Community Self-help Research Articles

The Potential of Social Capital in the Implementation of Payment for Environmental Services in Tawang Retention Pond

A high level of space and land utilization in the city of Semarang, Indonesia, has caused degradation of natural resources, both terrestrial and aquatic. In particular, the impact of flooding and high spring tides has worsened over time. Payment for Environmental Services (PES) is now being developed globally as a market-based instrument to attribute value to ecosystem, environmental and social services provided by natural resources, recognizing the value of social capital. Local networks and communities play important roles and have positive impacts on economic welfare and local development. The aim of this study is to analyse the potential of social capital as source of support in implementation of PES in Tawang Retention Pond. This research use mixed methods (both qualitative and quantitative approaches) to produce a more complete pictureby combining and comparing informationfrom different sources.The result shows that the characteristics of the community surrounding Tawang retention pond is included in a type of Bridging Social Capital which is characterized by a sense of spontaneous (reciprocity), mutual trust and social networks such as members of the SHGs (Self-Help Groups) who indulge in the activities of gathering, social funds that bridge the poor to join a self-help community groups. This qualitative result is strengthened by the results of correlation analysis where there is a significant correlation between social capital and PES with a coefficient of 59.5%. Thismeans social capital is potentially an important factor in the application of PES.

SY04-2 * PSYCHOSOCIAL INTERVENTIONS FOR ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS IN THAILAND

Evidence for the effectiveness of interventions for alcohol or substance use disorders is mostly derived from research and publications conducted in high-income countries in North America and Europe. There is a concern that this effectiveness depends on some specific context and may not be applicable within other contexts. To address this concern, several psychosocial interventions have recently been developed based on theoretical models previously proven effective with some adaptations to suit social and cultural beliefs and practices of the people and Thai health service system. These include the Heart around Home Program (HHH Program), an assertive community based treatment for alcoholics, consisting of 5 weekly home visits by a local health care team to help alcoholics manage their daily living and health. The Buddhist-based alcohol treatment program integrates Buddhist principles with the love and generosity of the healers (monks and health care providers) and social support from families and community to increase patients' self-esteem by means of social dedication and learning to give. Supportive self-help group and community involvement programs are community-based interventions where ex-drinkers and community members collaborate in identifying and engaging alcoholics into treatment and providing continued aftercare support. The Brief Intervention-Family Support method is a modified ASSIST-linked brief intervention with a family support component specifically developed for psychotic patients with comorbid substance use. The effectiveness and process of implementation of these interventions will be discussed in detail.

Environmental Quality in Urban Settlement: The Role of Local Community Association in East Semarang Sub-district

Society is one of the influential stakeholders in shaping the quality of neighborhoods. Efforts to improve the quality of the environment with the involvement of community empowerment is one of the improvement process, extracting local resources, as well as giving a greater role to the public. This role can be seen from handling environment, such as village improvement, renovation and improvement of the quality environment. Local institutions communities in Indonesia known as the Neighborhood Unit (Rukun Tetangga called RT) drives the self-help community play a role in changes in the quality of residential environment. Priority is determined by the needs of the community programs that are approved by members. Kelurahan Karangturi implement environmental programs larger than the other program components. This paper is a quantitative approach with variable formulation and implementation role of local institutions in the quality of residential neighborhoods in the region in three urban locations. While in the Kelurahan Bugangan greater economic program. In the Kelurahan Kemijen, also dominates the implementation of environmental improvements. The role of local institutions as a stimulant and a reflection of the CBD (Community Base Development) with a group of people who will have a sense of community are good, such as the ability to take care of its interests in a responsible manner, free to choose and express their opinions, actively participate in the common interest, and community services closer to the interests of society itself. It is expected that for sustainability, local institutions capable of more optimal synergy with the main stakeholders in monitoring the implementation of environmental quality improvement, especially after the improvement is implemented.

