In this article, the author will focus on Seymour's article titled, "And What is the Public Interest?" (Sarason, 1986). To the author, the core of the article is as follows: "And what is the public interest? At its phenomenological root it is a picture of a triad: the individual, the society, and the bases on which they give meaning to each other.…

Seymour was a renaissance man: widely read in not only psychology but also anthropology, sociology, philosophy, economics, political science, and most especially history. Seymour taught the author the value of being historically informed, which has been an invaluable tool ever since. Seymour had a way of conceptualizing and reformulating whatever…

The benefits of community-based research (CBR) in the sociology classroom go beyond those associated with traditional service learning. Here, students use their sociological skills to examine and propose solutions to local social problems addressed by community organizations. Through analyzing students' course reflection journals and the results…

Service-learning projects help students make connections to their community and help them to think about civic participation. The projects can range from very simple short-term philanthropy to very complex direct involvement by the students across multiple years. Students learn both social problem-solving skills and academic knowledge through…

A melding of community professionals, graduate students, and sociology faculty to identify and study urban community problems proved to be a viable technique for an experimental seminar program. (Author/KM)

To overcome problems of trivia and nostalgia, a problem-centered approach to community oral history projects is proposed. Instead of cataloging details about aspects of past social life, the projects might shape their inquiry as an effort to understand a problem facing the community, a problem with contemporary significance but historical roots.…

Comments from community leaders in Pittsburgh concerning health issues point out some of the major examples of the kinds of concerns and suggestions for action voiced in the University-Urban Interface Program study on Pittsburgh goals. Quotations from the questionnaire administered by the goals committee also illustrate the kinds of things which…

Article presented a range of potential topics for local community studies. Author's intention was to assist students to become talented and insightful citizens who might build and support a community at the grass roots level. As well, these community studies provided practical situations in which theoretical information from the social sciences…

Three projects are described that were observed during a two-month study tour to Latin America in 1975: urban and rural community development in Bolivia; nonformal initial education in Peru; and international education in Argentina. The projects are carried out in situations involving particularly difficult social problems. (ND)

A theoretical model used in a 10-year study of 2 communities of Canada Natives affected by hydrocarbon development focused on responses ranging from social integration to social isolation. Privatized responses increased at one site and communitarian responses at the other. Avoidance responses decreased at both sites. (SK)

Research can strengthen both the Asian American community and community-based service organizations. Academic research can be more valuable to service providers if researchers do the following: (1) define areas of concern; (2) keep research information updated and current; and (3) commit themselves to follow through. (PS)

A manual is presented which provides a common, preliminary frame of reference for seminar participants who desire to develop procedures for studying major social problems through the use of the urban community as a laboratory. Broadly, the seminar concentrates upon providing access to data and facilitation data collection and analyses. Although…

Addresses the feasibility of establishing standards that would guide communities in protecting the environments of children and families. Recommends an environmental assessment tool that evaluates child well-being, compares community averages in terms of high-risk factors, includes longitudinal assessments of child well-being, examines community…

The Pittsburgh Goals Study about which this speech centers is SO 004 019. Issues identified by the leaders questioned which seem particularly crucial for the next five years in the development of Pittsburgh are: pollution control; public welfare system; drug problem; health services; low cost housing; rapid transit. Two more issues, Metropolitan…