Social Cohesion / Theory outline

For further study material for Social Cohesion theory see References  under.
Many definitions have been formulated for the concept of Social Cohesion. They all are vague and hardly operational for designers. What does it mean for instance that Social Cohesion is defined as the’glue’ that holds members of a society together? In this course an attempt is made to apply ‘Q methodology’ (see under) as a tool to help identify concrete aspects of social cohesion, to be improved, as perceived by community members. The so-called ‘Q-concourse’ (see under) is based on social cohesion theory. Typically sociologists recognise three main dimensions within the concept of Social Cohesion: Sense of Belonging, Face to Face contacts (sharing of the same physical space), and Social Capital formulated as an economic aspect of Social Cohesion

Sense of Belonging

Belonging includes the person’s fit with his/her environments and also has three sub-domains. Physical Belonging is defined as the connections the person has with his/her physical environments such as home, workplace, neighbourhood, school and community. Social Belonging includes links with social environments and includes the sense of acceptance by intimate others, family, friends, co-workers, and neighbourhood and community. Community Belonging represents access to resources normally available to community members, such as adequate income, health and social services, employment, educational and recreational programs, and community activities.

Face to Face

Researchers at McGill University found that it takes less than a day of no normal contact with the outside world for an adult to start hallucinating.
Even when it’s not such drastic circumstances, talking to a live person can give us a surge of energy in the middle of the workday. “In-person contact stimulates an emotional reaction,” says Lawrence Honig, a neurologist at Columbia University. Bonding hormones are higher when people are face-to-face. And some scientists think that face-to-face contact stimulates the attention and pleasure neurotransmitter dopamine, and serotonin, a neurotransmitter that reduces fear and worry.

Social Capital

Social capital is a sociological concept used in business, economics, organizational behaviour, political science, public health and the social sciences in general to refer to connections within and between social networks. Though there are a variety of related definitions, which have been described as “something of a cure-all” for the problems of modern society, they tend to share the core idea “that social networks have value. Just as a screwdriver (physical capital) or a college education (human capital) can increase productivity (both individual and collective), so do social contacts affect the productivity of individuals and groups”.

Breakdown of Social Cohesion concept into specific statements.
Based on these 3 dimensions of the Social Cohesion Concept (Face to Face , Sense of Belonging, Social Capital) 23 statements have been selected covering the topic of Social Cohesion. These specific statements can be used to develop a specific Social Cohesion Design Mission applying the Q Methodology (see)..

Example  of a Social Cohesion breakdown  into specific statements.

Sample is taken from the Douwe Egberts Coffee case 2011 (see case 2011).

I find it pleasant that I can drop in at a colleagues office without making an appointment first.I know my colleagues pretty well.I like to tell about my work at home or to friends. They know quite well what my work is about.I would like to know more about the personal interests of my colleages. What kind of hobbies they have.I do not have a clear picture of how my work fits in the overall vision and mission of the organisation.I feel there should be more informal events at my department to get to know each other both on a professional andpersonal level.When my colleague has been absent for more than 1 day I ask around the administartion what’s going on.When I am sick I find it pleasant when colleagues call me and ask me how I am doing.When I receive a lot of feedback on my work and from colleagues it makes me feel important and valued.Personal, face to face contact is crucial for my wellbeing. There are not enough ‘human moments’ in my opinion.I think that we can work much more efficient when we have more contact on a personal level.I would like to be more involved in the overall policy making.I prefer E-mail contact to face to face contact because it is time saving and to me time is very precious.I have more social contacts at work then in my private life.I see myself first of all as a professional who does his job, and only secondly as a member of the organisation.I prefer working at home because I feel less controlled by others.I feel very much at ease at work. It’s a cosy place and i regard my colleagues as my friends.It’s very easy to take initiatives with others to start new projects. It does not take a lot of preparation and paperwork.I feel I am treated very much equal to the others.I don’t sense a considerable hierarchy within the institute.In my office I feel a bit like a prisoner locked up in his cell from 9-5. I had rather work in an open space withothers and be more free to determine my hours.My department is quite isolated from the others. I have hardly any idea what is going on at theother departments.I feel like the institute is a big ‘family’ and I find a lot of solidarity among my colleagues. When I haveproblems, also personal, I can discuss them with my colleagues.I feel free to invite my family to my workplace and introduce them to my colleagues.

References:

Sclove Richard E ,1995, Democracy and technology
New York : Guilford Press
Friedkin Noah E. – Social Cohesion
Department of Sociology, 2000, University of California, Santa Barbara,
California 93106;
Putnam Robert – Bowlin’ Alone / The collapse and revival of American community
New York, Simon & Schuster 2000
Reeskens Tim ,  Botterman Sarah & Hooghe Marc, 2000,– Is Social Cohesion one latent concept?
Investigating the dimensionality of social cohesion on the basis of the
Kearns and Forrest typology. Center for Political Research, KULeuven

Motivation Theory / Guest Lecture.

Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic.The term is generally used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation. According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in a basic need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired object, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be confused with either volition or optimism. Motivation is related to, but distinct from, emotion

A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e. behavior) with the intent to cause the behavior to occur again. This is done by associating positive meaning to the behavior. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect is greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit. Motivation comes from two sources: oneself, and other people. These two sources are called intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, respectively.

References

Cofer, Charles N; Appley, Mortimer H ,1967, Motivation: Theory and Research, New York, London, Sydney: John Wiley & Sons
Fishbein, M.; Ajzen, I. 1975, Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior: An introduction to theory and research, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley