Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / L. Frank Weyher / Deadheads (fans of the Grateful Dead) created a durable culture that has lasted for over 50 years despite the death of several band members and the break-up of the band in 1995. What mechanisms account for the rise and persistence of this culture? This empirical question informs a theoretical question: what mechanisms are responsible for social cohesion? Social cohesion has been widely studied in sociology, but because these studies range from sovereign states to interpersonal interaction, the field lacks definitional consensus for the term. Instead of focusing on definitions, therefore, this study instead seeks to contribute to the understanding of underlying mechanisms that are responsible for the development and maintenance of social cohesion. This study employs a mixture of qualitative methods: I conducted seven years of face-to-face and online participant observation, conducted 22 semi-structured, informal face-to-face interviews with 39 interviewees, and collected 86 online, long-form surveys (combined n=125). This study uses both inductive and deductive approaches to analyze material gathered from a mixture of qualitative methods: ethnography, open and closed coding of interviews and surveys, and triangulation to the body of historical work on the Grateful Dead. The mechanisms that emerged from this study suggest that processes related to ritual, religion, and identity, all operating through emotion, are central mechanisms in the longtime cohesion evidenced in the deadhead community. Fan behavior at Grateful Dead shows is reminiscent of Durkheim’s description of tribal behavior in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, and my research shows that fans create collective effervescence, sacred objects, and feel that they are part of something larger than themselves. Randall Collins builds on Durkheim in his theory of Interaction Ritual Chains, which informs the ways in which deadheads, through engaging collectively in intense rituals, create a long-term sense of community. Finally, I explore the structural symbolic interactionist school of identity theory with Stryker, McCall and Simmons, and Burke. When combined, these theories describe influences on deadhead group composition, explore the complex interaction between the individual and the group, and emphasize the role that emotion plays in that identity-work. Using an inductive approach and Hedström and Swedberg’s (1996) typology of mechanisms, I arrive at a number of mechanisms at work in deadhead cohesion: (1) situational (macro-level) mechanisms include internal and external constraint; (2) individual action (micro-level) mechanisms include self-transcendence, self-reinforcement, and self-talk; and (3) transformational (micro-level to macro-level) mechanisms include group maintenance and disruption. Future work should test these mechanisms using a group that shares characteristics with deadhead culture (such as transience, emergence, boundedness, motivation, and with little official structure) such as the grassroots political movement that emerged after the November 2017 national election, as well as hate groups that have existed for years but have recently become more active. Looking forward, more work is needed on meaning-making and the role of emotions in social cohesion. This work has implications for several sociological disciplines, such as group behavior, social movements, and culture, as well as social cohesion, religion, ritual, and identity theory.

To date, most of the research on group cohesion has focused on team sports, with little known about how this body of knowledge relates to individual sports. The case of the male French whitewater slalom canoe and kayak team was chosen because of the success of the team at World Championships and Olympic Games. The purpose of the present case study was to investigate how the coaches and athletes of this highly successful team worked together in training and competition within a highly competitive environment. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with six athletes and four coaches. Three themes, each containing numerous sub-themes, emerged from the analysis: (a) the nature of collaboration within the team environment, (b) coach leadership, and (c) the fragility of collaboration. The results of the present study have advanced our understanding of what collaboration within an individual sport team may look like. For a period of time, the leadership skills of the coaches, as well as their technical coaching expertise, and the willingness of the talented and driven athletes to work together, contributed significantly to a collaborative environment for this team. Then a change in the Olympic entry rules, the departure of an influential coach, and the inevitable change in the ages and experiences of the athletes themselves all combined to erode the foundation of that productive and collaborative environment.

