by Heather Percey (BA, BSSc (Hons)(Psych)) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Rural Health University of Tasmania October 2013 I hereby declare that this thesis is my own work and contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Signed: Heather Joy Percey Date: 15th October 2013 This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying and communication in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Signed: Heather Joy Percey Date: 15th October 2013 i The research associated with this thesis abides by the international and Australian codes on human and animal experimentation, as approved by the joint University of Tasmania and State Government Department of Health and Human Services, Human Research Ethics Committee (Tasmania) Network – Social Sciences, Ethics Reference No. H8714. Signed: Heather Joy Percey Date: 15th October 2013 ii Community process modelling and rural community development Abstract Community development (CD) has been demonstrated to effectively deliver sought-after benefits towards improved economic, social, physical and psychological wellbeing. CD in rural areas is thus an important response to the change pressures in rural communities. Millions of dollars are spent annually on rural community development (RCD) activities. Yet CD is complex with many interacting variables and these dynamic processes are particularly visible in rural communities. RCD can have unintended (positive and negative) consequences upon the interwoven dynamics of the fabric of rural communities, independent of whether or not project objectives are achieved. A greater theoretical understanding of these processes is needed to better manage RCD outcomes and side effects. Such theoretical understanding is currently lacking in CD literature. The purpose of this study was to use a grounded theory approach to generate a theoretical understanding of how RCD implementation processes interact with and affect the fabric of a community. Open interviews with twenty participants across three different RCD projects and rural sites were the key data source, contextualised by observation and written documentation. Based on differing aetiologies, the study identified three types of community associated with and including the rural community: feature, interest and cause based. It was found that a multiplicity of these communities acted as constituents of each rural community, being part of, yet separate to the rural community. In coexisting, they were constituted by and subject to boundary processes. Literature describes such boundary processes in terms of differentiation and symbolic expression. This study identified additional processes of agendas, alignment and non-alignment. RCD involved establishing and managing a further cause based constituent community amongst existing constituent communities and within the rural community. RCD projects were subject to boundary processes in creating their community identity, as well as in their interaction with other communities whilst pursuing project objectives. The study found that the often conflated concepts iii Community process modelling and rural community development Abstract of community ownership and support were also distinct processes with different roles in RCD. How all these processes were managed affected both the rural community fabric and the success of projects. The thesis develops a theoretical model which will contribute to understanding and managing community processes and RCD for theorists and practitioners alike. Due to sample limitations, further research is needed to establish the extent to which the model can be extrapolated to other settings. iv Community process modelling and rural community development Content Completing this thesis has been a long journey which has not been traversed alone. It has been a privilege to have the supervision of Dr Peter Orpin throughout the entire journey, challenging and encouraging me along the way. There has also been the guidance of supervisors, Associate Professor Rosalind Bull in the early stages of my candidate, Dr Christine Stirling at the beginning of my write-up, and Dr Tony Barnett as the thesis chapters took shape. This research would not have been possible without the time willingly and generously given by the rural community members who participated. The support and interest of my friends and family has also been important throughout the journey. v Community process modelling and rural community development Content Contents Chapter 1: Introduction – Research orientation and motivation 1: 1. RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM ............................................................................................... 2 1: 2. RESEARCH BOUNDS AND DIRECTION ...................................................................................................... 6 1: 3. THESIS STRUCTURE .................................................................................................................................. 8 1: 4. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 2: Impetus Behind Rural Community Development Research 2: 1. WHAT IS RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT? .................................................................................... 11 2: 2. BENEFITS OF RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................ 16 2: 3. RENEWED FOCI ON RURAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ..................................................................... 18 2: 3.1 THE AUSTRALIAN RURAL CONTEXT .................................................................................................................. 18 2: 3.2 RENEWED FOCUS ........................................................................................................................................ 21 2: 4. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 3: Theory and Rural Community Development 3: 1. CONCEPTUALISING COMMUNITY .......................................................................................................... 25 3: 1.1 BRIEF HISTORY AND ORIENTATION .................................................................................................................. 26 3: 1.2 COMMUNITY AND IDENTITY ........................................................................................................................... 31 3: 1.3 COMMUNITY BOUNDARIES ............................................................................................................................ 34 3: 1.4 COMMUNITY AS RELATIONAL PROCESSES.......................................................................................................... 37 3: 2. CONCEPTUALISING RURAL COMMUNITY............................................................................................... 38 3: 2.1 RURAL CLASSIFICATION: COMMUNITY BOUNDARY AND IDENTITY PROCESSES ........................................................... 39 3: 2.2 RURAL AND NON-RURAL ............................................................................................................................... 41 3: 3. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................ 45 3: 3.1 PRINCIPLES AND VALUES ............................................................................................................................... 46 3: 3.2 THEORY AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ....................................................................................................... 52 3: 4. RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY ..................................................................................................................... 62 3: 4.1 RESEARCH INTEREST .................................................................................................................................... 66 Chapter 4: Research Strategy 4: 1. METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................... 68 4: 2. RESEARCH DESIGN................................................................................................................................. 74 4: 2.1 INTERVIEW DESIGN ...................................................................................................................................... 75 4: 2.2 CONTEXTUAL DATA ...................................................................................................................................... 76 4: 3. DATA COLLECTION................................................................................................................................. 77 4: 3.1 ETHICAL CONDUCT ...................................................................................................................................... 77 vi Community process modelling and rural community development Content 4: 3.2 RECRUITING PARTICIPANTS ...........................................................................................................................