Traditional Community Organization Research Articles

再編後の住民自治組織に温存された既存組織の実態とその背景にある自治体行政の課題

再編後の住民自治組織に温存された既存組織の実態とその背景にある自治体行政の課題

The Influence of Rapid Social Change on Civic Community and Perceptions of Crime and Disorder

This study examines the effects of rapid social change brought on by industrial restructuring to nine small town/rural communities located in Southern Louisiana. Social change is often found to have negative impacts on traditional community organization. In particular, communities experiencing rapid social change often demonstrate heightened perceptions of crime problems and social disorder. Other sociological literature finds that communities that are civically organized show various positive social outcomes. Utilizing qualitative methodology, this study aimed to examine the nuances of the relationship between rapid social change, civic community, and perceptions of crime and disorder. This study proposed that civic and social organizations may work as intervening institutions against the negative effects of social change, such as increasing fear of crime. The study found a twofold effect of social capital on this relationship. First, when incoming workers are brought into civic and social organizations then the civic community does have a dampening effect on perceptions of crime. However, the integration of migrating workers into these organizations was dependent upon the workers level of trust or future reciprocity perceived by the local community. Furthermore, when workers were not integrated into civic and social organizations they were seen as potential criminals, which heightened the community’s fear and distrust of new-comers.

Political Use of Social Networks in 2008

The rise of online networks as a means of communicating and organizing has received increasing attention in political science, psychology, sociology, and communications research. Less attention has been given to the differences between these new media and traditional forms of political participation. This paper examines the use of social network sites like Facebook and MySpace in the 2008 election, with particular interest in usage by Democrats and Republicans. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that Democrats are more likely to be active through virtual networks, whereas Republican activists are more likely to be active and organize through traditional community-based organizations. Our expectation is predicated on the premises that 1) Democrats and Republicans differ in both their strategic choices and their supporter base, that 2) Democrats were more excited about the candidates than were Republicans, and 3) the Obama campaign and Democrats have used social networks to target young voters, who are more likely to use social networks. Theoretically, our paper is grounded in one, the Information Science literature on diffusion of innovation, which indicates that the attributes of a technology interact with both the competitive environment and the characteristics of organizations in explaining adoption and implementation decisions; and two, the behavior literature on civic engagement. Using a PEW survey for the 2008 election cycle, we compare social network usage with traditional forms of participation, controlling for demographic attributes. Such differences in party organizations’ use of new media for communicating and organizing have potential consequences for electoral competition between the two parties. For example, since civic engagement in traditional community organizations correlates with income, education, and residential stability, Republican activists may have an organizational advantage at the grassroots level that is offset by online organization in virtual communities by younger, Democratic activists.

The ecohealth system and the community engagement movement in foundations: A case study of mutual benefits from grants funded by the United Nations Foundation

Abstract Ecohealth is a process for identifying key environmental determinants causing mortality or morbidity and combating them by mobilizing multiple social sectors. Evolving out of the concept of environmental health, ecohealth provides a framework for long‐term sustainability. The health outcomes anticipated by environmental interventions are part of a long‐term agenda and require fundamental groundwork for the growth of community‐driven development. Building long‐term sustainability requires that two key approaches be developed through ecohealth. The first is the strengthening of local community institutions, whether formal or informal. The second is building financial mechanisms that are more diversified and less reliant on a single donor. As a result, the ecohealth system provides an opportunity for foundations to empower communities, build cross‐cutting cooperation, and gain knowledge through projects. If people's environmental behaviour is to change and be sustained in the long term to produce desired health outcomes, this will require all members of society to be capable of functioning within the existing institutional infrastructure. This means that not only do formal institutions need to become more accessible but also that concepts relating to local informal institutions must be incorporated into ecohealth projects. It is imperative that we identify and understand relevant local institutions and how they can be transformed so that new environmental forms of behaviour can be sustained and result in positive health outcomes. The intersection of environmental and health concerns provides an ideal area in which the gap between government and civil society can be bridged — not only providing solutions to ecohealth concerns, but building government capacity in general and making these positive changes sustainable in the long term. This article is a case study, based on several United Nations Foundation grants. It outlines the significance of traditional community organizations, the breadth of their long‐term relations with communities, their resources, and the adoption of sustained forms of behaviour. In addition, the article highlights the role that international foundations can play in creating innovative financing mechanisms through community‐based foundations.

Community development as citizen education

Everyday professional discussion often refers to the idea that community development is essentially a learning process. This article sketches a comprehensive theory of community development as citizen education by following the different traditions in community development and by defining the educational aspect of each tradition. Among the traditions described here are traditional community organizations as a social work method, the radical community organization of Alinsky, the neo‐Marxist approach of community action, and the settlement movement. The resulting theoretical framework defines community development as an alternative route for the education of citizens with low levels of formal education in the same way as labour unions and churches often are alternative routes towards active citizenship for low‐income groups. Next, three forms of education are singled out within community development: first, education as training of local leadership; as an action‐oriented and on the job learning process supported informally by the community worker. This form of education resembles the informal vocational education in which an experienced craftsman trains his pupils on the shop floor. Second, education as consciousness raising, which reverses the sequence of learning processes: in this case it is not action which leads to education but education that hopefully leads to action by citizens. There is a whole range of providers of such consciousness raising activities, such as community development organizations, local centres for adult education, churches through their celebrations and adult education classes. A recent development is the ‘new localism’ in social movements, such as the environmental movement, emphasizing consciousness‐raising activities in the local community. Third, education as service delivery: here education is a service for the community in the same way as community development can deliver other services to a community such as affordable housing and health centres. Partly these educational services are ‘survival education’, such as job readiness training programmes and literacy programmes; partly they are ‘leisure education’, typically blurring the borders between ‘pure’ education and recreational and social opportunities for residents.

Community Organization of the Village Settlement and Service Area of Religious Centres: Si-Miao, in Konghinglie (Singdyam City, Taiwan)

The objective of this paper is to consider the space formation of the village settlement of Konghinglie (Singdyam city), which is a typical traditional village in Taipei basin. The study is based on the analysis of the interrelations between the religious service area of si-miao (Buddhist and Confucian temples) and village organization. The target village of the study was the frontier settlement in the period of migration from Mainland China that still preserves a traditional way of life. Several building types can be observed in the space formation of village of Hang tribe in Taipei basin. The paper firstly clarifies the distribution of building types in the village and analyzes the community organization with respect to the religious service areas of si-miao. It was found that there are two types of si-miao—the indigenous type and the foreign origin type. The service area of indigenous type is formed on the traditional community organization but the foreign origin type has no such organization in the village. Finally this paper points out the process of the destruction of traditional community organization, which is a key to understand the urbanization process of Taiwan.

新店市広興里の集落組織の構成と寺廟の祭祀圈

The objective of this paper is to consider the space formation of the village settlement of Konghinglie (Singdyam City) which is a typical traditional village in Taipei Basin. The study is based on the analysis of the interrelations between the religious sevice area of Jibyo (Buddhist and Confucian temples) and village organization. The target village of the study was the frontier settlement in the period of migration from mainland China that still preserve a traditional way of life. The several buidling types can be observed in the space formation of village of Hang tribe in Taipei Basin. The paper firstly clearify, the distribution of building types in the village and compare the community organization with the religious service areas of Jibyou. It was found that there are twe types of Jibyous, that is, Indigenous type and Outside origin type. The service area of Indigenous type is formed on the traditional community organization but the Outside origin type has no such organization in the village. Finally this paper points out the process of the destruction of traditinoal community organization which is a key to understand the urbanization process of Taiwan.

Traditional management of communal-property resources: the practice of the Sasi system

Throughout the feudal era up until the early 1970s a traditional management system was in effect in eastern Indonesian areas. However, this system was steadily replaced by centralized government control. This transformation had two impacts: (1) it resulted in conflicts among fishers regarding resource use; and (2) overexploitation of fisheries occurred in some fishing grounds. Recently, however, there has been a growing interest in reconsidering the adoption of the traditional system of fisheries resources management, with a slight modification towards a co-management system. Based on case study data this article describes the practice of traditional management of communal-property fisheries resources with particular reference to the Sasi system. The Sasi system is considered as effective in protecting and conserving fisheries resources in the coastal waters of a community. The continued existence of the system is supported by three elements: (1) a well-established traditional community organization; (2) an informal government endorsement of the Petuanan territory as a communal-property right; and (3) an attitude of compliance and cultural value attributed to the familial relationships existing among fishers.