Bringing Communities Together

Bringing Communities Together PDF

Author: Bev France

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-07-30

Total Pages: 237

ISBN-13: 9460917917

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Over recent years connective partnerships between educational communities and sectors outside of education have become increasingly popular. One significant reason behind this popularity has the expansion of information and communication technologies which have increased access and provided mechanisms for ongoing connections to be made between differing worlds. But... successful connections that cross cultural boundaries are not easy to establish and even harder to maintain in ways that are mutually beneficial. This book focuses on science and technology connective ventures and the complexity inherent in bringing such worlds together. . The authors have been ‘in the business’ of developing such connections and this book brings them together to describe how and why making connections can support the science/technology education sector, the technology/science communities, and the wider sociocultural life we all inhabit. A range of illustrative examples of connections-in-action provide an empirical basis from which to explore and gain insight into the issues for and potential of such connective ventures, alongside a rich mix of critical commentary, arguments, cautions and challenges. Five key principles have been distilled from the collective experience and wisdom of the authors, serving to capture that which underpins effective and efficient connective initiatives. Each principle is accompanied by a set of questions that reflect the issues raised and successes illustrated throughout the book. It is hoped these principles and questions will serve to guide people interested in developing, funding and/or participating in future connective initiatives in the fields of science and technology.

Get Together

Get Together PDF

Author: Bailey Richardson

Publisher: Stripe Press

Published: 2019-08-20

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1953953328

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A practical and heartfelt guide to cultivating a community, online or IRL. Although communities feel magical, they don’t come together by magic. Get Together is a practical and heartfelt guide to cultivating a community. Whether starting a run crew, connecting with fans online, or sparking a movement of K–12 teachers, the secret to getting people together is this: build your community with people, not for them. In Get Together, Bailey Richardson, Kevin Huynh, and Kai Elmer Sotto of People & Company share true stories of everyday people who have created thriving communities, both in person and online. They provide clear steps to untangle the challenge of getting passionate people together, helping individuals and organizations navigate the intricacies of leading a community, including: - How to rally the first people - How to get people talking - How to attract new, authentic folks - How to develop leaders and expand globally. The People & Company team reminds us that we each hold the potential to spark a community. Get Together shows readers that if we join forces—as company and customers, artist and fans, organizer and advocates—we’ll do more together than we ever could alone.

The Discomfort Zone

The Discomfort Zone PDF

Author: Marcia Reynolds

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers

Published: 2014-10-13

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 1626560676

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You want people to stretch their limits, but your conversations meant to help them often fall flat or backfire, creating more resistance than growth. Top leadership coach Marcia Reynolds offers a model for using the Discomfort Zone—the moment when the mind is most open to learning—to prompt people to think through problems, see situations more strategically, and transcend their limitations. Drawing on recent discoveries in the neuroscience of learning, Reynolds shows how to ask the kinds of questions that short-circuit the brain’s defense mechanisms and habitual thought patterns. Then, instead of being told, people see for themselves the insightful and often profound solutions to what is stopping their progress. The exercises and case studies will help you use discomfort in your conversations to create lasting changes and an enlivened workforce.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper PDF

Author: Phaedra Patrick

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 0778319334

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"Phaedra Patrick understands the soul. Eccentric, charming, and wise...The Curious Charms is not just for those who are mourning over love or the past. This book will illuminate your heart." -- Nina George, New York Times bestselling author of The Little Paris Bookshop Don't miss this curiously charming debut In this hauntingly beautiful story of love, loneliness and self-discovery, an endearing widower embarks on a life-changing adventure. Sixty-nine-year-old Arthur Pepper lives a simple life. He gets out of bed at precisely 7:30 a.m., just as he did when his wife, Miriam, was alive. He dresses in the same gray slacks and mustard sweater vest, waters his fern, Frederica, and heads out to his garden. But on the one-year anniversary of Miriam's death, something changes. Sorting through Miriam's possessions, Arthur finds an exquisite gold charm bracelet he's never seen before. What follows is a surprising and unforgettable odyssey that takes Arthur from London to Paris and as far as India in an epic quest to find out the truth about his wife's secret life before they met--a journey that leads him to find hope, healing and self-discovery in the most unexpected places. Featuring an unforgettable cast of characters with big hearts and irresistible flaws, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper is a joyous celebration of life's infinite possibilities. More Praise: "Tender, insightful, and surprising... Arthur Pepper] will instantly capture the hearts of readers who loved Rachel Joyce's The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop, and Antoine Laurain's The Red Notebook." -- Library Journal, starred review

