Civic and Community Engagement Commons^™

The Impact Of Selected Socioeconomic Factors On Asset Building In Rural Communities, Nii O. Tackie, Judith N. Aboagye, Gwendolyn J. Johnson, Millicent Braxton, Latanya Hunt-Haralson, Gertrude D. Wall

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

The study examined the impact of selected socioeconomic factors on asset building. Using a questionnaire, data were obtained from a convenience sample of 204 participants from several Alabama Black Belt Counties, and analyzed using descriptive statistics and logit analysis. The results showed that a majority (64%) was willing to participate in an asset building program. Of this, an overwhelming majority (at most 70%) wanted to set up a small business; further their education, or purchase a home. In addition, one socioeconomic factor, age, had a statistically significant (p = 0.016) effect on willingness to participate in an asset building …

Forum Magazine, November 2013

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

It's Not About The Coffee: Queer Temporalities At A Community Coffeehouse, Jodi Davis

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Long Beach California’s “gay ghetto” 1 is a loosely defined neighborhood with bars, coffeehouses and businesses that cater to the LGBTQ community. The corner of Broadway and Junipero roughly marks the center of the gay ghetto and is home to Hot Java “The Community Coffeehouse”. The customers there are loyal and through ethnographic inquiry this paper highlights the importance of Hot Java as a queer site of resistance and community building. Through interviews, observation, and exploration of queer theoretical models of space and time, this paper illustrates Hot Java as a queer temporal space marked by trauma, resistance, and community …

Devolution: The Retreat Of Government, Judith Kurland

New England Journal of Public Policy

Devolution as practiced in much of the world is decentralization of program authority and responsibility to achieve greater administrative efficiency or program standards. Devolution as practiced by the Bush administration and the Republican Congress is not that, nor is it a diminution of federal power and the strengthening of states’ rights. Rather, it is a radical restructuring of government to prevent the expenditure of funds for traditional Democratic programs of the New Deal and the Great Society, and to prohibit states from being either more generous in social programs or more stringent in regulating industry than this administration desires.

This …

Pushing The Boundaries: What Youth Organizers At Boston's Hyde Square Task Force Have To Teach Us About Civic Engagement, Meredith L. Mira

Democracy and Education

Across the United States, researchers and youth workers alike have identified an increasing number of civically engaged youth who are organizing to improve their communities and schools. By taking an action-oriented approach, these youth are speaking back to the notion that they are uninvolved in society. This interview-based study explores the meaning-making experiences of youth organizers at Boston’s Hyde Square Task Force (HSTF) to better understand how they engage. Findings suggest that HSTF is engaging two broad groups of youth by focusing on both their personal development and their sense of community awareness. The study introduces an organizing model of …

Good Neighbors? Relationship Between Colby And The Community Marked By Tensions, Community Service, Mutual Economic Interests, David Mckay Wilson

Colby Magazine

Colby and Waterville navigate a relationship marked by tensions, community service, and mutual interests.

A Better Place: Graduates Follow Their Ideals Into The Expanding World Of Organizations Dedicated To Helping Others, Ruani S. Freeman

Colby Magazine

From the Congo to New Orleans, Colbians are fanned out across the globe, working with nonprofit organizations that want to leave the world a better place. Read about what they do and why they do it.

What Jeronimo Maradiaga Learned: After Immersing Himself In The Arduous And Unsettling World Of Poverty, Watson Fellow Questions The West's Notions Of Success, Gerry Boyle

Colby Magazine

Watson Fellow Jeronimo Maradiaga ’09 set out to explore the world of the disadvantaged. It was a life-changing experience, but not for the reasons one might think.

Uncorking The Mommy Market: Phenomenal Facebook Following Has Marilé Borden Contemplating The Future Of Moms Who Need Wine, Ruth Jacobs

Colby Magazine

Marilé Borden ’94 has hundreds of thousands of people watching her Facebook page Moms Who Need Wine. Now what to do with them?

Libraries + Irw = Big Read Success!, Jan Coates

Maine Policy Review

Jan Coates presents a case study of how Island Readers and Writers collaborated with local libraries in the Mt. Desert Island (Maine) area to encourage reading and community engagement through two "Big Read” events.

Forum Magazine, Spring 2013

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Forum Magazine, Orientation Issue

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Libraries In The Community: Changing Opportunities, Stephanie Zurinski, Valerie Osborne, Mamie Anthoine-Ney, Janet Mckenney

Maine Policy Review

When libraries first began, books were scarce and expensive. We live now in the Information Age. Public expectations about information are rapidly evolving. To remain relevant, libraries are expanding on sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s “Third Place” concept – public spaces which are “anchors of community life and important places for civic engagement”. Libraries have always offered a place for the community to come together. Now, libraries are becoming destinations by offering experiences ranging from the traditional story-telling to creation spaces and business incubators. Even with all the changes occurring in the world, libraries will remain the glue that holds the community …

Managing The Polarities Of Democracy: A Theoretical Framework For Positive Social Change, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

People around the globe have embraced democracy to bring about positive social change to address our environmental, economic, and militaristic challenges. Yet, there is no agreement on a definition of democracy that can guide social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model is a unifying theory of democracy to guide healthy, sustainable, and just social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model consists of ten elements, organized as five polarity pairs: freedom & authority, justice & due process, diversity & equality, human-rights & communal-obligations, and participation & representation. In this model each element has positive aspects and negative aspects and …