Critically evaluates the literature on timber-dependent communities. Examines methodological and theoretical concerns with concepts of community and resource-based economies. Suggests timber dependency may represent a special case of resource dependency and that study of forest-based communities can contribute to sociological knowledge of rural…

Argues that state government must take a strong lead in promoting rural development. Justification for such a role includes improving the efficiency of the state's economy; making full use of fixed investments; improving rural-urban equity; preserving a rural lifestyle; and responding effectively to population density differences between rural and…

Economic growth increases the amount of money in a community but does not increase the community's capacity to steer its own direction as economic development can. The accomplishments of Rio Arriba County (New Mexico) offer a rare example of successful economic development. Sustainable environmentalism, instead of conservation, considers people as…

Notes changes in the social contract between society and land grant universities and resulting implications for rural sociology's research, teaching, and extension agenda. Traces the legislative, academic, and social contexts of these changes. Suggests new organizational and networking strategies for rural sociology that will foster new…

A project integrated community service learning with community development by involving high school students in conducting a community survey with extension staff. Students learned about needs assessment and their community and were motivated to seek future involvement. The community used information gathered to develop a youth recreation program…

Refutes an article by David Godden criticizing the author's proposed rural development policy for Australia. Points out that the author did not label urban dwellers "parasites," that the literature review was both comprehensive and appropriate, and that there is existing evidence indicating that rural policy is subsumed under…

A confederation of 10 coffee producers from southern Mexico seeks to improve the lives and incomes of participants by taking advantage of the lucrative organic coffee market. A farmer-to-farmer extension approach teaches over 200 participants to improve the quality and production of coffee in a manner that conserves natural resources and…

When rural women do not participate in relevant decision making, development projects risk diminished effectiveness and may increase already onerous workloads. Consisting of 139 Mapuche women textile artisans in Chile, the Casa de la Mujer Mapuche provides its members with income, role models, and a platform to express women's needs and…

Community forestry is an approach to forest management that could protect the environment while benefiting the rural poor by restoring local control of natural resources. Three interrelated issues must be addressed: land and resource tenure, development of local organizational and management skills, and adapting technology for sustainable…

Examines the potential role of the rural school within the context of community development. Clarifies the differences between community growth and community development, and between community development and economic development. Rural community development is a process of developing the capacity of rural residents to identify common interests…

Examines changes over a 21-year period in 1 area of highland Bolivia to show how people and their activities and livelihoods have changed as a response to increasing commercial opportunities and new needs. Analyzes the extent to which these changes imply a restructuring similar to that which is taking place in the First World. (KS)

The Antigonish Movement, Farm Radio Forum, and Centre for Community Studies were three Canadian community development programs that supported adult education's social change mission. Current extension practice focuses on cost recovery and marketing courses to those who can pay; these historical examples show a way to renew the mission and vision…

Wes Jackson, founder of the Land Institute (Salina, KS), seeks alternatives to the industrial agriculture that exhausts the soils and economies of small, rural Kansas communities. In Matfield Green (Kansas), interns from the Land Institute manage the town's cafe and help residents work together on achieving a sustainable economy based on renewable…

Compares and contrasts two economic views, political economy and neoclassical economics, as they pertain to the development of human capital and education in rural areas. The concluding discussion draws implications for rural educators. (Author/KS)

Surveyed 1,200 residents of rural North Carolina to examine the effects of gender on feelings of community attachment. Studied the relationship between emotional responses to the community and community attachment. The results, though inconclusive, indicate that community attachment has more importance in explaining women's response to questions…