Blog Response #10

For my research presentation, I am still trying to decide for sure on my topic, but the two possible topics that I have more or less settled on are art and community development and computer technology and community developement. In using the Summons search engine, found on the DSU Library website, I was able to find a few articles to include in my bibliograph for each of my presentation research topic ideas. Here is a a summary of each of those articles.

Possible Topic A: Art and Community Development

Article #1: Creating Community: Art for Community Development

Lowe, Seana S. "Creating Community: Art for Community Development." Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 29.3 (2000): 357-86. Sage Journals. 1 June 2000. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

Seana  S. Lowe is a doctorate candidate at the University ofg Colorado. Boulder and this Article documents a study that she performed in two colorado neighborhoods and the impact that art had on the development and growth of those communities. It discusses how art can help develop a sense of unity and solidarity, among other things, which are vital to the proper developement of a good and healthy community.

Article #2: Art Spaces in Community and Economic Development: Connections to Neighborhoods, Artists, and the Cultural Economy.

Grodach, Carl. "Art Spaces in Community and Economic Development: Connections to Neighborhoods, Artists, and the Cultural Economy." Journal of Planning Education and Research 31.1 (2011): 74-85. Sage Journals. 4 Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

This article discusses the effect that art spaces and programs would have on revitalizing and developing communities. There is a tremendous interest in Art and it is a vital part of the development of a neighborhood and community development. It discusses the benefits of developing community based art programs for people in the community to participate in.

Possible Topic B: Computers and Community Development

Article #1: Computer Literacy for Workforce Development

Ndahi, Hassan B., and Abha Gupta. "Computer Literacy for Workforce Development." Reading Improvement 37.1 (2000): 39-44. Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 29 Oct. 2013.

In society and communities today, everything is so computerized, that computer literacy is a vital part of the process of developing a community. It is important for a community to operate properly and it is equally important for the people in the community to be computer literate so that they can qualified for good, decent paying employment opportunities which inturn will help them to become more self sufficiant and improve their life styles. This article discusses the impact of computer literacy on the development of a neighborhood and community

Article #2: The Role of Community Technology Centers in Promoting Youth Development

London, Rebecca A., Manuel Pastor, Jr., Lisa J. Servon, Rachel Rosner, and Antwuan Wallace. "The Role of Community Technology Centers in Promoting Youth Development." Youth & Society 42.2 (2010): 199-228. Sage Journals. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. .

With everything in society today becoming so computerized, many communities have established 'Community Technology Centers to work in conjunction with youth development programs. This article discusses the benefits and purposes of  establishing community technology centers in communities and encouraging they youth to become in involved in them as part of their growth and the development of their communities.

My two emphasis areas are so closely related that in doing research it is almost impossible to seperate them into seperate topics. I am leaning more toward my first topic although, I am sure that in the end my presentation will most likely end up being a combination of both topics. I will see what happpens as a I continue to do research and work on my presentation.

Blog Response #9  

Leadership in Communities

I am still having a hard time reading Sampsons book and making sense all of his big words and heavy wording, but as I reviewed chapter 14, I found it very interesting to think about  leadership in communities and it can positively or negatively effect how a communitie operates and works.  I had never given much thoguht to this topic before other then to observe, on occasion in places where I have been, that there were some people who were placed in leadership positions, that inadvertantly let there egos get in the way of how they functioned in these leadership positions. I have personally know some people, who where in leadership positions, that basically let the fact that they had power go to their heads. They would act like they thought they were god almighty and that his/her word was final. Period. End of discussion and screw everyone else. I have seen situations where because of these types of attitudes from leaders, more problems were raised, a lot of animosity developed and people started retaliating, etc. People, who were supposed to be leaders, who act like this just irritate the heck out of me and at times I have wished that I could just reach out and smack them a good one and knock some sense into them. Fortunitly for them, I am not that type of person so they were lucky.

In my opinnion, communities who have leaders who are kind and loving, as well as talented and skilled, who actually show that they truely love and care about those who live in their community are the most solid and stable of communities. These communities mostly have very low crime rate because the majority of people are happy, friendly, actually feel accepted and cared for by their leaders. They are happy because they know they can voice their opinnions about difference issues or situations in their community and that their words will be heard, welcomed, and accepted with open minds with the assurance that theywon't fall on deaf ears. They are happy because they know they are not being judged, looked down upon, or neglected by their leaders and those who are supposed to be there for them. The best community leaders are those who go out of their way to not think of themselves, but to think of others first.

Research update:

I am working on my project. Until just recently, I wasn't very clear on what this presentation was so hadn't really done any research to speak of up to this point. Having been sick over the past few weeks, I have not been able to put forth much effort in the way of research up to this point. Now that I clear understanding of what this presentation is and I am also feeling so much better now, I am getting caught on assignments for my other classes and will start going full force into my research for my presentation. 

