Written as three publishable papers, this dissertation examines the individual, community and national level factors related to social cohesion with emphasis placed on the role of economic inequalities. The core of dissertation revolves around two main arguments: The first argues that there is a direct negative association between economic inequality and social cohesion. The second states that this connection is influenced by other factors that include the individuals’ position in the stratification system. The contextual effects are of particular importance because they influence both the relationship between individual economic realities and economic inequality and the link between social cohesion and economic inequality. Focusing on two aspects of social cohesion—civic engagement and social tolerance—I present evidence that (a) high levels of inequality are related to low levels of social cohesion and inclusion; (b) high levels of inequality are associated with lower commitment to democratic principles; and (c) low levels of inclusion are associated with lower commitment to democratic principles such as social tolerance. This dissertation provides links between these topics by exploring the comparative role of inequality in varying social, economic, political, and religious contexts. It examines contextual effects at both the community-level and at the cross-national level to illustrate the patterns and results of social cohesion.

The purpose of this study is to examine the progression of Multicultural to Intercultural Education in the prospect of sustaining social cohesion. Multicultural and Intercultural Education are two major educational pedagogies that came into existence in multicultural societies. The purpose of the case study is to explore the implementation of the practices of Multicultural and Intercultural education as part of fostering the social cohesion in Mauritius. Qualitative data was collected through interviews and a survey which has been conducted to 300 trainees at the Mauritius Institute of Education to examine and analyze their perceptions of Multicultural and Intercultural Education. / 博士(グローバル社会研究) / Doctor of Philosophy in Global Society Studies / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

The dissertation sits within the theoretical context of social cohesion theory; aspects of space that fosters social cohesion as well as the manipulation of the public market typology are investigated as research questions. The Sunnyside area in Tshwane is the physical context within which the design project is located and is observed as being in a state of social divergence. The design issue to be addressed is outlined in the following statement: The adaptive reuse of the Sunnyside Galleries building by introducing a public food market, restaurant and drinks bar to create opportunities for casual encounters and cultural exchange for the purpose of fostering social cohesion within space. / Dissertation (MInt(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Architecture / MInt(Prof) / Unrestricted

This thesis examines the effects of France’s educational social cohesion policies, Zones d’Education Prioritaire (ZEP schools) and L’Agence nationale pour la cohesion sociale et l’égalité des chances (Acsé). I argue that these policies affect access to education for working-class descendants of immigrants; however, France’s republican ideology inhibits the extent to which equitability can be established between working-class descendants of immigrants and the majority population. Though a quantitative and qualitative data analysis, I scrutinize trends in education access and the labor market over the 2000s. Lastly, I make policy recommendations centering around positive discrimination approaches that France should adopt, in order to prioritize its most marginalized population.

This paper seeks to describe and explain the social efficacy of art by addressing it as contemporary western infrastructure for social cohesion. Social cohesion refers here not to teleological status quo, but to pluralistic, yet fairly peaceful co-habitation, allowing for gradual change while preserving continuity of the group identity. Employing Actor-Network Theory, this paper views artistic practice as actor-network assemblage process making connections and vehicles that enable movement of ideas, values, visions and dissents throughout the community. Parallel memberships of the same actors in artistic and non-artistic actor-networks create conditions for artistic meanings to “bleed over” also into other spheres of the social life where they can gain efficacy far beyond the “art world”. Art infrastructure operates under particular “regime of art” that suspends some of the “real world” rules and sanctions ambiguity, facilitating less confrontational reconciliation of diverse and contradictory meanings than is customary in e.g. science, religion, politics, economy, railways, sewage or other infrastructures that also have impact on social cohesion. Debates about the definitions of “art” or particular objects’ belonging to “art” emerge in this perspective as debates on the scope of applicability of the “regime of art”, as it may have significant social consequences. By outlining an infrastructural theory of art this paper seeks to fill a theoretical gap in a rather fragmented field of anthropology of art and to propose novel ways to deploy insights from anthropological engagements with infrastructure. Empirical data of this paper come from a five weeks fieldwork in Alaska.

