Issues of community have become an important focus in the field of political theory in North America. Critics of liberalism, the dominant American theoretical tradition, have charged that liberal theorists have misconceived the nature of community at the ontological and societal level. Some critics see a relationship between the failure of liberal theorists to adequately address community and certain social pathologies facing the American liberal polity. This thesis seeks to address the following questions: How have liberal theorists typically dealt with the issue of community? What are the major criticisms related to issues of community currently being leveled at liberalism? Are there theorists who have noted liberalism's weaknesses with regard to community and who have retooled the liberal enterprise? Finally, assuming a liberal response, which of these if any are the most compelling? In response to the last question, the work of two liberal theorists, Will Kymlicka and William Galston, are analyzed for their responses to criticisms of liberalism issuing from the communitarian school. In the findings of this thesis, the liberal response found in Kymlicka's Liberalism, Community, and Culture presents the most powerful reply to these critiques. Kymlicka uses the challenge of minority rights to liberal conceptions of justice to argue that liberal traditions can be drawn upon for a coherent recognition of culture as an essential right of the individual. Kymlicka bases his argument for expanding liberal understandings of minority rights on liberalism's commitment to equality of circumstances; viewing culture as a potential source of inequality which the dominant culture takes for granted, but which minority cultures must struggle to maintain. By addressing the questions above I hope to contribute to the debate about liberalism and community and sharpen the insights of liberal political theory. By incorporating the insights of Kymlicka into liberal theory I believe that liberalism can better address public policy challenges in contemporary American society, many of which are closely tied to concerns of community.

acase@tulane.edu / This thesis addresses the relationship between self and other within Rastafari culture in Guyana. Heirs of a tradition of resistance against the dichotomous, hierarchical approach to nature and humanity embodied by European colonialism, Rastas in Guyana have conceptualized the individual self as an integral aspect of a divine, universal whole comprising the natural world and its diverse, interdependent constituents. This has involved the transcendence of conceptual dichotomies between self and other, humanity and divinity, physical and spiritual worlds, and people of different gender and ethnic identities. The transcendence of these conceptual divisions has supported the development of socially nonviolent and ecologically sustainable communities tied to soil, charting a course for global communities seeking to mitigate social and environmental crises. The transcendence of conceptual dichotomy is symbolized in this thesis by the “desert trod”—the journey of the Israelites of the Old Testament from captivity to the promised land. I argue that by closing the conceptual distance between self and other, Rastas have moved toward a promised land defined by social nonviolence and ecological sustainability. / 1 / Erin Lierl

In this research, it is suggested that design in text-based virtual worlds can be identified as a series of interactions between users and the virtual environment, and that these interactions for design can be approached using a linguistic perspective. The main assumption of this research is that a parallel can be drawn between the performance of design commands, and the one of speech acts in the physical world. Design in text-based virtual environments can then be articulated using a restricted set of speech acts, as design commands. Virtual worlds, represented as spaces, can be constructed following an architectural design metaphor. This metaphor provides a framework for the organisation of virtual entity relationships, and for the choice of words used to design. A linguistic characterisation is presented, by means of design activities, prototypes and scenarios, which derive from the architectural design metaphor. The characterisation of design is then validated by the analysis of an existing text-based virtual world.

2v. : / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (D.Sc.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Botany, 1975

<p>In response to the myriad of problems confronting society including climatic changes on our planet numerous individuals, organizations, and governments are reinventing themselves forging a new pathway towards a more sustainable future. Facilitated by a variety of different conferences, initiatives, and strategies an increasing global trend has focused on the urban context addressing environmental, economic, and economic issues by developing sustainable communities. Sustainable communities are commonly guided in this process by a pre-existing framework formed on an underlying set of principles, ideas, and stages.</p><p>Worldwide, a variety of frameworks exist. At first glance, the frameworks may appear to have certain advantages over others in respect to their area of focus. For instance, some of the frameworks appear to place a focus on the physical built environment of communities as opposed to other which may accentuate ongoing community participation and collaboration. Although, numerous organizations and networks claim to be committed to the shared learning experiences of sustainable communities little published literature has emerged considering the opportunity of using multiple frameworks or considered integrating portions of the frameworks together. The purpose of this study is to compare three commonly implemented frameworks against eleven elements viewed, as integral to the development of sustainable communities to determine what opportunities may exist for collaboration/ integration of frameworks when developing sustainable communities. Based on previous research and literature these elements include community change process, stakeholder identification and evaluation, strategic planning, education; environmental, economic, and social responsibility, built environment and green design, sustainability indicators and evaluation tools, local government, and knowledge transfer. From these elements a conceptual framework has been developed on which a comparison of the Natural Step Framework, New Urbanism, and the Melbourne Principles has been conducted.</p><p>Through a deductive research approach five interviews have been conducted with experts in the field of sustainable community development on which a number of advantages and disadvantages have been identified with these frameworks. These have included advantages acknowledging frameworks provide a common platform to begin speaking about issues related to sustainability. However, a noted disadvantage is that frameworks fail to account for and incorporate the majority of stakeholders who comprise communities. While the frameworks due appear quite diverse in the way they approach developing sustainable communities as well as what they view sustainable communities as being by seeking to limit the gaps of these views through continuous learning, education and the transfer of knowledge opportunities do exist for the collaboration and integration of frameworks.</p>

