Page 58 - Mike Ratner CC - WISR Complete Dissertation - v6

On the second tier of research, I am studying the impacts, successes and challenges resulting from

Community Conversations as a movement (in a series or singular event) as observation and

existing data permits me to report on what transactions reveal changes or naught.

Taken together, I am curious to learn whether dialogue group participants can focus on a

topic or subject area for a period of revelatory consideration without distraction. Focused

interaction allows dialogue group members the opportunity to listen deeply to one another, reflect,

consider different points of view, and develop new understanding resulting from collective

interaction and engagement. Similarly, intergroup dialogue, a specific form of civic dialogue and

deliberative engagement, is a “diverse twenty-first century version of the homogeneous nineteenth

century town hall meeting” (Schoem et al., 2001, p. 4) which engages participants in a process of

talking directly, honestly with regard and candidly about difficult and pressing topics of the day.

One of the elements or characteristics of a successful engagement I am looking for is a

“sense of community” which is a concept in community psychology, social psychology, and

community social work, as well as in several other research disciplines, such as urban sociology,

which focuses on the experience of community rather than its structure, formation, setting, or other

features. I would surmise that any public administration of community services or leadership

which imagines a cohesive egalitarian society needs to understand how structures influence this

feeling and psychological sense of community. While many have theorized about and carried out

empirical research on community, my approach reflects the psychological realm asking questions

about the individual's perception, understanding, attitudes, feelings, etc. about community and his

or her relationship to it and to others' participation within a Community Conversation as I am

intrigued by the Metasphere impact along with any complete, multifaceted community experience.

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