The Folk Village: A Comparative Analysis.

A nonmathematical model is developed of one type of community, termed the "folk village." Ten villages, each from a different culture, provide the only data, and the model's nineteen components are based on traits found in all the villages. The components (or subelements) are grouped into elements of interaction, space, activities, sentiment, and norms. The more variable components are eliminated as possible integrating factors, on die premise that the nature of the folk village resides in its constants. One means of integrating the components is offered in tile definition: The folk village is a localized system of co-operating families. (Co-operation is institutionalized as mutual aid.) This definition furnishes a basis for describing the elements as they appear in the villages. The findings are used as limiting factors in evaluating earlier concepts. Selected definitions of community are reexamined, and the relation of the model to Redefined's folk society is briefly indicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]