Search

While people's social backgrounds clearly shape their adoption of digital technology and the Internet, their urban lifestyles and place of residence better explain their digital activities when they are online, and how they use technology. Most studies investigating individuals' use of digitization have neglected the effects of the physical built environment and the daily life of the community. Addressing this gap, this paper places digital practices in the socio-spatial world, and conceptualizes the term "urban digital lifestyle," which refers to the dynamic relationships among three dimensions: (1) the user's socioeconomic status, (2) the user's residency, with a focus on the locale's socio-spatial characteristics, and (3) the user's digital practices. Empirically, this paper uses a mixture of methods to analyze the digital usage of residents in four neighborhoods in Tel Aviv. The methods used are neighborhood prototype analysis, digital practices survey (n = 490), and spatial and GIS analyses. Although the results may at first glance support the argument that education and socioeconomic status have significant influence on digital practices, these practices also reflect many other factors associated with the urban lifestyle. Thus, locales, places and neighborhoods remain crucial socio-spatial categories that have a major influence on daily life in the digital age. • Conceptualization of Urban Digital Lifestyle (UDL) offers a new temporal reading of digital differences in a city. • UDL is a helpful category for juxtaposing user's socioeconomic status, user's digital practices, and locale's sociospatial characteristics. • UDL is a helpful tool to identify (1) types of digital lifestyles, and (2) clustering of these digital lifestyles in geographical context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 193 full-scale tests of tracked vehicles in a progressive slip condition reported. • Parabolic trends were found between DBP versus slip and torque versus slip. • Trends between STMN versus DBP, traction, and torque were influenced by slip. • A modest parabolic trend between sinkage and CP/CI ratio was discovered. In 2013, an extensive effort began to create a consolidated off-road vehicle mobility database named DROVE (Database Records for Off-road Vehicle Environments). DROVE consists of over 8,500 experimental test records measured over several decades for wheeled and tracked vehicles over various terrains. This paper introduces the third release of DROVE, which adds results from 193 tests primarily consisting of data for tracked vehicles on fine-grained soils in a progressive slip condition. Performance parameters considered in DROVE 3.0 include drawbar pull, torque, sinkage, and traction. These parameters were compared to mobility numerics, such as soil-track mobility number, contact pressure to cone index ratio, and mean maximum pressure. These parameters were used to develop mobility trends in this paper. DROVE is intended to be a resource for the mobility community applicable to many situations, including evaluating and advancing numerical simulations, improving closed-form algorithms, and understanding vehicular trends that can be used for development or purchase specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Pediatric health systems are increasingly screening caregivers for unmet social needs. However, it remains unclear how best to connect families with unmet needs to available and appropriate community resources. We aimed to explore caregivers' perceived barriers to and facilitators of community resource connection. METHODS: We conducted semistructured interviews with caregivers of pediatric patients admitted to one inpatient unit of an academic quaternary care children's hospital. All caregivers who screened positive for one or more unmet social needs on a tablet-based screener were invited to participate in an interview. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded by 2 independent coders using content analysis, resolving discrepancies by consensus. Interviews continued until thematic saturation was achieved. RESULTS: We interviewed 28 of 31 eligible caregivers. Four primary themes emerged. First, caregivers of children with complex chronic conditions felt that competing priorities related to their children's medical care often made it more challenging to establish connection with resources. Second, caregivers cited burdensome application and enrollment processes as a barrier to resource connection. Third, caregivers expressed a preference for geographically tailored, web-based resources, rather than paper resources. Last, caregivers expressed a desire for ongoing longitudinal support in establishing and maintaining connections with community resources after their child's hospital discharge. CONCLUSION: Pediatric caregivers with unmet social needs reported competing priorities and burdensome application processes as barriers to resource connection. Electronic resources can help caregivers identify locally available services, but longitudinal supports may also be needed to ensure caregivers can establish and maintain linkages with these services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the basic unit of social governance grid in China, urban community plays an active and important role in the promotion of comprehensive ability of social governance in China while the intelligent management of human resources within community management organizations and the effective integration of external human resources plays a decisive role in improving the overall level of social governance. This paper analyzes the three problems of human resource management in urban community under conditions of normalized epidemic prevention and control, such as unreasonable personnel allocation, large internal consumption of human resources, less strength of personnel reserve, weak integration ability, imperfect supervision mechanism and insufficient human resource incentive mechanism. It is concluded that only by adhering to the thinking of intelligent guidance, technology empowerment and information platform, can the community effectively promote the modernization of social governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme heat