Number Of Community Groups Research Articles

Free Gay Community Newspapers: Advertising Synergies Led To Expansion

In the 1990s a key shift occurred in Australian gay publishing with the rapid expansion of free city-based newspapers. These increasingly commercialized free newspapers adopted a business model based on seeking more readers in order to attract more advertisers. Their success was such that the overall national print run of gay and lesbian publications increased six-fold between the start and the end of the decade, 90% of which were free newspapers. This expansion coincided with the growth of a visibly more diverse gay and lesbian community. Newspaper publishers adopted building and defending this community as their primary political project that allowed a range of synergies to develop between the newspapers and the growing number of community groups, events and businesses. Each helped the other grow which led to greater knowledge of the community's activities and its political aspirations.

First to respond, last to leave: Communities' roles and resilience across the ‘4Rs’

Shortly after the second major earthquake in Canterbury, New Zealand in 2011, an inventory of the activities and initiatives of community groups and NGOs was conducted. Another two inventories were undertaken in 2012 and 2013. Analysis of these three inventories reveals some significant changes in both the types of activities being undertaken and the ’communities’ responsible for them. The inventories document a rapid increase in the number of community groups and non-governmental organisations playing a role in recovery. An important finding is that most of those active almost 4 years after the first earthquake were actually in operation before the earthquakes and have since layered recovery work over their core business. In building resilience to all hazards, we therefore argue for better recognition of the potential roles that different communities play, not only in recovery, but across all phases of disaster risk reduction. These roles range from administering first aid through to co-producing knowledge underpinning risk management strategies and actions. We argue that different types of communities have the potential to weave disaster readiness, response and recovery, and risk reduction into their core business, and therefore represent a valuable – though often underestimated and poorly understood – resource.

Civilian oversight as a public good: democratic policing, civilian oversight, and the social

In recent years, a number of community groups have mounted public campaigns for civilian oversight of police complaint processes, as ‘police investigating police’ is seen as failing to adhere to a principle of democratic policing: police are accountable to civilian authority. Drawing on notions of policing as a public good, I argue that civilian oversight is a source of physical and ontological security. In developing this perspective, I offer an explanation as to why policing scholars and persons affiliated with community groups might advocate for the use of civilian oversight, and consider a model by which to enhance perceptions of public security.

Assessing small community groups

Many community groups in the UK do micro-project work to help families and young people in low-income neighbourhoods. This paper establishes a common set of criteria for assessing the effectiveness of small community groups and uses these as basis for developing an evaluation tool for community groups and those working with them. It draws on the literature to identify those factors that are seen to be important to the functioning of community groups, where necessary adapting these to smaller groups. These criteria are then ‘tested’ on a small number of community groups across the UK, using a participative approach and questionnaire to explore these issues with each group. Our framework appears to capture all the key aspects of the groups we visited, although some of the assessment criteria need to be interpreted carefully, helping to refine our own understanding of what makes a good community group. This approach is a useful way for community groups to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and, if developed further, has potential applications in the evaluation of capacity-building schemes.

Self/Ideal Discrepancy and Fear of Death: The Test of an Existential Hypothesis

The investigators reasoned, after Sartre, that death would be more threatening to individuals whose projected identities were radically incomplete, since it would finalize the meaning of their lives at a level discrepant with their ideals. In order to test this hypothesis, 101 adult respondents from a number of community groups were divided into “high” and “low” discrepancy categories on the basis of a modified Self/Ideal self “split” score derived from the Threat Index. The prediction was strongly supported: The “high split” group scored as significantly more apprehensive on both The Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale and Templer's Death Anxiety Scale. Moreover, further analysis suggested that this inter-group difference was primarily attributable to the “high split” group's greater concern with the state of death, as opposed to the process of dying. The paper concludes by noting the implications of these findings for thanatological theory, research and praxis.

Some Accomplishments and Findings of Neighborhood Health Centers

The development of neighborhood health centers in low-income communities throughout the United States in recent years has attracted widespread attention and response. An increasing number of community groups and health institutions have begun to plan and initiate similar activities. Scholars and students of medical care programs have started to devote considerable attention to analyses of the progress and problems of the movement.'