published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 1987. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 514-526).

The study's purposes were to understand how students with physical disabilities perceive a) normative pressures identified in Weidman's (1989) Model of Undergraduate Socialization as affecting their social integration; b) their own disability as influencing their social integration; and c) their levels of satisfaction with social integration.

Idrott är ett globalt samhällsfenomen som berör och engagerar människor i olika kulturer och kan vara en potentiell mötesplats för integrationsmöjligheter för flyktingar. Antalet flyktingar ökar runt om i världen, och därmed reses frågan om hur integrationen blir för individen och på vilket sätt samhället kan bidra till den sociala integrationen? Syftet med uppsatsen är att genom en forskningsöversikt sammanställa och analysera vad forskning säger om idrottens betydelse för social integration bland flyktingar. Uppsatsens frågeställningar är: 1) Kan idrott anses vara ett verktyg för den sociala integrationen för flyktingar? 2) På vilket sätt kan man i så fall se att idrott bidrar till den sociala integrationen för flyktingar? Forskningen visar att idrottsföreningar, program och projekt som arbetar med att inkludera och hjälpa flyktingar ger förutsättningar för utvecklandet av socialt kapital, vilket i sin tur underlättar social integration. Tränare och ledare i idrottsföreningar har en viktig roll i att underlätta den sociala integrationsprocessen för flyktingar. Det är de som formar en välkomnande och positiv miljö där kulturell mångfald accepteras. I en sådan miljö kan flyktingar känna sig välkomna och utveckla sitt sociala kapital. Samtidigt blir de en del av flyktingarnas sociala nätverk och kan bidra med utvecklandet av annat kapital: ekonomiskt och kulturellt kapital. Deltagande i idrott ger även en känsla av tillhörighet, vilket kan kopplas till det sammanbindande och överbryggande sociala kapitalet. Slutligen framställs idrott som ett användbart verktyg för språkinlärning och kulturinlärning, vilket är bidragande faktorer för den sociala integrationen. / Sport is a global social phenomenon that affects and engages people in different cultures and can be a potential meeting place for integration opportunities for refugees. The number of refugees is increasing around the world, and therefore the question arises as to how integration becomes for the individual and in what way can society contribute to social integration? The purpose of the thesis is to compile and analyse what research says about the importance of sport for social integration among refugees through a research overview. The thesis questions are: 1) Can sport be considered as a tool for social integration of refugees? 2) If so, in what ways can you see that sport contributes to the social integration of refugees? The research shows that sports organisations, programs, and projects that work to include and help refugees provide conditions for the development of social capital, which in turn facilitates social integration. Coaches and leaders in sports organisations have an important role to play in facilitating the social integration process for refugees. It is they who create a welcoming and positive environment where cultural diversity is accepted. In such an environment, refugees may feel welcome and develop their social capital. At the same time, they become part of the refugee social network and can contribute to the development of other capital: economic and cultural capital. Participation in sports also gives a sense of belonging, which can be linked to the binding and bridging social capital. Finally, sport is presented as a useful tool for language learning and cultural learning, which are contributing factors for social integration.

The aim of this study is twofold. First, the study aims to investigate how employment agency officers, in both public and private agencies, perceive how they help young people with immigrant background to access the labour market. Secondly, the study aims to investigate these professionals’ perspectives on the possibilities and barriers faced by young people with immigrant background in their process of labour integration. A qualitative study, with face to face semi - structured interviews was conducted with five professionals from both the public and private sector of the Swedish work agency in one municipality in mid Sweden. A social constructivist perspective and empowerment and advocacy theory were used. The results show the importance of the Swedish language and its importance to establish social contacts in the process of finding jobs and integrate. The results also show other difficulties immigrants may face in the labor market such as regulations laid by employers or recruiters as requirements such as being fluent in Swedish language. According to the professionals, the youth immigrants with educational background have an easier access to integration. With "Nystartsjobb" (new start job) the youth immigrants can build networks, increase their language knowledge, get references and experience and job benefits in case of job loss.

