Purpose: The purpose of this research was to develop and validate a robust scale, based on the community capital framework, to provide an empirical measure of community perceptions. Design/methodology/approach: The proposed measure was completed by a sample of Georgia citizens (n = 3374) representing a diverse cross-section of community…

Social bonds and social organization theory are combined to examine schools' roles in regulating youth gang involvement in the context of community changes--an integrated approach to analyze psychological and sociological influences simultaneously. A subsample (N = 269) from Gottfredson et al.'s (A national study of delinquency prevention in…

Cities in the United States and across the world have experienced gentrification at the same time as school choice policies have become more popular. This research examines the relationship between gentrification and charter schooling, seeking to understand how together they affect demographic composition of schools across Washington, DC. This…

The state of Oregon's (USA) land use planning framework has long been characterized by tensions between state and local authority, between traditionally-defined "urban" and "rural" concerns, and between the competing interests of various landowners. An examination of Wallowa County, Oregon's implementation of House Bill 3326, a…

This case involves a small town in the southwestern United States. Background descriptions of the community and school are provided, including historical and demographic information. As the community and school transition from a small ranching town into a bedroom community for the large city nearby, tensions related to race and wealth erupt in a…

Some Hispanic students are making it through the Eurocentric, United Statesian education pipeline, but exponentially more are failing. Meanwhile, poor Chican@ communities are disproportionately suffering from unemployment, low levels of education, chronic illness, pollution, and myriad social ills. At this historical crossroads, it behooves…

This article presents an in-depth case study of the Healthy Options for Prevention and Education Coalition's Teens Tackle Tobacco initiative, a 3-year community-based participatory research (CBPR) project about the distribution of tobacco vendors and tobacco advertising in Worcester, Massachusetts. Using two theoretical frameworks, positive youth…

This article poses the central question, How do neighborhoods (specifically, different public housing designs) shape parents' social interactions and social networks? To answer this question, we interviewed families residing in a HOPE VI neighborhood and an adjacent Section 8 apartment complex, all of whom had at least one child attending the…

Through cross-disciplinary and participatory processes involving key stakeholders from the Zambian education sector, as well as from the traditional leadership structure, a localized HIV/AIDS-prevention strategy, Interactive School and Community Approach (ISACA), was developed and implemented throughout one province between 2002 and 2006. The…

The purpose of the study was to make a qualitative assessment of the impact of school consolidation on several rural Nebraska communities that have recently lost their schools. This research uses a multiple-case study design with interviews conducted in three Nebraska communities. The data from this research fell into four broad themes: social…

Forest City, Iowa is a town that has 700 computers for 2,400 people who use them for everything from kindergarten lessons to cutting fabrics and tracking pork belly futures. These and other educational and home uses of the computers are discussed. (JN)

Offers theses to encourage search for community in the changing countryside: because of its influence on social well-being, the community is alive; rural areas present special community development advantages/problems; strategies must address sources of rural problems in larger society; rural sociology can specify/measure parameters of rural…

Baby boomer trends are applied in the development of a conceptual framework that offers a social systems and cultural model for future studies. While there has been considerable recent attention paid to baby boomers, the studies lack a coherent theoretical base that would allow for more advanced and continuing research. Aging baby boomers heading…

Tests relationship between local resource production and social systems in two natural resource industry communities: one timber-dependent, the other mining-dependent. Data collected for 13 resource-production indicators and 15 social-change indicators. Confirms hypothesis that social change is associated with the production level of local…

Patterns of functional and size differentiation among local organizations may be seen as the result of basic structural properties of the community. The principal goal of this paper is to examine certain conditions promoting differentiation on these dimensions. (Author/EB)