#sociogram

“Sociogram”

Superman’s Pal Jimmy Olsen #4 (December 2019)

Matt Fraction, Steve Lieber and Nathan Fairbairn

Firstly, I know I'm a little bit behind, but with my schgfedule, I rarely get the time to sit down and justtype. 

This week...er...last week, we discussed community as it pertains to the internet and the validity behind calling things "communities" vs. "neighborhoods" vs. "groups" etc.  One of our topics was defining a "group" as opposed to a "community," if we saw a difference between the two.  My view is that the two are distinct terms, and they bear very little in common. 

A community, in my mind, is a place where everyone is on more equal ground.  There might be a leader who takes charge on occasion, but for the most part, there is equal sharing of information between the community members.  Our nursing clinical groups might as well be renamed "communities," because we try to make sure that we hear all sides of an issue and make sure that everyone has a share in discussion.  In Professional Nursing last week, I was asked to make a sociogram (secretly) during a discussion of how we ranked items on a survival activity.  This made me think of a community, because it showed how ideas flowed from one person to the next, with almost equal sharing between all members of the "community." 

On the other hand, a group feels more like something we encounter in school.  You know, the forced social interaction where people who do not want to participate are quiet and do not provide input, and those who are excited for group work take charge.  A group, to me, seems like something that is more elementary than what we should be participating in in college.  By the time we get to university, we should be able to participate in a setting where we feel comfortable sharing ideas and receiving criticisms.  "Group" implies that we have not been able to be equals with our peers. 

Now, in class, I got some criticism for my view on this, but I stand by my idea.  I'm not saying to start calling group work "community work" instead...that's just a little bit odd.  All I am saying is that a community seems more like where we should be as college students, and a group is more of an elementary concept. 

Until next time!

This is actually the same sociogram as vierkant posted earlier, only now in a circle. The names are deleted because of privacy.