The phenomenological methods used to analyze the unique characteristics contributing to the stability of a small mid-western rural town may be useful tools for community researchers, providing an inexpensive, non-technical, humanistic-interpretive research approach. General concepts associated with community success were formulated through direct…

Recent developments in the social policy literature suggest a growing overlap in community and social policy interests and methods. This combination of community and policy interests is illustrated by tracing successive steps of the Illinois Residential Life Survey in order to support programming decisions about community mental health in a…

To determine the media's role in hazard awareness, a study analyzed the content of media coverage of the 1982 Denver, Colorado blizzard, the worst storm in that region in 70 years. Data were collected from the two major daily newspapers and from four television stations. The study period began on December 21, about 48 hours before the first real…

This study applied a systems-based theoretical framework for analyzing community functioning to investigate differences in the functioning of a black and white community and to determine whether apparent deficits in the black community may be attributed to institutional racism. Data consisted of an inventory of existing community resources and a…

Although individuals preparing for careers in educational administration have recognized the importance of the community for schools and school districts, they have often lacked a complex understanding of "community." This paper describes a community-study research project that was developed and implemented in a graduate educational administration…

A secondary analysis of data collected by Thomas Patterson during the 1976 presidential campaign was made to test three hypotheses: (1) respondents in a media-rich environment will show higher levels of political information holding than respondents in a media-poor environment, (2) differences in information holding levels between a media-rich…

Letters to the editor, one of the major ways citizens can respond to, and possibly even influence, public policy decisions, are good examples of public discourse. Those who take the time to write guest editorials or letters to the editor hope to go beyond self-expression to communication. They hope to influence the beliefs and attitudes, and even…

The decision to conduct a "Needs Assessment of the Haitian-American Community in Hillsborough County" was made to provide a quasi-scientific or a research foundation to our future intervention in this community. More specifically, the needs assessment aimed to: (1) Identify the priorities in the needs of the Haitian-American community,…

Communities with a flexible, open leadership structure may weather energy booms better than communities with old-guard leadership cliques, according to a study of community governance in two small Texas towns. Although similar in location, ethnic composition, population, access to transportation, economic base, and importance in the county,…

The Multiphased Need Assessment for Program Decisions (MAP) was designed to inform decision makers of a large urban school district concerning the need for early childhood programs in the community. The goals were to indicate the types of programs desired by the community; to bring together public school preschool experts; and to coordinate…

A study was undertaken to explore the power structure in a Southwestern community of 93,000 and to determine which elements in that power structure had the most influence in a local school bond referendum. The data for the study were collected using two techniques. First, a panel of knowledgeable community members identified 85 politically…

Effective rural education depends on active community involvement. This ethnographic case study examines three models of community organization as an explanation of how community action occurs. The three models are: (1) individuals interacting in formal and informal groups; (2) networks of "weak ties" effective for diffusing information and…

A 1983 four-community survey of 220 rural Utah households had as its central analysis issue the extent to which conflict plays a modulating role in linking network positions. Not only do most network analysis approaches reflect an implicit assumption that network ties involving conflict are mutually exclusive from and incompatible with support…

This report contains the text of five briefings on research in Rand's Urban Policy Analysis program. "Brief History of Rand's Urban Policy Analysis Program," by Barbara R. Williams, discusses the changing Federal role in urban policy, problems encountered in Rand's attempt during the early 1970s to examine the central policy problems of…

The rationale for conducting a community survey to obtain information on a specific problem or issue for local school board policy formation is illustrated in this case study. A survey mailed to 10 percent of all district households in a small midwestern city yielded a 31 percent response rate. Survey analysis was utilized by the school board to…