1 DIMENSIONS THAT CHARACTERIZE COMMUNITIES PREPARING FOR THE ANALYSIS OF SETTINGS WITHIN THE INSTITUTION

2 Introducing Some Dimensions With Which To Characterize The Communities Of Neighborhoods And Your Institution 1.The following are five dimensions that should serve to provide a global characterization of a community. Using these dimensions to characterize a community should assist in drawing inferences about how communities affect the lives of its residents. They should assist in formulating hypotheses concerning what the optimal dimensions are. They should also assist in deciding how to restructure a community so that it has an optimal influence on the development of social skills, self esteem, character, maturity, and a sense of identification with and responsibility for the health of the community. 2.Five dimensions: 1.ORGANIZED 2.PERSONAL 3.PRODUCTIVE 4.OPEN 5.REWARDING

3 DEFINITIONS OF THE FIVE DIMENSIONS 1.What is an Organized Environment? 1.What and How to Organize Existing Agencies and Private Organizations and Develop New Organizations. 2.Is there some central focal point in the neighborhood that retains information about all of the governmental and private organizations and groups active in the neighborhood? Is there network that connects these groups and facilitates sharing that information between groups and makes sure that important information is disseminated to the relevant people? Is there a way to ensure that organizations in the neighborhood circulate new people through offices and roles so that they do not become a closed, insider-stagnant group? Is there a way to gather information about the talents and skills of neighbors and to create avenues for the use of these talents in assisting others inside or outside of the organization? 2.What is a Personal Environment? 1.Developing Mutual Sensitivity, Facilitation, and a Personal Touch in Neighborhood Resident Interactions. 2.Does your neighborhood provide non threatening ways for any and everyone in the neighborhood to connect with other individuals and groups in ways that facilitate their getting to express and listen to personal information? Do these ways of getting to know one another encourage learning to respect one another, acknowledge each other’s contributions, and be understanding of each other’s difficult life circumstances? 3.What is a Productive Environment? 1.Developing Volunteer Roles, Paid Employment, and Personal Training, Education, and Growth Programs and Creating Systems that Foster Productivity. 2.Do the organizations in the neighborhood strive to promote projects and tasks that work for the enhancement of the environment and the economic welfare of neighbors? Do they provide programs that enhance interpersonal, personal, and family knowledge and skill? Do they actively draw upon the assistance of agencies and business for vocational knowledge, skills, and opportunities? Do they encourage sharing information for mutual success? 4.What is an Open Environment? 1.Opening New Avenues for Personal Fulfillment and Neighborhood Achievement. 2.Does your neighborhood have many positive programs, activities, jobs, and roles that are appropriate, challenging, diverse, and truly interesting for male and female youth between the ages of 12 through 19? Are these avenues open to everyone regardless of race, religion, economic condition? Do the neighborhood’s avenues take into consideration differences in personality and ability? 5.What is a Rewarding Environment? 1.Developing a Comprehensive Reward System. Who Should do it and How should it be done? 2.Does the neighborhood have ways to encourage people to informally and personally acknowledge and congratulate each other for any achievement, promotion, or success? Are there formal ways to acknowledge or ceremonies to celebrate or give awards or rewards for the achievements of neighbors of all ages and both genders, regardless of race, religion, or economic status? If neighbors have performed tasks, other than volunteer, that deserve compensation, is there a way to ensure that some appropriate form of compensation is provided?

4 Perspectives On The Role Of The Nature Of The Community In The Home Neighborhood In Producing And The Institution In “Correcting” Juvenile Delinquents 1.In this presentation, we are attempting to isolate dimensions of the home communities that delinquents come from. 2.We are also examining the dimensions of the community inside the institution. 1.How does the home community differ from the institution community? 2.Can the institution provide a community that is designed to counter the negative dimensions of the home community? 3.A method of analysis of communities is introduced that may assist staff is restructuring the institution’s community. 4.We will examine the nature of the institution as it has been from past up to the present and then use a method to assist in designing the optimal community in the future.

5 Duplex Pyramids Future of Persons Future of Organization Past of Persons Past of Organization Organization to Person Person to Organization Where have we been? What were the dimensions of the Organization and its Staff in the past? How did they affect the Residents? Where are we going? What do we want the dimensions of the Organization and its Staff to look like in the future? How might this affect the Residents? Historical Perspective On The Organization, The Employees, The Residents, And The Relationship Between The Three. Projecting a model institution community for the future.

