The concept of Big Society provides inspiration--working "bottom up" to promote "collective action, reciprocity and a new, more engaged relationship between local people and public services". With so much written about the theory of the Big Society, this seems like an ideal time to put a little more practical detail into the mix. The authors argue…

Establishing rapport between researcher and participants when conducting ethnography is essential to the successful outcome of the research. However, when participants are unwilling to engage, a different approach must be adopted. This article is an examination of the appropriation of a situated learning model during fieldwork with a group of…

Describes a personal experience in the effort to avoid widespread herbicide spraying. Provides insights for building a successful campaign: involvement, finding support, acceptance of differences of opinion, autonomy from political factions, and not assuming people are closed to healthier alternatives. (MCO)

Describes the establishment and results of a study committee asked to review existing pesticide policy, vegetation management programs and provide improvement recommendations in Thurston County, Washington. (MCO)

Community activities of Black, former student activists, and nonactivists who attended college during the 1960s were investigated in a longitudinal study conducted in 1969 and 1978. Community involvement among both groups was similar. Although the sample size is small, this is the only study where the data was obtained while subjects were still…

Describes an adult education course designed to stimulate public awareness in planning matters, and compares the course with another differently planned program with the same purpose. Notes that given the concentration of resources and cooperation between adult education and community development agencies, interest in planning issues can be…

Illustrates historically and politically how geography and ethnicity melded together to provide the foundation for a community consciousness that ultimately evolved into a unique form of community organization in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood. Examines how external structures, internal arrangements, housing patterns, and ethnic patterns…

This guide is written for teenagers who may be considering becoming active in their communities. It explains ways teens can increase their power and effectiveness in community life and some of the things they will encounter along the way. It begins by emphasizing the importance of community service, illustrating the ways that teens already may be…

In 1979, the Learning Enrichment Foundation was established with assistance from the York Board of Education, as a not-for-profit community development corporation devoted to the promotion of multicultural arts enrichment, the provision of child care services, and mounting employment-training schemes, particularly for youth. The group's…

This paper reports on the progress of eight Chicago-based community initiatives designed to redefine social services and broaden social responsibility for the development of children and families. The paper has three sections describing: (1) general background on the children, youth, and families initiative; (2) early lessons from an initiative in…

Abuse of alcohol and other drugs causes a variety of problems in a community. Accordingly, this is a manual for use by groups of citizens working to build a broadly based community alcohol and drug abuse prevention program. It includes both a systematic framework which a coalition can apply to its community, and a detailed case study of one…

The development of a model network for team leadership by the University of Akron and community agencies is described. The major program objectives were to increase understanding of: interpersonal and intragroup dynamics; organizational development and collaborative planned change; and issues at the local, regional, and national levels that relate…

Interviews conducted in Kentucky's Fifth Congressional District sought answers for improving educational quality in the district, which has the highest dropout rate, the lowest holding power, and the lowest standardized test scores in Kentucky. Members of the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development interviewed 155 people from 15 of…