Kotryna Kiznytė
Part 2
INTRODUCTION
In this summary, I will present an overview of literature on the topic of belonging to a community. The following theory analysis was conducted in order to find out the reasons why and if it is important to belong to the community and what it means to belong to the community. The findings will be later used to contribute my thesis of the pilot study “Lithuanian students do not have a sense of belonging to any community”.
KEY TERMS
Social Capital - the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society that enable the society to exist and be successful http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/social-capital?q=social+capital
Community – a) a unified body of individuals; b) a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society; c) a body of persons or nations having a common history or common social, economic, and political interests
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community
Belonging - the feeling of being comfortable and happy in a particular situation or with a particular group of people
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/belonging?q=belonging
Sense of community – it appears when people come together for the good of whole. People feel like they belong when there is pattern of trust, cooperation and organization that benefits everyone. http://www.farmandranchguide.com/entertainment/country_living/rural_life/the-true-meaning-of-belonging-to-a-community/article_04874395-fa6d-58bc-94e4-f868156a2687.html
Civic responsibility - Civic responsibility is the responsibility of citizens in a society to exhibit certain attitudes and actions related to participation in society and democratic governance. Civic responsibility is associated with involvement in church and government and memberships with voluntary associations.
https://www.reference.com/world-view/civic-responsibility-66a4800099c91789
SUMMARY
Probably the earliest schorlaly findings related to the theme of belonging to a community were based on the concept of social capital. At the end of the twentieth century, renowned scholars, J.S.Coleman, K. Newton and R.Putman introduced and elaborated on the concept of social capital. Social capital is broadly defined as belonging to certain social structures and these structures faciliate certain actions of actors (participants) within the structure (Coleman, 1988). (Social structures are considered to be clubs, associations, organizations, etc.) The other famous scholar R.Putman argued that social capital is significant in creating civil society, fostering democracy, and economic prosperity.
Scholars McMillan and Chavis in 1986 formed a theory to answer the question what community is and what the definition of it is. They identified four main factors that are essential to a sense of community (Spinks, 2013). The first factor is membership which creates the feeling of emotional safety by excluding other people and at the same time making the members feel special. Personal investment makes the membership valueable. The author says that if members contribute or sacrifice to the community, it enhances their sense of community (Spinks, 2013) The writer notes that a common symbol system could also prove beneficial. The second factor is influence or a sense of mattering. It should work both ways: community having influence over its members and people having influence over their community. For the first part to work, author emphasizes, the community has to become a place they wouldn’t want to lose, a place people would care about. The scholars point out that people who acknowledge others‘ needs, values and opinions are often the most influential group members whereas the ones who try to dominate and ignore the wishes and opinions of others are the least influencial ones (McMillan, Chavis, 1986) The third factor is Integration or Fulfillment of needs. It is essential for the community to talk to its members to best understand their needs. The reward that people may receive from the membership can vary from tangible to intagible benefits. The fourth factor is the shared emotional connection. In other words, the members should share a common story. The story may be a history of experiences together and the belief that there will be more in the future. (Spinks, 2013). The author emphasizes that the key element to creating a long lasting commitment is also a psychological explanation why people come out of the crisis stronger and more bonded. The scholars illustrate this with an example: „This is the feeling one sees in farmers‘ faces as they talk about their home place, their land, and their families“ (McMillan, Chavis, 1986.)
Doreen Guma declares that it is vital for the youth and our people to belong to a community because it could adress many of the issues faced today. She proves her opinion by using her experience and knowledge about soldiers and the army. A sense of intimacy, purpose and community are all the things that veterans seem unable to find in the civil society nowadays, she claims. However, all those things could be found within a functioning and alive community. The author also notices that today people are increasingly socially isolated and not embracing others whereas years ago there were more clubs and organizations where people would socialize together
(Guma, D 2017). With this thought she is of the same mind as R. Putnam is, as he asserted that America’s social capital was declining several decades ago.
REFERENCES
Coleman, J (1988). Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2780243
Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. An Interview with R.Putman (1995) https://muse.jhu.edu/article/16643/summary
Guma, D. What do our people need? A sense of community and belonging Retrieved from : https://timetoplay.com/what-do-our-people-need-a-sense-of-community-and-belonging/
Spinks, D. (2013) The psychology of Communities – 4 Factors that „ Create a „Sense of Community“ Retrieved from: http://thecommunitymanager.com/2013/11/19/the-psychology-of-communities-4-factors-that-create-a-sense-of-community/
David W. McMillan and David M. Chavis (1986) Sense of Community: A Definition and Theory Retrieved from: http://mc7290.bgsu.wikispaces.net/file/view/McMillan_1986.pdf
Part 2
INTRODUCTION
In this summary, I will present an overview of literature on the topic of belonging to a community. The following theory analysis was conducted in order to find out the reasons why and if it is important to belong to the community and what it means to belong to the community. The findings will be later used to contribute my thesis of the pilot study “Lithuanian students do not have a sense of belonging to any community”.
