Dr. Alyne Elizabeth Delaney:

I could give my opinion. The question was how I would evaluate how they are doing at the moment. From my last visit, speaking with people and comparing the situation with other places I have lived and worked, it seems they are at a critical juncture. Where I live in Denmark, the policy has been to close schools and centralise schools and government and I have seen the gutting of many of these small rural communities. One of the main issues was the closure of schools. For example, if one looks at the island communities with declining populations, the closure of schools is a key indicator. Once a school is closed one can pretty much write off the community. It might take a decade or two but, from a social science perspective, whether there is a school is a key indicator. From what I have seen of the closure of businesses and the direction they are going, I would say they are at a critical point now.