La communauté de pratique : au carrefour des notions de groupe informel et de transmission des savoirs tacites

The results of a field study confirm what the most important research in knowledge management reveals about communities of practice in organizations. If one accepts that the essence of a community of practice is found in its informal nature and its transmission of tacit knowledge, one observes that it is within informal groups that one finds individuals in the best position to convey tacit knowledge. The community of practice would therefore seem to act as a sort of catalyst in the transmission of tacit knowledge.     

Community Psychology in Zimbabwe: Past,Present and Future

The study describes and evaluates community psychology in Zimbabwe. We distinguish between a professional with the title ‘community psychologist’ and the practice of the field of community psychology in Zimbabwe. Community psychology services in Zimbabwe include the provision of education to all school- going age children, and free health services and housing for all. We also consider community psychology applications in the context of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, rising unemployment, homelessness, child abuse, disabilities, disasters and other hardships from urbanization, economics, and other challenges. Psychologists and other professionals offer community psychology services in the context of these challenges.     

Moral vs. non-moral attribution in adolescence: Environmental and behavioural correlates

According to the domain theory, moral rules are universal, not contingent on rules and authority, and are activated by avoiding harm to other people. Not all individuals, however, interpret moral events in terms of domain in a similar manner. The hypotheses of the present research were: (i) a high exposure to deviant context will affect the manner in which adolescents interpret moral events and their involvement in antisocial behaviour; (ii) the moral attribution style will directly affect involvement in antisocial behaviour and mediate the relationship between deviant context and antisocial behaviour. Four hundred fifty-three adolescents completed self-report questionnaires about their involvement in antisocial behaviours, their friends' involvement, and their exposure to community violence as a witness. Moral versus non-moral attribution (MNMA) was evaluated through a questionnaire consisting of hypothetical scenarios of moral violations followed by questions related to the above-mentioned criteria. Findings, obtained testing a model, were consistent with the hypotheses. Adolescents who live in violent contexts and attend deviant friends tend to interpret moral violation in terms of non-moral domains and are more engaged in antisocial behaviours. Results are discussed with respect to the literature about normativeness of deviance and its consequences.     

Evolutionary Guidance System: A Community Design Project

The Evolutionary Guidance System (EGS) is a holistic and inclusive model for designing self-organizing social systems. Such a model must be driven by evolutionary values articulated by the members of the system. The small community is an ideal context for the "growing" of an Evolutionary Guidance System. This paper describes the creation of an EGS in a community organization. The rational for the activity is to bring harmony and build community among the members of the organization and, at the same time, to reach out and include the larger community. This organization can provide a model for other organizations in the town, and the ultimate goal is to install an EGS as a nongovernmental design system for the town.     

Women's Mental Health Issues

No abstract available for this article.     

Nonwork orientations relative to career: A multidimensional measure

Although scholars typically assess an individual's nonwork role orientation relative to career as a unitary construct, we argue that a person's orientation toward nonwork roles is multi-dimensional. Drawing on a literature review demonstrating the need for improved constructs capturing changing relationships between career and multi-faceted nonwork orientations, and empirical data from three studies with samples at different career stages (early and mid-career), we use factor analysis and data from qualitative and longitudinal studies to develop three unique scales to assess a person's nonwork priorities relative to career orientations: family, personal life, and community service. There were generally positive relationships between the protean career scales and the new nonwork role orientation measures. Future research should move beyond a binary work–life or work–family models and include multi-dimensional measures of nonwork orientations relative to career.     

Paul Hinlicky's Critical Dogmatics: Triune Redemption and Hope in the Beloved Community

In a host of recent publications, Paul Hinlicky has offered both methodological and substantive contributions to a constructive Lutheran theology that takes seriously the post‐Christendom context in which the church finds itself. By elaborating a vision of theology as “critical dogmatics,” Hinlicky adapts pragmatist and perspectivalist motifs to outline a trinitarian picture of the redemption of creation as well as the church's role in anticipating the coming of the Beloved Community. Grounded both in Romans 8 and the trinitarian implications of Luther's joyful exchange, Hinlicky's vision interweaves soteriological, eschatological, and ecclesiological themes to demonstrate how critical dogmatics can test the spirits of a given age in order to determine which features of contemporary existence align with God's ongoing redemptive work, and which must be opposed by the church.     

A National Evaluation of Community-Based Youth Cessation Programs: End of Program and Twelve-Month Outcomes

Most youth cessation treatment research consists of efficacy studies in which treatments are evaluated under optimal conditions of delivery. Less is known about the effectiveness of youth cessation treatments delivered in real-world, community based settings. A national sample of 41 community-based youth cessation programs participated in a longitudinal evaluation to identify site, program, and participant characteristics associated with successful cessation. Validated quit rates were comparable to those in randomized controlled trials; 7-day abstinence at the end of program averaged 14% and 30-day abstinence at 12 months averaged 12%. Multivariate GEE models explored predictors of smoking cessation at the end of the programs and at 12 months. Results showed correlates of both short- and long-term cessation. Findings point to the importance of both individual and community-level variables, including motivation, opportunities for and encouragement to engage in activities outside of academics, having youth participate in treatment before they become highly dependent smokers, and community norms and ordinances that discourage youth purchase, use and possession of tobacco. Providing evidence-based treatment to youth in community-based settings results in successful cessation.     

Patterns of Community Violence Exposure During Adolescence

This study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal patterns of community violence exposure and malleable predictors of these exposure patterns among a community sample of 543 urban African American early adolescents (45.3% female; mean age: 11.76). In each of grades 6, 7, and 8, latent class analyses revealed two patterns of community violence exposure: high exposure and low exposure. For the majority of participants, experiences with community violence were similar at each grade. Impulsive behavior and depressive symptoms distinguished adolescents in the high and low exposure classes in grade 6. Implications for interventions to prevent community violence exposure are discussed.     

Pursuing Franklin’s Dream: Philosophical and Historical Roots of Service-Learning

Two decades ago service-learning as an innovation lingered on the periphery of the academy. Today, service-learning has spread across American higher education. Few educational innovations have achieved such relatively rapid success. This article describes the historical and philosophical underpinnings of service-learning. It notes some of the significant debates that have occurred among its practitioners. The authors draw from experience at their university, the University of Pennsylvania, to describe the importance of connecting service-learning to the core educational and civic missions of a college or university, as well as to provide a case study of how that connection might be made.