Broader, Bolder, Better

Broader, Bolder, Better PDF

Author: Elaine Weiss

Publisher: Harvard Education Press

Published: 2021-02-23

Total Pages: 329

ISBN-13: 1682533506

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In Broader, Bolder, Better, authors Elaine Weiss, of the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education campaign, and Paul Reville, former Massachusetts secretary of education, make a compelling case for a fundamental change in the way we view education. The authors argue for a large-scale expansion of community-school partnerships in order to provide holistic, integrated student supports (ISS) from cradle to career, including traditional wraparound services like health, mental health, nutrition, and family supports, as well as expanded access to opportunities such as early childhood education, afterschool activities, and summer enrichment programs. The book builds on nearly a decade of research by the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education, a national initiative endorsed by more than sixty policy experts and leaders from across the country, and draws on the work of Harvard’s Education Redesign Lab. It pulls from case studies of effective ISS efforts in twelve diverse communities to illustrate the variety of strategies that can be adopted locally. A call to action that also provides examples of communities that are successfully leveling the playing field for poor children, this book offers a detailed vision for building—through field work, mobilization, and financing—comprehensive systems to prepare all children for success.

People Powered

People Powered PDF

Author: Jono Bacon

Publisher: HarperCollins Leadership

Published: 2019-11-12

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1400214890

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What if you discovered a blueprint that could grow your brand’s reputation and loyalty, dramatically reduce customer service issues, produce content and technology, and cement a powerful, lasting relationship between you and your customers? Communities have been a popular topic since the rise of the Internet and social media, but few companies have consistently harnessed their power, driven tangible value, and effectively measured their return on investment (ROI) like Salesforce.com, Star Citizen via Kickstarter, and Red Hat. Companies such as PayPal, Facebook, Bosch, Microsoft, CapitalOne, and Google, have also built communities inside their organizations, which have fostered innovation, broken down silos, and helped their organizations to operate more efficiently and collaboratively. People Powered helps C-suite leaders, founders, marketers, customer advocates, and community leaders gain a competitive advantage by answering the following questions: What is the key value proposition of building a community? What kind of community do we need and how do we build and integrate it into our organization? How do we incentivize and encourage people to get involved, build reliable growth, and keep community members engaged? How do we develop authentic, productive relationships with community members both online and in person? How do we get departmental buy-in, hire effectively, and create consistent, reliable community engagement skills in our organization? What are the strategic and tactical pitfalls and roadblocks we need to avoid? How do we make sure that our community continues to grow with us—and more importantly, how do we make sure that we continue to grow with them? People Powered pulls together over 20 years of pragmatic experience into a clear, simple methodology and blueprint to not just answer these questions, but deliver results. Don’t get left behind—become an industry trailblazer and ensure your company’s longevity by tapping into the most dynamic force both outside and inside your organization: the people.