KEY TERMS
Social Capital - the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society that enable the society to exist and be successful http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/social-capital?q=social+capital
Community – a) a unified body of individuals; b) a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society; c) a body of persons or nations having a common history or common social, economic, and political interests
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community
Belonging - the feeling of being comfortable and happy in a particular situation or with a particular group of people
http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/belonging?q=belonging
Sense of community – it appears when people come together for the good of whole. People feel like they belong when there is pattern of trust, cooperation and organization that benefits everyone. http://www.farmandranchguide.com/entertainment/country_living/rural_life/the-true-meaning-of-belonging-to-a-community/article_04874395-fa6d-58bc-94e4-f868156a2687.html
Civic responsibility - Civic responsibility is the responsibility of citizens in a society to exhibit certain attitudes and actions related to participation in society and democratic governance. Civic responsibility is associated with involvement in church and government and memberships with voluntary associations.
https://www.reference.com/world-view/civic-responsibility-66a4800099c91789
SUMMARY
Probably the earliest schorlaly findings related to the theme of belonging to a community were based on the concept of social capital. At the end of the twentieth century, renowned scholars, J.S.Coleman, K. Newton and R.Putman introduced and elaborated on the concept of social capital. Social capital is broadly defined as belonging to certain social structures and these structures faciliate certain actions of actors (participants) within the structure (Coleman, 1988). (Social structures are considered to be clubs, associations, organizations, etc.) The other famous scholar R.Putman argued that social capital is significant in creating civil society, fostering democracy, and economic prosperity.
Scholars McMillan and Chavis in 1986 formed a theory to answer the question what community is and what the definition of it is. They identified four main factors that are essential to a sense of community (Spinks, 2013). The first factor is membership which creates the feeling of emotional safety by excluding other people and at the same time making the members feel special. Personal investment makes the membership valueable. The author says that if members contribute or sacrifice to the community, it enhances their sense of community (Spinks, 2013) The writer notes that a common symbol system could also prove beneficial. The second factor is influence or a sense of mattering. It should work both ways: community having influence over its members and people having influence over their community. For the first part to work, author emphasizes, the community has to become a place they wouldn’t want to lose, a place people would care about. The scholars point out that people who acknowledge others‘ needs, values and opinions are often the most influential group members whereas the ones who try to dominate and ignore the wishes and opinions of others are the least influencial ones (McMillan, Chavis, 1986) The third factor is Integration or Fulfillment of needs. It is essential for the community to talk to its members to best understand their needs. The reward that people may receive from the membership can vary from tangible to intagible benefits. The fourth factor is the shared emotional connection. In other words, the members should share a common story. The story may be a history of experiences together and the belief that there will be more in the future. (Spinks, 2013). The author emphasizes that the key element to creating a long lasting commitment is also a psychological explanation why people come out of the crisis stronger and more bonded. The scholars illustrate this with an example: „This is the feeling one sees in farmers‘ faces as they talk about their home place, their land, and their families“ (McMillan, Chavis, 1986.)
Doreen Guma declares that it is vital for the youth and our people to belong to a community because it could adress many of the issues faced today. She proves her opinion by using her experience and knowledge about soldiers and the army. A sense of intimacy, purpose and community are all the things that veterans seem unable to find in the civil society nowadays, she claims. However, all those things could be found within a functioning and alive community. The author also notices that today people are increasingly socially isolated and not embracing others whereas years ago there were more clubs and organizations where people would socialize together
(Guma, D 2017). With this thought she is of the same mind as R. Putnam is, as he asserted that America’s social capital was declining several decades ago.
REFERENCES
Coleman, J (1988). Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2780243
Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. An Interview with R.Putman (1995) https://muse.jhu.edu/article/16643/summary
Guma, D. What do our people need? A sense of community and belonging Retrieved from : https://timetoplay.com/what-do-our-people-need-a-sense-of-community-and-belonging/
Spinks, D. (2013) The psychology of Communities – 4 Factors that „ Create a „Sense of Community“ Retrieved from: http://thecommunitymanager.com/2013/11/19/the-psychology-of-communities-4-factors-that-create-a-sense-of-community/
David W. McMillan and David M. Chavis (1986) Sense of Community: A Definition and Theory Retrieved from: http://mc7290.bgsu.wikispaces.net/file/view/McMillan_1986.pdf
I want to say that I agree with the statement that nowadays people are way more isolated than they were a couple decades ago. By the invention of computers and other technology, people tend to rather stay indoors with their computer rather than gathering as a community and achieving something valuable for the whole community. Overall i enjoyed reading this and it was quite professionally written article which made me think more about how people only like to do what they seem beneficial to themselves alone and not the community as a whole.
AtsakytiPanaikintiGood job, Kotryna ! This theme - belonging to a community- is vitally important for out Lithuanian society, because we are decreasing nation, so it is important to feel belonging to a community. I really don't know what to suggest you to get a better summary, because it was full of scientific proved facts and I enjoyed reading it a lot !
AtsakytiPanaikinti