This research explores feelings of obligation to volunteer, which lie at the interface of volunteering as simultaneously individual and collective and challenge traditional understandings of volunteering as leisure. The study examined volunteering within the context of communitarianism, particularly how collective outcomes of volunteering are related to feelings of obligation to volunteer. Phase one of this research focused on scale creation of a measure assessing feelings of obligation in the context of volunteerism. Using exploratory factor analyses of data from a student sample, this first phase yielded two measures: an 18-item Obligation to Volunteer as Commitment measure (OVC), encompassing dimensions of reward, affective attachment, flexibility, and side bets; and a 14-item Obligation to Volunteer as Duty measure (OVD), encompassing the dimensions of expectation, burden, and constraint. In phase two, survey research was conducted with 300 volunteers at ten community organizations. These new measures were used to examine relationships between obligation to volunteer and the value orientations of individualism and collectivism, the experience of volunteering as serious leisure, and the community characteristics of sense of community and social cohesion. Both individualism and collectivism were associated with the commitment but not the duty dimension of feelings of obligation, and both value orientations, but particularly individualism, was linked to serious leisure. Serious leisure very closely aligned with the commitment aspect of obligation as well as sense of community and social cohesion, thus emerging as a possible pathway for nurturing sense of community in a culture of individualism. Correlation and hierarchical regression analyses link the commitment aspect of obligation to sense of community and social cohesion. Feelings of duty to volunteer, in contrast, were inversely related to sense of community. Thus, the nature of feelings of obligation related to volunteering as commitment or duty have significant implications for the collective outcomes of volunteering, particularly sense of community. Also notable are the strong theoretical and empirical relationships between the OVC scale and serious leisure, which suggest that the newly-developed commitment scale could be considered a measure of the agreeable obligation that accompanies serious leisure pursuits.

This research examined notions of belonging and sense of community through a set of layered lenses that integrated a social model of aging with phenomenology to gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of individuals residing in a long-term care (LTC) home. Conducted in a for-profit LTC home in Ontario, this study analyzed messaging in marketing materials supplied to potential residents and their families in anticipation of a move to a LTC home and in the staff policies and procedures manuals using document and narrative analysis. Themes emerging from this phase were then compared with the first-hand experiences of living in a LTC home as told by residents through the use of a focus group (n=6) and individual interviews (n=6) and experiences of working in a LTC home as described by interviews with staff (n=6). Analysis of marketing documents revealed the theme of let us be your caring community. As messaged in these documents, the LTC home supported residents by caring, embodying the ideals of home through natural living spaces, and supporting meaningful personal connections. This contrasted with messages found in the staff policy manuals. Divided discourses highlighted the tangible complexities of implementing a person-centered philosophy within a business model by describing the industry of care, prescribed customer service, fabricating normalcy and, to a much lesser extent, promoting the practice of person-centered care. Residents’ phenomenological stories illustrated variable un/belonging within a LTC home. Personal experiences of the institutional erosion of belonging, congregate nature of living in a LTC home, changing nature of personal relationships and the prescriptive living environment routinized day-to-day experiences and provided a stark contrast between belonging in community and un/belonging in a LTC home. Weaving belonging into daily tasks described how staff members laboured daily at working to personalize LTC home living, and how they were helpless to prevent losses in community and belonging. After completing the research and analysis of the promotional materials, policy and procedures manuals, and resident and staff transcripts I conducted a broader level analysis of all four sets of themes in order to get a sense of the whole. I concluded there were five tensions of: constructing home from the outside; person-centered care within a biomedical, business model; promoting individuality in a congregate structure; synthetic connections at the expense of long-standing relationships; and fostering living in a death-indifferent culture which justified society’s need to divide and regulate. Incorporating a range of data including promotional materials, policy and procedures manuals, and the voices of both residents and staff, these tensions are not only implicit in the culture of Manor House but within the overarching structure of LTC homes in general and have deep implications on the standing and status bestowed upon older adults in Canadian culture. My intention was to bring to light the contextualized lived experiences of individuals living at Manor House and highlight the structural and social barriers that continue to produce discrimination by “problematizing” aging and subsequently fostering notions of presumably acceptable dividing practices (Foucault, 1982) within society. By examining meanings and experiences of community in a LTC home, and also recognizing the systemic, structural and cultural factors that may shape those experiences, I sought to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the lifeworlds of individuals living within a LTC home.

