Abstract
This research paper assesses the impact of introduced disease on Pacific Island communities such as Polynesia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Philippines in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, analyzes how the epidemics spread, and what methods of missionary medicine were available to the victims.

Tags:pacific, island, communities

Abstract
This paper examines the reasons that the ancient Sumerians found it necessary to form temple communities, including the need for organization and the lack of currency and literacy.

From the Paper
"Ancient Sumerians found themselves in a unique situation with respect to their community and its economy. They were a complex urban society without coined money. Moreover, they had no other established means of making commercial exchanges, either leaving them dependent upon written records to accomplish the many tasks associated with land ownership and rentals such as the measurement and allotment of land, the allocation of the correct amounts of seed/grain, the assessment of taxes and rents in proportion to their yield, the maintenance of...

Tags:Sumerian temple communities, Sumer, ancient, priest, literacy, currency

Abstract
This research paper investigates the impact of e-communities. It defines what an e-community is and how a virtual community differs from a "real" community. It also looks at the ways in which virtual and "real" communities are similar. The paper then provides some examples of and specific characteristics of e-communities and looks at some of the dangers and mis-communications in regard to e-communities. The paper contains charts and figures.

Table of Contents:
Abstract
Abbreviations
I. Introduction: The "Dawn" of E-communities
Virtual or E-Communities
Hypothesis
Research Questions
An E-Community Consists of . . .
Aims and Objectives
Scope of Study
Following Chapters
II. Literature Review: The Community in E-Communities
"Being" a Member of an E-community
E-community Components
Examples of E-Communities
Concerns & Dangers involved in E-communities
Potential Benefits of E-communities
Emerging E-communities
Communication: Central to Community Life
Dating E-communities
E-community Chat Rooms
III. Methodology: Making "Sense" of E-Communities
Representing Communities
Explanation of Approach
Questionnaire Answers
Investigation Factors
IV. Analysis: Estimations of E-Communities' Impact
Composites Clarified
E-communities Depicted
The Battle for the Hearts and Minds
Top 10 E-communities
Family Depiction
Data and Charts
V. Summary: Consensus of E-Communities Contributions
E-Community Reflections
Summary
Aims and Objectives
Discussion
Limitations and Recommendations
For Further Consideration
On and Off Line
Conclusion Regarding Verdict for Hypothesis
Limitations and Recommendations
For Further Consideration
Appendix

From the Paper
"One way eBay nurtures trust is through its reputation system while its success has been attributed to its commitment to developing a sense of community. eBay attracts and retains buyers and sellers to its site by affecting exchanges that are satisfactory to both buyers and sellers. eBay also provides information, learning opportunities, as well as personal development pursuits and fun, and relaxation. As e-bay implements specific strategies, along with the particular social psychological framework noted by Scott and Johnson (2005) to be described by Beenan et al. (2004), the e-community ensures individuals' responses are acknowledged, while they may also be recognized and rewarded. In August 2004, the average eBay user remained on the site for one hour and 48 minutes, which in 2040 denoted the longest time duration of any Web site."

Tags:communication, chat, network

Abstract
This paper examines how evaluation of a project or program plays an important role in future funding or accreditation of the program and also lends credibility to the service provided. It illustrates this through the evaluation process of a crime prevention initiative undertaken in the state of Maryland, Hotspot Communities Initiative, which was launched in 1997 to keep a check on criminal activities in certain dangerous communities in Maryland.

Outline
History of Hotspot Communities Initiative
Objectives of HCI
Results of the Program
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The core objectives included reduction of crime, more recreational activities for youth, more awareness regarding drug problem in the area, familiarity with various options available to street youth, and eradication of gangs from the neighborhood. It was found that with community involvement, agencies were able to collect authentic information about target localities and goals were developed with specific needs of the communities in mind. Research conducted by Peterson et al (2000) indicates that crime rate can be brought down in trouble-areas when alternative activities are available to the youth. For this reason, HCI focused on developed of recreational programs while providing extra police security in the area."

Tags:youth, service, community

Abstract
This paper compares and analyzes two communities, both of which are located in Los Angeles County. The comparison and analysis were used to determine how the differences in the nature of each community affects and influences students. The first community selected is the higher socioeconomic status community of San Marino, California while the second community is Lincoln Heights, California, a community of significantly lower economic status.

From the Paper
"The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyze two communities both of which are located in Los Angeles County. The comparison and analysis uses available demographic data and interview data collected from a person in each community. The goal is to determine how the differences in the nature of each community affects and influences students. The first community selected is the higher socioeconomic status community of San Marino, California, while the second community is Lincoln Heights..."

Tags:students, California, community analysis

Abstract
This paper discusses how events and movements of the 20th century have shaped the contemporary conditions of Chicano communities, and explains how such conditions assist in understanding the historical conditions of returning college students.

From the Paper
"The twentieth century has witnessed the shaping of Chicano communities as a result of socio-historical events that have left an impact not only on the Chicanos, but also on the rest of American society, as Chicano culture became integrated into the fabric of American culture as a whole. A latinismo movement to create a community that provides a sense of boundary, continuity and homogeneity through its panethnic ties, has the potential to mobilize Chicanos and other Hispanic subcultures within the country to make them..."

Tags:Chicano, Cesar Chavez, community, art, cultural renaissance, Latinismo, Hispanic

Abstract
This paper discusses how the globalization of knowledge pools and resources is responsible for the growing number and importance of communities of practice. The writer defines the term and gives the criteria that must be met for a community to qualify as a "community of practice." The author also describes various ways in which such a community functions and explains how informal networks and professional communities benefit the organization in which they exist as well as the individual members. Additionally, te author lists ways to cultivate communities of practice, and also notes some of their downsides. The paper includes a case study of an organization that set up a community of practice, and charts.

Case Study
Communities of Practice and Organizational Performance
Cultivating Communities of Practice

From the Paper
"With communities of practice, one cannot think in concrete or opposed terms. There is normally a continuum. For example, knowledge can be more or less explicit. Similarly, explicit knowledge is not freed from the tacit. It is not possible to make everything explicit and eliminate the tacit. It is only possible to change relationships. As a result, the process of making something explicit, formalizing or sharing are not just translations; they are instead transformations--the development of a new context of both participation and reification where the relations between the tacit and the explicit will be renegotiated."

Tags:economy, evolution, innovation, learning, participation, information

Abstract
This paper explains that the primary aim of communistic societies was to build model communities and not to revolt against society. The author points out that most of these communities developed as a reaction to the standards or changes, which occurred in the society. The paper relates that, whether it was religious persecution, political abuses or the rise of individualism, all these communities tried to restart anew with the principles they believed to be important. The author describes many U.S. utopian communities and concludes that all the communities had its own visions of an idealistic society.

From the Paper
"The Icarians was a community founded by Etienne Cabbet, the forefather of French communism. They constituted one of the most important emigrations from France to the United States with around one thousand people moving. Cabbet was born on the eve of the French Revolution in 1788, a revolution which coined the terms "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite". Cabbet already used the words in his book Voyage en Icarie in 1840. In the songs the Icarians would sing they were using these terms though the one of liberty would be replaced by the one of humanity."

Tags:shakers, icaria, equality, religion, hippies

Abstract
This paper reviews several provided articles explaining how virtual communities are not substitutes for real communities and that the former have rather grave implications for human interaction and the development of personality. In this paper, reference is made to Victor Turner and other functionalist anthropologists to study the characteristics of communities as dynamic entities so that communities arrive from the effort involved in living in community.

From the Paper
"Those discussing the Internet as a source of bona fide democracy, community, or freedom of expression, miss the shortcomings of a medium that is not a real community. Victor Turner's 'Contribution to Anthropology and Philosophy' stresses the phenomenon of human community as something other than a, "thing". (1966) Recent literature addressing the cyber-communities can be seen as presenting rather time-worn questions, however much we are encouraged to view the advent of cyber communication as unprecedented, or transforming Humanity, for the better. Unlike virtual communities, real communities involve dynamics that ask something of the individual, as a bona fide community and its spirit of communities are forever works in progress."

Tags:turkle, muds/internet, turner

Abstract
This paper presents an extensive review of the effects of HMOs to medical care in the U.S. and England. This paper concludes that HMOs demonstrated that they can be effective in the delivery of health care to any population group, including poor communities and low-income persons and households who live outside of poor communities. The author states that HMOs and other managed care organizations have in the past, are now and likely will continue in the future to sacrifice the care required by any population group that threatens to impinge on the bottom-line of these organizations.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Statement of the Problem
Research Questions
HMOs as Health Care Providers
Access to Care through HMOs
Effects of HMOs and Managed Care on Hospitals and Low-Income Patients
Capitation
Purchaser-Oriented Management and Practice Guidelines
Case Management
Performance Analysis
Medicaid and HMOs: A Direct Impact on Poor Communities and On Low-Income Persons and Households
HMOs and Care Quality
Health Care Delivery in the United States Compared With the United Kingdom
National Health Care System in the UK
Similarities & Differences between the National Health Care Systems in the United Kingdom and the United States
The Case for Universality
Conclusions

From the Paper
"Over the past 50 years, managed care programs have existed such as the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program (California) and the Health Insurance Plan of New York City. These programs only affected a minority of patients and physicians, until the past six or seven years during which managed care has grown significantly. Rising costs of health care, particularly in industry, and the fact that approximately 15 percent of the United States population lacks health insurance, have provided stimulus for this growth. Health care expenditures account for over 14 percent of the gross domestic product in the United States. Management of medical services is attempted through managed care. It is estimated that around 100 million individuals are now covered by a managed care plan and that 77 percent of employers offer a managed care program."

Tags:managed, care, cost, kaiser, england