1、1900 单词， 3168 汉字 出处 ： journal of urban affairs, volume 29, number 4, pages 401424. 本科毕业设计（论文） 外 文 翻 译 原文： COMMUNITY ACTIVISTS PERCEPTIONS OF CITIZENSHIP ROLES IN AN URBAN COMMUNITY: A CASE STUDY OF ATTITUDES THAT AFFECT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT R. ALLEN HAYS CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
2、The recent increase in research on social capital and civic engagement has benefited urban scholarship by refocusing attention on a problem with which urbanists have long been concerned； namely, how citizens can be engaged and mobilized to exert effective influence on community decisions. With the e
3、xception of a few who have argued that too much participation may have a negative impact on urban policy making (Yates, 1980), most urban scholars believe that increasing citizen involvement is desirable, in that it is likely to lead to a more equitable distribution of the benefits of urban life amo
4、ng citizens. Even though economic elites inevitably play a powerful role in community decisions, citizen participation can provide a counterbalance to their influence. The civic engagement literature has also broadened our concern from strictly political participation (defined here as participation
5、intended to directly influence public policy or electoral outcomes) to include other forms of civic engagement (defined as participation in voluntary, community-based organizations and associations.) These scholars have identified “civil society” as a realm of informal ties and relationships distinc
6、t from both the market and the state. In their view, the absence of the profit imperative of the market and of the coercive elements of the state in this civic realm frequently enables decision making that is both flexible and public spirited (Bellah, 1985； Etzioni, 1998). Because of its informality
7、 and flexibility, civil society is a prime arena for the development of social capital. However, while defining civil society as distinct, these scholars have also argued strongly that citizens engagement in the civic realm is strongly linked to their active and constructive political involvement. T
8、hey assert that, if civil society is unhealthy, then the functioning of the political process will be impaired (Hooghe & Stolle, 2003). The citizens engagement in political activity is grounded in his or her experiences within the social and civic realm. Civic engagement has been linked to political
9、 engagement in at least four ways: (1) Civic engagement draws the citizen out of strictly personal concerns and into a greater awareness of shared, community needs； (2) civic engagement develops skills in organizing and mobilizing people that are transferable to the political realm； (3) civic engage
10、ment develops individual feelings of confidence and efficacy that make political activism more likely. (4) civic engagement develops networks of relationships (the interpersonal aspect of social capital) and feelings of trust (the attitudinal aspect of social capital) that are critical to effective
11、political action. RESEARCH DESIGN Propositions The present research consists of an exploratory case study, utilizing embedded data consisting of the activities and attitudes of a group of community activists in Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa, a metropolitan area of 125,000 (Yin, 1994). Based on the lite
12、rature review just provided, five propositions have been developed for preliminary exploration utilizing what Yin (1994) refers to as the “pattern-matching” research design. The purpose of this research is to gain a qualitative understanding of the degree to which those involved in a local community
13、 frame and understand their political and civic involvement in the terms suggested by these propositions. Full testing and confirmation of these propositions will, of course, require further research based on larger, random samples. Proposition 1: Abehavioral boundary exists between civic and politi
14、cal involvement. The patterns of involvement of community activists will reflect a clear boundary between civic activities and political activities to the extent that a different group of community activists is involved in each realm. If persons identified as active in the private, voluntary realm a
15、re also active in the local political realm (and vice versa) this will indicate a boundary that is less rigid. Proposition 2: An attitudinal boundary exists between civic and political engagement. A clear boundary between civic and political activities will be reflected in the extent to which activi
16、sts experience different rewards and frustrations from participating in each realm. Also, a clear boundary will be reflected in the extent to which participants in each realm view participation in the other realm in a negative light. Proposition 3: A motivational boundary exists between civic and po
17、litical participation. A clear: boundary between the civic and political realm will be reflected in somewhat different motivations for activity in each realm. Proposition 4: The skills and attitudes acquired through civic participation will be somewhat different than those acquired through political
18、 participation. Proposition 5: An attitudinal boundary exists between active political and civic participants and those who do not participate in community affairs. Methods In-depth, in-person interviews utilizing open-ended questions were conducted with 40 individuals who are active in various aspe
19、cts of community life in the metro area. The interviewers made an effort to elicit the most detailed and complete answers possible from each subject. Interviews ranged in length from 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the extent to which the subjects chose to elaborate. While the interviews were structu
20、red to explore the propositions listed above, the questions allowed the subject maximum freedom to articulate her or his own understanding of the civic and political realms. Also, the interviews were designed to provide multiple opportunities for subjects to reflect on their involvement from differe
21、nt angles. In the case of civic participation, subjects were asked both about their most important organizational involvements and about their involvement in specific projects for the organizations in which they are active. In the case of political participation, subjects were asked about both issue oriented and electorally oriented political involvement. Sample
