Role Of Community Organizations Research Articles

The role of community organisations in integrated conservation and development projects: local perspectives from the Sahel region

Vogelbescherming Nederland (BirdLife in the Netherlands) started a new project in 2011 to protect (migratory) birds in the drylands of the Sahel by promoting sustainable land-use practices that would contribute to habitat restoration and conservation as well as better livelihoods for local people. In the context of the project, NATURAMA (BirdLife in Burkina Faso) has been implementing site-based interventions through local conservation groups at three sites. Two of these organisations have been studied in depth and a further 15 community organisations were examined for comparative purposes. Field research was conducted by means of in-depth semi-structured interviews with the organisations’ members and leaders, and with other key actors. This paper considers local conservation groups and other community organisations in the context of decentralisation, participatory approaches and local empowerment.

Igniting citizen participation in creating healthy built environments: the role of community organizations

Igniting citizen participation in creating healthy built environments: the role of community organizations

Organizing immigrants: meaning generation in the community

This article examines the role of community organizations in generating meaning during a campaign to organize Haitian nursing assistants in Boston, USA. There is by now a sizeable literature on labour-community coalition formation, yet it is not understood how repertoires are generated in the community and how they are translated into the realm of employment relations. This study examines how meanings generated in three community organizations, churches, ethnic media and hometown associations were transferred into the organizing process. Findings indicate that collective identities and political selves constructed through experiences in the community can help low-wage immigrant workers overcome the sense of powerlessness that they often experience at work. Contributions to scholarship on community unionism and mobilization theory are discussed.

Building Community and Organisational Capacity to Enable Social Participation for Ageing Australian Rural Populations: A Resource-Based Perspective

In the context of neoliberal approaches to rural service delivery, the role of community organisations in creating social opportunities for ageing populations has long been acknowledged. However, there is little evidence concerning which types of resources diverse rural community stakeholders require to deliver these supports, and how these are accessed in contexts of population growth and ageing. From the Australian perspective, this research identifies how non-declining rural communities are responding to challenges that influence their capacity to enable social participation for older residents. Drawing on interviews with 26 community stakeholders across two rural communities, it explores the interconnectivity among resources that build organisational capacity to deliver social supports in the rural context, and the role and scope of bridging social capital in mobilising these resources. Findings indicate that bridging capital allows diverse rural community groups to access key physical, financial, human or organisational resources, particularly in the context of demand resulting from population ageing and growth. However, there are differences between public sector, large and small voluntary organisations in terms of the types of resources they require, and the contributions made to community bridging capital.

Francophone Immigrant Integration and Neoliberal Governance: The Paradoxical Role of Community Organizations

Francophone immigration is prioritized within Canadian immigration policy, with community organizations receiving government funding to support the integration of French-speaking immigrants. These organizations serve as intermediaries between governmental social policies and individual immigrants, brokering immigrants' occupational possibilities by offering specific services and emphasizing some occupations over others. As part of a critical ethnography, government documents were critically reviewed and in-depth interviews were conducted with six representatives from governmental and community organizations operating within the London, Ontario Francophone minority community. Findings highlight how characteristics of neoliberal governance shape the provision of government services through third party service providers, including community-based non-profit organizations. These organizations currently face neoliberal pressures of decentralization, decreased funding, and increased accountability. Findings specifically address how immigrant integration is constructed in government documents and how respondents viewed the role of their organizations, the particularities organizations face by being embedded within a minority setting, and the challenges this context creates for immigrants. The ways government policies are enacted via organizations have implications for immigrants' occupations. Examining the role of organizations adds an important scale of analysis to considerations of international migration within occupational science, which to date have largely attended to the experiences of individual migrants.

Refugee Action Support: an interventionist pedagogy for supporting refugee students’ learning in Greater Western Sydney secondary schools

This paper discusses the role of community, non-government organisations and universities in assisting secondary schools meet the needs of refugee students. On arrival in Australia, many African refugee communities experience high levels of stress particularly in adjusting to their new environment. The parents and students unfamiliarity with the Australian educational system creates not only cultural and social barriers for African refugee students but linguistic barriers as well. Given the difficulties experienced by refugee students in making the transition to mainstream classes and the lack of adequate teaching and learning resources for teachers in schools, this paper takes as its primary focus the complex needs of refugee students, the role of community organisations in meeting these needs, the implications for teacher preparation programs in tertiary institutions and the benefits of interventionist mechanisms like the Refugee Action Support program for refugee students.