events are the deadliest weather-related event in the United States. Cities throughout the United States have worked to develop heat adaptation strategies to limit the impact of extreme heat on vulnerable populations. However, the COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to local governments. This paper provides a preliminary review of strategies and interventions used to manage compound COVID-19-extreme heat events in the 25 most populous cities of the United States. Heat adaptation strategies employed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic were not adequate to meet during the co-occurring compound hazard of COVID-19-EHE. Long-term climate-adaptation strategies will require leveraging physical, financial, and community resources across multiple city departments to meet the needs of compound hazards, such as COVID-19 and extreme heat. • Cities faced compound crises of COVID-19 and extreme heat in 2020. • 2020 heat response plans analyzed for 25 largest US cities. • Public health and financial limitations significantly reduced cooling access. • Record breaking temperatures left many vulnerable to heat illness and death. • Adaptation and mitigation strategies are needed to manage compound heat events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decentralizing forest control to community-based groups is a widely promoted form of governance around the world. Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) in Ghana, a form of forest decentralization, is a relatively recent government strategy to reduce forest loss, promote restoration, and improve local control and participation in resource management. This paper examines the powers devolved to CREMAs in Ghana, using a political ecology lens. Using a variety of qualitative research methods, the paper found that CREMAs receive limited powers from the State and these powers mainly restrict local access to resources, an action the State has often failed at. The results also suggest that CREMAs impose responsibility on local people without accompanying resources and often at the expense of security and safety of local volunteer enforcers. The findings also highlight the lack of coherence between forest decentralization and exiting political decentralization processes; the incoherence between the different institutional regulations for CREMAs; and tensions between new and traditional forms of local resource governance. The study suggests that critical approaches to evaluating the performance of decentralized regimes could be a useful approach to understanding the drivers of vulnerability among local resource users, dependents, and their institutions. • Community Resource Management Areas (CREMAs) burden local people with forest protection with little reward. • Absence of resource transfer from the state and local forest control set CREMAs up for potential collapse. • CREMAs highlight the incoherencies in political and forest decentralization, and traditional resource management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past century, the increasing scale of daily life has weakened and changed the ways residents feel attached to their village. A general and all-encompassing village attachment has evolved into less involving, more selective and partial forms of attachment. Concerns have been raised as to whether these changing forms affect volunteering in village life. In this paper we distinguish between general and selective forms of attachment to the village – social, cultural and environmental attachment – and explore their effects on local volunteering. In line with the theory of 's/elective belonging', we hypothesise that a general attachment to the village predicts high levels of volunteering in village life, whereas selective forms of attachment only predict volunteering in activities related to the specific form of attachment. Based on survey data on over 5000 rural residents, the results show that general attachment only predicts volunteering to a limited extent and that social attachment does so best. Thus, a loosening general attachment to the village may not weaken community activity as is often feared. Instead, it is social attachment that motivates and facilitates volunteering, including among in-migrants. Efforts to strengthen local communities should therefore focus on enhancing social relations between villagers. • A strong general attachment to the village does not necessarily translate into active volunteering. • Selective forms of attachment to the village are found to be salient predictors of volunteering in village life. • A transition from general to selective forms of attachment will not jeopardize the existence of active village communities. • Efforts to strengthen local communities should focus on enhancing social relations between villagers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper, using science fiction as a heuristic support for exploring technical potentialities, is based on part of the works of Iain M. Banks, the novels of the “Culture series”, in order to examine the role of artificial intelligences and the effects they could have on the life of a community from a political point of view. This series of science fiction novels portrays a galactic civilization based on anarchistic principles in which intelligent machines are largely responsible for managing the tasks linked to the handling of community affairs, thus freeing up the population to pursue more spiritual or fun activities. The first part of this paper shows that beyond the elements included in the stories, the Culture novels can be a way to address political questions that are raised by the widespread presence of highly evolved machines in the organization of a society. The second part, which takes into consideration the supposed founding principles of this civilization, examines the anarchist thought in order not only to display the correspondences between this thought and the vision of Iain M. Banks, but also to show that the various anarchistic currents are in a way outdistanced by the emerging challenges posed by these novels. The third part, written again from a political standpoint, attempts to establish more concrete connections, based on discernable evolutions in computerization or automation of technological systems, which seem to be working their way into a growing number of social processes and their regulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents the results of a survey regarding customer satisfaction as well as other aspects relating to the frequency and motivations of citizens going to a separate collection centre (SCC) for recyclables in a Southern Italian town. The study was carried out in 2015 to verify whether there were significant changes in the behaviours and opinions of the SCC’s users, who had been interviewed in 2013, in the light of the change of the local administration. The majority of the respondents (60.4%) coupled going to the SCC with other tasks, with 58.6% of them going to a supermarket. Therefore, future SCCs should localized near shopping centres (it would be preferable to have small and numerous SCCs). Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests showed how SCC’s users of the town under study behaved as a community. The percentage of respondents that declared to ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ with the idea that only putrescibles and residue could be collected at their home, with all the other materials being collected at the SCC, increased from 56.6%, in 2013, up to 59.0%, in 2015. The percentage of respondents that declared going to the SCC due to environmental motivations was unanimous. Moreover, the saving of money for the community became the second preferred option, with a significant improvement (from 65.6%, in 2013, up to 93.2%, in 2015). Therefore, the community’s interests over the individual’s were privileged. The SCC’s users confirmed their attention to environmental issues even though the local administration changed. It is probable that this could be the result of maintaining high standard of service as well as a good job in terms of communication, continuous involvment of citizens and the adoption of good environmental practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is community possible under capitalism? This paper will argue, from a new urban sociology perspective, that as U.S. capitalism allowed productive capital to be controlled by fewer and fewer people, community has become more and more disrupted. The paper begins by showing that, in U.S. history, control over the process of production devolved from families and communities to absentee capitalists. As a consequence, the rhythm of family and community life increasingly became dictated by the capitalist schedules. Attempts to revitalize community have been constrained by the model of community-capital partnerships, which are inherently biased toward: (1) supporting capital's drive toward the accumulation of profit, and (2) functioning as a safety valve to release just enough resources into the community to prevent insurrection. Finally, the paper develops an alternative, drawing on the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis, concluding that the only way to have real communities is for those communities to democratically control the capital within them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the suburban public's support for slowing down development in their communities. The major source of data is the Orange County, California, Annual Survey. We analyze attitude shifts over time leading up to the growth revolt, the suburban public's growth policy preferences and the factors contributing to support for slowing development. The findings indicate that increasing concerns about traffic and other local problems have led a large majority of the public to favor slowing down growth in their areas. The slow growth preference is best predicted by perceptions of a declining quality of community life rather than political and demographic factors. Further, support for slow growth can be replicated in other surveys. The evidence suggests that the growth revolt, indeed, has broad relevance and many political implications. The paper concludes by considering some of the difficulties for this new political movement in gaining voter support for local slow growth initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) has the potential to conserve resources while simultaneously empowering traditionally marginalized communities. Because classical equation-based modeling methods fail to capture the complexity of CBNRM, Agent-Based Modeling (ABM) has emerged as a useful method for modeling these systems. In this paper, we begin with a careful evaluation and sensitivity analysis of an existing ABM of community forest management that incorporates cheating and enforcement which we call the Cheating and Enforcement model. Our results reveal several emergent behaviors of the model that are paradoxical or inconsistent with real-world expectations. We then introduce the Monitoring and Sanctioning model which makes several modifications to the cheating and enforcement mechanisms of the original ABM. Analyzing this new model, we see that it does not exhibit several of the more unusual behaviors of the original model and reveals surprising consistency with real-world CBNRM systems. Finally, we discuss some limitations of this new model and potential areas of further improvement. • Cheating and Enforcement (C&E) model removes cheaters from agent-based simulations. • Removing cheaters leads to paradoxical emergent behaviors. • Monitoring and Sanctioning model (M&S) uses graduated sanctions for enforcement. • M&S model exhibits emergent behaviors in line with existing literature. • Monitoring, sanctioning, and institutions all impact biomass in the M&S model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In developing countries, particularly in Latin America, the rapid growth of urban areas has led to complex problems, including the exploitation of natural resources, environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Massive structures are being built to meet the housing demand. Moreover, there is excessive use of energy through appliances, interior lightning and air conditioning which generate GHG. This paper aims to propose green sustainable strategies to reduce GHG emissions associated with energy consumption in a social neighbourhood in Merida, Mexico. The strategies