Community is an evolving and complex concept that historians have applied to localities, counties, and the South as a whole in order to ground larger issues in the day-to-day lives of all segments of society. These social networks sometimes unite and sometimes divide people, they can mirror or transcend political boundaries, and they may exist solely within the cultures of like-minded people.This volume explores the nature of southern communities during the long nineteenth century. The contributors build on the work of scholars who have allowed us to see community not simply as a place but instead as an idea in a constant state of definition and redefinition. They reaffirm that there never has been a singular southern community. As editors Steven E. Nash and Bruce E. Stewart reveal, southerners have constructed an array of communities across the region and beyond. Nor do the contributors idealize these communities. Far from being places of cooperation and harmony, southern communities were often rife with competition and discord. Indeed, conflict has constituted a vital part of southern communal development. Taken together, the essays in this volume remind us how community-focused studies can bring us closer to answering those questions posed to Quentin Compson in Absalom, Absalom!: “Tell [us] about the South. What’s it like there. What do they do there. Why do they live there. Why do they live at all.” / https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1290/thumbnail.jpg

Thesis (M.A. (Anthropology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2017 / Climate change as a developmental problem warrants extensive research to provide information about its implications on the socio-economic and health conditions of rural communities and the types of local adaptation measures they have developed and used to limit its effects. There is evidence that climate change and its negative impacts are mostly felt by poor and rural communities whose economies are dependent upon favourable climatic conditions. Explanations of climate change and its threats to rural communities are among major challenges faced by scientists. Fewer studies prove that these communities are aware of change in climatic conditions and their impacts on people‘s livelihoods. The present study explored the community‘s perceptions of climate change, its impacts on the livelihoods of the community and the mechanisms developed and used by community members to adapt to the impacts of change in climatic conditions. Interviews with community members revealed that the members of Dikgale community are aware of changes in climatic conditions and how these changes impact on their livelihood. They are aware of increased temperature and erratic rainfall patterns. These changes have impacted negatively on their cultural activities. However, adaptation measures used to cope with the change are the indigenous knowledge systems which are informed by the culture and world-view of the community.

Residential buildings are one of the main stakeholders to electricity consumption. As there is fast-paced technological advancement in electricity conservation, the residential buildings infrastructure has become very electricity-efficient in Sweden. However, there is still room for improvement with regards to electricity conservation via behavioral change. Meaning, residents have the potential to reduce household electricity consumption by developing a conservative behavior. The road to such a behavioral development is not straightforward. According to literature, behavioral change is influenced by different beliefs and norms. There also exists a global trend that fewer and fewer people are able to name a single neighbor, and it is aptly called “Globally Connected yet Locally Isolated”. In this master thesis the strategy to achieve electricity conservation is based upon local social cohesion, and the awareness of electricity, at Malvinas – a student residence at the campus of KTH Royal Institute of Technology. The study is carried out at LocalLife – a local social networking service for sustainable communities – implementing a mixed methodology of surveys and interviews. 8 LocalLife users are studied in detail. The result incorporates the most suitable features from the relevant topics that could enable long term change and retainment of users. The results showed that the participants: 1) indicated an increased energy awareness; 2) reported an improvement in local community-life; 3) felt motivated to change behavior to facilitate saving electricity. / I detta examensarbete görs en omfattande analys med hjälp av kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder för att undersöka ifall användandet av LocalLife – en lokal social nätverkstjänst som pilot-testas vid Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan – har förbättrat användarnas beteende och attityder kring hushållselsförbrukning samt hjälpt till att förbättra det lokala samhällslivet. Bostadshus ger upphov till en betydande del av världens energiförbrukning. På grund av den snabba tekniska utvecklingen har byggnaderna blivit mycket mer energieffektiva i Sverige på senare tid. Det finns dock fortfarande förbättringspotential när det gäller att spara el genom att ändra de boendes konsumtionsbeteende. Att få till en sådan beteendeförändring är dock inte enkelt. Enligt litteraturen påverkas beteendet av uppfattningar och normer. Det finns dessutom en global trend där allt färre människor lär känna sina grannar, kallad “globalt uppkopplad men lokalt isolerad”. Denna uppsats studerar därför en strategi att spara el som går ut på lokal sammanhållning och ökad kunskap om elanvändning hos de boende i studentlägenheterna på Malvinas väg på KTH campus. Studien utförs bland användare av LocalLife, ett lokalt socialt nätverk för hållbara stadsdelar – genom att blanda metoder såsom enkäter och intervjuer. Åtta LocalLife- användare studeras i detalj. Resultatet presenterar de mest lämpliga delarna från de relevanta ämnena som kan möjliggöra en bestående beteendeförändring öka chansen för att behålla användarna. Resultaten visar att deltagarna: 1) visade på en ökad energimedvetenhet; 2) upplevde en förbättring av det lokala samhällslivet; 3) kände sig motiverade att ändra sitt beteende för att spara el.

