Bob Jeffery here. Some of the comments the list has provided about learning communities have stimulated me over the last month or so to do more reading, thinking but not much chatting yet with others. Thanks for that stimulation and encouragement. The questions that Peter O'Donnell posed with respect to this list serve and whether or not we are a learning community has taken me a little further into applying the reading and thinking and now with some comments about all the people out there who are reading with only a few commenting I thought I would like to let others know that us "shy" people may be getting useful information, contacts and new ideas. The development of learning communities or organizations, as I understand it, is the process where we take the facts, so to speak, and through a process gain new behavious/ outcome etc. The steps in between are varied and for me I figure that once I understand how people feel about the facts we can then begin to interpret them and gain a group understanding that allows action. I see the list serve at this point touching mostly on the sharing of facts. By the way facts can be people's world view as this is their reality. Only occasionally do I see some sharing of emotional contenct and I alway suspect that these people know or know of each other and there is a comfort level that makes it easier for people to share. The other thing is that with any relationship it take time and list this list serve has been excellent at giving data. At this time that is the time I have for this. Thanks for the stimulus to comment. Learning communities are a concept I have been very interested in so get that people keep bringing it up. bob jeffery health planner Northwestern Health Unit