Workplace Problems Among Kurdish Workers in London: Experiences of an ‘Invisible’ Community and the Role of Community Organisations as Support Networks

Little is known about the experiences of Kurdish workers in the UK and even less about how they attempt to resolve any difficulties or problems that arise at work. In part, this is due to academic oversight, but it is also because Kurdish workers are difficult to identify from statistical data and thus understanding of their labour market position is largely based on anecdotal information. The paper explores these workplace experiences, highlighting the complex relationship between employment, identity, community organisation and exile politics and how these intersect and affect the behaviour of Kurdish workers. The paper draws upon 61 interviews with workers from a variety of employment backgrounds to explore the experiences of workers from this ‘invisible’ community.

Editorial: Why is community action needed for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation?

When disasters happen, the speed and effectiveness of response depends very heavily on local organizations that represent the needs of those most impacted and most vulnerable. As the paper by Jorgelina Hardoy, Gustavo Pandiella and Luz Stella Velasquez Barrero notes, it is at the local or neighbourhood level that disasters happen, lives and livelihoods are lost, houses and infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and health and education compromised. It is also at the local level that many of the disaster risks can be addressed before disasters occur. Much of the responsibility for disaster risk reduction falls to local governments and much of the death and destruction from disasters shows up the failings of local government. The success of post-disaster actions is also to a large extent determined by pre-disaster planning and awareness and readiness within local government and civil society organizations. In this way, community action and partnerships with local government are central not just to minimizing risk but also in responding to impact and shaping recovery in ways that can strengthen local livelihoods and quality of life. The papers in this issue bring to our attention the importance of community action – for disaster risk reduction, for post-disaster rebuilding and for climate change adaptation. The paper by Diane Archer and Somsook Boonyabancha highlights the energy and creativity of disaster-affected communities as they rebuild their homes and livelihoods far more effectively and far more cheaply than external agencies. The paper by Norberto Carcellar, Jason Christopher Rayos Co and Zarina O Hipolito describes the support programme developed by the Homeless People’s Federation of the Philippines for disaster-affected communities and for disaster risk reduction, and the benefits this brings to low-income disaster-affected or atrisk households. The paper by Cassidy Johnson reviews the roles of local civil society groups in Turkey after the 1999 earthquakes. And the paper by Mark Pelling considers the roles of community organizations in urban disaster risk reduction in Haiti, Guyana and the Dominican Republic. Other papers in this issue show the importance of community organizations in developing responses to disaster risk or in post-disaster rebuilding and in trying to get government support to do so. Furthermore, some papers have already been accepted for the April 2012 issue of Environment and Urbanization on the capacities of community organizations to map disaster risk and vulnerability and develop measures to address them. But is this focus on community organization appropriate for urban contexts? And what are the limits? Community organizations cannot design and build the citywide infrastructure that is so important for resilience to storms and heavy rainfall – for instance, storm and surface drains and road and bridge networks that can cope with sudden and much increased volumes of water. The paper by Mark Pelling describes how working with community organizations on risk mapping and awareness raising can lead to small works and provide a focus for group activities (e.g. building small bridges across drainage canals,

The Role of Community Organizations in the Transformation of the Social Development Model in Quebec

ABSTRACT Community organizations have played a major role in the delivery of social services in Québec since the 1970s. Their activities aimed to provide an alternative to the heteronomous, bureaucratic practices of the public sector. But their desire to move away from the public sector did not prevent them from demanding financial support from the state. Historically, these associations' struggles have led to the establishment of an original partnership and a funding mode whereby they could retain their organizations' autonomy. This autonomy was the guarantee of both their specificity and their ability to innovate in terms of social practices. While this state recognition certainly remains in some respects ambivalent, it is nonetheless undeniable that these associations today constitute a significant component of the Québec model of social development. RÉSUMÉ Les organismes communautaires jouent un rôle important dans la prestation de services sociaux au Québec depuis les années 1970. Leurs activités se sont développées dans l'optique d'apporter une alternative aux pratiques hétéronomes et bureaucratiques du secteur public. Cette volonté de se distancier du secteur public ne les a toutefois pas empêchés de revendiquer le soutien financier de l'État. Historiquement, les luttes menées par ces associations se sont donc traduites par la mise en place d'un partenariat original et l'établissement d'une mode de financement qui leur permet de préserver l'autonomie de leur organisation. Cette autonomie est le gage de leur spécificité et de leur capacité d'innover sur le plan des pratiques sociales. Certes, cette reconnaissance étatique demeure à certains égards ambiguë. Néanmoins, il est indéniable que ces associations constituent aujourd'hui un élément important du modèle québécois du développement social.