Gaps in educational outcomes: analysing national examination performance of Singaporean Malay and non-Malay students in the past 20 years

Singaporean students generally perform very well in international tests of mathematics and science. Nonetheless, in multi-cultural Singapore, there exist gaps with the Malays, a minority group in Singapore, systematically lagging behind the other ethnic groups of the Chinese and Indians in many educational performance indicators. While there have been previous qualitative assessments of this issue, rigorous statistical analyses are lacking. In this article, I analyse data from 1991 to 2011 of aggregate percentage passes in national examinations for the different ethnic groups in Singapore. Using time series techniques and regression, I uncovered two major findings. First, the Malay trends in percentage passes for the last two decades were strongly correlated with the non-Malay, national trends. Second, despite the correlation, there remained fluctuations around the national trend by Malay cohorts in the past two decades. Malay cohorts tended to perform better during an upward national trend, but also performed worse during a downward national trend, indicating systematic volatility in performance. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of current research on educational gaps and three decades of community self-help to improve the educational achievement of the minority Malays in Singapore.

Going Mental: Podcasting, Authenticity, and Artist–Fan Identification on Paul Gilmartin's Mental Illness Happy Hour

The podcast has recently emerged as a popular medium for comedians. It would not be accurate to describe the podcast as a wholly new, liberating medium that dispenses of all commercial logic in favor of the truly authentic, but it would be equally disingenuous to discount the feelings of empowerment and personal stability that the podcast medium has initiated for these comedians. Since April 2011, Paul Gilmartin, a stand-up comedian, television show host, and actor has hosted the Mental Illness Happy Hour (MIHH), a self-help podcast for those suffering from depression, anxiety, and frustration. Gilmartin's podcast has attracted over a million listeners since it debuted and has inspired a devoted following, thriving message board, and the sort of unexpected career revival that surprised even Gilmartin himself. While the man behind the microphone might be a comedian, MIHH is sobering, reflective, and unvarnished in its earnestness. I argue that the constitution of audience within this podcast disrupts more conventional understandings of fan–celebrity interaction. It tests previously held assumptions and makes ambiguous the lines between performer and audience, audience, and self-help community.

Utopian Movements and Ideas of the Great Depression: Dreamers, Believers, and Madmen Donald W.Whisenhunt. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013.

Movements and Ideas of Great Depression: Dreamers, Believers, and Madmen Donald W. Whisenhunt. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2013.In Movements and Ideas of Great Depression: Dreamers, Believers, and Madmen, histoubiquity rian Donald Whisenhunt surveys an array of lesserknown reformers during Great Depression, whose ideas ranged from communal living to a Moneyless Government. This study is based around Whisenhunt's assertion that the entire American experience.. .has been a experiment (1). While studies of figures such Father Coughlin, Huey Long, and proponents of New Deal are quite numerous in scholarship, Whisenhunt hopes that this work will fill gap in scholarship surrounding Utopian movements of this period [that] have escaped serious scrutiny until now (175).Utopian Movements centers on six people and/or movements. Whisenhunt has taken on rather unenviable project of fitting these figures together in a unified book, a task at which he is unevenly successful. As space of this review will not permit an exhaustive account of all figures in book, this reviewer will focus on a few that he found particularly compelling or relevant to Whisenhunt's emphasis on American experience being a one.The first selection focuses on Society of America, which reached its pinnacle from 19331936. The Society arose quickly and gained as much half a million or more members during its brief tenure (26). The third chapter focuses on Maury Maverick and Diga Relief Colony, a self-help community that Maverick founded in San Antonio, Texas. The Diga Relief Colony, which was in existence from 1932 to 1933, worked to help poor, but also worked to help world war veterans who were affected especially by hard time of 1930s (31). Despite its efforts, Diga, like most of projects in work, ultimately went into history books a failure. Maverick attributed Diga's failure to inability of communal economics to live alongside a capitalist system.The Socialist Party of America is focus of chapter 5, which primarily discusses ultimate failure of Continental of Workers and Farmers of 1933. The Continental was unable to gain national support for its program, which included a New Declaration of Independence that advocated a conversion to socialism (84). Whisenhunt argues that probably best that can be said for Continental Congress is that it was a case of bad timing, they met after New Deal and Hundred Days had already begun to tackle many of economic concerns Socialist Party had hoped to address (84). …

FRI0200 Is the Measure of Effort-Reward Imbalance at Work Valid in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Rheumatoid Arthritis?

BackgroundWorking life factors influence patients' (life) satisfaction and well-being. Effort at work is part of a social contract that reciprocates effort by adequate reward. Components of work-related rewards matter for...

