Introduction to Community Practice: Chap 5. Community and Community Develop Flashcards
What is Community in Social Work
a group of
individuals or families that share certain values, services, institutions,
interests, or geographic proximity
Types of Community
-as a sense of oneness and shared identity
- referring to location or place
MASLOW
importance of , 3rd level belongingness,in his hierarchy of needs
Durkheim (1897) coined the term anomie or
normlessness
-He predicted and showed that industrialized nations would
have a higher suicide rate than non-industrialized nations.
-This relationship holds true today
Bowling Alone
Robert Putnam (2001), used team bowling as a metaphor for community togetherness
THEORIES of Community Breakdown
-Durkheim (1897) coined the term anomie or
normlessnes
-Bowling Alone, Robert Putnam (2001), used team
bowling as a metaphor for community togethernes
-Modern technology has transformed the way people
relate to each other – radio, television, cell phones,
Internet
What is Globalization
is defined by the International Federation
of Social Worker (IFSW, 2005), as “the process by
which all peoples and communities come to experience
an increasingly common economic, social, and cultural
environment
IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION
-Threats to community through the world banking requirements imposed on poor nations – South Africa,
Latin American nations forced to make “structural adjustments”.
-War and violence related to conquest and greed—and divisiveness of ethnic group
CORPORATION & COMMUNITY
The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power
by Bakan (2004), records the history of the corporation
as originally set up to provide a public service.
CORPORATIONS COMMUNITY IMPACT:
-Corporation exists for profit, not for common goal
-Tax structure favors big businesses & building construction
-Shops, restaurants, and stores less likely to be family
owned, but corporate – Wal-Mart and Target.
-3 KEYS TERMS: Privatization, intensified productivity levels & technological revolution.
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TRANSPORTATION
-Since 1970, the US population has increased 37%, but the
distance traveled by the nation’s fleet of personal automobiles
and motorcycles increased 143%.
-From 1982 to 2000, the annual hours of highway traffic delay per
person in urban areas increased from 16 hours to 62 hours per year
-The effects to communities of loss of mass transportation>reliance on automobile>in 1950s move to the suburbs
-Consolidation of public schools>busing
-Absence of sidewalks in suburbs >impact on sense of
community
COMMUNITY ALIVE
-Gemeinchaft : shared experiences, traditions and sense of
mutual responsibility and
-Gesellschaft : exchange of goods, money or services –
urban communities
POSTVILLE, IOWA
-A community of German American farmers when a Kosher meatpacking plant moved in
-Hassidic Jews recruited Guatemalan and Mexican workers, many undocumented
-Mass immigrant raid broke up families; almost 400 arrested and deported
-Plant owner in prison; plant under new management
U.S. Census Bureau– just under 20% of the population is
rural. 80% of farmland in Iowa is owned by people who live in
the state
Strengths of Racial and Ethnic Communities
-Each ethnic community is a system with a character of its own.
- Outsiders accuse minority groups of being unfriendly or “always
hanging around together.”
-African heritage, traditions, customs and values unite African
American families, communities and organizations. Strong
church and family mutual interrelatedness.
- Native Americans, strong family bonds, Medicine Wheel, placing
good of the group above individual - Japanese society “sekentei” means society and reputation.
Constant concern about others’ evaluations of one’s behavior. - Latin American subgroups – Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Cubans
often live in the same neighborhoods and community bonds are
strong
Religious Communities
More Americans will attend a church service each week
than all the Americans who attend sporting events over
the entire year, Rick Warren (2002).
-Have both positive and negative aspects
-Provide strengths—faith and meaning, community, and
a shared value system
-Provide help for members of the church and
community outreach to the poo
IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING COMMUNITIES
Social action directed at the source of a problem –grass-roots activity
COMMUNITY BONDS
-Black Hawk County, Iowa. 13 women never gave up the
fight against poor management of local women’s shelter.
Set up alternative service– Seeds of Hope outreach, which
was awarded the entire annual grant of $200,000.
- Policy reform at the Iowa state level- African American
community and state legislatures restored voting rights to
over 50,000 disenfranchised persons convicted of a felony
upon completion of their terms.
-Tupelo, Mississippi – communitarianism. Grew to become
an internationally recognized magnet for industrial
investment.
Restorative Justice as Community Justice
Standard criminal justice process can exacerbates community
divisions.
-Restorative justice rooted in indigenous rituals and Mennonite
philosophy
-Works in conjunction with established correctional institutions
from the standpoint of the victim of the crime.
-Major goal is to repair the harm done to the victim and the
community, make the wrongdoer accountable to the victim and
the community
-Types most relevant to community bonding: Victim-offender conferencing
& Community reparation
Sustainability
open, health preserving, need for
green space, & Public transportation
