Dr. Purba Das, Ohio University: PalUpNow! Scores On All Four Dimensions Of A Community
About PalUpNow!
PalUpNow! connects anxious people with helpful pals and coaches. Read the?founder's note?for details. PalUpNow! has partnered with Dr. Purba Das from Ohio University for an in-depth analysis of how PalUpNow! helps in building social capital, building and empowering communities, and increasing community capacity.
Here's a 5-min introductory video from PalUpNow!'s founder to set the context.
About Dr. Purba Das?
Dr. Purba Das?is an Associate Professor in Communication Studies at Ohio University’s southern campus. She is the Academic Lead for GLOBAL COIL. She has also directed OUS OMSAR Peer Mentor program which is funded by 1804 grant.
Dr. Das’ research interests are intercultural communication and health communication. Her research employs a critical approach in the field of intercultural communication, and a culture-centered approach to health communication in understanding the problematics of nations, national identity, media, and health narratives in marginalized populations in the US (Appalachia) and India. This analysis was done by undergraduate students in COMS 1100 (Communication Across Cultures) at?Ohio University?in the Fall of 2021 in Dr. Purba Das’ class.?The original papers with student names are?available upon request.?
The students analyzed how PalUpNow! enhances social capital, community capacity, and community empowerment to execute on its:
A. Vision: To improve?accessibility?for every human, and create economic opportunity for those who can help.?
B. Mission: To?connect?anxious people, who need assistance in flights and for life's essentials, with pals and?coaches.
Abstract
PalUpNow! is a web app dedicated to connecting people who do not have vehicles or flight experience, usually the elderly, to those who have these resources and are willing to help those who do not. It does this through an application process and match making. Once a match is made, these people will meet up and the ones helping will either drive the one in need to where they need to be, or will lead them through the process and getting onto and off of a flight. The one in need gets to do whatever they need to do, and the helper receives incentives such as a gift or money.?PalUpNow! helps not only those in need but the entire community itself. It is an extremely beneficial tool for communities. It helps communities build social capital, sense of community, community capacity, and community empowerment. It does all of this through how it works and through sharing stories.?
PalUpNow! Enforces Key Community Characteristics
On PalUpNow!, they have people that offer transportation and they are called ride pals. On their web app they offer transportation to those that need to be accompanied to several different places such as the airport, doctor’ appointments, and grocery stores.?PalUpNow! takes it one step further compared to the services of Uber or Lyft. PalUpNow! drivers not only transport an individual to their destination safely, they offer further assistance with a rider that may need special assistance during or after being transported. They can help someone with their grocery shopping, loading and unloading groceries, or even help keep someone calm that may be on their way to an important doctor’s office visit.?
PalUpNow! also offers the services of not only offering rides for a customer, but they can also take flights with them as well, and further assist them with going through check in baggage and baggage claims as well.?On PalUpNow! their services seem to be unlimited in offering comfortability in helping their customers getting from one destination to the next and back.?
PalUpNow! enforces these key community characteristics, and we expand on each of these below:
1. Social Capital
2. Sense of Community
3. Community Capacity
4. Community Empowerment
1. Social Capital
Social capital is the?network of relationships?among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively. Social capital are local businesses interacting and forming relationships with individuals in the community. With social capital, one main concept is for it to help resolve issues that there may be within the community.?
Social capital easily correlates in the operations of PalUpNow!.?Social capital is an expansion of connections that assist with adding more of a detailed structured production of goods and services that are specifically catered to the consumer’s needs.?
PalUpNow! creates a custom customer service experience that creates a warming welcoming environment for those who are in need. As with social capital, their service is meant to create a bond that lasts long term in hopes of keeping the customer coming back.?
Social capital is also meant to bridge and link a product to all ages, class, and religions, which helps PalUpNow! network smoothly with a community of individuals that have outside the box needs.
2. Sense of Community
Sense of community is the feeling of belonging and caring within a community. There are four dimensions to a sense of community.?
