What are the Qualities of Any Community that will Impact the Success of Community Work - Literature review Example

Running header: What is community? What are the qualities of any community that will impact upon the success of community work in that community? Client’s inserts his/her name Client inserts tutor’s name Subject of Study Date Introduction A community is generally termed as a group of likeminded people, sharing the same geographical location, and bound together by the same interests, values and principles. According to Polanyi & Cockburn (2003), a community mostly constitute of various family units grouped together with shared interests and social integration for a common goal. It is claimed that the term community does not have a definite interpretation, since, it can be viewed along different set ups and backgrounds. This is so in the sense that some scholars argue that, due to the emergence of the communication technology which has had great impact in as far as the integration of the global community is concerned, the term location as used in the context of community, is slowly losing meaning. Polanyi & Cockburn, points out that community constitute of three set ups, which he claims to be social community; where members within a given locality meet to interact, share ideas and assist each other in achieving their common objectives. He cites professional community also being a community of working class, which has a set up which is structured for efficiency and effective realization of its goals, where the goals of both the organization and the individual interest of the community within the organization, have to be realized. Pertaining the scientific community, Polanyi & Cockburn (2003), farther states that, the latter focuses on studying, analyzing critically the correlation of the members of a given community within a common environment, although, without overriding the individual interests of the members of that community. The objective of this research paper is to not only explain what constitute of a community, but also, discuss the qualities of any given community that contribute towards the successful correlation within that given community. There are various factors that contribute towards the success of a functional community. Maurana, Wolff, Beck & Simpson, (2001), observes that, one of the most critical roles of any given community is to create an environment where the integration of all community members is guaranteed. This type of social inclusivity is seen to foster a sense of belonging thus, instilling a sense of duty within it members. He claims that this can be realized if members of that community can come up together and share their diverse ideas, skills, and the general knowledge across various fields of their operations, with an aim of better service provisions that include material support within the community. Maurana, Wolff, Beck & Simpson, observes that safety of the community members is another key to the success of that community. This is because; in as much as safety is ambiguous, every person in a given community whether scientific, social or professional wants to feel secure. He further notes that with the crime prevalent across most of the community, which is the most dreadful and undesirable community vice, most people have accepted the fact that there are natural calamities which human have no control over. One observation made however is that, people take the natural calamities very soberly and positively as opposed to the human induced social crimes. Safety thus becomes a necessity within and amongst the citizenry of every community. Nyden, (2003), points out that the availability of goods and services is paramount in as far as the success of that community is concerned. People wish to live in a community that can sustain their basic social needs sufficiently. He further notes that, in as much as providing the community with everything satisfactorily to every individual is difficult, the limit should be, services and goods provisions in a given society should be within an acceptable level, sufficient to sustain the lives of individuals living in that community. This as he continues to argue, is because people are aware of better services and goods provision and when not enough, thus the sustainability and success of a given community widely depend on its ability to sufficiently sustain life. Having common objectives and values is another aspect accredited with binding people together within a community. Nyden, (2003), argues that one of the most commonly binding factors in as much as community is concerned is the religious values, beliefs and practices. This is the case since most of the communities have religions through which individual members of that community identify with thus, a bonding or social unifying factor. Nyden (2003), asserts that there is no community, if individual members do not join together for a common goal, which in most cases rhymes with their personal values thus, the need to nurture the close bond. He further cites that the objectives of the individual members of a given community and those of the community itself are interdependent. This symbiotic relationship is what makes the communities formidable, when they come together to execute a plan that will make the community better, as well as uniting people as one. On the contrary, it is argued that a community should engage in activities that promote its integration with the outside world and not locking itself from the outside community. Another important aspect of a good community is predictability. According to Minkler, & Wallerstein, (2003), the element of predictability is important, when it comes to a closely knitted community. This he claims is assist to notice the unusual events and avoid being caught unaware by events happening within a community. In the past, it