Communitarian Approach Research Articles

Obama in Question

Obama in Question

Editorial

Climate change, sustainability, diversity, financial probity, gender and governance are profound and complex challenges facing local government today, and are all topics raised by the researchers and practitioners contributing to CJLG Issue 10. Cash-strapped local governments are required to deliver core services (‘roads, rates and rubbish’ as Heather Zeppel’s interviewee said), yet are increasingly required to embrace broad social inclusion and environmental concerns, as our contributors show.The five research papers in this issue touch at the heart of equity and democratic governance. The role of critical theory in delivering good practice is explored by Eris Schoburgh in her reflection on local government and local development, and her comparison of Trinidad & Tobago’s structured decentralisation and Jamaica’s communitarian approach. She dismisses the ‘leading laggard’ model where linked settlement economies sink or swim together, and the ‘learning region’ which maximise local synergies to promote economic growth, to propose a new ‘hybrid model’ of local growth that tackles on-going issues such as gender equality, the informal economy and the local commons.

Conversations in and on IR: Labeling, Framing and Delimiting IR Discipline

<p>Calling for genuine and open dialogues between research agendas and theoretical orientations, this article seeks to put “conversations” at the center of the process of discipline-building. Just as Steve Smith declared: “We construct, and reconstruct, our disciplines just as much as we construct, and reconstruct, our world” (2004: 510), we intend to convene researchers in IR to reflect on the way we build and represent our discipline, our object of study and our community’s purposes. Applying discursive analysis and Emanuel Alder’s communitarian constructivist approach to the discipline of IR, this article will particularly discuss the use of mechanisms of labeling, cognitive structuring, and disciplinary debates to the framing of IR itself. It will propose some answers to questions such as: “What is the content and appropriate label of the discipline?”, “Who constitutes the disciplinary community?”, and “What is the legitimate purpose of the discipline?” and finally underlie some questions and contradictions in the way we understand such issues.</p>

Learning in a Web of Commitments

Drawing on interviews and survey results from a national study of nursing education, this article discusses student learning related to professional responsibilities. It explores what is missing when students do not have the opportunity to reflect on the multiple commitments they will meet in nursing. Inspired by the moral philosopher Larry May's communitarian approach, we suggest students must learn a broad notion of professional responsibility. We demonstrate reasons why students need the opportunity to reflect on issues concerning the civic, moral, and societal dimensions of professional responsibility. We also indicate ways for students to reflect as part of their educational experience.

Teaching in a Web of Commitments

Drawing on interviews and survey results from a national study of nursing education, this article discusses teaching professional responsibilities in prelicensure nursing education and explores how to help students reflect on multiple commitments they will meet in nursing. Inspired by the moral philosopher Larry May's communitarian approach, we suggest strategies for teaching students a broad notion of professional responsibility, including the profession's moral and societal responsibilities.

Taking sides: cosmopolitanism, internationalism and ‘complex solidarity’ in the work of Fred Halliday

Fred Halliday's life and work were intimately associated with the theory and practice of internationalism. In his later writings, the notion of ‘complex solidarity’ emerges as a key component of Halliday's worldview. This article explores the conceptual interconnections between different historical expressions of internationalism, cosmopolitanism and solidarity. It considers the intricate relationship between these categories and their place in our understanding of international affairs, emphasizing the divergence between liberal and revolutionary conceptions of internationalism and cosmopolitanism. The article discusses diverse understandings of ‘solidarity’ in International Relations, arguing that beyond the cosmopolitan and communitarian approaches, there exist other ‘Grotian’ and ‘republican’ ideas of solidarity. Halliday drew on these to present his own defence of universal human rights and solidarity, arguably developing a distinctive brand of republican internationalism. The latter part of the article gives content to ‘complex solidarity’ by suggesting it is built on three inter-related components: a methodological internationalism, an egalitarian reciprocity and a critique of global capitalism. Overall, these guiding features of complex solidarity deliver a unique rendition of internationalism which reflect Halliday's eclectic combination of radical liberalism with a residual historical materialism.