Better Together

Better Together PDF

Author: Robert D. Putnam

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2009-12-01

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 1439106886

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In his acclaimed bestselling book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Robert Putnam described a thirty-year decline in America's social institutions. The book ended with the hope that new forms of social connection might be invented in order to revive our communities. In Better Together, Putnam and longtime civic activist Lewis Feldstein describe some of the diverse locations and most compelling ways in which civic renewal is taking place today. In response to civic crises and local problems, they say, hardworking, committed people are reweaving the social fabric all across America, often in innovative ways that may turn out to be appropriate for the twenty-first century. Better Together is a book of stories about people who are building communities to solve specific problems. The examples Putnam and Feldstein describe span the country from big cities such as Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Chicago to the Los Angeles suburbs, small Mississippi and Wisconsin towns, and quiet rural areas. The projects range from the strictly local to that of the men and women of UPS, who cover the nation. Bowling Alone looked at America from a broad and general perspective. Better Together takes us into Catherine Flannery's Roxbury, Massachusetts, living room, a UPS loading dock in Greensboro, North Carolina, a Philadelphia classroom, the Portsmouth, New Hampshire, naval shipyard, and a Bay Area Web site. We meet activists driven by their visions, each of whom has chosen to succeed by building community: Mexican Americans in the Rio Grande Valley who want paved roads, running water, and decent schools; Harvard University clerical workers searching for respect and improved working conditions; Waupun, Wisconsin, schoolchildren organizing to improve safety at a local railroad crossing; and merchants in Tupelo, Mississippi, joining with farmers to improve their economic status. As the stories in Better Together demonstrate, bringing people together by building on personal relationships remains one of the most effective strategies to enhance America's social health.

The Power of Collaborative Solutions

The Power of Collaborative Solutions PDF

Author: Tom Wolff

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-02-22

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0470490845

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In this groundbreaking book, Tom Wolff spells out six proven principles for creating collabo- rative solutions for healthy communities. The Power of Collaborative Solutions addresses contemporary social problems by helping people of diverse circumstances and backgrounds work together to solve community challenges. Filled with clear principles, illustrative stories, and practical tools, this book shows how to make lasting change really happen. Praise for The Power of Collaborative Solutions "This is a truly transformative book and a must-read. Tom Wolff crafts a path to change that is at once visionary and achievable." MEREDITH MINKLER, professor of health and social behavior, University of California, Berkeley, and coauthor, Community-Based Participatory Research for Health (Jossey-Bass, 2008) "If you want to bring about sustained positive change in your community, read this book. The stories will inspire you, and the lessons will shine a light on your leadership path." TYLER NORRIS, founding president, Community Initiatives "Here you'll find not just theory, but also the hard-won, down-to-earth detail on how to make collaboration work where you live and act." BILL BERKOWITZ, professor emeritus of psychology, University of Massachusetts Lowell "Tom has a tremendous fount of knowledge, and he knows just what to do with it and how to help others use it. His kind and commonsensical manner means that his intellect is accessible." LINDA BOWEN, executive director, Institute for Community Peace, Washington, D.C.

Cultivating Communities of Practice

Cultivating Communities of Practice PDF

Author: Etienne Wenger

Publisher: Harvard Business Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1578513308

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Today's marketplace is fueled by knowledge. Yet organizing systematically to leverage knowledge remains a challenge. Leading companies have discovered that technology is not enough, and that cultivating communities of practice is the keystone of an effective knowledge strategy. Communities of practice come together around common interests and expertise- whether they consist of first-line managers or customer service representatives, neurosurgeons or software programmers, city managers or home-improvement amateurs. They create, share, and apply knowledge within and across the boundaries of teams, business units, and even entire companies-providing a concrete path toward creating a true knowledge organization. In Cultivating Communities of Practice, Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, and William M. Snyder argue that while communities form naturally, organizations need to become more proactive and systematic about developing and integrating them into their strategy. This book provides practical models and methods for stewarding these communities to reach their full potential-without squelching the inner drive that makes them so valuable. Through in-depth cases from firms such as DaimlerChrysler, McKinsey & Company, Shell, and the World Bank, the authors demonstrate how communities of practice can be leveraged to drive overall company strategy, generate new business opportunities, tie personal development to corporate goals, transfer best practices, and recruit and retain top talent. They define the unique features of these communities and outline principles for nurturing their essential elements. They provide guidelines to support communities of practice through their major stages of development, address the potential downsides of communities, and discuss the specific challenges of distributed communities. And they show how to recognize the value created by communities of practice and how to build a corporate knowledge strategy around them. Essential reading for any leader in today's knowledge economy, this is the definitive guide to developing communities of practice for the benefit-and long-term success-of organizations and the individuals who work in them. Etienne Wenger is a renowned expert and consultant on knowledge management and communities of practice in San Juan, California. Richard McDermott is a leading expert of organization and community development in Boulder, Colorado. William M. Snyder is a founding partner of Social Capital Group, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.