Civic Engagement

When and why do residents:

-have feelings of belonging to a community that motivate them to behave in a neighborly way?
-participate in the civic life of their community?
-have collective efficacy or the belief that they and their neighbors can come together to solve neighborhood problems?

These are the elements of civic engagement that we study. In 11 different residential areas of Los Angeles, areas that differ markedly in racial/ethnic and socio-economic composition—we have found two key forces that affect the level of civic engagement.

The first is the strength of the neighborhood storytelling network. When residents, community organizations, and geo-ethnic media prompt each other to tell neighborhood stories, there is a strong network that can buttress and sustain community. Most important, all of these storytellers are addressing neighborhood events, threats, opportunities, and issues in their daily conversations or stories.

The second force is the communication environment or the communication action context that residents share and in which they lead their daily lives. This context directly affects the vitality of the storytelling network. For example, safe streets, well-equipped libraries, parks, and other public spaces, and easy access to quality restaurants, grocery stories, and health resources are features that promote people staying in their neighborhoods so that they can connect with neighbors.

Research Team

- Charlotte Lapsansky

- Katherine Ognyanova

- Matthew D. Matsaganis

- Nancy Chen

- Sandra Ball-Rokeach

- Sorin Matei

- Yong Chan Kim

Publications

Books Matsaganis, M., Katz, V. & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (In preparation). Understanding ethnic media: Their social and cultural roles in economic and policy contexts. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Published Papers Ball-Rokeach, S.J. & The Metamorphosis Project Research Team, (2000). The challenge of belonging in the 21st Century: The case of Los Angeles. Metamorphosis Project White Paper. Communication Technology and Community Program, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California.The_challenge_of_belonging_in_the_21st_century.pdf Ball-Rokeach, S.J., & Loges, W.E. (2001). Media: Ally or adversary? Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 15, 62-69. Ball-Rokeach, S.J., Kim, Y.C., & Matei, S. (2001). Storytelling neighborhood: Paths to belonging in diverse urban environments. Communication Research. 28(4), 392-428 Hardyk, B., Loges, W.E., & Ball-Rokeach, S.J. (2005). Radio as a successful local storyteller in Los Angeles: A case study of KKBT and KPCC. Journal of Radio Studies. 12 (1). Katz, V.S. (In press). How children of immigrants use media to connect their families to the community: The case of Latinos in Los Angeles. Journal of Children and Media. Kim, Y. C., & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (2006). Civic engagement from a communication infrastructure perspective. Communication Theory, 16 (2), 173-197. Kim, Y. C., & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (2006). Neighborhood storytelling resources and civic engagement: A multilevel approach. Human Communication Research, 32(4), 411-439. Kim, Y. C., Jung, J.-Y., & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (2006). Geo-ethnicity and civic engagement: A communication infrastructure perspective. Political Communication, 23(3), 421-441. Kim, Y.C., Ball-Rokeach, S.J., Cohen, E.L., & Jung, J.Y. (2002). Metamorphosis of civic actions post September 11th: From local storytelling networks to national action. In B. Greenberg (Ed.), Communication and terrorism (pp. 289-304). Cresskill: Hampton Press. Matei, S., & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (2002). Belonging across geographic and Internet spaces: Ethnic area variations. In B. Wellman & C. Haythornthwaite (Eds.), The Internet in everyday life. UK: Blackwells. Matei, S., & Ball-Rokeach, S.J. (2001). Real and virtual social ties: Connections in the everyday lives of seven ethnic neighborhoods. American Behavioral Scientist. 45(3), 550-564. Matsaganis, M. (2007). Neighborhood effects and the invisible motor of community change. In Burd, G., Drucker, S., & Grumpert, G. (Eds.), The Urban Communication Reader, pp. 73-103. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. Wilkin, H., Katz, V., & Ball-Rokeach, S.J. (2009). How family talk affects community storytelling: The role of family interaction in new immigrant civic engagement. Journal of Communication 59(2), 387-406.
Papers in Preparation Ball-Rokeach, S.J. & The Metamorphosis Project Team. The well-connected community: A new tool for planning to use the Internet to build community Chen, N.-T., Ball-Rokeach, S.J., & Parks, M. (2010). The role of participatory journalism in promoting civic engagement in one ethno-linguistically diverse community. In Hutchison, D. & O'Donnell, H. (Eds.). Centres and peripheries: Metropolitan and non-metropolitan journalism in the twenty first century. Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Kim, Y.C., & Matsaganis, M. (in progress) Living In A Stigmatized Neighborhood and Community Engagement: A Moderating Role of Connections to the Neighborhood Storytelling Network. Kim, Y.K. & Ball-Rokeach, S. J., New immigrants, the Internet, and civil society. In A. Chadwick & P. Howard (Eds.), The Handbook of Internet Politics. New York: Routledge. Wilkin, H. A., Katz, V., & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (In Press). Community change begins at home: The role of family interaction on civic engagement outcomes. Journal of Communcation.