Homeowners' participation in management of multi‐storey residential buildings

PurposeProper management and maintenance of building stock are vital to sustainable development of a city for a number of reasons, for example, the close relationship between building performance and residents' health. However, effective housing management requires active participation of the residents, particularly the homeowners. Yet, homeowners' participation in housing management in Hong Kong is claimed to remain at a low level because of its voluntary nature. This paper aims to empirically explore the determinants of participation behaviour of homeowners in private housing management in the city based on survey findings.Design/methodology/approachFounded on the literature reviewed, an analytic model for explaining homeowners' participation behaviour in housing management is developed. The model is then tested by means of logit regression with the data collected from a structured questionnaire survey conducted in summer 2009. A total of 346 respondents from 53 private multi‐storey residential buildings in the western district were surveyed.FindingsIn general, older, better educated and less wealthy homeowners are active participants in building management matters, keeping other things constant. Sense of community is also found to be a significant determinant. Besides, homeowners' approach towards building care is predominantly reactive since they engage in housing management because of their dissatisfaction with building quality. The findings of the research will provide valuable insights to public administrators for formulating better policies on private housing management.Practical implicationsThe analysis results pose a positive view towards the effects of the communitarian approach to avoid free‐riding problems in housing management. In order to heighten the participation rate of homeowners in private housing management, local authorities or other public bodies can try to boost homeowners' sense of community within their residential communities.Originality/valueThis study is the first attempt to empirically investigate the determinants of homeowners' participation in the management of high‐rise residential buildings in Hong Kong.

On a communitarian approach to bioethics

A communitarian approach to bioethics adds a core value to a field that is often more concerned with considerations of individual autonomy. Some interpretations of liberalism put the needs of the patient over those of the community; authoritarian communitarianism privileges the needs of society over those of the patient. Responsive communitarianism's main starting point is that we face two conflicting core values, autonomy and the common good, and that neither should be a priori privileged, and that we have principles and procedures that can be used to work out this conflict but not to eliminate it. This discussion uses the debate in the US over funding for entitlements as a case study to apply the values of communitarian bioethics.

A psychological and communitarian approach to treating early psychoses: A service description with some initial findings

The authors describe the characteristics and the preliminary findings of the Early Care Team for At‐Risk of Psychosis Patients (EAPPP), within the public Primary Health Care System of Barcelona, Spain. The community‐focused work and the psychological and inter‐paradigmatic framework are highlighted as core components of the EAPPP unit in the field of Early Care of Psychosis. Some initial findings in relation to three groups of patients are presented.

Marseille's Not for Burning: Comparative Networks of Integration and Exclusion in Two French Cities

Many scholarly studies focus on the historical processes that lead to rioting and war, but few examine the forces that produce peace. This article is a broad, comparative examination of three variables that were important in the relative lack of ethnic conflict in Marseille, France, during an intense period of national rioting and tension in 2005. The three processes highlighted in the research are (1) Marseille's particular form of transnational, highly networked, ethnicity-based capitalism; (2) the specific geography, public infrastructure, and social organization of the city; and (3) the communitarian (difference-oriented) cultural approach of local officials. The case for Marseille's unique position is made through a comparative investigation of the economic and cultural development of Paris. Although both cities are globally integrated, they have developed in quite different ways in these three areas. I argue that these differences are important in explaining the dissimilar outcomes for the two cities during the October and November riots of 2005. Although the particular constellation of these three historical processes might not continue through time, it is worthwhile to consider why and how certain historical moments and places can become shelters of tolerance in violent times.

