Some organizational scholars believe viability in non-hierarchical organizations is encouraged by a homogeneous membership. From a systems thinking perspective, heterogeneity may provide the needed tension for organizations to self-organize, change, and adapt to both internal and external environments. This thesis explores these differing perspectives by critically analyzing the literature on heterogeneity in non-hierarchical organizations using qualitative...

Mickey Gammon, a disaffected fifteen-year-old dropout kicked out of his home by his half-brother, is introduced to the secretive world of the Settlement, a rural cooperative run by The Prophet, where he encounters another deserted child, six-year-old Jane.

When journalist Ivy Morelli sets out to investigate the mysterious leader of the nearby homeschool, known as "The Prophet," she is drawn into the life of his self-sufficient countercultural community called the Settlement.