Theses (M.A.)--Marshall University, 2005. / Title from document title page. Includes abstract. Document formatted into pages: contains iv, 87, [3] p., including maps. Bibliography: p. 79-87.

What constitutes an artistic community? Why do people come together and form a group to make art despite all the sacrifices that they need to make in terms of time, space, and resources? (Why) Do we need Community (and) Theatre? This paper is about an interpretive and auto-ethnographic field research about a local community theatre, The Stage Company, in Carbondale, Illinois. It aims to demonstrate how theatre can be a bridge between community and self and lead them to come closer, change and grow by challenging each other. It provides an extensive description of The Stage Company by focusing on the cultural and performative features of the community theatre and the individual experiences of the company members as well as the journey of the ethnographer in conducting the research. How might a `community theatre' function in the lives of its members within a particular socio-cultural context and why would a researcher, who is a cultural, ethnic, and lingual other in the field, choose to spend a year with that community theatre? What does she find and learn about the various definitions of the concept of the community theatre, the features of community theatre culture in US, the place of The Stage Company within the theoretical definition of community theatre, the role of The Stage Company in the lives of its members and the role of this research in the ethnographer's life in terms of finding her own future path in relation to theatre and community?

Over the last century America’s rampant individualism has contributed to an eroding sense of communal togetherness. As numerous sociologists have shown, a sense of community in America declines, and experiences of loneliness and absence fill its vacancy. This dissertation argues that Paul Ricoeur’s notion of narrative identity illuminates an underutilized resource that can allay the problem of community by counteracting its decay and providing a foundation for coming together. Ricoeur’s narrative theory is well-suited to deal with the problem because narratives offer diagnoses of the current situation and help direct ameliorative efforts. His theory diagnoses community in America as comprised of lonely people; it is a collection comprised of those who do not have a community. But, from the standpoint of narrativity, this is not a simple reiteration of the fact that Americans experience loneliness. The notion of narrative highlights our present loneliness and draws our attention to our current predicament. As we will see, authentic narratives are formed from raw, gross experiential resources, which are then woven together to create a new whole, a plot. Being drawn to our current predicament affords new vistas from which to direct ameliorative efforts By turning to Ricoeur’s concept of narrative, one can grow community in America by forming a community of absence, a community formed by lonely individuals through the sharing of memories of loss and absence. Like members of Alcoholics Anonymous who share memories of loss, Americans can share stories of absence to grow community in America. Turning toward Ricoeur’s concept of narrative yields a non-nostalgic understanding of cultivating community that develops from a sense of loneliness, alienation, and disconnection.

Using Ezra Schabas’ (1966) report on Ontario community orchestras as a catalyst for inquiry, this dissertation examines the nature of amateur orchestras, arguing that they may be reconceptualised as unique, socio-musical communities of practice through an exploration of several factors which influence their health and sustainability. These include: aspects of amateur musical engagement; the relationship between amateur musicians and the various professional actors found in the amateur context; the importance of ensemble-based music education as a crucible for the development of individual artistry, life-long musical learning, and a socio-musical skill set which will encourage and enhance future orchestral participation; the adoption of new, creative and collaborative practices as pathways to improved socio-musical awareness and artistic freedom; and an approach to public engagement which celebrates diversity, embraces cultural democracy, and fosters community cohesion among players and the public. These concepts are explored against the backdrop of two contrasting paradigms of practice: the traditional symphony orchestra and Community Music. This comparison suggests a new paradigm for amateur orchestras, embodying the characteristics of amateurism, socio-musical cohesion, and community engagement, which can properly be described as “community orchestras.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This research aimed to investigate the factors related to the functioning of Community Health Committees in Nelston MandelaBay Municipality. It intended to elicit information on factors which promote and inhibit their effective functioning. It used the qualitative research methods of focus group discussions, concluded with a sample of Community Health Committee members, and in depth, individual interviews with key informants. The contents of the transcriptions of all focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews were analysed so as to identify the recurring themes and key suggestions.The findings indicated that Community Health Committees are not functioning as per their original intention and that relevant policies have not been accurately translated into practice. / South Africa

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-199). Also available on the World Wide Web.

The main goal of this study is to indicate the importance of community policing training programs for implementation of community policing. Community policing requires a transition from traditional policing methods to proactive and problem-oriented policing which is constructed upon police-citizen partnership. For the successful implementation of community policing, the change process needs to be fully realized throughout the organization. Suitably appropriate methods of training will help both officers and citizens to fully understand the goals of community policing. This study focuses on the types of existing community training methods as well as the obstacles that complicate training efforts. Consequently, this study provides some recommendations on community policing training programs to make them more helpful for police departments.

This study evaluated the attributes, teaching effectiveness and educational commitment of part-time faculty in enrollment-funded community colleges. The Student Instructional Rating instrument was used to measure student perceptions of instructors in the community college. Twenty four community colleges were randomly selected from North Carolina. Within each college, four full-time and four part-time faculty were randomly selected to participate in the study. Attributes of part-time faculty were compared to attributes of full-time faculty. Teaching effectiveness was assessed from dimensions on the Student Instructional Rating instrument. Various dimensions on the SIR including Faculty/Student Interaction, Overall Quality of the Course, Course Difficulty, and Lectures were used to evaluate instructional effectiveness. A regression model was used to evaluate the attributes of teaching effectiveness for both full-time and part-time faculty and the slopes of regression coefficients were evaluated to determine how effective part-time instruction differed from effective full-time instruction. Part-time faculty were perceived as effective when compared to their full-time counterpart on the dimensions of Faculty/Student Interaction. Other demographic attributes of part-time faculty were evaluated with no significant difference between full-time and part-time faculty. However, full-time faculty were perceived more effective on Overall Quality of the Course, Lectures, Textbooks, and Reading Assignments. Part-time faculty commitment to non-instructional tasks was assessed and the implications for teaching effectiveness were examined. This study also discussed the shift in instructional workloads from part-time to full-time faculty as the number of part-time faculty increase.

The purpose of this study was to determine the status of general education and occupational program articulation efforts and practices as they existed between community colleges and the public secondary and vocational schools in Virginia. The problem was to also determine if a positive climate existed which was necessary for the planning of articulated programs between the secondary, vocational, and community college systems. The climate was determined by the perceptions reported by administrators toward articulation activities. The population studied included the academic deans from 10 Virginia community colleges and the principals of representative public secondary and vocational schools from each of the selected college service areas. Paired questionnaires were utilized to assess the status of articulation activities and to determine the attitudes of administrators toward articulation activities. Chi square statistics were used to analyze the data. Seven null hypotheses were tested in the study. Comparisons were made based on the responses of the three administrative groups as related to the type of institution, the geographical setting (rural or urban), the geographical location, and the size of the community college. It was concluded that community college administrators, secondary school principals, and vocational school principals indicated overall positive attitudes toward articulation activities. Overall participation of secondary and vocational schools in articulation activities with community colleges was well below the 50% level. Administrators involved in articulation activities felt very positive about the overall benefits of such involvement. Administrators not involved in articulation activities tended to hold positive feelings toward the initiation of most articulation practices. Significant attitudinal differences were identified in administrators' opinions concerning college level courses being offered in the high schools, the sharing of educational resources, and the utilization of college faculty in the high school. Significant differences in the participation of adminstrators in articulation activities were identified in the areas of cooperative program development, the offering of college level classes in high schools, sharing of educational resources, the formulation of written articulation guidelines and policies, and attendance at articulation meetings. Nearly all administrators felt the high school programs were providing the type of preparation needed by students to succeed in community college programs, and they felt positively that high school vocational programs should be designed to allow students to continue in their specialty area at the community college as well as to enter the labor market.

Thesis (MPA.) --University of Limpopo,2011 / Participation of members of the community in policing is critical in ensuring that policing becomes a people oriented process. This will go a long way into a ensuring that a shift in the policing environment, from a police force to a police service underpinned by involvement of community members in policing activities is realised throughout South Africa. That is, since 1993, the South African Police Service (SAPS) adopted a community policing process to meet the safety and security requirements of all people in the country. A major objective of community policing is to establish active partnership between the police and the community, especially at local level through which crime, service delivery and community-police relations can be evaluated and plans to address problems implemented. Throughput South Africa, Community Policing Forums (CPF) has been set up to work with SAPS. This study was conducted with the aim of establishing the extent to which communities around the Nelspruit policing area, in the Mpumalanga Province, participate in the establishment of the existing Community Policing Forums (CPFs), to sought means and ways through which there can be maximal involvement or participation in community policing around the Nelspruit Policing Area.Accordingly, Mpumalanga as a province has also adopted community policing as a strategy towards ensuring better policing. Police stations have been mandated to establish CPFs in consultation with relevant stakeholders and communities. The establishment of community policing forums and boards, which should be broadly representative of the community, is of crucial importance. The main objective of partnership is to determine, through, consultation, community needs and policing priorities, and to promote police accountability, transparency and effectiveness. The research methodology used for the study was a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research design. This enabled the researcher to draw data from the identified sample of study, in order to respond to critical research questions as raised in Chapter 1 of the study. As a result the study was divided into five (5) Chapters ssummarised as follows: Chapter 1 of this study introduces the study by presenting the research problem, aim and objectives of the study, research questions, and division of the study; and Chapter 2 of the study presents literature review. In other words, chapter 2 examines selected empirical research, reported practice and identified innovations relevant to community participation in the community policing forum (CPF). It provided the study with an opportunity to give better insight into the dimensions and complexity of the problem. Chapter 3 of the study presents Research Methodology used in the study. In the main chapter 3 expatiates on the necessary tools employed in the study to elicit the necessary research outcome. This includes research design, data collection method, data analysis, and interpretation. On the other hand, Chapter 4 of the study presents observations drawn from the data as presented, this done in order to describe and explain community participation in CPF within the Nelspruit Policing Area, in Mpumalanga Province of South Africa. Lastly, Chapter 5 in the main presents recommendations and conclusions drawn from the study. The following were findings of the study: lack of public awareness on the CPF and its activities; unclear or undefined roles and responsibilities on members of the community in CPFs; lack of proper resources to carry out the work of CPFs by community members, underrepresentation of previously disadvantaged groups and organized groups in CPFs It is recommended that efforts need to be put in place to increase public awareness on the CPF via print and electronic media; CPFs must be provided with budget, offices, transport, computers, resources aimed at ensuring visibility of CPF members in communities (reflector jackets, and enabling resources - torches , whistles), and communication technology; allocation of roles and responsibilities to members of the community partaking in CPFs shall help to dispel the thinking that community members are only used as tokens or spies for SAPS, and instil a feeling of ownership of policing by community members; and a special focus needs to be put in place to encourage members of the community and CPFs to engage individuals drawn from previously disadvantaged groups and organised groups for increased participation in CPFs by this groups.