서울시 공공임대아파트 커뮤니티의 사회적 결속력에 관한 연구 - 단지 내 커뮤니티 활동과 주거문화 특성을 중심으로 -

In line with the previous study on the level of social cohesiveness of public rental housing communities in Seoul, this study investigated the community activities as a result of community cohesiveness and identified the cultural influences on the cohesiveness of the same case study areas. In general, there was relatively more active and voluntary participation of the residents in the community activities in the housing estates with higher social cohesiveness. The four communities were active in reporting community problems to the housing managers, greatly relying on the housing managers to solve the problems. In addition, mutual aid and community self-help were facilitated mainly through the activities of women's associations. However, small membership of community organisations and occasional disputes between the community organisations and estate managers, and among the community organisations themselves, seemed to have hampered the positive effects of the social cohesiveness in the case study areas. In terms of the cultural attributes, coexistence of collectivism and individualism, consideration of neighbourliness as an ideal social norm, incorporation of the neighbourhood environment into the housing estate environment and extensive use of outdoor public spaces were found.

The unfinished village police unit: a contested local development initiative

Community self-help has been the principal strategy for creating social infrastructure in rural Malawi since independence. One rural community in Balaka district, southern Malawi, embarked on a project to construct a police unit as a response to rising incidents of crime. Begun in 1999, the project remains unfinished. There seems to be no interest in completing the work. This paper finds the explanation in the manner the project was initiated and how the village community was involved in its execution.

Social movements of the historical Indian Diaspora in South Africa: binding the ‘home’ and ‘homeland’ creatively?

India and South Africa are strongly bonded to each other not just as member nations of BRICS1 that confirms their status as prominently upcoming and emerging markets of the contemporary world, but also as associates of a mutually shared and entangled history from colonial times. The migration of the Indian Diaspora to South Africa from 1860 onwards, its eventual struggle for dignity against racial discrimination and participation in the national liberation movement have been a matter of pride to India in the past. But it is little known that the people of Indian origin have also organized themselves for community welfare and more recently organized themselves in Heritage Movements (HMs) to raise issues important for them socially as well as symbolically in the their past and contemporary history. How do they relate to India through them and what do they think of India? While bilateral economic ties between today's South Africa and India dominate the spheres of political imagination, interestingly, we see that over the years, the Indian foreign policy is undergoing a ‘Diaspora moment’ in various aspects. This paper, therefore, attempts to understand the Diaspora more closely under this background of mutual relations and shifts the focus to the collective action of the common Indian South Africans (ISAs) on ground and to their imagination of India and Indianness. We will use examples from social movements (SMs) of the ISAs as an analytical template for seeing the extent to which Diaspora can be used as a conceptual tool in understanding the changing meaning of Indianness in South Africa and conversely what message does it hold for India? Relevant instances of the politics of community self-help and HMs among the Durban/KwaZulu-Natal Indians in South Africa will be analysed and official opinions on Diaspora (etic views) will be juxtaposed with voices of these actors from the field (emic views). Observing the narratives of the SMs of the ISAs closely, we gain an insight into the following facts that can become an important input in sensitizing India's foreign policy with reference to its historic Diaspora in South Africa: firstly, its ongoing need, even in the post-apartheid era, for gaining contextual legitimacy and space in the process of nation building in the new South Africa. Secondly, though the ISAs are proud of their historical ties and cultural legacies with India, their position and identity within the broader political system of South Africa goes beyond their imagined ‘Indianness’. Thirdly, while their role in collective socio-cultural and political engagements make them a credible and vibrant Diaspora of which India can be proud of, nonetheless, the actors in the field emphasize that only when seen as indispensable asset of South Africa can they open up and build their mutual relations with India to newer heights.

FRI0537 Self-reported health status and effort-reward imbalance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus

BackgroundWork environment factors influence patients’ (life) satisfaction and well being. The model of effort-reward imbalance (ERI) was developed to identify health-adverse effects produced by a stressful psychosocial job-related environment. Research...

FRI0538 Gender-specific effort-reward imbalance in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus?

BackgroundWorking life factors influence patients’ (life) satisfaction and well being. Effort at work is part of a social contract that reciprocates effort by adequate reward. Components of work-related rewards matter...

