This report aims to summarize the main ideas about community available in literature and to describe briefly modern concepts such ' Community Development '. In order to examine end establish what are the main assets of a particular community , a wide range of networks , issues, services, resources will be explored. An overview of a theoretical framework and models will be given, to analyze critically the findings, offering viable solutions, that replace the old, traditional strategies with new approaches that value the skills , knowledge and capacity of every individual or community.
CONTENT-Literature research
Changing views about 'Community '
The definition of the term community has a long and detailed history, encapsulating concerns of belonging and identity, time and place, difference and similarity, exclusion or inclusion. There is no much social literature about this concept before 1910. In 1915, C.J Galpin is the first one who coins it, offering a clear sociological definition . It was used to demarcate the small rural communities in terms of service area and trade surrounding a central village. (Harper and Dunham 1959). This first attempt of defining the community, was quickly followed by various competing definitions. Some of them described community as a geographical area, others, focused on community as a group of people living and sharing a particular location, place, while another category, looked at it as a common area of life. For example, Frazer
Community is defined as a group a people living in an area under the same conditions. Realistically, a community is so much more than this definition. It is people and their different beliefs that form a community. In the town of Milagro, Amarante Cordova, Ruby Archuleta, and a town coming together to rescue a fellow community member from jail exemplify the true spirit of what community is.
Community development involves changing the relationships between ordinary people and people in positions of power, so that everyone can take part in the issues that affect their lives. It starts from the principle that within any community there is a wealth of knowledge and experience which, if used in creative ways, can be channeled into collective action to achieve the communities' desired goals.
Community is built of two main elements. First, community requires communal caring. Members need to put themselves in positions where they are able to relate to other members and does everything “within reasonable limits of self-sacrifice” (65). The second is communal reciprocity. Individuals will serve other members of the community, not for exchange of goods, but to provide generosity and support. These elements of community appear in the lives of all individuals, even the most capitalist ones. Humans are entirely capable of these.
Communities play an essential role in the development of the self and learning about the stranger. Through communities, individuals are able to socialize and gain a greater understanding of each other. A community can be defined in many different ways based on every individual’s experience with it. Developing a strong community takes time. Some people, like Jeannette Walls, do not have the opportunity to develop strong communities throughout their childhood.
A community is a group of people that share a common or similar characteristic with each other. Some communities can also consist of people living together or practice worship. My essay will include the communities that I am part of which are my dance, school and church communities.
A community is a group of people who live in the same area, interact with each other, and share certain norms and values. A community is defined as a locality-based entity, composed of systems of formal organizations reflecting societal institutions, informal groups, and aggregates that are interdependent and whose function or expressed intent is to meet a wide variety of collective needs (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012).
There is significant variation in how communities are defined in our world. The dominate themes found relate communities to space, people, interaction, and shared identity (Netting, Kettner, McMurtry, &Thomas, 2012). Understanding communities allows social workers to partner with community members and leaders in order to identify root-causes of social problems and create solutions together. Individuals themselves are experts of their own communities and can offer different ways of viewing the world around them. This paper uses a community assessment framework, discussing community
Early definitions of community considered term primarily as one related to social integration and face-to-face communication involving a feeling of membership and shared emotional connection (Tonnies, 1957). In this way, communities acted similarly to extended families and the likely result was members who remained united despite factors that might divide them, including distance (Tonnies, 1957). These early meanings partially explain why people often consider community in terms of geographic proximity (Jankowksi & Prehn, 2002; Tonnies, 1957). These early researchers understood that living in close proximity did not ensure community; consistent social interaction outside of commerce was necessary (Jankowksi & Prehn, 2002; Tonnies, 1957). This differs from society, which Tonnies (1957) considered to people who might have reasons to be united, but remain fundamentally separated. Other research proposes that society represents an
A community is established when more than two people share the same values and through time this personal connection evolves into a fellowship governed by rituals, traditions, and a particular form of communication that when taken together makes a group of individuals whether living in a specific geographical area or connected by ideals so distinct that their distinguishing marks allow them to stand out from among the crowd. They do not just believe in something like an organization but they need each other to survive and thrive. A good example is the Old Order Amish Mennonite community wherein the community serves as source of identity, strength and provides the reason why they should sustain the community’s way of life.
I wouldn’t really say my community as a whole has an impact on me as a person but people in around me have had a huge impact on me for who I am today. The people who have the biggest impact on me is defiantly my family and friends, I have done so many things with them that made me the person who I am today.
Conceptual models are effective guides and tools used for nursing practice. They merge concepts and ideas providing a framework for how to think or demonstrate the elaborate connections between concepts, structures, or a system. They categorize existing interrelationships amid concepts into ways that can effectively direct actions and interventions. The objective of this paper is to define and examine the social ecology model and its application to the nursing process and community health problems.
Communities can be found everywhere and can be created anywhere. You may be unaware of it, but you are part of a community not only based on your location, but also based on your lifestyle, your religion, your heritage, your education, or your abilities. As Hewitt once said, “Community provides a psychological world and a place of identification for its members.” Identifying yourself with a particular community may be easier than it
The term community is a more than geographic boundaries. It is a group of people
Throughout my life, I have been privileged to know a strong sense of community. My understanding of community has been carved out and shaped by each community that I have been a part of and the subsequent life experiences that I have had by being a part of these communities. To me, community means a sense of belonging with people who have some capacity of like-mindedness. When you belong to a community, you feel like a piece of a larger puzzle that comes together to create a whole. Each community you belong to both influences you, and is influenced by you. Moreover, your belonging to a community generates a sense of unity and shares a common goal, value, or outlook.
Community development is multi-faceted. Bhattacharyya (2004) argues that community development is not a distinct field and that not everything that is being done by developers to improve communities should not be regarded as community development. Bhattacharyya (2004) states that it should only be regarded as community development if the improvement pursues solidarity and agency which can be achieved through adhering to the principles of self-help, felt needs and participation.