were eco-technology (efficient equipment) and green spaces (sedum + food production). Once the context is set, the study collected data about energy habits and consumption. The global warming potential (GWP) was calculated through a life cycle assessment (LCA) to assess the level of GHG emissions associated with household energy consumption. The CO2eq emissions avoided by the transport of the food (tomatoes) from the production site to the consumer were calculated. Distribution, packaging and retail were included. All strategies combined can prevent up 1.06 tons CO2eq/year; this represents 67% of the emissions originating from a reference household (34% avoided by eco-technology, 24.5% fixed by green spaces and 8.4% avoided by food logistics). At city scale (112,000 houses) this represents 100,352 tons/CO2eq/year. This study supports the importance of integrating environmental quantitative tools in planning cities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Because of a recent surge of aging in place literature, we know a considerable amount about how older adults wish to remain in long lived-in homes and communities. However, there are still gaps in our knowledge. What happens when older adults live in a community that does not support their everyday needs? This paper represents an initial attempt to explore how one group of poor, non-white, central city residents in Detroit, Michigan make sense of and organize a new age-segregated home. Findings presented in this article are based on 30 in depth and photographic elicitation interviews with African American, low-income, older adults living in one Housing and Urban Development 202 (HUD 202). Findings suggest that participants in this sample cultivated a new urban space within the facility to compensate for the deficiencies of a deteriorated inner-city neighborhood. I use these findings to encourage broader conceptualizations and consideration for the aging in place model to be more inclusive to the lived experiences of older adults who occupy oppressed places. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper explores how assisted living residents construct personal understandings of congregate settings through the stories they tell. Using the narratives of Dorothy and Estelle, two 91-year-old participants, we examine how linkages between past experiences and present conditions enable residents to make sense of assisted living and cope with membership in a community comprised of diverse interests, backgrounds, and impairments. Our narrative analysis focuses on how individuals strive for continuity or new meaning in the face of chaos or disruption. Both participants characterize life in the facility in terms of prior personal and professional experiences that then inform their current behavior and feelings toward fellow residents. Although they profess to have little in common with these residents, both constitute assisted living in ways that enable them to enjoy their lives within the facility. Implications for studies using narrative analysis to examine transition into and satisfaction with congregate living are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: HIV prevention researchers have increasingly advocated structural interventions that address factors in the social, political and economic context to reduce disparities of HIV/AIDS among disadvantaged populations. This paper draws on data collected in three different types of low-income communities (n =6) in the San Salvador metropolitan area in El Salvador. Nine focus group discussions were conducted between January 2006 and July 2007, 6 with community leaders, and 3 with crack cocaine users, as well as in-depth interviews with 20 crack users and crack dealers. We explore opportunities and barriers to the implementation of a community-level, structural intervention. We first analyze the different forms of leadership, and other community resources including existing HIV prevention activities that could potentially be used to address the related problems of crack use and HIV in the communities, and the structural factors that may act as barriers to capitalizing on communities'' strengths in interventions. Each of the communities studied demonstrated different resources that stem from each community''s unique history and geographic location. HIV testing and prevention resources varied widely among the communities, with resources concentrated in one Older Central community despite a strong need in all communities. In many communities, fear of gang violence and non-responsiveness by government agencies to communities'' needs have discouraged community organizing. In the discussion, we offer concrete suggestions for developing and implementing structural interventions to reduce HIV risks that use communities'' different but complementary resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

(i) A new defense resource allocation approach is proposed. (ii) The Self-Contained GN is applied to community partition. (iii) The covariance matrix of each community is established. (iv) The MVM is used to allocate the defense resource. A Self-Contained Girvan-Newman Algorithm and Mean Variance Model combined approach is proposed to allocate the defense resource in road dangerous goods transportation network. Firstly, the weighted physical network without direction and its weighted service network with direction are established. The Self-Contained Girvan-Newman Algorithm is applied to separate the whole weighted physical network into several communities. Next, based on the service network, the covariance matrix of each separated community is established, the Mean Variance Model is used to allocate the defense resource for each community, which focuses on selecting the option with the lowest probability of loss caused by the dangerous goods transportation accident/risk. The case study is conducted by using the road network and the dangerous goods transportation volume of Dalian, China as the background. When the whole network is separated into 6 communities, the defense resource capability in the whole network is the best. The Power Function Allocation Model (PFAM) is applied as the comparison approach, the overall rescue capability of the network is defined and