Online social interactions differ from face to face interactions and lack the non-verbal cues leading a learner to procrastinate, decreased motivation, feelings of isolation and high drop out rates. Existing research illustrates a need for social awareness information in online education, and this research studied the impact of the visual presence of social information on a learner's sense of connectedness and learning using Rovai's (2002) classroom community scale (CCS). Specifically, the study examined if a learners' sense of connectedness is improved with the exposure to others' social awareness information; and if and to what degree learning advanced due to the improved sense of connectedness. <br>Two, 5 X 1 between-subjects one-way analyses of covariances compared connectedness and learning scores of five social awareness information disclosure groups (appearance, educational, contact and personal information disclosure groups and control group). Although the study did not find evidence of exposure to social awareness information having an impact on learning, the findings confirm the claim that social awareness provides a sense of connectedness. The type of social information presented in the educational category (last degree earned, major and educational year) provided a strong relationship compared to other categories studied. <br>Educators, course designers and content management companies will benefit in recognizing that social awareness information positively impacts online educational participants by providing a sense of connectedness when presented with educational related materials. The development of social awareness support within a learning management system can improve an online learner's experience and enhance the quality of online education. This social awareness support in a learning management systems infrastructure is thus recommended. / School of Education / Instructional Technology (EdDIT) / EdD / Dissertation

This thesis examines the construct of Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC). Within the discipline of community psychology, there is debate as to the dimensions underlying the construct PSOC. One of the few theoretically proposed structures is that put forward by McMillan and Chavis (1986), who hypothesized four dimensions: Belonging; Fulfilment of Needs; Influence; and Shared Connections underlying PSOC. Further, there is some deliberation in the literature as to the existence of PSOC in relational, as well as geographical, communities. Discussion has also emerged regarding the role of social identification within PSOC. It has been suggested that differences in PSOC may be understood in terms of the degree to which members identify with their community (Fisher & Sonn, 1999). However, few studies have explored the place of identification in PSOC. In addition, while PSOC has been applied to both relational and geographical communities, little research has looked in depth at PSOC within relational communities. Thus, the principle aims of the current program of research were to elucidate the underlying dimensions of PSOC and their consistency across geographical and relational communities. Further, the research also aimed to explore the role of identification in PSOC. The first stage of this research endeavoured to clarify the underlying dimensions of PSOC by utilising a questionnaire which included multiple measures of PSOC and social identification, administered to both relational and geographical community members. The first paper of the current research explored PSOC in a relational community, science fiction fandom (N = 359) and the third paper in a sample of residents of rural, regional and urban geographical communities (N = 669). In both the relational and geographical communities, support emerged for McMillan and Chavis' (1986) four dimensions of PSOC. In regards to identification, the Sense of Community iv affective and ingroups ties aspects of social identification were subsumed within the PSOC dimensions; however, the Conscious Identification aspect emerged as separate to the existing PSOC dimensions. The study presented in paper three also examined the role of demographic factors in predicting PSOC in geographical communities. The demographic factors significantly associated with PSOC were: type of region, with rural participants displaying higher PSOC than their urban counterparts; participation in local organizations; having children; and a vision of one's neighbourhood as broader than just a street or block. To date, little research has compared a single group's PSOC with a relational community to their PSOC with their geographical communities. The second paper presented in this manuscript explored PSOC with participants' relational and geographical communities in the sample of members of science fiction fandom (N = 359). All the PSOC dimensions and Conscious Identification emerged as significant predictors of overall sense of community in both community types. Participants reported higher levels of global PSOC with fandom than with their geographical communities, a pattern that also emerged across the four dimensions and Conscious Identification. It was proposed that the degree of choice of community membership may be one reason for this finding. However, stronger conclusions could not be drawn from this study as situational salience may have influenced the results as data was collected in the relational community context. The second phase of the current research aimed to validate the multidimensional nature and related measures of both social identification and PSOC. The fourth paper presented in this thesis examined the construct validity of the three-factor model of social identification as measured by the Three Dimensional Strength of Identification Scale proposed by Cameron (1999, 2004). The 12 item version of the scale was used to collect data from an undergraduate sample (N = 219) to assess their social identification across three distinct group memberships (sex, student and interest group). This data was subjected to confirmatory factor analysis to examine the fit of the three-factor model of social identity in comparison to fit indices for one and two-factor models. The results indicate that the three-factor model was the most parsimonious and best fit to the data across all groups. In addition, the fact that different patterns of means and correlations emerged across groups on the three dimensions provided further evidence for a multidimensional model of social identification and, moreover, the greater depth of exploration it allows. The fifth paper examines The Sense of Community Index (SCI), one of the most commonly used measures of PSOC. There is much discussion in the literature as to the validity of the scale as a measure not only of overall PSOC, but of the dimensions (Membership, Influence, Needs fulfillment and Emotional Connection) theorized by McMillan and Chavis (1986) to underlie the construct. This paper examines the factor structure of the Sense of Community Index in a study (N = 219)that examined neighborhood, student and interest group communities. The results showed that the Sense of Community Index, in terms of its original factor structure, did not adequately fit the data. The scale was revised, utilizing confirmatory factor analysis indicators, to produce a new four-factor structure based on the original items. This revised model was tested and found to display adequate fit indices to the data in all three community types. The results of the study provide empirical support for retaining measures that encapsulate the four dimensions of PSOC.The sixth paper further explores the interplay between PSOC and the dimensions of social identification. In particular, the study (N = 219) examines the relative strength of the separate aspects of social identification (based on Cameron's 2004, Three Factor Model of Social Identification) as predictors of overall PSOC, accounting for situational salience. Results indicate that Ingroup Ties is consistently the strongest predictor of PSOC and that the strength of Ingroup Affect and Centrality alter according to the group or community context. The seventh and final paper from the current research program emerged from the results of paper two indicating that choice may influence individuals' social identification and PSOC with their respective communities. The study presented in this paper examined participants' (N = 219) level of social identification and PSOC across multiple group memberships that differ in the degree of choice associated with membership (low choice: neighborhood community; medium choice: student community; and high choice: self chosen interest group). Results indicated that, controlling for contextual salience, choice was positively associated with levels of social identification and PSOC. Overall, the current program of research provides some important findings which add significantly to the theoretical understanding of PSOC in today's society. The research provides clarification of both the dimensions underlying PSOC, their application to both geographical and relational communities and the measurement of overall PSOC and these dimensions. Further, it provides empirical evidence of the importance of the Centrality aspect of identification in PSOC in both geographical and relational settings. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings of the overall program of research are discussed.

