Notes on Capra, Shields, and Ferree.

Notes on Capra and Shields
Capra’s model of community based on an ecological model presented a new manner in which community should be viewed. Instead of viewing a community as a being made up of separate parts, Capra provided an insight into viewing a community as being made up of integrated parts. One part needs the other in order to complete its task. Most importantly, Capra made the point that communities are networks rather than linear. Some examples that came to mind as I read Capra were:
· Mapping a rural community in Bangladesh and taking into consideration the number of: educational institutions, medical facilities, temples and mosques, roads linking the village to markets, bodies of water, tube wells, and type of live stock present, vegetation, small businesses and other income generating activities, and non profit/non-governmental organizations in the region. Most importantly, who lives in the village and what are their occupations, their educational levels, health status, what do they own? Each of these elements serves their purpose for the community as a whole and will need the other in order to continue with its task.
The ability for a planner to view a community in this manner will have a better insight into the strategy he/she will take in address a particular problem.
Shield’s community of inquiry concept helped me take Capra’s model a step forward in terms of placing it in a practical sense. Though viewing a community and its many elements might seem like an ideal situation at first glass, when it is observed closely, it will be discovered that the relationships within the model might be weak. Or, many of the elements could be weak due to an imbalance of the network. For example:
· The roads linking the village to a market could be eroding.
· Educational/Medical facilities could be of poor quality or not opened.
· Villagers have access to the market, but do not have bargaining power with the buyers when they try to sell their produce.
· Vegetation has been damaged by natural disasters or crops are owned by only the elite.
· Tube-wells could be damaged, etc.
I can continue with a long list of problems, but what I am trying to say is that Shield model brings the idea of having an institution which allows individuals or public administrators (PA) to facilitate the addressing of community problems. The PAs facilitate by creating an opportunity for the villagers to identify what they know such as the examples mentioned above, but also other aspects such as who holds power/influence in the region, what problems they face, etc. As the PA helps with this process, he/she will be begin to identify the root causes of the problems and ideally will be able to create a strategy based on the evidence provided by the villagers. Hopefully, if the PA is viewing village as being an integrated network, then their plan could be made of a holistic development model that will address important aspects of development: economic, political, and social.

Institutions and Social Justice
The models put forth by Capra and Shields brings into question what characteristics an institution should possess in order to bring about the social progress that Thin was suggesting. By referring to Rev. William J. Ferree’s pamphlet on the Introduction to Social Justice, I found that the principles that should guide an institution are those which emphasize duty to the other and the community. Most importantly individuals should not resort to destroying existing institutions, but attempt to transform the institutions so that it is strongly influenced by social justice.
Going back to the PA’s duties of facilitating change with the villagers, it would be ideal that by using their suggestions, a PA can help transform the institutions that are contributing to the underdevelopment of the region.