The Ethics Examiner and Media Councils: Improving Ombudsmanship and News Councils for True Citizen Journalism

The debate over news ombudsmen remains at a seemingly irreconcilable impasse, and less relevant as journalism shifts away from print and traditional newsroom structures in the new-media age. There are fewer than 30 ombudsmen at U.S. media outlets today, according to the Organization of News Ombudsmen (Ombudsmen, 2010). We argue that the greatest failure of ombudsmanship is that it does not go far enough in giving voice and visibility to the ombudsman's work, including interacting with community. Media news outlets can best serve the public trust by fulfilling the journalistic mission of civic transformation through empowerment advocated by Christians, Ferre, and Fackler (1993). As the vanguard of the communitarian approach of “person-in-community,” the ideal ombudsman would be just that: a person in the community. The ethical goal of ombudsmanship should be not to promote an apologist from within the ranks but rather to facilitate a community conversation. We propose integrating the ideal ombudsman (which we redefine and rename as the ethics examiner) with the best practices of successful news councils (hereafter called media councils in a return to their original name and to encompass a broader universe of information outlets).

Authoritarian versus responsive communitarian bioethics

A communitarian approach to bioethics adds a core value to a field that is often more concerned with considerations of individual autonomy. Some interpretations of liberalism put the needs of...

A Communitarian Approach to Public Health

This paper argues that there is a need to move yet further than has already been suggested by some from the individual to the collective as a base for public health. A communitarian approach is one way to achieve this. This has the advantage of allowing not only the community's voice to have a say in setting the values for public health but also more formally the development of a constitution on which public health might then be built. It also sees public health as a social institution which can be valued in its own right.

Ethical Approaches to Lifestyle Campaigns

The growing interest in lifestyle campaigns as a means to promote public health has increased steadily during the past several decades. Governments, national health organizations, NGOs, and wealthy donors are collaborating with media professionals and academic scholars to address the pressing health issues of the 21st century. To counter the potential negative influences of hundreds of lifestyle advertising messages that media consumers are exposed to on a daily basis, health communication professionals are designing more sophisticated campaigns that blend beneficial health information with various forms of entertainment media. This article discusses important ethical considerations raised by health professionals and media scholars and considers lifestyle campaigns within the context of competing ethical approaches to social change. A heuristic model is presented that facilitates a communitarian ethical approach to lifestyle campaigns, examining four important groups of stakeholders. Specific recommendations for future lifestyle campaigns based on this model are proposed.

Research ethics, publication ethics and the dialectics of scientists trying not to behave badly: a comment on the advantages and limitations of Twin Assessment of Clinical Trials (TACT)

This comment addresses conflicts of interest in the publication of research results. Based on the concept of values in science, the problem of scientific misconduct related to publishing research results is treated hermeneutically. Franz Porzsolt’s approach to assessing studies and the implications for solving conflicts of interest are evaluated. It is argued that conflicts of interest reflect the difficulty of balancing values in science and that science would become arbitrary and worthless for sponsors of research if it lacked its traditional values. Keeping scientific values and coping with conflicts of interest are essential for the future credibility and accountability of scientific endeavors. The communitarian approach to Twin Assessment of Clinical Studies might answer both demands.

The Dignity of the Old: Towards a Global Ethic of Ageing

AbstractHow does globalization aff ect the lives of older people? Developments in demography show that the world population is rapidly getting older, and not only in affluent societies. Politically, economically, socially and culturally, the elderly are in a vulnerable position. Is a global ethical response possible? Christian theology should actively support the human rights discourse that pleads for non-discrimination of the elderly in society. Yet, a human rights ethic is unable to account for the stages of life and the specific role of the elderly within communities; these are highlighted within more communitarian approaches. Communitarianism however, has its limitations as well. A global ethic of ageing should not fix the elderly within closed traditions and communities; rather, it requires openness towards other cultures and ways of life. 'Dialogical contextualism' should be the method, and its main question should be: can people globally learn from one another about how to live in dignity into old age? is article concludes with some European refl ections on the dignity of older persons, in which a hermeneutic of the concept of human dignity and empirical findings are brought together. The results may function as an impulse for further intercultural conversation on a global scale.

