Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop propositions for empirical validation regarding appropriate management planning and control systems (MPACS) in knowledge-intensive organizations. Design/methodology/approach: The propositions were developed from interviews with members of a knowledge-intensive virtual organization that is known for…

It is a contention of the culturalist strand of underclass theory that the growth of the underclass is not a function of social and economic change, but of features intrinsic to underclass culture. Children born into disadvantaged communities, it is argued, are socialized into the "deviant" culture of their families, families typically headed by…

Purpose: With growing decentralization, local education authorities (LEAs) face new tasks and responsibilities in providing schools with administrative services and resources. This study aims to use a multilevel framework to assess the extent to which LEAs differentially affect the provision of resources and administrative services to schools, and…

This paper aims to show the relevance of spatial proximity and social capital in accelerating the spread of agricultural technologies such as integrated pest management (IPM). The research was done in response to the problem of slow diffusion of agricultural technologies. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in investigating the…

Using case studies from seven rural and regional areas, this report looks at the impact of schools and vocational education and training (VET) on community capacity. It finds that communities have developed different models to organise school-VET partnerships and that rural areas are more likely to adopt a whole-of-community model, while regional…

This study seeks to discover whether beginning kindergarteners vary in early literacy readiness according to their county's metro/nonmetropolitan status, county-level economic and social characteristics, individual demographic characteristics, family social capital resources, and preschool childcare. Using student-level data from the Early…

The leaders of two local and regional organizations, Cooperative Extension Service (CES) and Workforce Development Board (WDB), were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the leadership skills of each other as an indicator of the social capital within the community. Results showed the majority of both groups did not know if their counterparts…

Benefit-cost analysis is applied to the Perry Preschool Program and its long-term follow-up in order to examine preschool education as a social investment. The net present value of benefits and costs is positive, indicating that the program was a profitable social investment. (Author/LMO)

Rural development is rarely defined and there is no clear definition of what the development process intends to accomplish. The nature of the larger economy in which rural places must operate has changed in ways that reduce the relative advantage of most rural areas and have left them struggling to define new economic functions. The political…

In order to understand the impact of New Jersey's standards and assessment policies, this study examined how leaders in six school districts responded to the state's standards and the fourth grade Elementary School Proficiency Assessment, specifically in the area of mathematics. Building on earlier work exploring district responses to testing,…

This study investigated community organizing for school reform in eight urban sites. The organizing involved intentional building of power among parents, youth, and community residents in low-income communities of color. Researchers surveyed 66 organizing groups and interviewed a subgroup of organizations. Overall, most groups defined their…

This report describes principles of community organization that can contribute to sustainable community renewal. Community is composed of social networks which form the community infrastructure. Relationships among people with the same roles are passive; relationships that cross role boundaries are active. Communities that exhibit active…

Analysis of 1990 data on 151 U.S. cities indicates that the spatial isolation of blacks from whites strongly predicts rates of urban black violence (homicide and robbery). Suggests that underlying the relationship between segregation and crime is the geographic concentration of poverty, joblessness, low job skills, low education, welfare, teen…

Data on Hispanic students from the National Education Longitudinal Study revealed no differences in 12th-grade educational outcomes between students from one-parent and two-parent families when socioeconomic factors were controlled. For outcomes 2 years after high school, socioeconomic status was a much more important predictor than family…

Discusses the concept of social capital, which enables teachers and caregivers to invest themselves affectively, through their behaviors, in the instruction and development of young children. Presents five dimensions of social capital which increase the chances of teaching effectiveness. (NH)