When you come to a fork in the road take it : negotiating crisis and transition in a northern village

This historical retrospective study used a case study methodology to examine a northwest coastal village's response to the downsizing of its primary employer. Using an integrated community development model advanced by Ife, the community's transition process was examined and analyzed. Using direct observation, semi-structured interviews and secondary analysis of documents, newspapers and public meetings, the findings of this study indicated that the affected village faced a myriad of difficulties in mediating this transition. These difficulties included the formation of an effective ad hoc group to negotiate with government bureaucracies, and government's residual approach to communities in crisis. Social work services were seen as critical components in any transition, both to assist those negatively affected and to help develop community consensus and encourage broad participation in the re-creation of community.--Page ii.