6 Compare The Dimensions Of The External Communities From Which Residents Come To The Community Inside Of The Institution Comparing Each With Respect To Their Past, Present, And Future 1.Apply these same dimensions to the communities that have been the source of most of those delinquents that have been committed to your institution. 2.Apply them to the communities which have a very low rate of delinquency. 3.Compare 1 and 2 and then compare both of them to the community within your institution. 4.Are there differences between these three and, if so, what are they? 5.Can we make inferences about the causal relationship between the nature of these three communities and the behavior and maturity of the youths within them? 6.Does this suggest anything about what should be done to change these dimensions within the institution?

7 APPLICATION OF THE FIVE DIMENSIONS TO TWO HOME COMMUNITIES: Rate each community using the ten point scale beside each dimension and then provide a brief written description of each community. 1. A COMMUNITY WITH A HIGH RATE OF DELINQUENCY. 1.ORGAINZED PERSONAL PRODUCTIVE OPEN REWARDING A COMMUNITY WITH A LOW RATE OF DELINQUENCY 1.ORGAINZED PERSONAL PRODUCTIVE OPEN REWARDING Based on your ratings, write a brief description of the differences between these two communities and how there might be a causal relationship between type of community and rate of delinquency.

8 APPLY THESE DIMENSIONS TO THE COMMUNITY WITHIN YOUR INSTITUTION: CONSIDER THE WHOLE INSTITUTION INCLUDING ITS ORGANIZATION AND ITS STAFF AND RESIDENTS 1.Imagine the past ratings of the institution’s community on the following dimensions: 1.ORGANIZED PERSONAL PRODUCTIVE OPEN REWARDING Imagine the ratings you want the institution’s community to have in the future on the following dimensions: 1.ORGANIZED PERSONAL PRODUCTIVE OPEN REWARDING Using your ratings on the five dimensions as a guide, write a brief description of: 1.the community as it has been and 2.the community as you would like to see it in the future.

9 APPLY THE RATINGS OF DIMENSIONS OF THE COMMUNITY TO EACH SETTING WITH WHICH YOU ARE INVOLVED 1.IMAGINE THE PAST RATINGS OF THESE SETTINGS ON THE FOLLOWING DIMENSIONS: 1.ORGANIZED PERSONAL PRODUCTIVE OPEN REWARDING IMAGINE THE RATINGS YOU WANT THESE SETTINGS TO HAVE IN THE FUTURE ON THE FOLLOWING DIMENSIONS: 1.ORGANIZED PERSONAL PRODUCTIVE OPEN REWARDING Make a list, based on the places where you tend to work on your shift, of a few key settings, such as recreation, dining hall, in the dorm before bed time, etc.

10 HOW TO REACH THE GOALS OF HAVING THE COMMUNITY HAVE THE KIND OF DIMENSIONS YOU FEEL IT SHOULD HAVE? 1.CONSIDER THE NATURE OF THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF THE INSTITUTION 2.CONSIDER THE NATURE OF THE SYSTEMS OF THE INSTITUTION: 1.HOW ARE THEY SHAPED BY THE OVERALL STRUCTURE? 2.HOW DO THE SYSTEMS INTERRELATE? 3.CONSIDER EACH OF THE SETTINGS WITHIN THE INSTITUTION 4.CONSIDER THE KINDS OF SITUATIONS THAT ARISE IN THESE SETTINGS 5.CONSIDER THE KINDS OF BEHAVIORS EXHIBITED IN THESE SETTINGS 6.CONSIDER HOW THE PERSONS, STAFF AND RESIDENTS, ARE INVOLVED, HOW THEY PARTICIPATE, AND HOW THEY ARE EFFECTED BY ALL OF THESE FACTORS.

11 Since we have addressed the nature of the structure and systems within the institution, we now move closer to working toward plans for changing the institutional environment and the quality of its community. 1.We begin with the analysis of settings within the institution. 2.We begin to consider specific changes that we can make in these settings. 3.With these recommendations, we can begin to formulate objectives and plans for implementation of the changes. 4.We then move back up these levels of the upper part of the Duplex Pyramid and try to conceptualize the proposed changes, objectives, and plans and see them in relation to the overarching structure and systems. 5.Finally, we must develop a comprehensive plan that integrates structure-systems-settings so there is cohesiveness and consistency in objectives at the lowest level and between levels from top to bottom. 6.This comprehensive plan, being institution-wide, requires that all staff, from line employees through professional and top administration, be involved in the process of developing objectives, plans, and implementation.

12 NEXT STEP: ANALYSIS OF SETTINGS