The world has been transformed through the internet into a "global village",and social media platforms have possibly transformed the world into a larger neighborhood covering many regions of the world. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter came into people’s lives through the Internet, growing daily at a large rate, and it has been proven that they are very popular. This study examines links between different phenomena through social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.). It is discusses cohesiveness, desire to belong, sense of community, beliefs and opinions about different forms of these phenomena in popular virtual platforms in correlation with trust in social media, criticism of information that is spread by these virtual platforms, and if people are influenced in consumer decision making. A questionnaire has been distributed to a convenient sample of 159 international and Swedish students in Sweden in October-November 2012 in both English and Swedish versions. According to the peoples’ answers, tendencies were observed such as to not trust the platforms, and also the information received, beliefs such that social media are "controlled", negative critique, but also an expression for a need for ‘membership’.

A refugee reception has been placed in Kungshall, one of Nybros residential areas. The area has a bad reputation and there are arguably prejudices about the area from the local population. I therefore want to investigate if an ethnic residential segregation exists in Kungshall, from a postcolonial perspective. The following research questions have been formulated: How do residents who doesn’t live in the refugee reception, look at ethnic residential segregation in Nybro? How has Kungshall changed since the refugee reception? Does a cultural racism exist in Kungshall?   The study is a qualitative study using semi structured interviews of four people living in the residential area, a person who has moved out of the area and a person working on the housing corporation “Nybro bostads AB”, who is one of the housing corporation responsible for the residential area Kungshall. The study is based on post-colonial theory. According to all the interviewees, there is an uneven balance between Swedes and immigrants in the neighborhood. And according to all the interviewees living in the area, too many refugees have been placed in Kungshall, and the residential area has changed for the worse in recent history. One of the interviewees has already moved, and the others living in the area either know someone who has moved out of the area or is planning to themselves. And the main reason to ethnic residential segregation is often explained in terms of cultural differences between “us-and- them”: between the refugees and the others. It is clear from the interviews that there is a cultural racism among people and the main reason for people moving out of the area could arguably be related to cultural racism.

This paper investigates whether a new conceptual framework, Neighborhood Ritual Integrity (NRI), addresses the concepts of social capital, collective efficacy, and rituals in a manner which makes it applicable to sociological research. Neighborhood Ritual Integrity (NRI) is a conceptual framework developed in response to various studies, which have established a relationship between neighborhood demographics, structural neighborhood features, crime and adolescent behaviors. Kiser et al., (2007) identified six dimensions that influence short and long term community functioning: Ritual Integrity, Daily Routines, Role Clarity, People and Organizational Resources, Deliberate Planning, and Meaning Making as aspects of NRI. Each dimension describes either a structural or cultural component of community level processes that could affect positive features of neighborhood life. Results from focus group data are examined for the existence of responses consistent with the conceptual definitions of NRI as well as social capital, collective efficacy, and rituals in hopes that this investigation will develop a more comprehensive sociological approach to the study of neighborhoods.

This study asks the question: If we take a small neighborhood and introduce a barrier, how will the neighborhood change? Will it be better protected and flourish, or will it decay and die or perhaps will there be no change at all? What determines the outcome? This work tries to answer these questions by creating an Agent-Based Model (ABM) to test different scenarios and observe the results. Urban environments, both natural and built, are complex systems, containing a multitude of people, landscapes and buildings. Simple changes in street-lighting and sidewalks, the addition of trees and green scapes or the enforcement of “broken-window” policies impact local neighborhoods [1]. Measuring behavior changes on a neighborhood level are difficult to quantify, but by using ABM methods we can build our neighborhood, populate it with a variety of actors and watch their interaction with each other, and with introduced stimuli. Our simulation introduces a barrier (highway) with varying permeability into a mixed use neighborhood loosely based on Richmond’s Jackson Ward. Several metrics (such as property value, crime rates, etc.) were used to determine if the neighborhood was under duress, or thriving. In real-world terms we built a roadway though the neighborhood and observed the “severance effect” as our actors’ adapted to reduced mobility and remained within their accessible range.

This thesis is an empirical review of neighborhoods in the Richmond Region based on factors of inclusion and quality of life. The research attempts to answer the question of whether or not healthy and inclusive neighborhoods exist in the Richmond Region, and if they do what factors they hold in common. Inclusion and quality of life are identified using census data, school assessment reports, HUD reports, and cause-of-death data applied at the neighborhood level (census tract). This data is used to identify neighborhoods within the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) that have a high quality of life and include racial minorities and low-to-moderate income households at a rate that reflects the region as a whole. Finally, the census tracts that fit these criteria are analyzed to determine correlating factors. The analysis determined that inclusive census tracts with a high quality of life tend to be majority-black suburban neighborhoods located near the urban cores or Richmond and Petersburg. These neighborhoods had a mix of housing types, moderate homeownership rates, newer housing options, access to public schools, access to commercial goods and services, and households with moderate incomes. Policies that promote these types of environments will help create and sustain healthy and inclusive neighborhoods.

In America today, many people have fallen into sub-standard housing situations. Domestic violence, drug abuse, and lack of educational and employment opportunities are a few of the myriad reasons for this. On average the number of homeless people in the greater Richmond area is 5,200 individuals.1 These are people specifically in need of a re-integration into society.This thesis examines the role that the built environment can play in this process, by providing a sustainable, affordable and flexible site for a program that encourages people to rise above their current state by "recycling" them into better more productive citizens. The intent of this design is to provide a program that will be flexible enough to become a prototype for future housing plans involving upward mobility.The existing structure lies in the Manchester district of Richmond, Va. This community is comprised of many gentrified warehouses and expensive artist lofts, skirted by poverty and the very compromised Blackwell neighborhood. Specifically this project will serve the needs of the Richmond, VA. Community. Richmond, like most American cities, houses simultaneously houses both affluence and poverty.

