The Significance of Community to Business Social Responsibility1

Abstract In this paper, I focus attention on one aspect of business social responsibility, the relationship between businesses and community. Specifically, I explore the impact of business operators' perceptions about norms of collective action in their communities on the level of their support for and commitment to their communities. This relationship was elaborated using data from interviews with 1,008 business owners and managers randomly selected from 30 small Iowa communities (500 to 10,000 in population). Findings indicate the majority of small business operators report that they are committed to and provide support for their community. Also, it is concluded that operators' educational levels and lengths of residence, the success and age of their businesses, and their perceptions of community levels of collective action are significantly associated with levels of business social responsibility.     

Community Amenity Measurement for the Great Fly-Over Zones

The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative operationalization of amenities that does not privilege certain kinds of natural resources and climatic conditions and that can be used for assessing the quality of life in small towns. The amenity inventory presented here extends previous literature by including a broad range of amenities (natural resource, indoor and outdoor built recreational facilities, public and private services, and downtown amenities). The community level of analysis and small town focus are also unique. The inventory uses both secondary data from public sources and primary data that can be gathered by researchers or community residents. Therefore, in addition to the scholarly contribution of the inventory, the process of defining and assessing community amenities may be a valuable tool for building interpersonal relationships within communities, generating community spirit, and developing strategies for enhancing the local quality of life.     

Changes in small town social capital and civic engagement

Small towns are often depicted as places with many interpersonal relationships and generalized trust, or high social capital. Social capital is a resource which towns can use to solve problems and improve the local quality of life. In this paper, I determined if social capital and civic engagements have declined in small towns in the U.S. Midwest as has happened more generally and tested likely explanations for the change. Quantitative analyses of data from the U.S. Census, other secondary sources, and a longitudinal study of residents of 99 small towns were conducted. Findings revealed that social capital has declined, but one type of civic engagement improved. Towns in counties with more small farms in 1990 had more bonding social capital and civic engagement in 2004 than other towns when other factors were controlled. The proportion of local businesses had no impact on civic engagement and was negatively associated with one kind of social capital. Mixed findings about how income impacted social capital and civic engagement indicated a complex relationship. The retirement of the so called “civic generation” had minimal impact on social capital and civic engagement.     

25 years of digital archives of visual materials: what we’ve done,what we’ve learned,and what challenges remain

In this article, the author looks back at the history of American digital archives of visual materials. Beginning with the Berkeley Image Database in 1986, he outlines the contributions that various projects made to the development of new tools and approaches, focusing on three important projects in which he participated in the decade leading up to 1996. How did both content and metadata change as these projects went from single collections to aggregations of diverse collections? After situating these three projects, the author then briefly covers highlights of other visual collection projects and systems from the subsequent 15 years, discussing their need to evolve from access systems into archival systems. The article concludes with an outlook on past challenges that the field has already overcome and a discussion of the new challenges for digital archives in the future.     

The Impact of Economic Shocks on Quality of Life and Social Capital in Small Towns*

Abstract Economic shocks are sudden events causing a significant impact on the local economy. Disaster community literature predicts that community outcomes from shocks will depend on the kind of shock. Consensus crisis shocks will be followed by increases in social capital and quality of life. Corrosive community shocks will result in declines in these factors. Using longitudinal data from small towns, we find that shocks are not associated with declines in quality of life or social capital, however, certain kinds of shocks are followed by increases. The strength of shocks and the net cumulative effects of multiple shocks are related to social capital and quality of life. This analysis advances conceptualizations by unpacking shock events and suggesting that strength and effect of multiple shocks are as important as shock type.     

New Economy Businesses in Rural,Urban, and Metropolitan Locations

Abstract The service sector has replaced manufacturing as the primary employer in the United States. Fastest growing within this sector are producer services, i.e., those businesses that provide service inputs to other businesses and government. Theorists posit that the propensity of producer services to locate in metro areas advantages cities in relation to rural areas. They argue that significant numbers of producer services are unlikely to locate in rural areas due to the economic and cultural benefits offered by central cities and that producer services in rural locations are qualitatively different from metro firms. Perceptions of the environment, management strategies, and community citizenship were analyzed with data from 259 producer service business owners and managers in Iowa rural, urban, and metropolitan communities. The findings point to qualitative differences between the businesses based on community size, but also many similarities were found. Rural producer services reported more community citizenship than other businesses.     

Measuring Potency Among Preschool Children: Instruments and Intervention

This study explored the impact of Potency-Focused Intervention among preschool children using a prospective research design. To achieve this aim, an instrument (the Child Adaptation Measure of Potency, or CAMP) was developed to examine the construct of potency among this population. The psychometric properties of this new CAMP scale was analyzed among 90 preschool children and the scale was proven to be both reliable and valid. Sixty-six children participated in the intervention study itself: thirty-two children participated in an intensive intervention program while the remaining children served as a control group. The results indicate that Potency-Focused intervention significantly enhanced potency among children in the intervention group, though it did not enhance the quality of self-concept. This finding suggests that while potency and self-concept are similar in some respects, they are separate constructs. The implications of Potency-Focused intervention among preschool children are discussed.     

Diversification and Work Satisfaction: Testing a Claim by Marx and Engels for Farmers

In conventional economics, a great deal of energy has been devoted to empirical validation of the benefits of specialization in terms of efficiency, in fields including the agricultural sector. Marx and Engels's claim that the diversification of working lives would increase work satisfaction has gained attention among social scientists but has never been verified for the agricultural sector, despite a growing body of literature on the determinants of work satisfaction. Based on a survey of Swiss and northeast German farmers, this study shows that farm diversification significantly increases work satisfaction. This applies both to the lines of agricultural production pursued on a farm and to the farm's nonagricultural activities.     

Social Capital and Participation in Community Improvement Activities by Elderly Residents in Small Towns and Rural Communities*

Abstract This study critically reviews theoretical concepts and measurements of social capital and tests hypotheses that elaborate how four dimensions of social capital (informal social ties, formal social ties, trust, and norms of collective action) and sense of community are related to participation in community improvement activities for elderly residents in small towns and rural communities. Mail surveys of 2,802 elders in 99 small towns and rural communities in Iowa reveal that many elders are actively involved in their community. Social capital and sense of community are very important in predicting elderly participation in community improvement activities, but they relate differently to elderly community involvement. Formal ties and sense of community have much stronger relationships with community involvement than informal ties and norms of collective action. Generalized trust is not significantly related to elderly community involvement.     

Measuring Potency among Preschool Children: Instruments and Intervention

This study explored the impact of Potency-Focused Intervention among preschool children using a prospective research design. To achieve this aim, an instrument, the Child Adaptation Measure of Potency (CAMP), was developed to examine the construct of potency among this population. The psychometric properties of this new CAMP scale was analyzed among 90 preschool children, and the scale was proven to be both reliable and valid. Sixty-six children participated in the intervention study itself. Thirty-two children participated in an intensive intervention program, while the remaining children served as a control group. The results indicate that Potency-Focused intervention significantly enhanced potency among children in the intervention group, though it did not enhance the quality of self-concept. This finding suggests that while potency and self-concept are similar in some respects, they are separate constructs. The implications of Potency-Focused Intervention among preschool children are discussed.