This paper investigates the process of how actions of community groups are initiated and carried out. It also identifies key characteristics of participation in community action projects. Social actions in two communities in North Carolina are studied from a 10-year period. (Author/CT)

During the 1890s and the first three decades of the 20th century, social work in the United States developed a community-based direct practice approach to family assistance and social reform. The basis for this method was a situational view of social life that emphasized the use of interpersonal and transactional methods to achieve social and…

Recounts the efforts of a San Antonio, Texas citizen's group to deny the license of a television station, and suggests that the three-year dispute indicates a need for improved communication between station and community. (MH)

In Canada, innovative use of media for citizen participation is a tradition. Community television's potential as citizen television requires communities with problems that residents want to solve, innovative adult educators committed to citizen empowerment, and cable operators who honor the spirit of the policies and regulations of their industry.…

The University-Urban Interface Program at the University of Pittsburgh is a program that has been in operation since 1969. The program had several goals at the outset dealing with (1) minority and community services; (2) campus development; (3) communications; (4) the long-range Pittsburgh goals project; and (5) university governance for community…

Many communities are rethinking their ideas of mutual support, social economy, and community economic development and are using "Time Dollars" strategies to build on their existing support networks and create a strong and valued social economy. This book provides an introduction to the social capital strategy of Time Dollars and presents…

Students, through part-time work and/or work-study experiences offer a service to their communities. (CA)

This paper describes a grassroots effort by one mid-sized midwestern community which led to the development of a voluntary cooperative network of community service providers offering court-referred divorce mediation services to highly conflicted divorcing families. Issues addressed in this paper are: (1) the difference between a court-referred…

By engaging students in community service projects, action learning uses resources of the real world to give students opportunities to participate in performing tasks and making decisions that confront societal problems. Such projects should be decided on after a study of the needs of the community. After a project is selected, all relevant…

Compiled in this final report is a review of a Title I Education Project related to community environmental education. As originally proposed, the program sought to bring together in a series of symposia community leaders in the areas of education, agriculture, industry, business and government from 17 counties in southeastern Nebraska. To…

This study focuses on two small communities, the type of community civic actions they have experienced, whether there have been projects to improve their socioeconomic resources, and the context in which they have been carried out. The communities' programs, projects, and other citizen action during the past 10 years are studied. (Author)

The RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) in E. St. Louis is described. How the program got started, guidelines, funding information, and testimony from the volunteers themselves are included. (CT)

The author's experiences in community service at a Quaker summer work camp 30 years ago taught him more about himself than about the community in which he helped. National service needs to include an organizing orientation that allows the strengths of both participants and community members to flourish. (SLD)

For citizens who want to participate in practical action to make their communities better places for living, this guide considers numerous approaches for community involvement. It stresses not only comprehensive planning but also the importance of getting action started. A rough order of business is suggested. First, considered are the various…

Recent demands for community representation in planning raise basic questions as to the nature of the community. This article likens the community to theatrical fiction, maintained through variously-staged dramatic performances. (Author/LR)