Blog Response #8

Why do people move where they do, when they do?

This is a very fasinating question. To answer this question I will break it down into two questions. 

First, Why do people move when they do? There are a endless number of reasons for why people move when they do, but some of the most common reasons, some of which Sampson mentioned, are because of job changes, changes in family status, such as death in the family, loss of employment, change of income, change in marital status,etc. Another big reason why some families move when they do is because they have a family member in the military and they are being restationed somewhere else, which in turn dictates that the family will have to move. There are many times when a family or a person has to move, because for one reason or another they are being forced out of their home, whether by forclosure, the end of a rental lease, the inability to afford the rent or house payment on their home due to loss of employment, or they are renting a home and the owners have asked them to move so they can move in or actually sell the home. There are many more reasons why a family or person may move when they do, but I can not list them all now.

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada and I have known many friends and acquaintances who had to move for a wide variety of reasons. Even the recent recessions, when countless numbers of people were force to move due to forclosure, have had a big impact on communities and why people have moved when they have.

Second, Why do people move where they do? This an even larger question when it comes to discussing neighborhoods and communities. As Sampson mentions constantly throughout his book, there alot of reasons why people move where they do. Many of the most common reasons pertain to financial status or income level, race, their health status, skills and training status, education levels, etc. The ultimate reason why people move where they do can be expressed in two words: 'Comfort Zone'. People move where they do because they want to live in a community or neighborhood that is comprised of people who are of the same or similar race, income level, class level, financial status etc. They also move where they do because they have to move to where they can afford to move too and to where they won't feel intimidated people who are of a high income or class level. They want to be with people who have the same values and status as they do as well they race, in many areas. In Las Vegas there are areas of town and neighborhoods that are very distinctly hispanic, african american, asian, etc. Some of these areas are much larger and more distinct then others but nevertheless, they are there.

How much upward/downward mobility is involved when people change neighborhoods? 

From what I have seen in my experience of living in Las Vegas, there really isn't alot of upward or downward mobility involved because if a family has to move they generally move a similer class level neighborhood and as soon as one family moves out, another family of the same class level seems to move in immediately. Sampson states in his book that amount of upward or downward mobility involved when people have to move and change neighborhoods is actually very low and is not really much of a problem.

How is it possible that all this "churning" as he calls it at one point, doesn't actually wipe out the distinct neighborhoods of "separate Chicagos"?

Well to sum this up, as I mentioned above distinct neighborhoods don't get wiped out because about as soon as one family moves out, another family of the same class level seems to move in immediately.Therefore, there never seems to be a problem with more people moving out and less moving in. It always seems to stay about the same which I have always found to be very interesting to think about.

My emphasis areas of Art and VT would come in handy here help unit new families in communities to feel accepted and be comfortable in their new community and maybe even help them find new abilities within themselves and new ways to better things for themselves and their families.

Blog Response #7


My two emphasis areas are Art and VT – Visual Technology. I found it to be a bit of a challenge to locate and come up with some sources that would be good, with my two emphasis areas, for a research presentation about community development. As I have given this more thought have determined that art is a good area to research for community development. Art is a fantastic way in which to help people to discover their hidden talents and put them to good use for the benefit of developing a better community. Having been sick last week I was not able to actually spend time at a library looking for sources, but I did manage to find some online sources that could be useful.

For my Art discipline, the first source is an article in the Community Development Journal entitled:

Art and community development: the role the arts have in regenerating communities
http://cdj.oxfordjournals.org/content/35/4/414.abstract

This source talks about how the use of arts can have a large impact on the development and regeneration of communities. The arts provide a powerful way for people to come together and discover their true talents and skills. They can learn how to put these talents and skills to work to help improve the their life and the life of the community.


The Kresge Foundation
http://kresge.org/programs/arts-culture/arts-and-community-building

This source provides a variety of resources to aid with using the arts to help develop and regenerate a community.

For my VT discipline, the first source is an article in the Community Development Journal entitled:

Images for change: community development, community arts and photography
http://cdj.oxfordjournals.org/content/44/1/111.abstract

This source talks about how the art of photography, which is one of the many areas in the VT Discipline, can be used to help to develop and regenerate a community. Photography can be used to help document change, progress and history of a community. It also can also be used as a teaching tool to help people learn and document new skills and talents as well.

LISC INSTITUTE for Comprehensive Community Development
http://www.instituteccd.org/news/1388

This source provides a variety of good resources for helping too apply various areas of the VT discipline to helping develop and regenerate a community.