applied to evaluate the defense resource allocation schemes. The results show that, the approach proposed in this paper has better effectiveness than PFAM, especially when the whole network is separated into 6 communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the era of information technology, the elderly and disabled can be monitored with numerous intelligent devices. Sensors can be implanted into their home for continuous mobility assistance and non-obtrusive disease prevention. Modern sensor-embedded houses, or smart houses, cannot only assist people with reduced physical functions but help resolve the social isolation they face. They are capable of providing assistance without limiting or disturbing the resident''s daily routine, giving him or her greater comfort, pleasure, and well-being. This article presents an international selection of leading smart home projects, as well as the associated technologies of wearable/implantable monitoring systems and assistive robotics. The latter are often designed as components of the larger smart home environment. The paper will conclude by discussing future challenges of the domain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objective: The objectives of this paper were to identify specific factors associated with intact or disrupted social connectedness among Dominican women with chronic filarial lymphedema and better understand the impact of disrupted connectedness on their lives. Methods: Data were collected through 28 individual interviews and 3 focus group discussions of 28 women from filariasis-endemic areas of the Dominican Republic presenting with lymphedema of one or both legs. Results: The confluence of chronic and acute stressors with severity of lymphedema lead women to rely on others for social support. Women described complications of aging, disability, reduced social networks, and inability to adhere to cultural scripts as contributing to disrupted social connectedness. Conclusion: Social disconnectedness appears to exacerbate the negative consequences of living with lymphedema among women. Social connectedness and cultural scripts often define a social role for women that transcend physical deformity and disability, while disrupted social connectedness contributes to social isolation, depressive symptoms, and poor health outcomes. Practice implications: Further behavioral research into the contribution of intact social connectedness to resiliency and coping is warranted in order to develop effective interventions for women. Identifying women with disrupted social connectedness and engaging them in behavioral interventions to enhance natural social networks and create new or enhanced social support opportunities may mitigate the negative effects of social disconnectedness and improve quality of life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It is widely believed that the vast majority of microbes in the environment have-yet-to-be cultured using standard techniques. Bulk DNA from microbial communities is therefore often cloned into large insert vectors (e.g. bacterial artificial chromosomes [BAC] or cosmids) in order to study the genetic properties of these as yet (un)-cultured bacteria. In a typical BAC experiment, tens of thousands of clones are generated with only a small fraction of colonies containing the target(s) of interest. Efficient screening methodologies are therefore needed to allow targeted clone isolation. In this paper, we describe a rapid, inexpensive protocol that allows for the identification of specific 16S ribosomal RNA genes in a metagenomic library arrayed into 384-well microtiter plates. The rapid screening protocol employs Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (TRFLP) analysis to identify wells containing specific T-RF peaks. A nested approach using multiplexed samples of 384, 48, 8, and single colony analysis is described and applied in order to survey a BAC library generated from a marine microbial community off the coast of New Jersey. Screening revealed a total of 50 different 16 rRNA genes within the BAC library. Overall, the multiplexing format provided a simple, cost effective methodology for detecting clones bearing a target gene of interest in a large clone library. However, the limitations of screening BAC libraries using PCR methodologies and recommendations for improved screening efficiency using this approach are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Empirical research on public libraries and social capital has primarily been oriented toward discovering how libraries contribute to social capital in local contexts, rather than contributing to solving the theoretical puzzles of the social capital literature. In spite of this, it has produced interesting findings that align with new developments in social capital research. These findings emphasize the significance of institutions in generating social capital. By outlining and applying the main theoretical perspectives on generating social capital, this paper analyzes the findings of the literature on public libraries and how social capital is created. Theoretical perspectives on social capital will undoubtedly benefit the study of social capital''s creation in and by the library. Including library-specific social capital research within the wider social capital research community can benefit social capital research in general. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In today''s complex and turbulent world it is vital to have futurists who can collaborate on collective projects, focus on action codified in exemplar projects and validate actions towards a better world. Unfortunately, current ‘education’ systems focus almost exclusively on the individual learner and have separated the learner from the praxis of the lived life. Furthermore, classrooms separate the learner from design, production and integration of learning into community life. The author argues that overcoming this separation of thinking and doing is one of the key challenges for modernity in future, in particular. This paper argues that a way in which we may be able to meet this challenge is known by the term ‘bush mechanics’ in Australia—innovative individuals who look forward wisely and solve collective problems today through applying their ingenuity with what is available, thus integrating thinking, doing and being in what in ancient times was called poiesis and in Medieval times ‘artificing’ and today can be seen in action learning and the bush mechanic. The four principles, as well as examples, of the bush mechanic approach are discussed including their exemplar projects. Finally, the importance of the bush mechanic approach to ‘futuring’ and creating living breathing examples today of a future our children can live with is emphasised and collaboration sought. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The household-recycling rate in the Borough of Burnley, England in 2001/2002 was only half the national average of 12%. This research employed both quantitative and qualitative surveys in order to ascertain whether householders’ attitudes to recycling were contributory factors to the generally poor recycling performance and to investigate other social, cultural and structural influences. The Borough has a large Asian–British population concentrated in two deprived wards where recycling rates are particularly low, so special attention was given to ascertaining their attitudes towards recycling. The quantitative survey comprised a postal questionnaire sent to a random sample of 360 households drawn from the electoral register. The qualitative survey consisted of group interviews with the Asian–British population at local community centres and focus groups attended by volunteers from the quantitative study. The findings suggest that householders are very willing to participate in recycling, as shown by the almost 80% claiming to recycle paper, but that local recycling services are too unreliable and inconvenient to allow them to do so comprehensively. Asian–British attitudes to recycling were found to be no different to those of the wider population, with their low participation being linked to the higher priorities imposed upon them by economic deprivation. The findings are broadly in line with those of the literature in that recycling participation tends to be higher among more affluent and older people, but lower among less affluent and younger households, probably due in part to the availability of both storage space and time, with the implication that the Borough''s preponderance of terraced housing militates against a high recycling rate. Policy recommendations to local authorities include the provision of bespoke recycling services to suit the variety of residential conditions across the UK, and the provision of regular feedback to householders regarding recycling services and performance. Further research is needed to identify non-recyclers and to explore how householders’ underlying psychological, cultural and social attitudes to recycling impinge upon recycling and participation rates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: How, and to what extent, do patient organisations renew traditional forms of social participation and protest? This question is examined, drawing on a socio-historical case study of the Association Française contre les Myopathies—French Muscular Dystrophy Organisation (AFM). The originality of the AFM is that it has not been content to endorse the classic role of representation of people with muscular dystrophy (MD) and their families. It has also articulated and structured different social spaces that allow people suffering from genetic diseases and severe disabilities to be considered as fully-fledged human beings, persons, and citizens within those spaces. Based on quantitative data and methods, this paper aims to characterize this reconfiguration of social spaces that the AFM has undertaken. My contention is that it has given shape to a different form of collective mobilization, one in which the patient organisation is a mediator between different social actors, as much as a patients’ representative. It helps a new issue, here MD, to emerge so that the largest possible collective designate it as a general public concern. As we shall discuss, this renews the question of patients’ collective identity and citizenship. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In Helsinki, Finland, a participatory approach has been used in strategic planning of municipally owned urban forests since 1995. This paper presents the main results of a survey carried out among the residents and authorities participating in collaborative planning groups between 1995 and 2002. The aim of the study was to evaluate the experiences of residents and authorities related to the planning process. The study provided information for the upcoming reform of the participatory planning system at the Green Area Division of Helsinki. The participants felt that the participatory approach prevented conflicts in planning and increased residents' awareness of matters concerning green areas. Most respondents were satisfied with this system. The green area planning authorities found a participatory approach in urban forest planning to be useful, although they believed themselves to be capable of making effective plans even without involving local residents. They did, however, believe that the process had been too demanding and time-consuming for group members. Moreover, the majority of respondents felt that participants had been given an over-optimistic idea of how much they could influence the plans. Setting goals for the green areas, particularly, at the local level, was considered to be the most important stage for involving residents in the planning process, while their participation in choosing actual management methods was thought to be less valuable. The residents placed a greater importance on early involvement of residents than did the planning authorities, who more often felt that allowing residents to comment on a draft of the plan was sufficient. In urban forest planning, cost-effective participation systems need to be developed. Conventional participation methods, such as public meetings, field trips and surveys, are important and should not be replaced by methods based on modern technology. In the future, several different participation methods should be used during a single planning process to encourage all stakeholders, including children, youth