The current dissertation is comprised of two studies that examined the relationship between group dynamics, attachment anxiety, and post-treatment outcomes in a sample of women (N = 102) with binge eating disorder (BED) who received Group Psychodynamic Interpersonal Psychotherapy. The first study explored the relationship between the development of group cohesion, the individuals’ level of attachment anxiety, and frequency of binge eating, symptoms of depression, and self-esteem at post-treatment. The second study explored the relationship between the interpersonal learning, individuals’ level of attachment anxiety, and outcomes. Interpersonal learning was conceptualized as the convergence between multiple perspectives of group cohesion: one’s own and the group’s perception of one’s cohesion to the group. Parallel measures of individual self-rated cohesion (CQ-I) and mean group-rated cohesion (CQ-G) were developed based on the original Cohesion Questionnaire (CQ; Piper et al., 1983) for this study. Participants were assigned to homogeneous groups composed of either high or low attachment anxiety to assess the impact of pre-treatment attachment anxiety. Findings indicated significant growth in cohesion over time, and a significant convergence in multiple ratings of cohesion. These processes did not differ significantly based on level of attachment anxiety. Growth in cohesion was related to greater reductions in binge eating for those high in attachment anxiety, while the convergence in ratings of cohesion (i.e., interpersonal learning) was related to improvements in self-esteem for individuals in both attachment anxiety conditions. The findings support the importance of group interventions for BED that are sensitive to individuals’ attachment anxiety, and that emphasize cohesiveness, and interpersonal learning to improve outcomes.

This thesis deals with the convergence process in the European Union. It focuses primarily on processes associated with the member states from Central and Eastern Europe which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007. The work is divided into two main parts which are dealing with real and nominal convergence.

The aim of this diploma is the analysis of regional unemployment in the Czech Republic and examination which has cohesion policy of the European union to the unemploement rate at the level of individual regions in the Czech republic. The theoretical part includes basic description of cohesion policy in three programming periods and conceptions relevants to unemployement. Practical part is focused to analysis of regional unemployment and diferences between regions. The regions are examined from individual indicators of unemployment, individual economics indicators and indicators relevant to cohesion policy. The last part includes summary and interpretation of uenmployment indicators and cohesion policy indicators.

Diploma thesis analyzes the implementation system of EU Cohesion Policy in the Czech Republic. Based on the analysis of the implementation system are described the most crucial factors influencing the (un)successful implementation of EU structural funds in the Czech Republic. The main objective is to create an implementation based on an analysis model for the programming period 2014-2020.

The aim of the diploma thesis is the analysis of regional unemployment in the Czech Republic in the context of cohesion policy of the European Union at the level of individual regions of the Czech Republic. The theoretical part includes basic methodology, related to concepts of unemployment and cohesion policy, and then focuses on three programming periods of the European Union (2000-2006, 2007-2013, 2014-2020). The practical part is focused on examining regional disparities. Districts, counties and cohesion regions are investigated from the perspective of selected indicators of unemployment, and other economic indicators. The conclusion summarizes the regional differences of unemployment in the Czech Republic and provides an assessment of regional disparities in the context of two programming periods: 2000-2006 and 2007-2013.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to characterize and judge, if the cohesion policy of the European Union really reflects regional differences of the unemployment in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part is oriented mainly on describing the unemployment from the perspective of the economic theory. The empirical part is focused on the development of the unemployment in the Czech Republic, and actual data are compared with the European Union. In this part is also the cohesion policy of the European Union generally introduced. After this follows the main chapter of this diploma thesis, which analyzes the unemployment in each region in the Czech Republic from the perspective of chosen indicators. The final chapter aims to answer the pointed goal of the thesis with the help of all available data.

During the first decade of its membership in the EU, the Czech Republic received through the EU Cohesion Policy valuable financial resources to reduce regional disparities and catch up with the economic level of the more advanced EU member states. Now, after ten years of membership in this integration group, it is time to evaluate and analyze the implementation structure of the Structural Funds in the Czech Republic, but also the impact of this instrument on the economy of our country. The aim of the doctoral dissertation is to evaluate to what extent the implementation structure of the Structural Funds in the Czech Republic meets the needs of economic and social development of the Czech Republic. The amount designated for the cohesion policy in the Czech Republic is quite high, so it is appropriate in this connection to examine the efficiency of this financial resources.

The focus of this research aims to target feelings, tendencies, and perceptions of community belonging in order to highlight current challenges in negotiating urban social relationships. The mixed-methods empirical study deployed attempted to identify the multiple and intersecting perspectives contributing to the conceived representations of community in each city. Applying theoretical constructs taken from studies on social cohesion, intersectionality, and metamodernism, this thesis looks to multidimensionality in forming a new theoretical model for achieving cohesive community and social belonging; the purpose of which is to uncover how planning can be conceived as a solution to ethnoracial division and lack of community and social belonging. As individuals, respondents found that meeting on the same premises, taking the perspectives of others into account, and actively acknowledging the presence of unity in difference were all conceived as constructive measures to take. Developing approaches to incorporating these desiderata into planning strategy therefore becomes a logical implication of my research.