What is this Thing Called Community? A Communication Perspective

McKenna B¹*

1. Business School, The University of Queensland, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

Large Australian mining companies seem to incorporating the development principles and practice adopted by the International Council of Mines and Metals to ‘contribute to the social, economic and institutional development of the communities in which [they] operate’ and by the Australian Minerals Industry Code of Environmental Management. Yet, apart from two studies of limited scope undertaken for the Australian component of the MMSD project (Cheney et al, 2002; URS Consulting, 2002), the issues surrounding the concept of community have not yet attracted much research attention.

The joint ARC research project of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining and the UQ Business School has provided an opportunity to consider the notion of community theoretically and empirically. Under closer scrutiny, “community” seems to operate well as warm and nostalgic notion (Burkett 2001). However, our research finds some problems with this comfortable notion. For example, empirical research so far suggests that communities of interest is more appropriate. Implicated in this notion are relations of power (Whiteman and Mamen 2002) and social identity (Abrams and Hogg 1990; van Dick 2001).

This paper uses empirical and theoretical perspectives to devise appropriate communication responses in the light of a fuller concept of community.

Click here to view the full paper