Purpose: Discover measures that enhances social sustainability based on three chosen positions; social interaction, social integration and architectural identity, whilst increasing the attractiveness of the area. Method: A case study in Tensta, a comparative study based on a previous survey and a self-conducted survey, in forms of a questionnaire, dialogues and interviews with residents of Tensta. Initially, studies about the advantages and disadvantages of the “million-program” and document analysis of previous surveys were made. Findings: The objective of the study was to find measures that enhance the social sustainability of a residential area whilst increasing its attractiveness. By finding out how the residents of the area evaluate the measures already conducted as well as what they personally consider contributing to a pleasant social environment, it is possible to see which direction of development the area is taking. In this way measures that enhance social sustainability which increase the area’s attractiveness. Several point efforts have been made in with a lack of effect. Furthermore, the residents believe that the actual problems cannot simply be “designed out” as they are rooted deeper than that. One of the major problems in Tensta is the low employment and occupation rate, especially among the younger generations. By providing more appropriate facilities/spaces, which encourage a social environment, the risk of residents taking up bad habits, such as crime, is reduced. This would reduce the insecurity, which currently is discouraging people from leaving their house during evenings, and further on allow more activities to take place. Implications: The study shows that smaller measures such as well-maintained environments including plantations and functional lighting, could help enhance the social sustainability by inspiring residents to feel proud and belonging to the area. Furthermore, the study clarifies that clearly defined meeting points is something that is highly valued in terms of promoting an areas’ interaction and integration. Community involvement is also noted to be important in terms of development of social sustainability. Finally, it appears that all social problems cannot be eliminated by construction, but require more social-based actions to be solved. Limitations: The study is conducted in Tensta since it’s undergoing a major lift in conjunction with “Järvalyftet” which started 2007. The results that were obtained from dialogues with Tensta residents are outcomes of its current conditions. The measure that are presented, on the other hand, are not limited to Tensta but may be applied where similar conditions prevail. Keywords: Architectural identity, Järvalyftet, million program, social integration, social interaction, social sustainability, Tensta.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015. / This dissertation examines the imaginations and use of space by black residents in Suburban South Africa, with a particular focus on the small town of Mokopane, in the context of urban desegregation and integration. Given the segregated spatial legacy of apartheid, the post-apartheid state has and continues to seek ways to create a non-racial and integrated society. However, twenty years after the demise of the apartheid regime and the country remains segregated along racial and class lines. In understanding some of the reasons why integration remains a challenge, this research investigates black residents’ use of public spaces in the context of a supposedly desegregated space. It investigates the socio-spatial relations between residents of three adjoined suburbs, two of which are a product of apartheid and one a recent development of the state’s spatial policy to create integrated communities. The study is not focused solely on the social and spatial relations within the confines of the study area but most significantly beyond that in order to comprehend people’s relationship and meanings attached to space. Drawing from Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space, imagined and psychoanalytical geographies, the study reflects on how people’s identities, rooted in a history of colonialism and apartheid, affect the way they imagine and use space and, further, how the arrival of those considered as other reveals the symbolic meanings and boundaries that have been attached to space. The study further draws from post-colonial literature on space to challenge prevalent notions of the relationship between race and space, with a particular focus on the rural-township-urban mobilities and what those mean in the construction of blackness. Thematic content and discourse analysis are used to decode meaning embedded in language in terms of how people relate to others socially and spatially. The dissertation reveals that, even in contexts where spatial desegregation has been attained, the use and imagination of space and the relationship to others are rooted within historical configurations of racial and class identities. Further, black residents’ experience of historically white spaces remains rooted in their lived experiences and in their understanding of their belonging in urban spaces as inherently white. It is against this backdrop that this research argues that, in the quest to develop integrated post-apartheid communities, the state has given insufficient, if any, thought on the ways space, class and race are produced relationally.