MA, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / Even though investigations of knowledge construction within CMC have been conducted (e.g. Gunawardena, Lowe and Anderson, 1997; Schellens & Valcke, 2004), no research has compared F2F communication and CMC in terms of the ability to solve complex tasks and to develop group cohesion. Group cohesion has been found to be vital for group cooperation and performance. Eight self-formed groups of 5 student participants each volunteered to participate in this study. Each group was required to solve two standardised, complex tasks in the same order. Student groups were randomly assigned to one of four medium combinations with two groups per combination. The combinations were: F2F communication for both tasks, CMC for both tasks, F2F communication for the first task and CMC for the second task, and CMC for the first task and F2F communication for the second task. Measures of knowledge construction were taken using the IAM (Gunawardena et al., 1997), group cohesion (assessed before and after the tasks) using the GAS (Evans & Jarvis, 1986), and a self-developed scale to assess satisfaction with the process and the outcome. The results showed that CMC groups produced significantly fewer contributions, and took a longer time to complete tasks, but there was no significant difference between the two mediums in terms of knowledge construction. The medium combination of F2F communication followed by CMC, achieved the least time to completion; the second most effective medium for knowledge construction, the greatest satisfaction with respect to group processes and the decision in the first task, and achieved a significantly higher level of post-manipulation group cohesion.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) calls for education to prepare children for "responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, ethnic, national and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin" (UN, 1989, p.9). This thesis examines the potential role of Educational Psychologists (EPs) in addressing the UNCRC call to promote community cohesion through their work in schools. A systematic review of recent international research into the effects of psychology-based educational approaches promoting community cohesion was undertaken. The review, structured by the PRISMA framework, identified 13 studies examining the effects of approaches to community cohesion. Analysis of these studies yielded insight into approaches to community cohesion, which may be best promoted through educational approaches that have both knowledge and process-based components and through a multi-level approach, which takes into account the individual and their relationships as well as the relationships between community groups and the individual's participation in their community. An empirical study with an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) in the North West of England was undertaken. This consisted of an Appreciative Inquiry cycle of four focus groups exploring ways in which an EPS could envisage promoting community cohesion. Findings from the empirical study suggest that an EPS supporting community cohesion is facilitated by aspects of current EP practice including values and by EPs knowing their school communities. EPs reflecting on their own positionality regarding community and culture may also be a facilitator. Dissemination to EP practice was considered, both at the research site as well as within the profession more generally. A multi-level approach was generated in which dissemination to practice through journal publication, conference presentations and continued contribution to a working group of regional EPSs was planned alongside dissemination through the design and delivery of training packages for schools. Deliberation over whether adopting a children's rights-based approach could help to maintain focus on community cohesion through times of changing government priorities was discussed.

In 2006, millions of Immigrant Rights Movement (IRM) activists and allies stomped through the streets of cities throughout the United States. Attracting a diverse array of participants, the IRM includes immigrants and non-immigrants and people from varying religious and non-religious traditions. This dissertation focuses on the social cohesion as an element of the collective identity of this multicultural and multi-faith movement. Taking the IRM in San Diego County as a critical case, this study included data from forty-nine extensive formal interviews with movement participants in sixteen organizations, along with countless informal conversations during participant observation in over two hundred activist-organized events from April 2006 until August 2008. By focusing on movement narratives, frames, and patterns of interaction, this study finds that stories of change, a progressively inclusive moral framework, and what I call "multicultural activist etiquette" serve as unifying mechanisms in the IRM. In stories of change, we hear how activists articulated the right to migrate and advocate for worker rights through shared narratives of agitation and hope-generating stories of collective action. A shared sense of injustice and collectively focused movement goals are informed by a belief system about how the world ought to operate that is located at the ideological intersection between religious and non-religious. An inclusive and humanitarian moral framework provided the common ground upon which diverse activists organize, but this progressive moral framework was differently legitimated by the diverse religious and non-religious traditions of the activists. They agreed that all people are inherently equal, and everyone ought to care for one another, upholding an emphasis on marginalized immigrants. This over-arching moral framework moved beyond multicultural and multi-faith rhetoric and helped guide and affirm the way activists interacted in meeting spaces. Together, they constructed a code of collaboration, the multicultural activist etiquette, that facilitated equality within organizational processes, in an emotionally and physically secure meeting space, while focusing on productivity toward movement goals. Finally, this study recognizes immigrant activists as "rule-changers," agents of change collaborating to improve their own quality of life in the U.S. It thus offers an alternative to current perspectives on immigrant assimilation into American society.

This article explains the implications and benefits of founding transdisciplinary collaborations of knowledge production in critical realism. We call such equal partnerships of researchers and practitioners knowledge alliances. Drawing on the distinction between the referent to which we refer (the object that our research is about) and our references (our research about this object), we show that practitioners can contribute to the process of knowledge production by providing access to referents and producing references but also by achieving societal relevance. In order to accomplish excellence, knowledge production should be organized in ways that engage different types of knowledge in a constructive interplay and use the respective strong points of researchers and practitioners. Abduction and retroduction, two modes of inference vital to critical realism, are particularly inclined to benefit from involving practitioners in knowledge production. We call such an approach potential-oriented and put it in contrast to problem-orientation and the empiricism of evidence-based research and policy-making.

This article explores the implications of founding transdisciplinary collaborations of knowledge production in critical realism. We call such equal partnerships of researchers and practitioners knowledge alliances. Using the distinction between the referents that we refer to (what our research is about) and our references (our research about that), we show that practitioners can contribute to the process of knowledge production by providing access to referents and producing references but also by achieving relevance. Researchers and practitioners bring different types of knowledge. To become excellent, knowledge production should be organized in ways, which engage these different types in a constructive interplay. We call this approach potential-oriented, which we put in contrast to the empiricism of evidence-based research and policy-making. Our deliberate choice of the term potential-oriented reflects the shifts in philosophy suggested by critical realism, but also a sensitivity for how practitioners communicate and express themselves. / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers