AGRICOLA IND 90037907, The rural crisis of the 1980s exacerbated the chronic problem of maintaining basic public and private services in rural communities. Although the adoption of innovative service-delivery systems to address these concerns has occurred in rural communities, the extent of such adoption has been limited. Not enough knowledge is currently available on the adoption of innovations by communities to help community development practitioners develop effective diffusion self- images are less likely to be innovative than are more-confident and less-content communities. Results support the hypothesis that fatalistic communities are less innovative. Contrary to the hypothesis, however, rural communities with greater contentment are also more innovative. The findings indicate that community development practitioners need to consider a community's image before introducing new ideas and practices to a community for consideration and adoption.
Chamala, Shankariah (author), Maurer, Richard C. (author), and Chamala: Senior Lecturer, Department of Agriculture, University of Queensland; Maurer: Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in sociology, Department of Sociology, University of Kentucky
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
1990
Published:
USA: Athens, GA : The University of Georgia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 85 Document Number: C05502
AGRICOLA IND 90037909, Soil erosion presents a constant and serious threat to agriculture, as well as to communities, in Australia. Soil conservation, therefore, is a concern for both farmers and communities alike. Soil conservation programs are a major thrust of extension agricultural cultural programs in Australia. Community participation is an important part of these conservation programs. Four states in Australia have district soil conservation advisory committees. These committees are studied as an example of community participation. Both committee members and the extension officers who work with the committees are included in the study. Results indicate that both committee members and extension officers agree that the advisory committees contribute significantly to the conservation programs in their areas. However, the two groups disagree in terms of what the most important accomplishments of the committees have been. Thus, while the committees are generally viewed positively, there is some potential for problems related to the different perceptions of the committees' accomplishments.