Harnessing Social Capital for Community Self-help in a Rural Water Supply Project: Lessons from Participatory Action Research in Kumalabaru Hamlet, Indonesia

Harnessing Social Capital for Community Self-help in a Rural Water Supply Project: Lessons from Participatory Action Research in Kumalabaru Hamlet, Indonesia

Women’s Cultures and Social Movements in Global Contexts

AbstractThis article examines the role that women’s cultures and communities have played in political protest and social change. We argue that women’s cultures, which form around the reproductive roles, labor, and emotional expectations placed on women, have been used to express femininity and as cultural resources or “toolkits” to transform male‐dominated spheres of society. We begin by defining women’s cultures, emphasizing that there is no universal women’s culture because the structural arrangements and cultural meanings of gender vary by race, ethnicity, class, nationality, and political context. We then review research that demonstrates the significance of women’s cultures for the collective identities and tactics deployed in social movements and protest, demonstrating how the study of women’s cultures and gender processes in social movements has contributed empirically and theoretically to understanding social movements. We examine women’s cultures and collective identities in communities as wide ranging as self‐help groups, lesbian communities, feminist organizations, and anti‐feminist groups. We then draw on prevailing theories of cultural change in globalization studies (cultural differentialism, cultural convergence, and cultural hybridization) to understand how women’s cultures have contributed to social change. We conclude by identifying future directions for the study of women’s cultures and social movements.

Selfhelp Community Services: Innovations Help Older Men and Women Maintain Independence in a Changing World

INDEPENDENCE WITH DIGNITY Selfhelp is a 75-year-old, not-for-profit organization with a very specific mission: enable older adults age independently and with dignity, in their own homes despite continuous pressures and obstacles. Collectively, our wide range of services aims protect older adults' safety and independence in an ever-changing world. OUR ORIGINS To refer the mid-1930s as a time of change is a colossal understatement. It was a time of unconscionable persecution, with the Nazi regime driving thousands of men, women, and children flee Europe and seek refuge in America. A handful of concerned emigres banded together here in the United States, assembled a group of volunteers, and formed Selfhelp for German Refugees. Their goal was take in displaced persons who escaped without family, homes or money, and provide the resources enable them rebuild their lives. Moreover, their vow was, and still is, to serve as the last surviving relative victims of Nazi persecution. The organization later became Selfhelp of Emigres from Central Europe, reflect its widened scope. And in 1969, the name changed for the final time a term synonymous with what we offer an ever-expanding population base: Selfhelp Community Services. Over the years, Selfhelp earned a stellar reputation for providing the resources and support help ensure survivors' personal safety, housing, some degree of restitution, social work, health care, and socialization opportunities. We are, in fact, the largest provider of services for Holocaust survivors in North America, last year serving more than 5,300 individuals in the New York City area. Our track record in helping this fragile, vulnerable population has earned the attention of state legislators, New York City officials, and several national as well as international associations on aging. We have expanded our reach thousands more seniors, providing resources and new approaches make it possible for more men and women of all ethnicities age independently, with dignity, in their own homes. Today we serve more than 20,000 of the older adults and at-risk populations in four boroughs of New York City and in Nassau County. We build senior housing and establish services for the broad-based community. We provide home care, assistance with obtaining entitlements and benefits, legal advocacy for home-based services, and more. Perhaps our toughest challenge is identify and implement new approaches and mechanisms serve our clients in a constantly changing environment-impacted by shifting demographics in which the country's 65 years or older population will double in the next 20 years, drastic cuts in health care and home care, a shortage of affordable housing, escalating labor costs, shrinking city and state budgets for social service programs for the older adults, a global economic downturn, and the resulting philanthropic fundraising challenges that we and other not-for-profit organizations have been experiencing for years. Although we do not have a magic formula share with other organizations-one ensure resilience and nimble transformation- several of our endeavors have shown potential progress and dramatic results. The following is not so much a retelling of our chronological evolution, as it is a closer look at some of our specific programs which many of our partners, clients and contributors believe be the most innovative and successful. These three areas of innovation focus on Seniors and Technology, Pro-Independence Services at Home, and Continuing Insights and Innovations for Nazi Victims Programs. SENIORS AND TECHNOLOGY Using Technology Transform Lives, Improve Health, and Reshape our Future Since our founding, the Selfhelp approach has become known for its personalized, high-touch care and interactions with our clients. A case manager's relationship with a client often appears as close as that of a blood relative. …

Legislating for the big society? The case of the Public Services (Social V alue) Bill

A key aspect of the ‘big society’ discourse in England is an enhanced role for voluntary organizations in the delivery of public services. However , Conservative philosophy draws upon the contradictory positions of market liberals favouring the free market and a small state, and those favouring community self-help and local distinctiveness. This article explores how these tensions were played out in parliamentary debate over the second reading of the Public Services (Social V alue) Bill. The authors argue that these tensions reflect unresolved issues within the UK Conservative party, and that market liberals will have the upper hand.

