"Several decades ago communication research about the Third World centered largely around the diffusion-of-innovation theory which measured elements of social structure but drew no policy implications from its findings. This anthology brings together research with a new perspective involving the rural poor, and reexamining communication's role in terms of equity (who benefits from information) and productivity (what impact information has on agriculture productivity, health, and income, as well as knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of rural people). Studies are grouped in three parts: "Information in Rural Development: General Social Issues," with articles by McAnany and Larry Shore; "Information within Structural Constraints: Three Case Studies" which includes the Ivory Coast by Frans Lenglet, Guatemala by Jeremiah O'Sullivan, and Brazil and Guatemala by Eduardo Contreras, and "Information and Education in Rural Development: Economic Analysis" by Jacqueline Ashby, Steven Klees, Douglas Pachico and Stuart Wells." (Eleanor Blum, Frances G. Wilhoit: Mass media bibliography. 3rd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1990 Nr. 275)