Abstract
When it comes to contributions to community and organization, generosity is the principal emotion. Altruism is also strongly felt during such activity. Community involvement is the process by which volunteers, amateurs, and hobbyists can contribute to collective life. A broader sort of community involvement (sometimes also carried out on a regional or societal level) comes from pursuing volunteer activities, which may be enacted as serious, casual, or project-based leisure. This, the most common conception of community involvement, is often discussed as civil labor. Civil labor, however conceived of, generates social capital. In leisure, as in most other areas of life, many activities are structured, or organized, in small groups, social networks, and grassroots organizations as well as in larger complex organizations and still more broadly, in tribes, social worlds, and social movements. The chapter ends with an examination of caring and community involvement.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bott, E. (1957). Family and social network. London: Tavistock.
Darley, J.M., & Latané, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8, 377–383.
Helft, M. (2007). With tools on Web, amateurs reshape mapmaking. New York Times, July 27 (online edition).
Hemingway, J.L. (1999). Leisure, social capital, and democratic citizenship. Journal of Leisure Research, 31, 150–165.
Homer-Dixon, T. (2007). A swiftly melting planet. The New York Times, Thursday, October 4 (online edition).
Jeffries, V., Johnston, B.V., Nichols, L.T., Oliner, S.P., Tiryakian, E, & Weinstein, J. (2006). Altruism and social solidarity: Envisioning a field of specialization. American Sociologist, 37(3), 67–83.
Leadbeater, C., & Miller, P. (2004). The pro-am revolution: How enthusiasts are changing our economy and society. London: Demos.
Lyons, K., & Dionigi, R. (2007). Transcending emotional community: A qualitative examination of older adults and Masters’ sports participation. Leisure Sciences, 29, 375–389.
Maffesoli, M. (1996). The time of the tribes: The decline of individualism, trans. by D. Smith. London: Sage.
Parrott, W.G. (Ed.) (2001). Emotions in social psychology: Key readings. New York: Psychology Press.
Pearce, J.L. (1993). Volunteers: The organizational behavior of unpaid workers, London, U.K.: Routledge.
Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Reid, D. (1995). Work and leisure in the 21st century: From production to citizenship. Toronto, ON: Wall and Emerson.
Rojek, C. (2002). Civil labour, leisure and post work society. Loisir et Société/Society and Leisure, 25, 21–36.
Smith, D.H. (2000). Grassroots associations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Smith, D.H., Stebbins, R.A., & Dover, M. (2006). A dictionary of nonprofit terms and concepts. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.
Somers, M.R. (1993). Citizenship and the place of the public sphere: Law, community and political culture in the transition to democracy. American Sociological Review, 58, 587–621.
Stebbins, R.A. (1992). Amateurs, professionals, and serious leisure. Montreal, QC and Kingston, ON: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Stebbins, R.A. (2002). The organizational basis of leisure participation: A motivational exploration. State College, PA: Venture.
Stebbins, R.A. (2005). Challenging mountain nature: Risk, motive, and lifestyle in three hobbyist sports. Calgary, AB: Detselig (also available at www.seriousleisure.net/Digital Library).
Stebbins, R.A. (2008). The leisure basis of caring. Leisure Studies Association Newsletter, 79(March), 34–37 (also available at www.seriousleisure.net/Digital Library/ “Leisure Reflections no. 17).
Wuthnow, R. (1991). Acts of compassion: Caringfor others and helping ourselves. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2015 Robert A. Stebbins
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stebbins, R.A. (2015). Contributions to Community and Organization. In: Leisure and Positive Psychology: Linking Activities with Positiveness. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-56994-3_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-137-56994-3_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-56496-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56994-3
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social Sciences CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)