Succession in Stream Biofilms is an Environmentally Driven Gradient of Stress Tolerance

The century-long research on succession has bestowed us with a number of theories, but little agreement on what causes species replacements through time. The majority of studies has explored the temporal trends of individual species in plant and much less so in microbial communities, arguing that interspecific interactions, especially competition, play a key role in community organization throughout succession. In this experimental investigation of periphytic succession in re-circulating laboratory streams, we examined the density and the relative abundance of diatoms and soft algae for 35 days across gradients of low to high nutrient supply (nitrogen + phosphorus) and low to intermediate current velocity (10 vs. 30 cm·s(-1)). All algal species were classified into trophic groups and morphological guilds, both of which responded more strongly to nutrient than current velocity manipulations, as shown by regression analyses. We concluded that within the manipulated environmental ranges: (1) Succession was a gradient of stress tolerance, driven primarily by nutrient supply and secondarily, by current velocity. Nutrient supply had a qualitative effect in determining whether the contribution of species tolerant vs. sensitive to nutrient limitation would increase through time, while current velocity had a quantitative influence and affected only the rate of this increase. (2) The mechanism of algal succession at a functional level was a neutral coexistence, whereby the tolerant low profile guild maintained high density when overgrown by sensitive species, while sensitive species, constituting mostly the motile and high profile guilds, were neither facilitated nor inhibited by tolerant species but controlled by the environment. It is suggested that the mechanism of succession may depend on the level of biological organization with interspecific interactions giving way to neutral coexistence along the hierarchy from species to functional groups. Considering that the functional makeup is strictly environmentally defined, while species composition reflects local and regional species pools that may exhibit substantial geographic variability, succession is deterministic at a functional level but stochastic at a species level.

The Role of the Hepatology Nurse in the Difficult-To-Treat Hepatitis C Population

The Role of the Hepatology Nurse in the Difficult-To-Treat Hepatitis C Population

Assessing impacts of ecosystem engineers on community organization: a general approach illustrated by effects of a high‐Andean cushion plant

Comparative and integrative tools are of fundamental value in ecology for understanding outcomes of biological processes, and making generalizations and predictions. Although ecosystem engineering has been shown to play a fundamental role in community organization, there are no standardized methods to measure such effects. We present a framework and methodology for assessing the impact of physical ecosystem engineers on three general features of community organization: (1) species richness and composition, (2) stability of richness over time, and (3) dominance patterns of species assemblages. We then apply the framework and methodology to assess the effects of the cushion plant Azorella monantha on high‐Andean plant communities on two mountaintops. Substrate temperatures, soil moisture and the availability of mineral nutrient resources were compared between A. monantha and surrounding open areas to ascertain whether cushions altered abiotic environmental conditions, while community analysis assessed changes in species richness, composition and abundances at patch and landscape levels. Cushions thermally buffered temperature extremes and increased soil moisture, but had no detectable effect on soil mineral nutrients. Cushion habitat was not more species rich than surrounding areas, but cushions added new species into the community, altering species composition and markedly enhancing landscape‐level richness. Cushions also showed potential for stabilizing species richness over time, and changed patterns of species dominance. Findings were consistent across mountaintops. We evaluate the general utility of the framework and call for its application in other systems as a means to generate comparative data sets for assessing the general effects of ecosystem engineers on community organization.

Community preparedness and response to terrorism: v.1: The terrorist threat and community response; v.2: The role of community organizations and business; v.3: Communication and the media

Community preparedness and response to terrorism: v.1: The terrorist threat and community response; v.2: The role of community organizations and business; v.3: Communication and the media

Impact of site‐induced mouse caching and transport behaviour on regeneration in Castanea crenata

Abstract. Dispersal and retrieval site selection by mice, transport distance, cache depth, and emergence and survival of seedlings of Castanea crenata (Japanese chestnut) were investigated by a magnet‐locating experiment in two habitat conditions (gap vs. forest understorey). Magnets were inserted into nuts (n= 450) and the nuts placed in the edge of forest gaps. Although wood mice (Apodemus speciosus and A. argenteus) initially buried nuts singly in shallow surface caches near the nut source, by the following spring these cached nuts were retrieved and re‐cached in larger, deeper caches farther from the source, particularly in forest understories, probably to reduce the threat of pilferage. All the nuts cached in the forest understories were consumed, but 4 seedlings emerged in gaps, apparently because of lower foraging activity in the gaps by the mice. Seed size was not correlated with cache depth or cache site selection. With increasing seed size, transport distance increased, particularly in gaps, possibly due to a greater potential energy gain (relative to handling cost to the cacher), or to attempts to prevent density‐ or mass‐dependent loss of caches by other foragers. Variable seed dispersal behaviour based on variation in seed size may influence the chances of colonization and distribution of the light‐demanding Castanea trees in mosaic landscapes and may play an important role in community organization and dynamics.