Orientador: Antonio Francisco Marques / Coorientadora: Maria da Glória Minguili / Banca: Mariana Vaitiekunas Pizarro / Banca: Maria da Graça Mello Magnoni / Resumo: Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo refletir e sugerir práticas pedagógicas em rodas de conversa que auxiliem no desenvolvimento da linguagem e do pensamento como também na formação de conceitos pelos alunos, tendo em vista a aprendizagem compreensiva e crítica, realizada por meio do diálogo, reflexões e ações embasadas no conhecimento científico, porém relacionados ao contexto sócio-histórico-cultural dos alunos, assim como a sua situação nesse contexto, propondo a discussão de diferentes visões, pontos de vista e conhecimentos para a significação ou ressignificação dos conhecimentos sobre o mundo. O debate sobre a educação dialógica parte de Freire (1977, 1996, 2005), fundamentando a importância das relações de diálogo, da linguagem e das trocas de conhecimentos baseadas não somente em conteúdo, em depósito de conhecimentos, mas em situações reais que, ao serem discutidas, trazem novas reflexões que possibilitem aos educandos a autonomia e a emancipação pela formação de futuros cidadãos ativos e críticos para a efetivação de uma sociedade democrática e solidária. O estudo se fundamenta na teoria Histórico-Cultural, partindo da perspectiva da linguagem como discurso interior e intrapsíquico de cada sujeito, formada inicialmente pelas atividades exteriores e interpsíquicas que o indivíduo estabelece com as outras pessoas através do diálogo, fundamental na formação do pensamento e na mediação entre o ser humano e a sociedade. A proposta da pesquisa tem como principal característic... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This research aims at reflecting and suggesting pedagogical practices in conversation wheels that help in the development of language and thought as well as in the formation of students' concepts, with a view to comprehensive and critical learning, through dialogue, reflections and actions based on the scientific knowledge, but related to the socio-historical-cultural context of the students, as well as their situation in this context, proposing the discussion of different visions, points of view and knowledge for the meaning or re-signification of knowledge about the world. The debate on dialogic education starts from Freire (1977, 1996, 2005), basing the importance of relations of dialogue, language and exchanges of knowledge based not only on content, on deposit of knowledge, but on real situations that, when discussed bring new reflections that enable the students to autonomy and emancipation for the formation of future citizens active and critical for the realization of a democratic society and solidarity. The study is based on Historical-Cultural theory starting from the perspective of language as an inner and intrapsychic discourse of each subject, initially formed by the external and interpsychic activities that the individual establishes with other people through dialogue, fundamental in the formation of thought and mediation between the human being and society. The research proposal has as its main characteristic the planning of the wheels based on the Sociodiscursi... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / As a Nigerian, I became interested in investigating how Nigerian students, from different cultural backgrounds are able to integrate and persist in their academic programmes. I used Tinto‟s (1993) Longitudinal Model of Institutional Departure as a foundation for my conceptual framework. I adopted a qualitative research approach as this provides opportunities for interpretations by both participants and the researcher. I purposively selected 20 Nigerian students who were at different stages of their Master‟s programmes at a university in the Western Cape province of South Africa, but only 12 students were available and interviewed. The data reveals a significant relationship between intercultural peer group interactions, formal social integration and student persistence, while there was no significant relationship between intercultural peer group interaction, informal social integration and student persistence. Furthermore, informal social integration was partially related to formal academic integration and student persistence. Finally, it emerged that informal academic integration was also strongly linked to social integration and academic success. Due to the limiting nature of a research paper, the research has been restricted to the Nigerian experience to allow an insider perspective.

The purpose of this study was to establish the experiences of ex-offenders during reintegration into mainstream society in the Ekurhuleni region. The population, from which the study sample was drawn, comprised of adult ex-offenders in the Ekurhuleni region who have served time in prison. The research population also comprised of key informants, this category of participants targeted people with expert knowledge in the science of offender reintegration. The study utilised two semi-structured interview schedules comprising of open-ended questions as primary data collection tools. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data. The research adopted a qualitative approach and an exploratory research design was used. The findings that emerged from the study show that both ex-offenders and the key informants regarded socio-economic problems such as poverty and inequality as the main factors contributing to the commission of crime. Participants highlighted that other causal factors of crime such as peer pressure and substance abuse are derived from the afore-mentioned socio-economic factors. Regarding the participants’ views on the rehabilitation programmes; many were of the view that they play a central role in reducing recidivism by confronting the risks and needs which lead to offending. Gaps were also identified by both ex-offenders and key informants in the rehabilitation system of South Africa and these ranged from the lack of continuity of services after release from prison; crime in prisons, idleness in prisons, appalling prison conditions such as overcrowding, lack of sanitation and maltreatment of offenders by prison officials and these pose a challenge to rehabilitation. Offenders face a litany of problems during reintegration and some of these are rejection by family and community, lack of a holistic approach to reintegration and unemployment problems. The conclusions drawn from the study are that most of the ex-offenders are repeat offenders and as such society needs to put in place structures and preventative measures to reduce the recidivism rates among ex-convicts. These structures and preventative measures should focus on the holistic needs and risks of offenders.