The research reported here tested the factor structure of a measure for sense of community in community organizations, and it evaluated sense of community's potential as an empowering organizational characteristic within an organizational empowerment framework. Randomly selected community organization participants (N = 561) were surveyed as part…

This paper presents a picture of risk and challenge for youth in distressed communities and outlines how these communities can band together to create a continuum of supportive activities to bolster youth's success in school and life. As youth grow and develop, individualized support and exposure to new experiences has a significant impact on…

This book presents hands-on information on how to plan, administer, and analyze opinion polls. Guidance is also offered on how to make this strategy accessible to public interest groups. Several examples, checklists, warnings of possible pitfalls, and lists of material and human resources occur throughout the chapters. Major sections address the…

The booklet, developed at Red School House for Indian communities, demonstrates visually in a cultural context the series of actions constitute a needs assessment. The illustrated text tells the story of a traditional community that is in need of food for the survival of its people. The question of how to cross the river to see if food is…

Reports results of a 1982 survey of suburban and rural local governments in Maryland, which showed that cable television in rural areas is generally inferior to that in the suburbs, providing less revenue for local governments and poorer services. Advises local officials how to improve their current cable arrangements. (JHZ)

This manual is for citizens working to develop drug prevention programs for their communities using preexisting data and consists of three sections. Part 1 asserts the need to assemble a community profile. The purpose for the data gathering activity must be clearly articulated. In part 2 the steps in assembling a package of community indicators…

A futuristic study of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District (TJPD) in the year 2000 was conducted by Piedmont Virginia Community College (PVCC) to gain insights into those trends and pressures likely to affect the TJPD in the future. Interviews were conducted with 85 area leaders to determine their views and projections regarding lifestyles;…

Designed to assist individuals who need to bring information to citizen groups or decision makers concerned with community economic development, this manual uses a question-answer format to cover topics that might occur to someone just starting to build an understanding of community economic analysis. Among topics covered are: strategies for…

This study examines the Lao Hmong, an Indochinese refugee group that has resettled in the Denver-Boulder, Colorado, area. Characteristics examined are the following: (1) migration; (2) location; (3) housing; (4) acculturation; and (5) life satisfaction. An extensive literature review discusses the history, ethnography, and culture of the Hmong in…

This document consists of two guides that were developed to assist small rural communities in northern Alberta (Canada) in conducting surveys. A community survey can be used to develop long- and short-range plans, define and solve problems, establish priorities, confirm public opinion, develop community support and stimulate action, and reveal new…

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…

Spurred by sagging retail trade and the need for future planning, the Fort Madison (Iowa) Chamber of Commerce initiated a community survey to determine attitudes of residents towards various community characteristics. A 7-section questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 411 area households, of which 268 or 72.2% responded. Over 75% of…

Rural Alabama high school freshmen and sophomores collected and analyzed data about community drinking water supplies in a social science research project designed to acquaint them with health care issues in their communities. Students interviewed government and business leaders, health care professionals, and residents in three rural counties. In…

A public forum on community water quality was conducted by tenth grade students participating in the University of Alabama's Biomedical Sciences Preparatory Program (BioPrep). BioPrep was designed to provide rural high school students with an intensified education concentrating on mathematics, science, communication, rural life, health, and…

A four-week summer project for 100 rural tenth graders in the University of Alabama's Biomedical Sciences Preparation Program (BioPrep) enabled students to acquire and apply social sciences research skills. The students investigated drinking water quality in three rural Alabama counties by interviewing local officials, health workers, and…