and other special groups, to take part in the planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In 1960, Del Webb launched a grand social experiment: the nation''s first large-scale ‘active adult’ community, Sun City, Arizona. Forty-four years hence, it is instructive to take stock of Sun City and its progeny. This paper excavates the social and cultural significance of age-restricted retirement communities, drawing on the voices of Sun City residents. Three tropes are revealed in interviews with Sun Citians about community and community life: birds of a feather, idyllic havens, and fortress mentality. Retirement communities display a striking dialectic, as they are places rich in meaning and collective identity in aging and, simultaneously, places of separation that speak to the potency of age, social class, and ethnicity as social borders. Retirement enclaves served as forerunners in the proliferation of master-planned, lifestyle communities that engender both resident well-being and social fragmentation in metropolitan America. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ATerm Library is a well-designed and well-known library in the term rewriting community. In this paper, we discuss the current garbage collector provided with the library and stress the fact that some peculiarities of this functional library could be taken advantage of by the memory management system. We explain how we designed and implemented GC2, a new mark-and-sweep generational garbage collector for the ATerm Library that builds upon these peculiarities. Experimental results on various programs validate our approach, and show that the performance of our new algorithm is very good. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents conclusions drawn from a comparative analysis of three qualitative case studies of participation processes at the regional level in Quebec''s healthcare system in Canada. Our objective is twofold: primarily, to draw on our observations to elaborate and discuss a sociological framework for the analysis of public participation; and secondarily, to use our data to criticise many pervasive but questionable preconceptions in the scientific literature on public participation. The framework used applies the social theory of P. Bourdieu in conjunction with the representation framework of H.F. Pitkin to demonstrate how any form of participation will imply some implicit or explicit delegation. The significance of the analysis is its focus on the social operations implied in these acts of delegation and in the use of the concept of symbolic struggles to understand the conflicts arising when the intrinsic legitimacy of the public is appropriated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Radiology practices that are well organized and effectively governed have a competitive advantage. Decisions are made rapidly, actions are taken decisively and in accordance with established policy, and each group member has a responsibility for practice building. Such groups are perceived by their peers, hospital administration, and community business leaders to be both formidable and effective.This paper details the mechanisms that facilitate planning for and implementing an efficient practice organization and governance structure. The tasks of group leaders are defined, as are the committees necessary for appropriate action. The integral roles of a mission statement and a business plan are discussed. Practices adopting the suggested organizational structure will be best positioned to survive in both good times and bad. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

During the past several decades, U.S. municipalities-including those in small- and middle-sized communities-have become increasingly active in promoting economic development, often with help from local economic development organizations (LEDOs). LEDOs are distinct from municipalities in that they are often more distant from public influence and scrutiny, receive some of their funding from private sources, and have close ties to the local business community. This paper illustrates that LEDOs are prevalent in small- and middle-sized Wisconsin communities, and they often possess substantial financial, technical and organizational resources. Four factors are positively associated with a community operating a LEDO-population size, fiscal health, pressure to create jobs, and the presence of a stand-alone municipal economic development department. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we assess the impact of various community-based organizations on urban growth and development in Houston. We propose a method for conceptualizing local urban conflict that allows incorporation of all actors (community groups) and forces involved in the conflict over both urban development and the distribution of the social costs of development. The successes and failures of community-based organizations in Houston can be understood partially by examining the role of business and development interests in supporting some organizations and goals and in opposing others. Those factors determining whether an organization or its goals will be supported by business and development interests revolve around the relevance of such organizations and goals to profit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community ecology is in a current state of creative ferment, stimulated by the development of neutral models of community organization. Here, I reflect on recent papers by Scheffer and van Nes, and by Gravel et al., which illuminate how neutrality can emerge from ecological and evolutionary processes, thus suggesting ways to unify neutral and niche perspectives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Since 1989, the Nature Conservation Society in Japan has been carrying out a project called the “Nature Feeling”, which is a nature walk project for the challenged people. The objective of this project was to expand opportunities for people with and without disabilities to get together and experience nature through walking. This paper will discuss the essence of the project from the visually challenged and their social participation point of view. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]