Written in the temporal and political context of the British New Labour Government's ongoing reliance on the word community, academics and activists critically engage here with the range of ways in which contemporary ideas of community are being used and contested. The key focus is on understanding community from action into theory and vice versa.

A text that reveals the value and significance of community media in an era of global communication With contributions from an international team of well-known experts, media activists, and promising young scholars, this comprehensive volume examines community-based media from theoretical, empirical, and practical perspectives. More than 30 original essays provide an incisive and timely analysis of the relationships between media and society, technology and culture, and communication and community. Key Features Provides vivid examples of community and alternative media initiatives from around the world Explores a wide range of media institutions, forms, and practices—community radio, participatory video, street newspapers, Independent Media Centers, and community informatics Offers cutting-edge analysis of community and alternative media with original essays from new, emerging, and established voices in the field Takes a multidimensional approach to community media studies by highlighting the social, economic, cultural, and political significance of alternative, independent, and community-oriented media organizations Enters the ongoing debates regarding the theory and practice of community media in a comprehensive and engaging fashion Intended Audience This core text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses such as Community Media, Alternative Media, Media & Social Change, Communication & Culture, and Participatory Communication in the departments of communication, media studies, sociology, and cultural studies.

This book is designed to provide an overview of the theory and practice of community development, including an historical review, an examination of contemporary issues, debates and challenges faced by communities in Nigeria and other countries, particularly those in rural areas. It considers how community development has been interpreted differently throughout the history of development. A review of the factors that academics, development practitioners and third world peoples have pinpointed as causes of failed development initiatives. Key concepts to be explored are the important definitions of communities, community development, the characteristics of rural, and urban communities, community development theories and policies: principles, processes and programmes of community development, the issues confronting communities, such as insecurity, poverty, conflict, to name but a few. The book explores various approaches of community development in relation to their goals, processes and outcomes and the challenges of community development in the context of the current socio-economic realities in Nigeria. It has explored community development practices to discover critique and improve upon theoretical perspectives on community development. The objectives of this book are to offer the knowledge and skills you will need to: Understand and think critically about the core elements of substantive issues in community development; Understand and apply the basic elements of a community development process to encourage participation and decision-making informed by multiple perspectives and sources of information; Identify and evaluate available resources related to community development practice and the wide range of topics that may be addressed by those working in areas linking community, environment, and development. This book has been specially designed with didactic twenty chapters. All the chapters have been tailored to capture the interest of general readership as they are written in simple but alluring language. The practical nature of the book makes it novel, couched in practical issues rather abstract concepts and theories. It contains: Chapter 1: Conceptual Explanations of Community and Rural Development Chapter 2: Principles of Community and Rural Development Chapter 3: The History of Rural and Community Development: A Global View-Point and the Evolution of Rural-Community Development Activities in Nigeria Chapter 4: Dynamics of Rural and Community Development Chapter 5: Theories and Approaches of Rural and Community Development Chapter 6: The Processes of Rural and Community Development Chapter 7: Traditional Social Institutions and Mobilization in Rural and Community Development in Nigeria Chapter 8: Development Planning Chapter 9: Community Development Resources Chapter 10: Funding of Rural and Community Development Chapter 11: Leadership in Rural and Community Development Chapter 12: Agents and Agencies in Rural and Community Development 1: The Role of Cooperative Societies in Rural and Community Development Chapter 13: Agents and Agencies in Rural and Community Development 11: The Role of Youths and Women in Rural and Community Development Chapter 14: Agents and Agencies in Rural and Community Development 111: The Role of Traditional Rulers in Rural and Community Development Chapter 15: Conflict and Conflict Resolution at Rural and Community Level Chapter 16: Poverty and Rural Development Chapter 17: Policies/Programmes of Rural and Community Development in Nigeria Chapter 18: Monitoring and Evaluation Chapter 19: Case Studies Chapter 20: Problems and Prospects of Rural and Community Development in Nigeria