Papers Presented at Professional Meetings Ball-Rokeach, S.J. (2002). Metamorphosis: Transforming the ties that bind. Paper presented a the Annenberg Public Policy Center Symposium on Deliberation, Democracy, and the Internet, Washington, DC. Ball-Rokeach, S.J., Kim, Y.C., & Matei, S. (2001). Communication infrastructure and neighborhood belonging. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Conference, Washington DC. Broad, G.M. (2009). Gardens as Sites for Neighborhood Communication: The Case of Hollywood Community Gardens. Paper presented at the Urban Communication Foundation Seminar at the Conference of the National Communication Association. Chicago, IL. Chavez, C.A. & Ball-Rokeach, S.J. (2006). Exploring the Role of Religious Affiliation on Civic Engagement Amongst New Immigrant Latinos in Los Angeles. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association, Dresden, Germany. Chen, N.-T. & Huang, J. (2009). The Alhambra Project: Building a Civically-Engaged Community Through the Re-Localization of News in Alhambra, Los Angeles County. Paper presented at the annual conference of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL. Cohen, E.L., Ball-Rokeach, S.J., Jung, J.Y., & Kim, Y.C. (2002). Civic actions after September 11th: Exploring the role of multi-level storytelling. Paper presented to the Communications Conference, New York. Gonzalez, C.& Moreno, E. (2008). Working Together for a Shared Community: Community-Based Organizations as Sites of Intergroup Interaction. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Conference, Montreal. Hardyk, B., Loges, W.E., & Ball-Rokeach, S.J. (2004). Radio as a successful local storyteller in Los Angeles: A case study of KKBT and KPCC. Presented to the Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, New Orleans. Katz, V. (2007). Making the connection: What immigrant children do for their families and how it matters. Presentation at the UCLA Migration Symposium, Los Angeles. Katz, V. (2009). How children mediate connections between home and community: The case of Latinos in South Los Angeles. Top 3 Faculty Paper presented to the International Communication Association Annual Conference. Chicago, IL. Kim, Y.C & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (2006). Community Storytelling Network, Neighborhood Context, and Civic Engagement: A Multilevel Approach. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the AEJMC Theory and Methodology Division, San Francisco. Kim, Y.C. & Ball-Rokeach, S.J. (2004). Communication infrastructure theory: An ecological approach to civic engagement in the contemporary urban environment. Voice and Citizenship Conference, University of Washington. Kim, Y.C., Ball-Rokeach, S.J., Jung, J. Y., & Cohen, E.L. (2002). Internet connectedness in a crisis: Connectors connected more after September 11th. Paper presented to the Convention Chair Sponsored Special Session, Broadcast Education Association Convention, Las Vegas. Kim, Y.C., Jung, J. Y., Cohen, E.L., & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (2003). Internet connectedness before and after September 11th: High connectors connect more. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Conference, San Diego. Lin, W. Y., Song, H. & Mercado, A. (2004). Storytelling into Community Building: The role of geo-ethnic media in building communities. Paper presented at the annual conference of the International Communication Association, New Orleans. Matei, S., & Ball-Rokeach, S. J. (2001). Off-line Social Bonds as Predictors for On-line Social Ties. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Conference, Washington DC. Matsaganis, M. (2006). Neighborhood Effects and the Invisible Motor of Community Change. Paper presented at the International Communication Association, Dresden. Matsaganis, M. (2009). How the interaction of residents and community institutions impacts health literacy and how it can be leveraged to improve health care access. American Public Health Association. Philadelphia, PA. Song, H. (2006). The relationship between humans, space, and media in globalization: The role of local and global news in ethnic media on the sense of belonging toward the residential area. Paper presented at the Annual Conference at the Association of Pacific Rim Universities Doctoral Student Conference, Singapore. Song, H. (2007). The dual roles of ethnic media: The effect of neighborhood news and home country news connectedness of ethnic media on the sense of belonging to the residential area. Paper presented at the annual conference of National Communication Association, Chicago, IL. Wilkin, H. A., Ball-Rokeach, S. J., Matsaganis, M.D., & Cheong, P. (2007). Comparing the communication ecologies of geo-ethnic communities: How people stay on top of their community. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Communication Association. San Francisco.
Dissertations Katz, V. (2007). From conversation to conversion: Children's efforts to translate their immigrant families' social networks into community connections. Kim, Y.C. (2003). Storytelling community: Communication infrastructure and civic engagements in urban spaces. Dissertation Abstracts International, 64 (12), 4256. Lin, W.Y. (2004). Communication and community-building: The role of ethnic media in the Chinese immigrant community of Los Angeles. Dissertation Abstracts International, 65 (09), 3203. Matsaganis, M. D. (2008). Rediscovering the communication engine of neighborhood effects: how the interaction of residents and community institutions impacts health literacy and how it can be leveraged to improve health care access. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Song, H. (2008). Acculturation and Latino immigrants' health attitudes and behaviors: An approach of bidimensional acculturation model, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Wilson. M.E. (2000). Leading the community chorus: The role of organizations in society. Dissertation Abstracts International, 62 (09), 2920.