Hello INTS 3900 Classmates...

My name is Scott Saxton. I am working towards a bachelors of science in Integrated Studies with the emphasis on psychology and business. I am not a conventional student as I am considerably older than most of the students on campus. I went to school many years ago, way back in the 1980's, pursuing a degree in business. Long story short, life just got in the way. I have a great job and have spent the past twenty five years in business management. Currently I am the Branch Manager of a heavy truck dealership here in Southern Utah (by heavy truck I mean semi-trucks). I am not seeking this integrated studies degree as a means to acquire a better job or to change my profession, but rather to enhance my personal and professional life.I am a senior with approximately 20 or so credits to finish my degree and look forward to completing this by the end of 2014. 

While thinking about the question of what communities and neighborhood means; I came to the conclusion that there are many parts to the definition. A community is a larger area made up of individual neighborhoods. Often the neighborhood is a reflection of the inhabitants and their individual culture, socioeconomic status, shared ethnicity, and religious beliefs. While there is always an exception I am defining the neighborhood as a collection of these concepts. A community be be as simple as a collection of different neighborhoods made up of many diverse populations. A community could include neighborhoods that are affluent as well as ones that are impoverished, and everything in between. the traditional thinking of what a community is refers to people who share a common space and their connection to that space.  In our modern world a community can be merely a sense of shared space even if the geography is very distant. Many communities have been born out of technology and share a connection through the internet. A community may be as simple as people who share or relate to a common identity.

I found that Sampson's article to be interesting and I would like to learn more. I am perplexed why he chose Chicago to study. From a merely political view this is one of the few places in the country where one and only one political group control everything. This left me wondering if that single political control had any influence on his research and findings, or if it was considered at all. From this singular view I can't help but wonder how the social fabric of Chicago's neighborhoods has been affected, and to what degree Sampson considers this to be an issue.