Sociology and Space, No. 7-8, 1965.
Original scientific paper
Formal Group Participation in the Village
Zdravko Mlinar
Abstract
This article is the second part of a larger author’s study (»Social Participation in the Local Community«). This study was based on a »case study« of the village Dolina (Socialistic Republic of Slovenia), one of the three types of villages in which the Institute of Sociology in Ljubljana carries out the complex research work of the commune on microsociological level. The first part of that study (»Informal
Group Participation in the Village«) has been published in this Journal (No 5-6/64. p. 25—36). In the first chapter of this article the author sketches the theoretical framework of his theme. The formal group participation he defines as a second most general type of social participation in local communities. Similarly as informal, it develops in the context of a concrete group but more numerous and subject
to determined formal procedure. These groups sociologists nominate as »secondary groups«, »organized groups«, »associations«, »professional groups« etc. Among them two kinds of groups can be distinguished: 1) those assigned to all members
of the local community (e. g. The Organization of Socialistic Alliance of Working People, Red Cross Organization) and 2) those, whose activities serve to professional interests of certain segments of population (e. g. The Pensioners’ Association, Trade Union Branch or Reserve Army „Officers Association etc). In the analysis of the formal group participation, in the author’s opinion, three factors should be taked into account: 1) its »situation’s stipulation, 2) an influence of demographic
and socioeconomic characteristics of the population structure and 3)
psychophysical pecularities of an individual. On the other hand its integrative function in principle depends on: a) intensity of the social participation in a) group, b) harmony of various group’s goals and c) structural differentiation of a group. In the second chapter the author presents the results of the research carried out in village Dolina. According to the intensity of formal group participation in 15 various social organizations the interviewed adult inhabitants are divided
into four groups: 1) those who are not members of any organization in the village, 2) those who are members of one or more organizations but only formally, 3) those who are active members of one or more organizations and 4) those who are leaders in one or more organizations. It is found that the first and the second group embrace 56.00%. Further, the author analyses members of each group according to some their characteristics (occupation, sex, age, source of income and membership in social organizations), pointing out the corresponding correlations between those characteristics and the intensity of formal group participation. For illustration here are some of the results: A) 3/4 of those who are not members of any social organization are women, 2/3 belongs to the age groups
over 50 years, 1/2 are with no occupation; B) Among active members of various social organizations 67.00% are men, 61.00% belong to the age group 18—30 years; C) Every second white collar worker is a leader, among workers every fourth and among peasants only every seventeenth; D) The least number of members, active members and leaders are among those with income only from agriculture (56.00%), more from agriculture and nonagriculture (80.00%) and the most among those with income only from agriculture (56.00%), more from agriculture and nonagriculture (80.00%) and the most among those who derive their income only from nonagricultural activities (87.00%).
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
118239
URI
Publication date:
24.3.1965.
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