Community roles in urban regeneration: New partnerships on London's South Bank

What is the role of community organizations in urban regeneration? Based on a case study of Coin Street, on London's South Bank, Tim Brindley gives an outline of the Coin Street story over some 25 years, identifying the respective roles of community groups, local and central government, quangos and the private corporate sector in planning, urban design, development and partnerships. Events on the South Bank illustrate the changing urban policy agenda from the 1970s to the present day, showing how the shift to partnership has brought with it new definitions of urban policy goals, in respect of community, development and regeneration. In conclusion, some alternative scenarios for the future of Coin Street and the South Bank are considered.

Community Organizations in Venezuela: Toward the Disintegration of the Modern State and the Emergence of a "Community Organized" Society?

This paper argues that Venezuelan community organizations (COs) are playing a substantial role in the building of a new social order in which elements such as rights, equity, and justice are being displaced from a universal narrative toward more local narratives. This displacement is enwrapped in a discourse on the political participation of citizens in the running of public affairs, which implies a redefinition of the role of COs and the state beyond the usually accepted sphere of COs. The need to unfold the sense of COs thus becomes paramount for understanding our present and its current manifestations of an epochal change.

The Role of Community Organizations in the Transformation of the Health Services Delivery System in the Montreal Metropolitan Area

In 1995 the Montreal Regional Health and Social Services Board began a major process of change to its health care system. This transformation places particular emphasis on primary health care and increases the role of local community services centres (CLSCs) and community organizations (COs). In order to understand this process as experienced by COs, the present exploratory study was conducted during the summer and fall of 1996. We targeted 12 COs, 4 CLSCs, the Quebec Federation of CLSCs, and the Montreal CLSC Working Group. Semi-structured group interviews and CO documents were used as sources of information. Most participants believe in the need for change but feel that the strategies and implementation have been mismanaged. COs are feeling the pressure to professionalize and specialize current and future services. The "social economy" appears to be gaining momentum in the health sector.

Community Development and The Role of Community Organizations: A Study in Northern Ethiopia

AbstractCet article presente une etude d’organisations communautaires au Nord de l’Ethiopie. Le but propose est de comprendre le fonctionnement de ces organisations et d’evaluer egalement les problemes et les espoirs qui accompagnent l’utilisation de leurs structures pour encourager leur initiatives de developpement rural. Si les organisations communautaires sont efficaces dans la promotion sociale et spirituelle et dans l’aide mutuelle, elles risquent d’avoir un potentiel limite dans l’organisation et la coordination du travail de developpement. Les membres de ces organisations sont souvent eparpilles sur plusieurs communautes et cela rend la planification au niveau communautaire difficile. En outre, ils ont de maigres ressources materielles et des infrastructures administratives insuffisantes pour soutenir leurs initiatives. De tels cas ne minimisent pas necessairement le role joue par les organisations communautaires dans le domaine du developpement, mais il ne fait aucun doute que la realite nous forc...

Roles of community organizations in improving cancer prevention instruction in schools.

Health education can be an important factor in the development of appropriate health behaviors in children. Community agencies that have not traditionally supported school health education can be of significant influence in improving school health education. This study examined the relationships between the involvement of the American Cancer Society (ACS) in schools and the degree of implementation of cancer prevention curricula. School health specialists from 41 metropolitan school districts in Texas were surveyed regarding the coverage of topical areas related to cancer prevention, health instructional patterns in districts, and collaborative efforts with the ACS. Tobacco use was widely covered in all levels of schools (elementary, middle, and high school), as was nutrition. Cancer detection and the concepts of cancer as a disease received most extensive coverage in high schools, and there were no significant grade level differences regarding coverage of the risks of sun exposure. School personnel had little training and felt little district support for school health education. Most respondents felt that teachers saw the ACS primarily as a resource for cancer information and resources than as a collaborative partner in health education efforts. Community organizations can play three roles in supporting school health education. First, the organization must certainly provide disease-specific information (in this case, cancer). They must also promote comprehensive school health education in general. Lastly, the study illustrates that community organizations must act as advocates for broader change in schools by supporting the development of organizational capacity within schools and districts to implement quality school health education, enlisting community support for quality school health education, and supporting policy initiatives that strengthen school health education activities.

Community Development and the Role of Community Organizations: A Study in Northern Ethiopia

Community Development and the Role of Community Organizations: A Study in Northern Ethiopia