From the 1880s to the 1930s Carroll County, Virginia, experienced economic changes which were sweeping many areas of the Appalachian mountains. Industrialization brought Sawmills and iron ore mining activity. Throughout this fifty-year period, Carroll County residents continued to labor at agricultural activity. Laborers began to work in the new industries while continuing to farm. Throughout this period, laborers moved from place to place seeking economic opportunities on farms and in industry. Carroll County residents practiced a diversity of labor to support their families. Carroll County residents also helped each other through the practice of mutual aid. When crops needed harvesting, neighboring farmers pitched in to help. Younger residents took care of and housed their elderly kin. These practices of mutual aid did not cease to exist with the arrival of industrialization. Sometimes, new labor opportunities provided people with new ways to interact with and help family and community. Preston Webb exemplifies the fact of Appalachian migration, mobility, work diversity, and mutual aid. He moved about the Carroll County region for work opportunities. He worked at a variety of agricultural and non-agricultural jobs to support his family. He also housed family members during times of crisis. Other Carroll County residents were at different levels socially and economically, but they too operated from a world of mutual help, work diversity, and mobility. This thesis explores these phenomenon through the stories of these residents of Carroll County. / Master of Arts

Text in Afrikaans / Die gesin word as die kemeenheid in die samelewing beskou en speel 'n belangrike rol in die opvoeding, versorging en sosialisering van die kind, asook in die instandhouding van die samelewing. In vele opsigte vertoon die eietydse gesinslewe tekens van disorganisasie, soos in die hoe egskeidingsyfer, gesinsverbrokkeling, gesinsmoord, hoe voorkoms van buite-egtelike verhoudinge en saamwonery weerspieel word, en bestaan daar tereg kommer oor die funksionering van en opvoedingsbegeleiding in die gesin. Eietydse samelewingsverskynsels oefen 'n wesenlike en belemmerende invloed op die opvoeding van die kind en jeugdige in die gesin uit en dra by tot die toenemende kwesbaarheid van die eietydse kemgesin. Vanwee die eise waaraan hedendaagse gesinsopvoeding onderwerp word, is dit nodig dat die erosie in die gesinslewe teegewerk moet word. Hierdie studie poog om die verband tussen gesinsopvoeding en eietydse samelewingsverskynsels so te interpreteer dat riglyne vir die instandhouding van 'n toereikende gesinslewe geformuleer kan word. / The family is regarded as the basic unit of society and it plays an important role in the education, care and socialisation of the child, and in the maintenance of society. In many instances, contemporary family life shows signs of disorganisation, such as the high divorce rate, family disintegration, family murders, high incidence of extramarital relationships and cohabitation, and arouse concern about the functioning of and educational guidance within family life. Modem-day societal phenomena have a detrimental effect on the education of the child and youth in the family and contribute to the vulnerability of the contemporary nuclear family. Given the stringent demands which face today's family education, it has become necessary to counteract the erosion of family life. This study attempts to determine the relation between family education and modern-day societal phenomena to such an extent that guidelines for the preservation of adequate family life can be formulated. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Sosio-Opvoedkunde)

Table of Contents: Frontmatter / Chapter One: Latino Politics: Both a Growing and Evolving Political Community / Chapter Two: Methodology and User Guide / Chapter Three: History, Demographics and Mass Media / Chapter Four: Latino Identity / Chapter Five: Books Focused on Ethnic Studies / Chapter Six: Political Attitudes and Political Behavior / Chapter Seven: Latino Elites, Representation, and Institutions / Chapter Eight: Inter-group Relations / Chapter Nine: Public Policy Issues / Chapter Ten: Methodology and Measurement Issues / Chapter Eleven: Reference Sources / Appendixes

This thesis is an ethnographic study of two local institutions within the community of Fallin which explores how twenty-four men understand, maintain and reproduce community and belonging. Throughout, the thesis suggests that the past acts as a stable reference point for the men to deal with social change. The Bowling Club and the Pub are suggested as being sanctuaries for this type of collective remembering to take place as they still reflect a mode of life associated with the past. It is argued that imagined histories were recollected, recreated and maintained through the power of storytelling and sharing experiences to the younger generations or outsiders (Blenkinsopp, 2012; Homans, 1974). This thesis suggests that perceived threats from outsiders only serve to further galvanise the central values of their community (Cohen, 1985; Homans, 1974). Chapter Two provides a review of the literature and theoretical concepts which sets out the academic foundations of this thesis. The work of Bourdieu shapes the theoretical, methodological and reflexive nature of this project. Chapter Three introduces the ethnographic method which gives this study an in-depth account of the narratives and identities of the men in this project. Chapter Four outlines the reflexive nature of the author’s relationship with the community, the Bowling Club and The Goth and how this affects the interpretations presented in this thesis. Chapter Five provides the reader with descriptive and demographic data of the community of Fallin and the research sites. Chapters Six and Seven analyse the data and directly answer the research question through interpreting interview data and using field notes. Concluding in Chapter Eight, this thesis suggests that the version of community that the men helped to reproduce and maintain is strongly associated with a historical working-class mode of life. This thesis suggests that these local institutions reproduce historical notions of community and belonging through outside forces and incomers challenging this traditional mode of life. Of particular interest is how the younger men in the study often adopt this shared habitus and learn how to be a man through regular interactions in The Goth and the Bowling Club.

The Master thesis here presented opens the theme of spirituality and its role in the lives of people with learning disabilities. Its subtitle "searching for meaning of life" shows that the term spirituality contains a variety of different possibilities which lead to the feeling of fulfilment, satisfaction, joy etc. Feelings which last not only for a moment, but stay present despite the disabilities the everyday life may bring. The community of l'Arche represents one of the places where the life of people with learning disabilities together with people without this type of handicap is possible and where they all can perceive the uniqueness and enrichment of their common life. Moreover, this lived experience very often answers the question for the meaning of life. The aim of this Master thesis is to discover the specificity or "the spirit" of the community of l'Arche, mainly by the words of its members with learning disabilities. For this reason, a participatory research has been chosen as a research method.

Literature for and about successful volunteer literacy programs highlight and advocate for practices that inform administrators and trainers of the needs and expectations of volunteer tutors. Applications of this knowledge can affect the type of policies that administrators implement in their programs and the type of support that they provide for their tutors. This project was an opportunity for the researcher to reflect on his experiences as a consultant and trainer with community-based programs and to increase his understanding of the volunteers in order to assist in future administration and training work.

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