Understanding Community Colleges provides a comprehensive review of the community college landscape--management and governance, finance, student demographics and development, teaching and learning, policy, faculty, and workforce development--and bridges the gap between research and practice. This contributed volume brings together highly respected scholars in the field who rely upon substantial theoretical perspectives--critical theory, social theory, institutional theory, and organizational theory--for a rich and expansive analysis of community colleges. The latest text to publish in the Core Concepts in Higher Education series, this exciting new text fills a gap in the higher education literature available for students enrolled in Higher Education and Community College graduate programs. This text provides students with: A review of salient research related to the community college field. Critical theoretical perspectives underlying current policies. An understanding of how theory links to practice, including focused end-of-chapter discussion questions. A fresh examination of emerging issues and insight into contemporary community college practices and policy.

Today that it has become customary to refer simultaneously to both the global and ethnic entities as a community, it has become necessary to reexamine the meaning of this belabored concept. That is exactly the burden of this book. It intends to find a meaning for a community that bridges the parallel trends of globalization and ethnic awareness to thereby enrich all parties. I believe I found a reliable metaphor for community in another concept: the “person.” The search for this new understanding of community entails considering it vis-à-vis society. Both terms are usually used interchangeably, but as will soon be clear to us and as shown by research studies, they are not exactly identical. Effort is made in this work to avoid the limitations of the traditional application of the term “community.” Its features are reappreciated with this in view, taking into account also the multiethnic interest of this study. I incorparate the concept of “community of communities” to depict both the diversity among component communities and the unity that binds and characterizes them as a political entity.

This substantially revised edition of a highly topical text draws upon theory from Marx and Bourdieu to offer a clearer understanding of community in capitalist society. The book takes a more critical look at the literature on community, community development and the politics of community, and applies this critical approach to themes introduced in the first edition on economic development, learning, health and social care, housing, and policing, taking into account the changes in policy that have taken place, particularly in the UK, since the first edition was written. It will be a valuable resource for researchers and students of social policy, sociology and politics as well as areas of housing and urban studies.

This book presents a fully comprehensive look at what all communities—large and small, urban and rural—can do to grow and sustain their local economic bases. It examines the causes of economic decline for localities as well as the economic “product” being marketed to employers, the process of growth, and the means of sustaining economic growth over time. Drawing on the experiences of hundreds of communities and hundreds of leaders around the United States, Understanding Community Economic Growth and Decline outlines the various strategies that have or have not worked to enable or support a general local economic recovery. Exploring many facets of growth and re-growth following periods of economic decline, and offering practical, real-life tactics that have been successfully employed in local and regional economies across the US, this book is required reading for community planners and administrators, those currently working in public administration, and students studying regional planning or economic development.

Interest in 'community' has increased in recent years for a variety of reasons, including civil renewal, active citizenship and the increasing diversity of British society. This is highlighted by the increasing governmental emphasis on 'community', leading up to the current ideas of the 'Big Society'. Understanding community is a topical text providing a clear understanding of policy and theory in relation to community. By examining areas of government policy, such as economic development, education, health, housing, and community safety, this book explores the difficulties that communities face in dealing with state power as well as discussing the new concepts of community cohesion, social capital and community capacity building. The author challenges our understanding of community and assesses the strengths and limitations of this understanding. This book is essential for students studying social policy, social work and sociology, and an invaluable resource for policymakers in community development, urban regeneration and allied fields.

In the information society, is the community focused library a real possibility? This book reappraises the relationship between the library and its communities through an examination of the rise and decline of ’community’ librarianship over the last three decades. The authors consider key models of community based library service and argue that bland assertions of community prevalence mask a complex and problematic relationship between a highly traditional public service bureaucracy and its users. The resulting uncertainty of purpose, they claim, explains much of the current ’crisis’ of the public library movement. Drawing on recent social science theory and empirical work in the field, this book offers a new and critical perspective on the current public library debate. It is essential reading for librarians, students of information and library science and all who have a stake in the future of the public library. As a case study of community, public service and the local state it should also be of value to those with an interest in community development, cultural policy and local government.