Community

Question 1

Gusfield noted 2 major uses of the term ‘community’

Answer 1

• territorial and geographical notion of community

- relational usage: quality of interaction without considering location

Question 2

sense of community

Answer 2

McMillan and Chavis

• feeling members have of belonging
• feeling that members matter to one another
• shared faith members need will be met through their commitment to be together

Question 3

criteria to be met for individual to feel sense of community

Answer 3

• membership
• influence
• integration and fulfilment of needs
• shared emotional connection

Question 4

membership

Answer 4

• individuals sense of belonging to group

- feeling of being part of a group and being part of something bigger than yourself

Question 5

sub components of membership

Answer 5

• boundaries
• emotional safety
• sense of belonging and identification
• personal investment
• common symbol system

Question 6

boundaries

Answer 6

• people who belong and don’t belong
• created boundaries to personal space
• source of protection against threats
• members obtain emotional safety and develop intimacy

Question 7

emotional safety

Answer 7

emotional security and protection of intimacy in group

Question 8

sense of belonging and identification

Answer 8

• feeling and belief that members fit in and is accepted by group
• willingness to sacrifice for group

Question 9

personal investment

Answer 9

• members feeling of group membership

- feeling that they earned a place in group due to their contribution

Question 10

common symbol system

Answer 10

means of identifying who belongs in community used by members

Question 11

influence

Answer 11

• sense of mattering, making a difference to group and group mattering to its members
• 2 way relationship between group and its members:
• • cohesiveness is contingent on groups ability to influence its members
• • cohesiveness increases, conformity increases
• • community cohesiveness requires members to be prepared to conform
• people who acknowledge others’ needs and opinions are more influential than those who try to dominate others and ignore their wishes

Question 12

integration and fulfilment of needs

Answer 12

• feeling that member’s needs will be met through belonging to group
• may be through sharing values and resources that provides reinforcements to individuals for belonging group
• group success brings members close together

Question 13

for group to do its best work

Answer 13

• group needs to be organised
• members need to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses
• roles and tasks need to be assigned

Question 14

Aronson and colleagues

Answer 14

students who work together to achieve group goals and receive their marks on basis on class products learn better than those in individualistic or competitive classrooms

Question 15

shared emotional connection

Answer 15

• commitment and belief that members have and will share history, time together, common places and similar experiences
• definitive elements of sense of community:
• • the more people interact, the more likely they become close
• • the more the positive experiences and relationships, the greater the bond
• • the more the success, the stronger the cohesion

Question 16

sub components of shared emotional connection

Answer 16

• contact hypothesis
• quality of interaction
• investment
• effect of honour and humiliation on members
• spiritual bond

Question 17

contact hypothesis

Answer 17

the more members interact, the more likely they become closer

Question 18

quality of interaction

Answer 18

need for positive interactions to create greater bond

Question 19

investment

Answer 19

the more one invests, the more impact they feel in community

Question 20

effect of honour and humiliation on members

Answer 20

reward and humiliation have significant impact on attractiveness and adverseness of community to person

Question 21

spiritual bond

Answer 21

intangible connection between members

Question 22

3 main factors about events that influence whether we experience stress or have negative responses

Answer 22

predictability
- unpredictable events are more stressful and have longer lasting impacts
controllability
- having no control over events is a major source of stress
whether we experience threat or loss
- we experience stress when our well being or belongings are being threatened or loss

Question 23

hardy personality

Answer 23

where some people seem to thrive on stress instead of letting it wear them down

Question 24

Kobasa 1979

Answer 24

• thought that personality differences could account for different responses to stress
• involved 600 managers and executives who completed a personality questionnaire and another which measure stressful events and illnesses experienced over previous 3 years
• respondents were divided into 2 groups:
• • those who scored above average for illnesses
• • those who scored below average for illnesses
• found that number of stressful events experienced by both groups were high
• when she compared high illness group with low illness group, she found that low illness group saw change as a challenge, felt more in control with their lives and had a sense of direction in both their work and personal lives
• concluded that low illness group was described as having hardy personality
• criticism: it was possible that illness was the cause, not the result of personality characteristics

Question 25

resilience

Answer 25

capacity to act positively in the face of difficult or frightening circumstances

Question 26

Kobasa 1982

Answer 26

- carried out longitudinal study over 2 years involving a group of managers - found that those who identified as having a hardy personality were less likely to become ill - concluded that hardy personality types were identified with concept of resilience

Question 27

qualities in resilient person

Answer 27

- having the capacity to make the most out of small windows of opportunity - having wide comfort zone - having healthy social support system

Question 28

development of resilience

Answer 28

- can be improved through challenge based personal development programs based on the premise that personal growth and resilience can be taught by combining challenges with support - facing scary or difficult situations with sufficient support

Question 29

fly in fly out

Answer 29

method of employing people from remote areas by flying them out temporarily to work cites instead of relocating them and their families permanently

Question 30

Taylor and Simmonds

Answer 30

suggested that families showing healthy flexibility and cohesion were most satisfied with how their family was functioning

Question 31

Meredith et al

Answer 31

other workplace factors such as workplace culture and recruitment factor also impacted workers but stress levels can be reduced through provision of information during recruitment process so that workers have better understanding of what they will be facing

Question 32

McMillan and Chavis

Answer 32

sense of community affects how well people bounce back after an emergency as well as their participation in positive activities in community

Question 33

physical symptoms of trauma

Answer 33

- headaches - nightmares - exhaustion

Question 34

cognitive symptoms of trauma

Answer 34

- flashbacks - intrusive thoughts - disturbance to attention

Question 35

emotional symptoms of trauma

Answer 35

- anxiety and panic - depression - guilt

Question 36

effects of trauma on young children

Answer 36

- thumb sucking - wetting bed - being scared of the dark

Question 37

criteria to be met for person to be diagnosed with PTSD

Answer 37

- past experience of perceived or actual threats to life, violence or serious injury - presence of distressing symptoms such as recurring memories, dreams and flashbacks - negative changes to thoughts and mood associated with traumatic event

Question 38

why some people suffer from PTSD while others don't

Answer 38

- different neurological explanations - different pre trauma factors that makes people more susceptible to PTSD - post trauma factors such as availability of social support

Question 39

post traumatic growth that may change survivors life perspectives

Answer 39

- developing wisdom - positive outlook - changed view of themselves

Question 40

Elliot and Paris

Answer 40

analysis following hurricane katrina showed socially disadvantaged people to be the most vulnerable

Question 41

Buckle

Answer 41

found that elderly people cope better than younger people as their past experience in dealing with different resources and needs coupled with their reduced expectations of external help

Question 42

Pooley and colleagues

Answer 42

- described how concept of community competence has been used to explain resilience in community - if people live in competent community and have sense of community, that community is considered to be resilient - found that community competence and individuals feelings of attachment to their community led them to have increased sense of self efficacy and social networks - a competent community is one that is able to identify needs and issues and work cooperatively to carry out and achieve goals