how IT impacts on the rural periphery. Implies that using IT for rural development may lead to greater decentralization. Describes the Nordic telecottage experiments in which 65 centers for telecommunications were established. (KS)

Examines indicators and impacts of agricultural change on environment. Links environmental quality to farm structure and size, and rural cultural values. Examines correlation between part-time farming and land structure and quality. Examines policies' effect on agricultural change. Recommends incorporation of environmental policies into…

Since 1905, the Forest Service has influenced rural economies by managing timber harvests from federal lands to avoid boom/bust cycles. The Forest Service goal of "community stability" is now shifting to one of helping rural communities to diversify their economies through wise use of all forest resources. (SV)