is claimed that, with the existence of smaller units within the villages, made life and patterns of people and their movements predictable. In the modern society where technology is taking over and changing the old patterns of life, is making life and events highly unpredictable. Predictability brings a sense of security and togetherness amongst the people dwelling in the same community. According to Minkler & Wallerstein,(2003), people in general become more comfortable when they feel that their presence in a community is recognized, and they don’t just exist cursorily. A community that displays a general feeling of anonymity displays the picture of a disintegrated lot who have no concern for one another. Irrespective of gender, political affiliation, religion or social status, everyone within a given community has a role they can play to integrate that community further. The integration does not just bring the warmth around the community members, but also brings divergent ideas to better the community’s life as well as the individual members living in that community. Gebbie, Rosenstock & Hernandez, (2003), observes that in any given community the opportunities that are created within that community by various institutions, guarantees the growth and development of that particular community. He farther notes that the social, religious, political, economic and cultural opportunities in a given community have a tendency to gather likeminded individuals, to work together for their personal and community gains at large. In today’s world, people have a tendency to move to different localities depending on the suitability of the locality to fulfill their interests. This, according to Cheadle, Sullivan, Krieger, Ciske, Shaw, Schier, &Eisinger, (2002). helps in bringing together people who share common values, goals and beliefs, thus advancing the interdependence of the community and the individual members living in that particular community. Peck, (1998), advises that most people have a tendency to seek the likeminded people, with whom they easily integrate and identify with. This is as well being reflected in the communities such that, people are settling at ease in communities with dissimilar people. He assert that in as much as the world is becoming integrated across divergent ethnicity and culture, people are rigid to these changes opting to instead, maintain their homogeneity amidst cultural and ethnic diversification. The like mindedness of these dissimilar people, bring about shared ideas, which in turn, contribute to the development of the greater community, as well as promoting unity as opposed to a possible conflict associated with heterogeneity. Arup International Development (2011) points out that, in as much as homogeneity is good, heterogeneity is equally important in the sense that, it integrates people of diverse ethnic and cultural groups into promoting tolerance and enriching the lives of the community members. This in turn, helps to integrate different people from different cultures and ethnicity into one community, adding the element of a holistically divergent community. Conclusion In as much as there are some complexities in the clear definition of a community, one clear thing is that it cannot override the fact that it entails the people, living within the same locale and sharing the same values and beliefs. There are various aspect of good integration that enhance the solidarity and positivity of a successful community. These range across wide and varied factors, ranging from, the capability of the community to offer security to its members to feel safe, the availability of sufficient goods and services to having formidable bonds that share common values and goals. These values give individual community members a sense of belonging and identity. Availability of opportunities in a given community, bring about a certain form of pattern that members of the community follow. This predictability arises as a result of community members having their place in the society which is recognized. Finally, the heterogeneity and homogeneity are two equally contrasting important elements of a good community. This is in the sense that, the two promote a peaceful co-existence, as well as promoting tolerance, ethnic and cultural diversity to enrich that priory found in a given community. References Arup International Development,(2011). Characteristics of a Safe and Resilient Community: Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Study. Available at:http://www.ifrc.org/PageFiles/96984/Final_Synthesis_Characteristics_Lessons_Tsunami.pdf. [Accessed on June 2012] . Cheadle, A., Sullivan, M., Krieger, J., Ciske, S., Shaw, M., Schier, J.K., & Eisinger, A. (2002). Using a participatory approach to provide assistance to community-based organizations: The Seattle Partners Community Research Center. Health Education & Behavior, 29, 383 – 394. Gebbie, K., Rosenstock, L. & Hernandez, L.M. (Eds) (2003). Who Will Keep the Public Healthy?. Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Maurana, C.A., Wolff, M., Beck, B.J. & Simpson, D.E. (2001). Working with our Communities: Moving from service to scholarship in the health professions. Education for Health, 14(2), 207 – 220. Minkler, M. & Wallerstein, N. (Eds). (2003). Community Based Participatory Research for Health. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, p. 3. Nyden, P. (2003). Academic incentives for faculty participation in community- Based participatory research. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 18, 576 – 585. Peck, M. S. (1998). The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace. New York: Touchstone Books, pp. 59-76. Polanyi, M. & Cockburn, L. (2003). Opportunities and pitfalls of community-based research: A case study. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9(3), 16 –25. Read More