A.?The first is?membership, which relates to the feeling of belonging. The PalUpNow! web app states that it “helps build a sense of community by bringing together young adults and octogenarians under one roof” (founder’s note). Having the pals be active with the flyers and riders helps the flyers and riders feel like they belong to the community, that they matter and are cared for.?
B.?The next dimension of sense of community is?influence, which is an individual’s belief that they can actively help the community. Becoming a pal is extremely easy in PalUpNow!, and it can help the young adults find people in need of their aid. Allowing for people within the community to volunteer themselves helps increase their feeling of influence within the community.?
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C.?The third dimension is?integration; this refers to the feeling of needs being met by the community’s available resources. PalUpNow! is an idea like no other; allowing those who have vehicles and experience with flights to volunteer to help those without these things. Using the people within the community as a resource, and making finding these willing people quick and simple, is a great way of getting those in need of these resources to feel like their needs will be met.?
D.?The final dimension is a?shared emotional connection. This is the belief that members of a community share experiences. This can be done through storytelling. After their experience with PalUpNow!, both the pals and the flyers/riders can talk about their experiences, recommend it, and it depends on the connections between two groups who will most likely not interact much without PalUpNow!. In short, PalUpNow! helps with all dimensions of sense of community, and therefore helps with building a sense of community.?
3. Community Capacity
Goodman et al. defines community capacity as “the characteristics of communities that affect their ability to identify, mobilize, and address social and public health problems” (p.259).?
PalUpNow! itself is a way to address the social problem of elderly, disabled, and others having difficulties related to flying and driving. It not only brings awareness to these problems, but it also gives solutions to it. The connection of these people with these problems to those who are willing and skilled enough to help them in an easy way gives communities a meaningful capacity.?
The?web app?even mentions community capacity directly, saying that PalUpNow! “enhances community capacity with (skilled) pals… it facilitates integration of the weaker sections of the society” (founder’s note). John G. Oetzel says that community capacity’s key focus is on what assets communities have that can help address problems (280).?
If a community were to use PalUpNow! to, for example, address the issue of elderly not being able to get to doctor appointments, then the asset here would be those who want to help the elderly. They are the asset that solves the problems because the pals in PalUpNow! are those who have vehicles or know what to do during flights.?
4. Community Empowerment
Community capacity goes hand in hand with community empowerment in certain ways. Oetzel explains that “community empowerment is a social action process that promotes the participation of people and organizations toward the goals of the community.”?
PalUpNow! promotes participation by allowing those who need help to give their pal an incentive, either a gift or money. These incentives encourage flight pals and ride pals to reach out and help flyers and riders. It helps pals and the flyer/riders develop?interpersonal skills. Through their pals, the flyers can gain personal empowerment by learning how to navigate an airport and airplane, and in turn this gives flight pals interpersonal empowerment. When these people tell others about their experience and recommend PalUpNow! to others, it can help the community gain empowerment. PalUpNow! has the possible power to create an?empowerment cycle, raise awareness, and encourage aid from all.?
Conclusion
PalUpNow! is great for those that are elderly, adults that have special needs, those with physical limited capabilities, or those that just have social anxiety and are not comfortable dealing with normal daily outside activities that are uncomfortable for them.?This idea is considerate, well thought out, and specific it seems to anybody looking for more than a ride.???
References
This paper was authored with the help of the following references:
In Summary
PalUpNow! thanks Ohio University and Dr. Purba Das for this analysis, and hopes to continue this partnership to help create a better world. Our gratitude goes to the students who took it upon themselves to pen down their thoughts for the benefit of others.
Here's a list of all?academic papers?published in collaboration with PalUpNow!.
Sign up at PalUpNow! as a:
1.?Flight pal, if you can help your fellow flyer in airports and in the aircraft.?
2.?Ride pal, if you can help people get groceries, fill their prescription at the local pharmacy, take them to doctor appointments, help them get their vaccine shots and other life's essentials.
3.?Flyer, if you need assistance in airports and aircrafts from your fellow flyer.
4.?Rider, if you want someone to drive or accompany you while you take care of life's essentials.
You’re not alone. Believe it or not, there’s a pal out there wishing you had signed up sooner.?
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