The common morality in communitarian thought: reflective consensus in public policy

I explore the possible meanings that the notion of the common morality can have in a contemporary communitarian approach to ethics and public policy. The common morality can be defined as the conditions for shared pursuit of the good or as the values, deliberations, traditions, and common construction of the narrative of a people. The former sense sees the common morality as the universal and invariant structures of morality while the second sense is much more contingent in nature. Nevertheless, the communitarian sees both aspects as integral in devising solutions to public policy problems. I outline how both meanings follow from communitarian philosophical anthropology and illustrate how they work together when addressing a question such as that of providing universal health insurance in the United States. The common morality forms the basis of building an implicit consensus that is available to and reaffirmed by the shared reflections of the citizenry.

ETHICAL MODELS UNDERPINNING RESPONSES TO THREATS TO PUBLIC HEALTH: A COMPARISON OF APPROACHES TO COMMUNICABLE DISEASE CONTROL IN EUROPE

Increases in international travel and migratory flows have enabled infectious diseases to emerge and spread more rapidly than ever before. Hence, it is increasingly easy for local infectious diseases to become global infectious diseases (GIDs). National governments must be able to react quickly and effectively to GIDs, whether naturally occurring or intentionally instigated by bioterrorism. According to the World Health Organisation, global partnerships are necessary to gather the most up-to-date information and to mobilize resources to tackle GIDs when necessary. Communicable disease control also depends upon national public health laws and policies. The containment of an infectious disease typically involves detection, notification, quarantine and isolation of actual or suspected cases; the protection and monitoring of those not infected; and possibly even treatment. Some measures are clearly contentious and raise conflicts between individual and societal interests. In Europe national policies against infectious diseases are very heterogeneous. Some countries have a more communitarian approach to public health ethics, in which the interests of individual and society are more closely intertwined and interdependent, while others take a more liberal approach and give priority to individual freedoms in communicable disease control. This paper provides an overview of the different policies around communicable disease control that exist across a select number of countries across Europe. It then proposes ethical arguments to be considered in the making of public health laws, mostly concerning their effectiveness for public health protection.

Presumed Consent for Organ Donation in the United Kingdom

That is a lot of suffering, both for the individual concerned and for their families and friends. Along with this must be considered the expenditure on supportive care prior to transplantation. Increasing donor rates might save the NHS £50m per annum. 2 Eight thousand people in the UK are currently waiting for a transplant, and this is increasing by 8% per annum. 2 Faced with the lack of organs, the concept of ‘presumed consent,’ assuming that the person consents to organ donation unless they have explicitly opted out, has gained popularity and has even received the backing of the prime minister. This editorial analyses the arguments for and against presumed consent and considers a communitarian approach and the concept of reciprocity in this context. The problem

A Communitarian Approach to Constructing Accountability and Strategies for Sustainable Abstract Development

This paper explores some ideas for expanding the scope of corporate accountability and thereby contemporary practices in corporate social reporting (CSR). Contemporary CSR practices have been criticized for acting as a legitimizing device for profit-seeking entities possibly at the expense of the community. A communitarian correction to CSR practices suggests that accountability to the community is necessary for any accounting aimed at sustainability. The interpretive methodology adopted<br />in this study starts with a set of ideas or “pre-understandings” drawn from extant literature on accountability and communitarian philosophy. These ideas provide a theoretical lens for examining and understanding the participation of the Taupo business, farming and general community in<br />formulating strategies for sustainable development of the Taupo District in New Zealand. Alternating between our pre-understanding and the empirical data, a process known as “fusion of horizons” (Gadamer, 1975) in philosophical hermeneutics, is a means by which theories can be developed. This interpretive study indicates that meaning of accountability can be extended beyond a narrow conventional sense portraying accountability as a process of providing an account. Accountability also involves other dimensions such as moral responsibility, cooperative enquiry, information sharing, transparency and joint responsibility. From a communitarian perspective these dimensions of accountability emphasise the centrality of community and communal values. Accountability for environmental and social issues extends beyond the domain of corporations, and involves community participation. <br /><br />