Since 1987, the interaction between the cross-strait turned into a varied pattern. The political interactions displayed an absent status in each of particular periods. However, on another side, the lower level of the economic, trade, social and cultural integration aspects between the strait has become more interdependent and animated. In reviewing theories of the cross-strait relationship, this paper will take the approach of the integration theories, and employ the viewpoint of Karl W. Deutsch of the Communications. The paper also attempts to examine the critical factors that have influenced the integration on the relations between China and the Taiwan in the integration system. And have a thorough understanding of the effect and development in the integration process. The conclusion is that the integration situation has been separated into two sides of pro-independence and pro-unification. The aspect of political integration is in the position to choose one side or the other while non-political aspects of economic, society, and culture have developed to closed relationship. In other words, this paper will explore how the two actors interact from lower politics to higher politics such as political integration and cooperation.

The purpose of this study was to understand residents¡¦ sense of community and their cognition of community empowerment of metropolitan communities, and to investigate the relationship between residents¡¦ sense of community and their cognition of community empowerment in He-ti Community, Kaohsiung City. Hopefully, this study might offer related suggestions to boost community empowerment of metropolitan communities. The methodology of this study was using questionnaire survey to collect data on the He-ti Community for analysis. The subjects of this study were community residents of 20 year-old and above. ¡§Questionnaire about residents¡¦ sense of community and their cognition of community empowerment¡¨, which was developed and based on related literatures, was adopted as tool for this survey. 600 questionnaires were issued while 505 valid questionnaires were received, with valid sample rate 84.17¢H. The main conclusions of this study are as follows: 1. Residents of the community have the above average degree on sense of community, especially on the ¡§community identification¡¨ domain, but the domain of ¡§community familiarity¡¨ in need of improvement. 2. The cognition of community empowerment among the residents¡¦ are below the middle with the highest on the domain of ¡§actual boost¡¨ and the lowest on the domain of ¡§policy content¡¨. 3. The residents of male, the age above 50, the education below junior high school, married, having children with the age below 18, with house self-having and filling the autonomy post, have higher degree of sense of community. 4. The residents of male, the age between 50 and 59, having no children with age below 18, living in community 5~9 years and filling the autonomy post, have higher degree on cognition of community empowerment. 5. There is a positive correlation between residents¡¦ sense of community and their cognition of community empowerment. 6. Residents¡¦ sense of community has a significant prediction on their cognition of community empowerment. The prediction capacity of factor ¡§community concern¡¨ is the highest with the factor ¡§community familiarity¡¨ the second highest. Based upon the above conclusions, this study offers several related suggestions to the governments, community autonomies and future researchers for their reference to boost ulterior community empowerment and researches.

Sport providers should be concerned with the participant experience, and in particular extraordinary experiences, as they have the potential to shift participant behaviors and attitudes to those desired by sport organizations. Extraordinary experiences are characterized by interpersonal interactions, separation from the usual, and feelings of self-transformation or personal growth (Arnould & Price, 1993). Due to the power, intensity, and transformative effects of these experiences, they can generate lasting shifts in beliefs and attitudes (Schouten, McAlexander & Koenig, 2007). This research project examined the relationship between the extraordinary experience and the personal transformation by examining the characteristics of the experience and impacts on participants. Texas 4000 is a community of cancer fighters who “train, fundraise, educate, and bring hope to those with cancer” for one year before their experience culminates with a 4,000 mile bike ride. University students apply to participate, and once accepted they begin planning, fundraising, volunteering and training for their ride to Alaska. Along the ride, they interact with members of the communities they pass through to spread “hope, knowledge, and charity.” Over 400 individuals have completed the ride within the last ten years. For this study, alumni participated in in-depth interviews about their experience and how it impacted their life. Participant impacts included feelings of empowerment, new perspectives and appreciations, a sense of meaning and purpose, and strong relationships that resulted in a sense of community with other riders, the organization, and the larger cancer community. Importantly, participants’ history and backgrounds influenced how participants interacted with the community and the impacts that they felt. Additionally, the extraordinary experience of the ride created enduring change in participants; the preparation for the extraordinary experience was not as impactful and merely allowed participants to develop the necessary skills to participate in the summer ride. / text

abstract: Resettled refugees face numerous challenges including unsafe living conditions, loss of permanent shelter, adjustment to a new culture, loneliness, and separation from family, friends, and community. Of particular importance is the lack of a feeling of sense of community (SOC) within their new surroundings. SOC is not only worthwhile as an outcome of its own, but may also predict additional positive outcomes such as resilience and cultural adjustment. Literature has shown participation in sport can develop youth positively and build social skills, while studies in other regions of the world have also found a sport team setting to be a place for immigrants to experience SOC. In this study, I use a congruent mixed methods approach to both explore the experience of SOC for youth refugees in a soccer club, and examine the relation of SOC to resilience and cultural adjustment. Using photo-elicitation and semi-structured interviews with 11 youth participants, the qualitative portion of the study explored SOC among youth participants. Findings note the presence of SOC as matched to theoretical frameworks both specific to sport, and to a more general theory of SOC. Further data were collected through questionnaires distributed to club members. Results from the quantitative analysis indicate a significant positive relation between SOC and resilience, and SOC and perceived acculturation. This study’s contribution is to illustrate how refugee youth in a sport club in the United States experience SOC, and the impact of that SOC. Results suggest practical implications for sport managers who wish to provide positive sport experiences for youth refugees. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Community Resources and Development 2018

Thesis advisor: Jean M. Bartunek / In certain professions, members are routinely exposed to situations where their life or the life of someone else is on the line. Workers in these professions are exposed to traumatic situations over the course of a career and are likely to experience certain feelings such as sadness, emotional pain, and fear in response to these traumatic events. Through two inductive qualitative studies, this dissertation builds theory around how individuals involved in life-and-death work (police officers), process the emotions that are elicited by traumatic events without violating the emotional norms of their profession that encourage suppression. These two studies show how individuals create a trusted group of “safe others” with whom they experience a psychological sense of community. Together, community members imbue certain physical spaces with meaning (“safe places”). When safe others come together in safe places, community holding spaces are created which enable the enactment of safe emotional processing. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Management and Organization.