<p>This paper gives an account of a study regarding virtual communities, and tries to answer the question of which aspects that contribute towards the growth and success of a community. The purpose of the study has been twofold: to survey and identify factors that are important for the success of a virtual community; and to investigate whether there are differences in the views of success factors between leaders and members in a virtual community. The study is based upon a theoretical framework which gives a definition of the term virtual community, and how experts suggest these congregations are built. In the study is also included an extensive case study of two virtual communities. Finally, a discussion is made regarding the results of the study, and it is concluded that factors such as purpose, policies, trust, feedback and leaders are heavily contributing towards the success of virtual communities.</p>

Elton (1927) realized that, intuitively at least, nature was complex and stable. And that the last property contributed to the first. This idea was challenged mathematically by Gardner and Ashby (1970) and May (1972), and in the years following various models have attempted to reconcile these opposing views. Unlike previous mathematical approaches that demonstrated that simple stable systems are destabilized through added complexity, the approach presented herein began with a model that was unstable. This perspective provided allows model complexity and at the same time increased likelihood of mathematically stable. This novel observation suggested that ecosystem complication might stabilize a community. Within these models a system may be stable despite the coexistence of several competitors, in direct opposition to the Competitive Exclusion Principle. The hypothesis that the principle may not hold as an absolute generality beyond two competitors is proposed. This paradox may be explained by (1) interactions between competitors, (2) a keystone predator, or (3) a combination of the first two factors. / Graduation date: 1999

Twenty-three bottom-trawl fish assemblages were identified from the relative biomass of 33 dominant species that occurred in the National Marine Fisheries Services' triennial trawl surveys over the continental shelf and upper slope off California, Oregon, and Washington from 1977 to 1992. The assemblages accounted for about 70% of the total variation in species composition among 2,565 hauls. Although the assemblages persisted over the 15-yr study period and occurred within broad geographic boundaries, some had substantially different spatial distributions among surveys. The ability to differentiate assemblages across five environmental variables (latitude, depth, surface and bottom water temperatures, and surficial substrate) was low. The preponderance of hake-dominated assemblages throughout the study area suggests that Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) may play a large role in the dynamics of demersal fish communities off the west coast of the United States. The same data were used to establish general features regarding the abundance and distribution of the 33 dominant fish, and investigate intersurvey regional variation in species composition. Flatfish were generally widespread and at low density within areas of their occurrence. In contrast, rockfish were comparatively less widespread, and were at higher density within areas of their occurrence. Pacific hake, spiny dogfish, and sablefish were both widespread and occurred in high density. The greatest amount of variation in species composition occurred in the shallow shelf region off California, and the shallow and deep regions between Cape Mendocino and Cape Blanco. These regions corresponded to areas with the greatest amount of annual variation in upwelling. Contrary to upwelling, intersurvey variation in surface temperature did not appear to correspond to variation in species composition, but there was an unanticipated negative correlation between variation in bottom temperature and variation in species composition. Species composition was influenced in most regions by Pacific hake, spiny dogfish, and sablefish. A conceptual model was developed to explore the relationship between regional changes in a species' biomass, incidence, and density, and their potential affect on species composition. Empirical examination of the model was difficult. Five of six flatfish species (Pacific sanddab, rex sole, Pacific halibut, Dover sole, and English sole) exhibited a significant positive linear relationship between incidence and log-transformed biomass which is consistent with density-dependent habitat selection. There was evidence (albeit weak) from patterns in the occupancy of substrate types by these flatfish, that marginal habitats are associated with areas of mud for Pacific sanddab and areas of sand for rex sole, Pacific halibut, and Dover sole. / Graduation date: 1997

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1984. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 59-61). Also available on the World Wide Web.

To investigate the ways in which communities of practice affect individuals' identity development, qualitative research methods were used to understand the impact solo travel had on American women's identity development. A theoretical framework developed from the disciplines of tourism, feminism and adult education was used to inform the study. Using a combined method methods approach (naturalistic inquiry and grounded theory), three components of the backpacker community of practice were identified which gave rise to a model of identity development within a particular community. This study has implications for adult education theory as it clearly suggests the interrelatedness of the social context in which this learning takes place (communities of practice), and adult development theory (identity formation). In practical terms it illustrates and also challenges the notion of identity change as irreversible, suggesting learners need constant support to retain new ways of viewing the world and themselves.