How do informal groups emerge in adolescent communities? What distinguishes a group from just a set of students? Who will end up together in a group and who will be left out? Why are there more groups in some classrooms and fewer in others? What determines whether these groups overlap in their members or they are completely segregated, perhaps antagonistic? While a huge body of research in sociology and social psychology focuses on these questions, an integrated approach that is able to answer all of them is yet to be developed. Without realizing that these five issues are interrelated, we cannot hope to understand how groups influence individuals and how they shape our communities. This thesis proposes an integrative theory of informal group formation in communities. Based on the tradition of Social Network Analysis, it develops a framework in which interpersonal relations and reputations are formed through a process called informal status production. Groups emerge from this micro-process by the alignment of positive relations and agreement in peer-perceptions between actors. The main micro-mechanisms predicted by the theory are tested on a unique longitudinal network dataset from school classrooms. To this end, a new empirical procedure was developed, by which a few aggregated networks can be constructed from tens of relational items. This allows the analysis of rich network data with several relational dimensions. The empirical studies of multiplex network dynamics confirm that there are strong interdependencies between friendships and perceptions. Students who agree about their peers tend to become friends, but more so when they hold a minority opinion in the class. This contributes to group formation. Friends also influence each other's perceptions, but we manage to show that the presence of groups around them interferes with this process by moderating the influence of individual peers.

This thesis examines Knowledge Exchange (KE) seminars and the wider social, political, and economic environment in which they are situated Two-way interactive exchanges between academics and Non-Academic Professionals (NAPs) have been identified as an important factor in explaining why some academic research is used by NAPs, or not (Meagher et al, 2008; Mitton et al, 2007; Lavis et al, 2003; Hanney et al, 2003). Despite this, very little research has examined the social occasions where such exchanges occur. This thesis aims to fill this lacuna by examining the process of knowledge exchange through one specific type of intervention (Walter et al, 2003) – that of KE seminars. KE seminars are a common, almost canonical, strategy for academics wishing to engage with non-academic audiences, yet are relatively unexplored within the KE literature. If ‘sharing research findings with a non-academic audience’ is the sole purpose of KE seminars, then the goal could have been achieved more cheaply through a mail-shot of a briefing paper to a targeted audience (Percy-Smith et al, 2002). By comparison, KE seminars require a considerable investment in resources in terms of time and money. These factors make them theoretically and substantively interesting. This thesis explores the rationale for hosting and attending KE seminars, what benefits participants feel that they gain from attending, and provides insights into how best to facilitate those benefits. Conceptually this thesis draws on Spaapen and van Drooge (2011) & Molas-Gallart and Tang’s (2011) concept of ‘productive interactions.’ The thesis research examines what makes interactions between academics and NAPs ‘productive’ in the context of KE seminars, and the wider social network, economic and political environment in which those interactions emerge and are shaped. This thesis is based on a case study of the ESRC Centre for Population Change (CPC). The empirical evidence comes from 27 semi-structured interviews conducted with CPC academics & administrators (13), and NAPs who attended at least 1 CPC-organised KE seminar (14); and an online questionnaire of 48 CPC staff members (representing 75% of the Centre). The interviews were analysed thematically and the online questionnaire was analysed using Social Network Analysis (SNA). The research design was devised to collect data on the motivations, experiences, and understandings of interactions between academics and NAP within the CPC’s KE seminars. The social network analysis was designed to reveal the CPC’s KE social networks which are pertinent to understanding how the CPC engages with NAPs. This thesis documents ways in which KE seminars are sites of ‘knowledge interaction’ (Davies et al, 2008) where multiple actors from multiple organisations with different knowledges come together to engage in a topic of mutual interest. It finds that KE seminars are worthwhile for participants despite being resource-intensive because they fulfil multiple functions which cannot easily be replicated through non-dialogical and non-corporeal interventions. The academic research being presented on these social occasions is just one source of knowledge among many others (ibid). KE seminars are also opportunities for participants to create new informal contacts and strengthen existing ones. In other words, they help develop informal professional networks which is an important component for successful KE (Olmos-Peñuela, 2014b; Grimshaw et al, 2012; Kramer and Wells, 2005; Greenhalgh et al, 2004; Philip et al, 2003; Molas-Gallart et al, 2000). This thesis makes three original contributions. It shows: how KE seminars fill a number of functions that cannot easily be replicated by indirect forms of nonacademic engagement, which makes the investment of resources for hosting and attending them not only desirable but often necessary; how corporeal co-presence is important for facilitating productive interactions (Goffman, 1966; Urry, 2002; 2003); and the major factors which help facilitate ‘productive interactions’ within KE seminars. It is a contribution to the KE field generally, and will also be helpful to KE practitioners and academics that are tasked with organising and hosting KE seminars.

This is a systemic practice doctorate where research is undertaken through a social and relational constructionist lens (McNamee and Hosking, 2012) under a broader umbrella of systemic qualitative research practice. A philosophical orientation to inquiry is taken, offering a way of exploring encounters, and specifically conversations in practice, in an embodied relational and dialogical way from within the experience. This locates me as an active participant alongside other active participants, and self- and relational reflexivity feature centrally within a systemic approach to practice and inquiry. The specific inquiry focus is on embodied, reflexive processes as I engage with others in everyday conversations on issues that matter to different professional and non-professional individuals and community groups; it is a complex ecology. Systemic, embodied, relational concepts are explored through a lens that sees inquiry as philosophically informed. This acknowledges the professional, personal and multiple contexts that inform both the doing and being in each conversation within practice and inquiry. The multi-versa of individuals and groups, professional and non-professional are examined through attention to moments of conversation portrayed through vignettes and dialogical excerpts. I try to capture a sense of the living dynamic of each of the interactions through attention to my multi-vocal inner dialogue and the multiplicity of felt experiences within these conversations where I am moved, stirred, unsettled and fully embodied: I become the case study in the ebbs and flows of this experience. How I inform these processes, and how I am informed by the responses of others, comes under close scrutiny. Attention is given to reciprocal responses, my internal dialogue, as I respond to what has gone before, external moves within these relational unfolding conversational encounters, how the conversation is experienced by those involved, and how we move on together. This inquiry focuses on embodied relational processes within the multiple complex dynamic of these conversations, unpacking our ways of ‘going on’ together (Wittgenstein, 1953). Autoethnography (Finlay, 2002; Ellis, 2004; Etherington, 2004), self- and relational reflexivity (1992), Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) (Pearce, 1994), and the process of writing itself are some of the concepts employed to enter this complexity. The unique additional inquiry tool introduced, alongside these, is the personal metaphor of rock climbing. This is chosen because of the fit I consider it has within a conceptual frame of relational embodiment, emphasising the ‘I’, a systemic practitioner and climber, as an embodied being with other embodied beings in conversation. I enter this process of inquiry with openness to enable change and to be changed, and I hope to challenge some established ideas about research. I consider the extent to which the metaphor illuminates embodied, self- and relationally reflexive processes in the context of systemic inquiry. The usefulness and application of this metaphor is tested as an embodied reflexive tool. I explore whether ways of thinking about and understanding embodied relational and dynamic processes can be extended. New features that come to light in the process of this inquiry are explored and the insights that may emerge, along with possible contributions to systemic inquiry and practice, are considered. The wider use of metaphors emerging through the dialogue that people offer to describe experience and to capture a sense of lived moments opens further potential for new learning. The reflexive scope and use of metaphor generally is discussed at the end, along with personal and professional learning from the process of writing and inquiry. I propose a new lens to reflexive inquiry that is suited to systemic practice, embodied reflexive inquiry in which I draw attention to embodied reflexive detailed features within interactions between people. This has wide-ranging applications in systemic and other contexts, including community settings, systemic therapy, training and supervision and across different professional networks, and is explored here. My hope is that this inquiry will to add to the growing field of systemic inquiry texts.

Text in afrikaans / The main object of this research was to present the profile of a child that bullies other children and to place one changeable element, namely self-esteem, within this profile. The description of children that reflect bully behaviour in accordance with the Gestalt approach is absent in most of the familiar Gestalt literature. The Gestalt approach is therefore utilized as a theoretical framework to describe the profile of children that bully others. The empirical research methodology is performed by combining a qualitative and a quantitative research approach. The approach to the research was based on the dominant-less-dominant model whereby the dominant approach, namely the qualitative approach, was utilized. The quantitative approach had a supportive role to the qualitative approach in this research by utilizing a standardized measurement instrument to round off the profile of the child identified as a bully. The profiles compiled of the children that bully others can be utilized as a guideline for Gestalt therapeutic interventions. / Social work / M. Diac.

Text in afrikaans / The main object of this research was to present the profile of a child that bullies other children and to place one changeable element, namely self-esteem, within this profile. The description of children that reflect bully behaviour in accordance with the Gestalt approach is absent in most of the familiar Gestalt literature. The Gestalt approach is therefore utilized as a theoretical framework to describe the profile of children that bully others. The empirical research methodology is performed by combining a qualitative and a quantitative research approach. The approach to the research was based on the dominant-less-dominant model whereby the dominant approach, namely the qualitative approach, was utilized. The quantitative approach had a supportive role to the qualitative approach in this research by utilizing a standardized measurement instrument to round off the profile of the child identified as a bully. The profiles compiled of the children that bully others can be utilized as a guideline for Gestalt therapeutic interventions. / Social work / M. Diac.

Cette thèse de sociologie vise à étudier les dynamiques des relations entre les filles et les garçons – descendants d'immigrés – résidant au sein de deux quartiers populaires, français et allemand, dans lesquels des politiques publiques spécifiques sont mises en place : la politique de la ville en France, la Soziale Stadt en Allemagne. L'originalité de ce travail vient du fait que les relations entre les sexes sont analysées sous l'angle de la tension entre solidarité et concurrence. L'analyse, développée à partir d'entretiens biographiques et d'une ethnographie multisituée, souligne les effets des stratégies éducatives des parents, des expériences scolaires et professionnelles des enfants, ainsi que de leur engagement dans des « pôles normatifs » plus ou moins égalitaires au sein de leur quartier sur les dynamiques de solidarité et de concurrence entre les sexes. La solidarité entre les sexes apparaît comme une ressource mobilisable, pour les filles et pour les garçons, dans le cadre du passage à l'âge adulte. Elle permet notamment de faire face à différentes formes de domination. La solidarité ne va cependant pas de soi. Elle apparaît et disparaît, doit être négociée et re-négociée, change de forme en fonction des contextes et des interactions. Il s'agit de ce que j'appelle une solidarité en tension. / This PhD thesis aims at studying the dynamics of the relationships between boys and girls – descendants of migrants – living in two deprived neighborhoods, in France and Germany, in which specific public policies have been implemented: the “politique de la ville” in France, and the “Soziale Stadt” in Germany. The originality of this research resides in the fact that gender relations are analyzed considering a tension between solidarity and competition. The analysis, based on life stories and on a multi-sited ethnography, underlines the effects of the educational strategies of the parents, of the school and work experiences of the children, as well as of their involvement in more or less gender egalitarian “normative poles” in their neighborhood, on the dynamics of solidarity and competition. Solidarity between boys and girls seems to be a useful resource during the transition into adulthood. It is especially used in order fight different kinds of domination. Solidarity is not fixed, but dynamic. It appears and disappears, must be negociated and re-negociated, changes its form depending of the contexts and interactions. It is what I call a solidarité en tension.

This thesis examines the role of the former national screen agency in Scotland, which was in charge of distributing public funds for screen activity between 1997 and 2010. It examines how external factors such as cultural policy and internal factors such as individual approaches to film funding, affected the agency's perception and remit. The study draws on the institutional logics perspective (Thornton et al., 2012) to frame the interplay of two competing imperatives, one commercial, one creative, affecting the creative industries in Scotland and Scottish Screen's activities more specifically. However, it goes beyond this duality by examining more nuanced factors which significantly affected the organisation's trajectory and remit. Taking into account the predominant logic(s) throughout Scottish Screen's history and focusing on organisational responses during moments of transition or conflict, I use the analytical framework developed by Boltanski and Thévenot in On Justification (2006) to examine criticisms, justifications, and attempts at compromising expressed through official and non-official channels. The thesis outlines how opinions and decisions stemming from disparate views of what is “worthy” affected the agency's activity and funding decisions, as well as the dialogue with its stakeholders. The conclusions extracted from my findings inform existing literature on responses to plurality and challenge some claims made by institutional logic scholars: the first conclusion is that lack of conflict between logics does not necessarily translate into lack organisational conflict, as the latter often derives from different orders of worth which override the commercial-creative logic divide and are incompatible amongst themselves. The second conclusion, related to the first one, is that stability may be enhanced (at least temporarily) in a professional environment dominated by a plurality of logics as long as there is compatibility amongst the orders of worth set forth in pursuit of organisational goals. A third conclusion is related to the examination of some contributions to the orders of worth perspective and the study of plurality and instability in organisational practices, notably Boltanski and Chiapello's (2007) depiction of a seventh world of worth called the ‘projective city' (underpinned by the higher value of activity aimed at creating or maintaining ever-changing networks), and David Stark's (2009) study of plurality and ambiguity management in organisations. My findings suggest that organisational models based on pervasive, horizontal networks capable of transgressing traditional hierarchical structures were never fully deployed in Scottish Screen - traces of these practices are identified, but, overall, actors defended more traditional organisational scripts.