Despite the continued growth of K-12 online learning, there remains a need for additional research addressing roles of online facilitators and how they can improve the sense of community at K-12 online schools. The first article of this dissertation presents a case study illustrating how online facilitators can provide the same level of support for their students that on-site facilitators provide students in blended environments. Data was gathered from teachers at Mountain Heights Academy (MHA), a fully online high school. MHA implemented a "Shepherding Program" to provide student with online facilitators. Each teacher, or shepherd, was responsible for 20 to 25 students. Teacher focus groups and one-on-one interviews were used to examine the perceived effects of a shepherding program on shepherd-student relationships. Additionally, the teacher roles in the shepherding program were compared to the roles of on-site facilitators. Teachers were largely satisfied with the perceived impact of the shepherding program on their relationships with their students. Findings also highlighted strong similarities between the support the shepherding program provided online students and the support on-site facilitators provide blended learning students. The second article was a continuation of the case study from the first article. A key addition to the case study for the second article was the inclusion of student interviews. This article examined how teachers and students perceived that the shepherding program influenced instructor-student relationships. The analysis exposing similarities and differences between teacher and student perspectives of the shepherding program was conducted based on the four dimensions of Rovai's online sense of community: spirit, trust, interaction, and learning. Findings illustrated shepherd-student relationships consisting of all four elements of community in some degree.

This design-based research study explored whether Sense of Community was maintained while flexibility in the course was increased through an adoption of a unique blended learning model. Data collected in this study show a significant drop in the sense of connectedness score from a mean of 50.8 out of 66 to a mean of 39.68 in the first iteration. The score then began to gradually increase, reaching 50.65 in the third iteration. Results indicate that transitioning to a blended learning environment may be a suitable option to increase flexibility while maintaining a Sense of Community in a project-based course. Future research into specific aspects of course design such as maturity of design, age-level of participants, and context would further develop understanding in this area.

Many older adults are electing to age in place within their communities. Even though they may be frequent consumers of community programs and services, their role as contributors to community well-being should not be overlooked. Sense of community is a core dimension of well-being because the connections associated with sense of community are important for everyday life. The model in this study was developed to explore the effects of community connections (community capacity, ease of making connections, active participation in the community, and informal supports) and demographic variables on sense of community. A probability sample of 1,499 adults 65 years and older that resided in rural areas responded to questions concerning their sense of community and community connections. Using multiple regression analysis, results indicate that community capacity, ease of connecting with others in the community, and having an informal support network are significant in predicting sense of community. Nonsignificant associations were found with regard to participation in community activities, age, sex, health status, and length of time living in the county. These findings suggest that key dimensions of aging (age, sex, health status) are less relevant when addressing sense of community when compared to associations and connections. Factors that predict sense of community may be amenable to community-level interventions, thus allowing for the development of sense of community among community members, which could ultimately lead to their participation as community resources. / Master of Science

Yes / Audio recordings of meetings of two community groups in a deprived inner-city area were analysed, using discursive psychological and conversation analytic techniques to explore situated enactments of ‘community’. Participants situated themselves as members; of a geographical community; of an “imagined” community; and, of other constitutive communities. A sense of community was enacted through five interactional strategies: affirming moral codes, ‘defending’ other members, distinguishing insiders from outsiders, enacting empowerment and challenging institutions. Participants regularly employed emotional displays and affirmed moral positions, both to constitute ‘community’ and to take action in it. In so doing they worked up social capital and positioned community concerns in ways more reflective of their own situated values than of criminal law or government policy.

The concept of trust in human relationship has gained much attention over the past decade. The majority of the trust literature focuses on the definition of trust and the development and maintenance of trust. Most scholars agree that trust is developed and maintained through dialogue and socialization, including verbal and nonverbal social cues. The literature suggests that individuals share information and build communities with persons they trust. Within an organizational environment, higher degrees of trust enhance the discovering processes and, ultimately, the ability of groups and organizations to fully function. A "sense of community" is created in environments that encourage open and honest communication among their members. Despite the research supporting a link between socialization, communication, and trust, there is almost no research that specifically addresses the relationship between communication technologies that eliminate face-to-face interaction and organizational trust and sense of community. E-mail, a tool that enables members of an organization to communicate with one another despite differences in time and location, is used by a vast majority of corporations to communicate with its organizational members. While e-mail communication provides many advantages, the literature in this area suggests that this tool may limit the amount of "human moments" at work, which may relate to decreased levels of trust and feelings of community in the workplace. This study was aimed at learning more about this phenomenon. Using a questionnaire developed that included three valid and reliable instruments of trust and sense of community, responses were collected from members of selected teams within a large, international organization to examine the relationships between trust, community, and e-mail communication. Other demographic and organizational data was also collected. Although no relationship was found between e-mail use, organizational trust, and psychological sense of community in the workplace, the results suggest that factors other than communication medium influence feelings of trust and community. Implications of the findings as well as recommendations for practice and future research are provided. / Ph. D.