abstract: This is a study that tests the New Urbanist claims that neighborhood design impacts sense of community and residential habits. Through the framework provided by New Urbanist theories, a social survey is used to examine residential perception and behavior among three fringe neighborhoods in southeast Tucson, each representing a different approach to neighborhood design: New Urbanist, traditional suburban, and a hybrid variety. The primary relationships studied are between neighborhood design and use of public space, neighborhood design and travel habits, and neighborhood design and sense of community. The findings show that the New Urbanist community does support the highest levels of sense of community and use of public space, but conclusions cannot be drawn concerning the relationship between sense of community and travel behavior, especially non-vehicular travel to public space. While these results are inconclusive concerning the direct impact of the neighborhood type on certain behaviors and perceptions, the findings support the notion that a New Urbanist design does indeed enhance social interactions and use of public space. It also offers insight into the importance of residential preferences, not as much towards walkability but towards general environmental concern. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.U.E.P. Urban and Environmental Planning 2012

This thesis examines how library patrons experience the public library as a physical place and how their emotions and opinions fit into the concept sense of community. Nine informants were selected and interviewed about their habits, experiences, preferences, opinions and emotions when visiting their respective most-used libraries. Using the theoretical framework developed by David W. McMillan and David M. Chavis for the concept sense of community as an analytical tool, the transcribed interviews have been closely studied and analysed in terms of the different criteria that make up a sense of community according to the theory. Some criteria were found to be relatively weak in the interview data, such as a shared emotional bond and strict boundary settings. Other criteria were better represented, such as a sense of personal investment, mutual influence between patron and library, a sense of belonging, fulfilment of needs, and shared values. The informants were particularly unified when discussing the importance of a public library for a local community as a place that welcomes all for free, values culture and knowledge, and provides a multitude of books and media in a calm, peaceful environment. The conclusion was drawn that public library patrons do feel a sense of community with their local library, its staff and other users, and that there’s a connection to this sense of community and the sense of being a citizen in Sweden as a whole. Physical factors such as interaction with staff and the make-up of the collection were found to be of particular importance to patrons, but other physical factors also influenced how they viewed and made use of specific public libraries.

Approximately 10% of adults living in the United States meet criteria for a Substance Use Disorder. Although 12-step groups are considered evidence-based practices for substance use problems, an understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which they facilitate recovery practices remains in its infancy. The purpose of the current study was to explore whether attachment could be considered a possible mediator of the effects of recovery practices on positive psychosocial outcomes. Participants (N = 112) were self-identified NA members from 26 U.S. states who completed an online survey assessing attachment style, psychosocial sense of community, psychological well-being, and various other recovery and psychosocial constructs. Results indicated a number of recovery-related practices emerged as significant predictors of secure attachment, over and above covariates. For example, higher levels of home group comfort were associated with increased probability of secure attachment classification (by self-report). In general, psychological sense of community did not significantly predict secure attachment, over and above covariates. Although attachment predicted psychological well-being in univariate models, it generally failed to predict psychological well-being in models that included covariates and recovery-related predictors. Theoretically, these data suggest that functional social support variables are primary recovery-related predictors implicated in NA-involvement, above and beyond other structural social support variables. This further suggests that attachment-related dimensions of 12-step interventions may be integral to recovery outcomes.

The purpose of the study was to develop a substantive theory that would provide insight into the role of the Internet in expatriate adjustment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Expatriate adjustment research has identified a number of challenges that expatriates experience when adjusting to the host country. These include spousal influence, cultural training/ understanding, fluency in the host language and the personality or emotional readiness of the expatriate. These challenges are amplified when considered in the context of the KSA, which has a large cultural distance when compared to the average Western culture and therefore, provides a setting for an interesting study. There are a limited number of studies available that consider the role of the Internet during the expatriate episode in general, but none that examine the role of the Internet on expatriate adjustment specifically. Furthermore, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, there is no research that provides a grounded theoretical understanding of the Internet in expatriate adjustment. The research project used a Grounded Theory based approach to develop a substantive theory on the role that the Internet plays in expatriate adjustment in the KSA. The conceptual account emerged from interviewing expatriates living in Western compounds in Riyadh, the capital of the KSA. The core concern that emerged from this study is one that describes the mediating effect of the Internet. This study hypothesised that the Internet had a regulating effect on expatriates’ degree of isolation and degree of information flow which would affect both their process of adjustment and their state of adjustment. Both the expatriates’ process and state of adjustment is expressed in terms of their well-being. The theory building study presents a theoretical model, grounded in rich empirical data. The theoretical model consists of two substantive categories: degree of isolation and degree of information flow. The former explains what contributes to the feeling of isolation experienced by expatriates. It was shown that the degree of isolation is a multifaceted concept influenced by expatriates’ living space, status, social support, mobility in the KSA and state of mind. The latter substantive category, the degree of information flow, explains the extent to which information can be exchanged between expatriates and other entities, be it family, friends or the outside world in general, including communication with other expatriates in the KSA. These two substantive categories were explained through the core category which was conceptualised by using the following metaphor: “the Internet a lifeline to the real world”. Considering the lifeline properties of the Internet, the theoretical model explained how it positively effects expatriate adjustment in the KSA. It was shown that the Internet, as a mediator, had an effect when considering adjustment as a process, as a state, and as an expression of expatriate well-being. This research was guided by two key research objectives: (a) to add theoretical content to the understanding of the role that the Internet plays in expatriate adjustment, and (b) to contribute to the IS body of knowledge by producing a theory that could be applied in practice. To the researcher’s best knowledge, this study is the first in IS literature to describe the significant role and the contextual issues that surround expatriate use of the Internet in the KSA. In doing so, the study developed an understanding, grounded in rich empirical data from the substantive field of expatriates. This new understanding contributes to both IS research and practice, and provides guidance for future research. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / tm2015 / Informatics / PhD / Unrestricted