Cette thèse envisage les effets occasionnés par la créativité collective contextualisée, plus particulièrement à l’échelle des groupes restreints, à partir d’une approche communicationnelle par les « constructions médiatrices ». Elle poursuit trois grands objectifs. Premièrement, elle s’inscrit dans une volonté d’éclaircissement de la notion de créativité de groupe en tant que phénomène (tel qu’abordé par Woodman, Sawyer et Griffin, 1993) et propose d’en faire la distinction par rapport à la méthode employée par le groupe de créativité (Demory, 1986; Aznar, 2011). Deuxièmement, elle cherche à clarifier les formes d’échanges et d’interactions au cours du processus de création-communication. Troisièmement, elle interroge les effets de ce phénomène collectif complexe de manière à mieux comprendre les conditions de déploiement de la créativité contextualisée.En prenant pour objet d’étude l’expérience vécue d’acteurs en situation par le biais d’un dispositif pédagogique, nous avons convié une communauté d’apprenants à vivre une expérience de création collective immersive et originale qui, par sa nature engageante et déroutante, était susceptible de heurter les habitudes et le cadre traditionnel d’apprentissage. Nous avons émis l’hypothèse que la tension créative entraine la réorganisation constante de l’activité des groupes en influençant les « constructions médiatrices » puis, que la nature de ce contexte cristallise la cohésion et l’engagement des groupes impliqués. Par une analyse de l’activité-créativité (la créactivité) de groupe, et plus particulièrement par l’observation des actions conjointes, des rapports d’interactions et de l’implication des membres, cette étude postule que la créativité collective contextualisée participe à l’émergence de formes d’interactions. Puis, que le recours aux moyens médiateurs (aux artefacts, à la division du travail et aux règles d’interactions) s’effectue dans un mouvement constant de réorganisation de l’activité par dépassements successifs des contradictions, par la formation de noeuds de médiations. Les constructions médiatrices sont ainsi le reflet du processus de transformation du sens des interactions sociales au cours de l’activité. / This thesis considers the effects caused by contextualized collective creativity, especially in small groups, based on a communicational approach by “mediational constructs". It has three main objectives. First, it wishes to clarify the concept of group creativity as a phenomenon (as discussed by Woodman, Sawyer and Griffin, 1993) and to propose its distinction from the method used by creativity groups (Demory, 1986; Aznar, 2011). Secondly, it seeks to clarify the forms of exchange and interactions during the communicative-creative process. Third, it investigates the effects of this complex collective phenomenon for a better understanding of contextualized creativity conditions and deployment.Using a pedagogical framework, we have invited a community of learners to experiment an immersive and original collective creation experience which was likely to upset habits and the traditional framework of learning by its engaging and confusing nature. We hypothesized that creative tension leads to the constant reorganization of group activity by influencing " mediational constructs " and that the nature of this context crystallizes the group cohesion and commitment. Through an analysis of group activity-creativity (creactivity), and more specifically by observing joint actions, interactions relationships and the involvement of members, this study postulates that contextualized collective creativity participates in the emergence of forms of interactions. Then, that the use of meditational means (artefacts, division of labor and rules of interactions) takes place in a constant movement of activity reorganization by overcoming contradictions by successive formation of “mediation nodes”. Thus, the mediational constructs represent a reflection of the transformation process of the social interactions meaning during the activity.

