Thesis. 1978. M.C.P.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: leaves 199-208. / M.C.P.

This follow-up study of 1970-73 graduates of the Portland State University School of Social Work was aimed at identifying the community organization and social welfare planning skills that M.S.W.s are using in their current practice. The study sought information from graduates that could be useful in evaluating the current Social Welfare Planning concentration and planning future curriculum. Two groups of graduates were surveyed utilizing a mailed questionnaire. The first group consisted of the universal sample of former students identified as community organization concentrators; the comparison group was a sample of graduates who had majored in direct services. The study explored and compared the educational backgrounds of the two groups and their employment histories following graduation. More importantly, it sought the opinions of former students on the usefulness or relevancy of specific community organization and planning skills in their actual practice. At the outset of the study, it was assumed that graduates who had concentrated in community organization would consistently rate community organization/planning skills higher than graduates who had majored in direct services. Overall, the results of the study substantiated that assumption. However, the agency setting of the practitioner appeared to be a more important determinant of the types of skills he found relevant than his area of specialization in graduate school. Thus, community organization concentrators who were in organizing or planning positions at the time of the survey rated the associated skills as having much greater utility in their practice than did direct service concentrators who held direct service positions. Further, direct service concentrators who were also in administrative or planning positions rated the skills higher than did their counterparts in direct service positions. It was also found that community organization concentrators were more conservative than direct service majors in crediting the School of Social Work with having contributed significantly to their attainment of community organization/planning skills.

Typescript (photocopy) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MA(MW)--University of Pretoria, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references.

Major disasters are taking an ever-increasing toll on American communities. To cope with this growing problem, Benton County is seeking to adopt an alternative approach known as Community- Based Emergency Preparedness. Its goal is to improve collaboration among governmental agencies and the public to gain greater flexibility in decision-making and implementation. Increased community participation is intended to produce not only improved emergency readiness, but also preparations in the home, school, and workplace to reduce the effects of disaster when it strikes. This case study describes strategies Benton County officials have used to involve citizens in planning and preparing for disasters during a twelve-month period from April, 1994 to April, 1995. A recently formed citizen-initiated community coalition meets regularly to organize public education forums and emergency exercises. This is different from the past, when disaster planning was undertaken only by professionals and specialists who tended to leave the public out of the process. Public, private, and volunteer groups at the community level are now seeking to create a dynamic disaster planning process that reflects community values and accountability. Included in this case study is the development of digital maps of multiple hazards to aid experts in communicating risks to the public. Disaster planning is complicated because the community and the experts perceive risks differently. To facilitate the program in a systematic fashion, six process characteristics have been identified. Because this approach is new, the process of disaster planning is still under development. / Graduation date: 1996

Thesis (B.A.)--Haverford College, Dept. of Political Science, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Not available / text

Jane Addams influenced the lives of many immigrant Chicagoans through offering a variety of community oriented services including art education programs at the Hull-House. This study examines the origins and philosophy of both the Butler Art Gallery and Labor Museum, and discusses each program’s role for residents, visitors, and guests of Hull-House. In addition to providing a historical basis for Jane Addams as an art educator, this study discusses the techniques for community organization that were utilized by Hull-House residents, including Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. / text

Feminist community organizing involves members of a geographic locale or social network coming together to address a shared issue or problem affecting the lives of women in order to find a collective solution (Dominelli, 1995; Israel, Checkoway, Schulz & Zimmerman, 1994; Selsky, 1991). While the organizational theory literature has traditionally focused on the exchange of financial and material resources as the main reason for forming partnerships (Gulati, 1998; Kanter, 1989; Oliver, 1991), a growing body of feminist literature (Acker, 1995; Brown, 1992; Eisenstein, 1995; Feree and Martin, 1995; Reinelt, 1994) and community development literature (Dominelli, 1995, Israel et al., 1994; Kretzman & McKnight, 1993; Minkler & Wallerstein, 1997; Selsky, 1991) emphasizes the importance of other types of resources such as skills, lived experience, knowledge, information and social networks. In addition, feminist collectivity offers a promising alternative to hierarchy in terms of valuing and mobilizing the diverse pool of resources brought to a feminist community-based initiative by participants from varied social locations (Callahan, 1997; Dominelli, 1995; Reinelt, 1994). The purpose of my study was to investigate participant understandings of the resources they brought to a feminist community organizing initiative designed to increase the access of women on low-incomes to community recreation, and how emergent organizational practices affected resource utilization. A case study analysis of 'Women Organizing Activities for Women' (WOAW) that is comprised of a diverse group of women on low incomes, community partners, and university-based researchers was conducted. The research methods for this project included the analysis data obtained in Interactive Research Meetings (n=3) with each of the WOAW participant groups to determine individual and collective resources. Observations of Phase I WOAW meetings (n=9) were recorded using fieldnotes and verbatim transcripts and served as the data source for examining patterns of resource utilization given emergent feminist collective organizing practices. Fieldnotes and transcripts were analyzed using Atlas.ti data computer software. Participants from the three groups identified over 200 examples of resources they were bringing to WOAW and described a number of connections between resources, as well as multiple meanings of single resource types, which differed based on their roles and locations in the organization. These findings contribute to the literature by linking resource identification in new ways to the process of resource utilization. The results also contribute to practice by challenging assumptions about the types of resources brought by different collaborators and by identifying organizational practices that enhance or inhibit resource utilization. My analysis revealed that there was ambiguity between participant groups about who was bringing what resources, which led to assumptions being made about who would take on certain tasks in the group. I also found that while feminist collective organizing practices enabled participants to name and share resources in an empowering and respectful environment, that time constraints, ambiguity about roles and participants' lack of familiarity with the process were challenges to mobilizing available resources.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "May, 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-65). Online version available on the World Wide Web.