Self-help initiatives stand as a classic context for organizational studies in community psychology. Behavior setting theory stands as a classic conception of organizations and the environment. This study explores both, applying behavior setting theory to consumer-run organizations (CROs). Analysis of multiple data sets from all CROs in Kansas…

This article reviews the literature on community service and activism, particularly in youth, using the theoretical approach provided by an identity projects framework. This framework allows for an examination of the contextual and experiential factors that contribute to the emergence and maintenance of an identity project of service or activism.…

Although educational leaders may be optimistic about initiating change, lasting reforms are rare. The group polarization literature, although dated, provides an important explanation for a very current problem. The theory holds that when there are differences of opinion to begin with, a counter-conformity effect works among members of groups.…

In this article I explore the ethical terrain of experiential learning activities drawing on my experiences leading college students on field trips into criminal justice settings. Though there are numerous educational benefits to adopting experiential learning activities, the rewards must be evaluated in light of the potential harms to nonstudent…

In this article, the author examines her racial identity and its impact on her interpretation of the schooling experiences of a 10th grade Latina in an ethnographic case study. Prior to this study, the author had been working in a university-based family literacy program where she met Zulmy's mother, Manuela. Due to her experience as a middle…

Large numbers of children and young people spend their weekends and holidays engaged in the activities of over 300 surf clubs across Australia each summer. Long term membership in these clubs, beginning from as young as five years of age, forms a significant part of children's and young people's development yet surf clubs have yet to receive…

This multilevel investigation examined the effect of group interaction and its influence on individual-level membership variables and group assimilation. The study is based on a model of group socialization developed by Moreland and Levine (1982) and was modified in this study to investigate the development and maintenance of highly interdependent…

This article draws on the sociology of childhood framework in order to examine one primary school girl's account of how the children in her classroom pass notes to each other when they are "not allowed to talk at all". Close examination of the account shows how the girls and boys in this particular classroom co-construct gendered membership…

Three instruments designed to evaluate the performance of work groups in organizations were analyzed with reference to a recently developed comprehensive model of the group problem solving process. Although each instrument measured nine or ten dimensions of group behavior, none of them measured more than seven of the 16 categories of variables…

Lay advisory committees for the humanities offer community colleges a means of maintaining connections with the communities they serve. These groups can provide information and advice on ways to encourage students to enroll in liberal arts courses, the characteristics of liberal arts students, ways of developing modules for occupational courses,…

This guide was designed to help individuals interested in developing caregiver support groups. It begins with an overview of the caregiving situation, identifying stresses associated with caregiving and factors which have been shown to moderate stress. Purposes of a support group are discussed; differences between support and therapy groups are…

Following a preliminary study of crafts membership organizations in the United States, a survey was conducted of members of these organizations in order to determine their number, kind, media of work, personal characteristics, and geographic location. A sample of 5,146 craftspersons who were members of these organizations was mailed a…

Previous studies of mass media consumption behavior within cultural boundaries have yielded important information regarding the selection of communication channels to obtain information by members of specific cultures. However, the selection of mass media information sources in a cross-cultural setting has received little attention in the…

THERE ARE ABOUT TWO MILLION FOREMEN EMPLOYED IN THE UNITED STATES, SOME OF THEM UNION MEMBERS, BUT MANY BELONGING TO SOCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. TO DETERMINE FOREMAN MEMBERSHIP IN NON-UNION FOREMAN ORGANIZATIONS, THE PURPOSE, ORGANIZATION, FINANCIAL SUPPORT, AND PROGRAMS OF SUCH CLUBS, AND THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CLUB TO THE COMPANY…