Research Paper on:
Community Defined

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
various groups, and simple neighborhoods. In short, community is a word used to define a group of people who seem to have something powerful in common. Bearing that in mind  the following paper examines the definition of community, explaining what others have to say about what goes into making a community. What is a Community? According to many  definitions, "A Community is a group of people related by some degree" (Ward, 2002; what_is_community.htm). These degrees can come in many forms. For example, there is one degree which offers  a common purpose in a defining a community. A common purpose is "A fundamental reason for a group of people joining together into a community. Something that provides the community  with some form of shared meaning or reason for their co-existence" (Ward, 2002; what_is_community.htm). Such a purpose can be a common interest or a passion which involves making the "best  use of a shared space to the desire to transform the organization or the world" (Ward, 2002; what_is_community.htm). Another aspect of the community definition can involve a common cultural  element. "Culture is one of those things that is pretty nebulous and takes many forms depending on who is describing it and for what reason. For the purpose of communities,  I like to think of it as our collective identity - who we are and how we express that. Inwardly, our identity includes our values, beliefs, attitudes, behavioral norms, and  our accumulated experiences that shape these" (Ward, 2002; what_is_community.htm). In these respects the culture demonstrates, outwardly, expressive techniques for forming "language, behavior, appearance, rituals, traditions, artifacts, and events. In a  community, a common language that enables clear communication among its members is particularly important" (Ward, 2002; what_is_community.htm). We also have communities which are based on environment. "All members of