Les recherches en Sciences de Gestion et Sciences des Systèmes d'Information ont proposé diverses analyses des bénéfices des réseaux sociaux et de leurs processus d’adoption. Toutefois, les usages des réseaux sociaux sont multiples et chacun mériterait d’être approfondi. En particulier, la curation digitale est une pratique qui s’impose comme un objet de recherche particulièrement pertinent. Il propose une nouvelle utilisation des réseaux sociaux numériques, potentiellement bénéfique à l’entreprise. Ainsi, il est proposé de rapprocher les notions de curation, réseaux sociaux numériques et connaissance organisationnelle au travers de la problématique suivante : en quoi l’usage professionnel de la curation sur les réseaux sociaux permet-il d’améliorer les connaissances organisationnelles ? Pour y répondre, cette question a été articulée en trois sous-problématiques, permettant trois différents niveaux d’analyse. La première aborde les facteurs influençant l’adoption de la pratique de curation par l’individu ; la deuxième propose d’analyser l’intérêt des réseaux sociaux en tant qu’outil de support pour effectuer la curation de contenu ; la dernière associe les deux notions de curation et réseaux sociaux dans le cadre organisationnel, afin d’en comprendre ses bénéfices. Les cadres théoriques de la richesse des médias, la présence sociale, l'UTAUT et le model SLAM de l'apprentissage organisationnel ont été mobilisés à cet effet. Un questionnaire récoltant 841 réponses et 14 entretiens semi-directifs ont permis de confirmer la présence d'un lien positif entre l'adoption de l'usage de la curation sur les réseaux sociaux et l'amélioration des connaissances individuelles et collectives. Afin qu’elles puissent être converties en connaissances organisationnelles, il a été prouvé que les flux informationnels de l'entreprise doivent être alignés avec les différents niveaux de stock de connaissances. / Research in Management Science and Information Systems has proposed a series of work centered around the benefits of social networks for individuals and the adoption process that it entails. However, social network uses are numerous and each of them deserve in-depth studies. Specifically, the practice of content curation becomes truly relevant in a context of digital transformation. It proposes a new social network use that can benefit the organization. Thereby, the research opts to gather the concept of social network, curation and organizational knowledge through the following question: how does profesionnal content curation on social network participate to organizational knowledge ? This question has been sub-divided into three questions, allowing different multi-level analysis. The first one questions the influencing factors of social network curation for individuals ; the second one interrogates the benefit of using social network tool to operate content curation ; the third one combines both concepts in an organizational context with the aim of clarifying its benefits. Media Richess Theory, Social Presence Theory, UTAUT and SLAM Framework has been used to bring an answer to them. 841 questionary respondants along with 14 semi-directional interviews sufficed to confirm positive link betwen the adoption of social network curation and improvement of individual and collective knowledge. To reach organizational knowledge, the research demonstrates that informatio flows and the different stocks of knowledge need to be aligned.

While the benefits of analysing social networks within the wider humanities are becoming more accepted, very little work of this kind has been done in medieval studies. This thesis seeks to begin to fill this lacuna by considering the advantages of examining historical moments through the lens of ‘network’. Focusing on the later medieval world (in particular c.1300-1520), but also drawing on parallel evidence from the modern day, it demonstrates how the paradigm of ‘network’ allows a more nuanced reading of, predominantly literary, historical moments, which in turn reveals a deeper understanding of collective social thinking and behaviour. This new methodological approach is threefold, drawing on analytic tools from various disciplines. It blends historical contextual investigation with literary analysis, and frames the results in the sociological and anthropological theories of belonging, exchange, and play. The thesis is structured around four case studies, each of which demonstrates a particular form of network formation, and also shows how far these networks reflect their respective cultural milieus and influences. Three medieval chapters focus on what I term ‘literary networks’, a concept ripe for network analysis thanks to the highly participatory nature of medieval literature, and thus theoretically comparable to modern networks based around information exchange. Across the thesis, instances of formal, informal, and virtual networks are considered from medieval France and England, as well as the twenty-first century West. This combination of interdisciplinary method and structure allows innovative new readings of underappreciated sources, whilst also highlighting a transhistorical continuum of universal appeals to social networks: namely, the satisfaction of the human need to belong, the facilitation of competitive play, and the opportunity to acquire social capital and build reputations. This investigative synthesis between medieval material and more modern network evidence reveals that, while realised through unrecognisably altered technologies and experiencing some resultant disruptions, these fundamental appeals of social network membership, in part, remain constant between the two periods.