The role of the state and the community in community participation: A case study

This study analyzes the principles and the practice of the concept of community participation. The purpose of research is to address the degree and manner of autonomy that can be exercised at the local community level and also what kind of participation should come from the state when communities are engaged with the state in a community participation process. The methodology of qualitative nature, is a case study of the Sudbury Better Beginnings, Better Futures Associations. An analysis of the public documents comparing the state and the Sudbury Association’s position on community participation principles is portrayed before performing an analysis on the implementation strategies used by the Sudbury Better Beginnings, Better Futures Association. The conceptual framework provides an argument for more direct democracy and addresses six concepts: community, community development, community organization, social development, adult education, and community economic development; which are used to delimit the concept of community participation. Two models of citizen participation (Arnstein, 1969; Bregha, 1973) are then used to gauge the level of true participation achieved by the Sudbury Better Beginnings, Better Futures model. In the discussion, the concept of “social relations” (Ng et al., 1990) is introduced to further complement the findings achieved with the conceptual framework of the study. The concept of social relations accentuates the importance of everyday work and life activities of community members as contributing factors important to the larger social, political and economic context of our society. Finally, arguments are presented in favour of the concept of communitarianism as a means to achieve more direct democracy in a partnership with the state

Rethinking political culture : counterinsurgency, democracy, and political identity in Guatemala.

This dissertation has two principle aims: to examine the political cultural context for counterinsurgency in Guatemala, and in the process try to revitalize the concept of political culture. I argue that counterinsurgency in Guatemala must be understood as a political project with a distinct cultural agenda, and not simply a military strategy to defeat a guerrilla movements. The goal of that project is the construction of a modern nation state which can more fully integrate the country\u27s indigenous communities, establish the legitimacy of national political institutions, and weaken the influence of independent social and political movements. In other words, this is a project to win hearts and minds. I analyze the historical context, the political and cultural goals of the military, and the other political cultural forces which it must confront. I examine the cultural significance of ethnicity, religion, popular political movements, and political violence, and conclude that the military has thus far fallen far short of realizing its political, as opposed to strictly military, goals. This case study provides a concrete context within which to examine in some depth the theoretical issues involved in the study of political culture. My intention is to point the discussion in new and fruitful directions. By re-examining the contribution of Max Weber and supplementing those ideas with discussions which have taken place among historians and anthropologists regarding cultural analysis, I critique the limitations of past uses of the concept of political culture and set forth the constitutive elements of an approach to cultural analysis with applications beyond Guatemala

Critical temperature and density of spin-flips in the anisotropic random field Ising model

We present analytical results for the strongly anisotropic random field Ising model, consisting of weakly interacting spin chains. We combine the mean-field treatment of interchain interactions with an analytical calculation of the average chain free energy (``chain mean-field'' approach). The free energy is found using a mapping on a Brownian motion model. We calculate the order parameter and give expressions for the critical random magnetic field strength below which the ground state exhibits long range order and for the critical temperature as a function of the random magnetic field strength. In the limit of vanishing interchain interactions, we obtain corrections to the zero-temperature estimate by Imry and Ma [Phys. Rev. Lett. 35, 1399 (1975)] of the ground state density of domain walls (spin-flips) in the one-dimensional random field Ising model. One of the problems to which our model has direct relevance is the lattice dimerization in disordered quasi-one-dimensional Peierls materials, such as the conjugated polymer trans-polyacetylene.Comment: 28 pages, revtex, 4 postscript figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

From Gaussian beam to complex-source-point spherical wave

It is shown that the paraxial Gaussian beam becomes the complex-source-point spherical wave when all-order corrections are made according to the method of Lax, Louisell, and McKnight. Apparent contradictions between previously published first-order corrections are also discussed

Gastrointestinal decontamination in the acutely poisoned patient

ObjectiveTo define the role of gastrointestinal (GI) decontamination of the poisoned patient.Data sourcesA computer-based PubMed/MEDLINE search of the literature on GI decontamination in the poisoned patient with cross referencing of sources.Study selection and data extractionClinical, animal and in vitro studies were reviewed for clinical relevance to GI decontamination of the poisoned patient.Data synthesisThe literature suggests that previously, widely used, aggressive approaches including the use of ipecac syrup, gastric lavage, and cathartics are now rarely recommended. Whole bowel irrigation is still often recommended for slow-release drugs, metals, and patients who "pack" or "stuff" foreign bodies filled with drugs of abuse, but with little quality data to support it. Activated charcoal (AC), single or multiple doses, was also a previous mainstay of GI decontamination, but the utility of AC is now recognized to be limited and more time dependent than previously practiced. These recommendations have resulted in several treatment guidelines that are mostly based on retrospective analysis, animal studies or small case series, and rarely based on randomized clinical trials.ConclusionsThe current literature supports limited use of GI decontamination of the poisoned patient