This thesis aims to analyze how members of a coworking space create a Sense of Community through the different types of social interactions that occur. Furthermore, it is investigated how the Sense of Community contributes to Word of Mouth. The authors conducted a qualitative case study of Norrsken House where members and managers of the coworking space were interviewed. The results of the study reveal that a Sense of Community is created through various interactions and occurrences. Additionally, it is stated that the creation of a Sense of Community for members is complex, where different experiences trigger different social elements. Even though there are similarities identified among the interviewed members, the evidence shows that the reality of each individual is based on previous experiences. Moreover, the authors show that the perceived Sense of Community could result in both positive and negative Word of Mouth activities between members and peers outside of the community. Based on the results, the authors elucidate how managers can design strategies to make the product offering more attractive.

Under de senaste årtiondena har ofrivillig ensamhet rapporterats i allt högre utsträckning runt om i världen, och inte minst bland stadsbor. I Sverige utgör utrikes födda en av de grupper som i högre grad än genomsnittet uppges erfara ofrivillig ensamhet i flertalet undersökningar. Den fysiska miljön spelar en viktig roll i denna fråga, eftersom faktorer såsom att bo i ett ‘underpriviligierat’ område har visat sig ha en starkare korrelation med ensamhet än vad individuella faktorer har. Det finns dessutom studier som påvisar en koppling mellan förekomsten av gemenskap, socialt kapital och ensamhet, samt den fysiska miljöns påverkan på dessa aspekter. I syfte om att studera dessa begrepp i relation till social infrastruktur och den fysiska miljön formulerades följande frågeställningar: (1) Vad finns det för social infrastruktur i Norra Djurgårdsstaden och Rinkeby, och hur upplevs och används den? Hur påverkar den fysiska miljön gemenskapen och det sociala kapitalet i områdena? (2) Hur kan den sociala infrastrukturen utvecklas för att kunna stärka gemenskapen och det sociala kapitalet bland utrikes födda i de två områdena? Semistrukturerade intervjuer, enkäter och fältobservationer utfördes i Stockholmsområdena Norra Djurgårdsstaden och Rinkeby i syfte om att svara på dessa frågor. Resultaten visar att fastän det finns ett starkt sammanlänkande socialt kapital och gemenskap i båda områdena, så finns det en brist på överbryggande socialt kapital och gemenskap i förhållande till närliggande områden. De offentliga platserna saknar mångfald beträffande användardemografi, och tillgången till arbetsplatser, fritidsaktiviteter och kulturinstitutioner ser olika ut för utrikes födda i områdena. En bättre inkludering av utrikes föddas perspektiv inom den svenska samhällsplaneringen är därför önskvärd för att kunna utveckla hälsofrämjande och inkluderande platser för olika kulturella, ekonomiska och sociala behov. / During the past decades, involuntary loneliness has been more frequently reported among urban dwellers around the world. In Sweden, immigrants constitute one of the groups that have been reporting loneliness to a greater extent than the average in various surveys. The physical environment is considered relevant in this cause, as factors such as living in a 'deprived' area have been found to have a higher correlation to loneliness than individual-level factors. Studies have additionally found an interconnection between the phenomena of sense of community, social capital and loneliness, and asserted their varying nature in different neighborhoods. With the aim of studying these concepts in relation to social infrastructure and the built environment, the following research questions were formulated: (1) What social infrastructure is there in Stockholm Royal Seaport and Rinkeby and how is it perceived and used? How does the physical environment affect the sense of community and social capital in the areas? (2) How can social infrastructure be (re)developed in order to strengthen the sense of community and social capital among foreign born people in the two areas? Semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and field observations were applied to the Stockholm neighborhoods of Rinkeby and Stockholm Royal Seaport in order to answer these questions. The key findings show that while bonding social capital and sense of community is deemed strong in both areas, there is a lack of bridging social capital and sense of community in relation to neighboring areas. The public spaces lack diversity in terms of user demographics and there are different levels of access to workplaces, leisure activities and cultural institutions for immigrants in the neighborhoods. This calls for greater exploration of the immigrant perspective in Swedish urban planning, in terms of building healthy and inclusive places for diverse cultural, economic and social needs.