Taking the time to learn how to eat healthfully and prepare nutritious meals has become a problem in today's modern living. 66 percent of American adults are overweight and 19 percent of American children are overweight1. Constrained by the demands of work, raising families, and other daily commitments leaves little time for taking care of one's nutritional needs in a simple, healthy, and efficient manner. This thesis strives to achieve a well designed neighborhood center that warmly invites customers to learn about the importance of nutrition and the effects our food choices have on our overall health, how to shop for healthy food choices, and the preparation of weekly meals in a friendly, non-intimidating environment. Customers will also have the opportunity to seek nutritional counseling advice, attend cooking classes, and participate in weekly meal preparation activities.

Background: The current adherence to colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) guidelines is suboptimal. How neighborhood characteristics, e.g., racial residential segregation (RRS), area-level socioeconomic status (SES) and physician composition, affect CRCS adherence are not fully understood. We assessed associations between facility proximity to RRS areas, area-level SES, physician composition, and CRCS adherence. Methods: Data sources included 2013 Minnesota Community Measurement, 2009-2013 American Community Survey, 2012 U.S. and 2012-2013 Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data, and 2013-2014 Area Health Resource File. Logistic regressions and weighted multilevel logistic regressions were used to assess the association between facility proximity to RRS areas and CRCS adherence, and association between area-level SES, physician composition and CRCS adherence, respectively. Results: Facility proximity to RRS areas was positively associated with low CRCS performance, e.g., facilities located < 2 miles away from Hispanic-segregated areas were 3 times more likely to have low CRCS performance than those at ≥5 miles away (odds ratio (OR): 2.83, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.29, 6.24). Most area-level SES measures showed negative bivariate associations between deprivation and colonoscopy/overall adherence, and measures such as education had relatively strong associations, although few of fully-adjusted associations remained statistically significant. Further, a one-unit increase in the percentage of gastroenterologists among physicians was associated with 3% increase in the odds of colonoscopy (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04) and overall adherence (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01-1.04) in the rural-metropolitan areas. Conclusions: Developing culturally tailored CRCS programs, increasing percentage of gastroenterologists, and targeting deprived communities may improve CRCS adherence.

Figuerolles est le nom d’un quartier de la ville de Montpellier, une ville qui est le chef-lieu de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon et du département de l'Hérault, en France. La thèse qui y est consacrée s’articule autour de trois axes : sa dimension historique, car il n’y a de vrai développement qu’à partir d’une bonne connaissance de ce que nous sommes, ensuite tout ce qui a trait aux anecdotes, rappelant ainsi qu’il y a, comme le dirait Edgar Morin, une dialogie, c’est-à-dire un va et vient constant entre les archétypes fondateurs et les stéréotypes vécus dans la vie courante. Enfin, les descriptions de figures emblématiques, véritables totems, autour desquels on s’agrège, et qui ainsi constituent véritablement ce qui est un idéal communautaire. Au travers de ces trois points : histoire, figures, anecdotes, il s’agit de montrer comment le bien et le mal, la lumière et les ténèbres, le matériel et le spirituel sont mêlés en un réel tout à la fois complexe et fécond, régi par le hasard et la nécessité. La manifestation la plus évidente d’une telle complétude étant l’étonnante tolérance entre « ceuxqui croyaient au ciel et ceux qui n’y croyaient pas », vivant en un même lieu. N’oublions pas que le lieu fait lien… La signification affective du « quartier » souligne bien l’importance de l’espace que « je » partage avec d’autres, espace où la diversité des orientations sexuelles, la pluralité des représentations idéologiques, la multiplicité des tenues vestimentaires, la théâtralisation corporelle et la variété des goûts divers s’inscrivent dans l’ordre des choses. Tout et son contraire ont leur place, confirmant bien ainsi qu’« il faut de tout pour faire un monde ». / Figuerolles is the name of a district of the city of Montpellier, a city which is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon and the department of Hérault, France. This thesis is devoted to this district, and revolves around three axes : its historical dimension, because there can be no real development without a good understanding of what we are ; secondly, everything that relates to stories, reminding ourselves that there is, to paraphrase Edgar Morin, a dialogy, that is to say a constant back and forth between founders archetypes and stereotypes experienced in everyday life. Thirdly, descriptions of iconic figures, real totems around which we collect, and thus which constitute an ideal community. Through these three points : history, figures, anecdotes, we show how good and evil, light and darkness, the material and the spiritual are involved in a real context all at once complex and fruitful governed by chance and necessity. The most obvious manifestation of such completeness being amazing tolerance between "those who believe in heaven and those who do not believe," living in the same place. Do not forget that the place links... The affective meaning of "neighbourhood" underscores the importance of space as "I" shares with others, space where the diversity of sexual orientations, the plurality of ideological representations, multiple outfits, corporal dramatisation and the variety of different tastes fall into the order of things. Everything and its opposite have their place, clearly confirming that “it takes all kinds to make a world."

Parameterized complexity is a part of computer science dealing with the computational complexity of problems measured not only by the length of their input but also some parameter of the input. Nei- ghborhood diversity is a recently introduced parameter describing a certain structure of a graph. is parameter is aractive for resear especially because some problems whi are hard with respect to other parameters that are incomparable with neighborhood diversity become fixed-parameter tractable with respect to neighborhood diversity. In this thesis we show fixed-parameter tractability for three problems that are hard with respect to treewidth. is constitutes the main part of this thesis and it is our original work. Next it contains an overview of other interesting problems and also a survey of the state of the art in the area of parameters for sparse and dense graphs. 1