Time banking service exchange systems: A review of the research and policy and practice implications in support of youth in transition

article i nfo Youth and families in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems reside in high poverty communities and often have multiple, interlocking needs that require community support long after youth age out of care or are free from mandated service requirements. Time banking is a unique transaction based system for mutual aid and assistance that fosters economic opportunities, social inclusion, community self-help and enhances civic engagement among often marginalized community members. This article reviews the literature on time banking service exchange systems and its impact on youth in transition. This research reveals the poten- tial of youth participation in time banking service exchanges as assisting in engagement and active participa- tion in services as well as in helping youth achieve the developmental assets they need to be successful upon discharge from formal systems. Policy and practice recommendations for incorporating time banking to help vulnerable youth are also included.

The role, organisation and contribution of community enterprise to urban regeneration policy in the UK

This monograph investigates the organisation, constitution and delivery of community-based organisations which are normally called community enterprises in the UK. These are organisations which emerge from local communities at the neighbourhood level, work in partnership with the public and private sectors, and provide a range of services to meet social, economic and environmental needs. The main focus of the paper is to explore how these organisations contribute to local regeneration strategies, generate social capital and contribute towards the promotion of civil society in general. The main emphasis is on organisations in England and Wales but comparisons are made with the USA and other countries where relevant literature is available. The key questions to be answered relate to the organisation and management of these bodies; the extent to which they engage with and contribute to local regeneration strategies; and the impact they have particularly in acquiring and managing assets. The diversity of the sector, and the range, scale and level of benefits it can deliver is illustrated through five detailed case studies of community enterprises established at different times, in different geographical locations and with different objectives and funding regimes. But, whilst the UK political economy is moving towards less state intervention and more community self-help, the community development corporations in the USA provide an indication of the future direction community enterprises might take in the UK as part of a broad trend towards civic capacity building.

Joint water supply projects in rural Cameroon: partnership or profiteering? Lessons from the Mautu–Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) project

The Government of Cameroon's lack of priority for rural water supply has motivated rural communities to harness their internal capacity and networks for self-help community water supply projects. The emerging paradigm of joint water supply projects between communities in rural Cameroon and large corporations, with both parties as principal beneficiaries (unlike self-help projects where the principal beneficiary is the community), is examined. Our findings, based on the Mautu community and the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) joint project, suggest that this paradigm can be an attractive alternative for rural communities to gain access to piped water systems. However, to ensure long term performance of the rural community's distribution network, the more experienced corporate partner should negotiate a fair agreement, integrate capacity building for operation and maintenance, and include future growth and increased demand in the design of the community's network. Significant inequity during design of the supply to the two partners can lead to the dysfunction of the community system and trigger the perception of profiteering by the corporate partner resulting in subsequent vandalism. It is recommended that such joint partnerships be regulated and that local institutions working with rural communities should educate them on available support services.

The Evolution of “August Meeting” among the Igbo Women of Southeastern Nigeria

The month of August every year witnesses a massive homecoming from different towns and cities across the world of “Igbo women” groups to their matrimonial rural hometowns, where they unite with their rural-based colleagues for what is now popularly known as the “August Meeting.” These “mothers’ congresses,” as they truly are, were originally often geared towards self-help rural community development, but have in recent times delved into conflict management, peace-building and human development in rural societies. But, what is the history of the “August Meeting” initiative among Igbo women? How different is it from the two “traditional” women’s groups among the Igbo? How independent is this assemblage from men’s influences and patronage, especially in a patriarchal society like the Igbos’? This article reconstructs the evolution of the “August Meeting” among women in the Igbo society. It develops a comprehensive view of the agency of women’s participation therein, by focusing on their grassroots initiatives and the crucial roles they play in societal development.