Social Cohesion and Neighbor Interactions within Multifamily Apartment Buildings: Challenges of COVID-19 and Directions of Action

Relations among neighbors are a key indicator of the strength of a local social community, contribute to social cohesion and are an important factor in achieving a higher level of social sustainability. On the other hand, the environment in which people live plays an important role in encouraging social contacts and developing relationships between people. In order to establish social interactions between neighbors within a multifamily apartment building (MFAB), it is necessary to provide adequate spaces for communication between residents. This was especially emphasized during the mobility restrictions caused by COVID-19, although this necessity is permanent. This paper analyzes the influence of the physical characteristics of common spaces in MFABs on the quality and intensity of contacts among residents of MFABs in the City of Niš, Serbia. In order to determine the current quality of these spaces as a physical framework for interactions among residents and to identify the wishes of users regarding interactions with neighbors in these spaces before and during COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, a survey was conducted. The analysis of the survey results and numerous examples of housing design led to (1) the formation of guidelines for future designs of MFABs and (2) recommendations for redefining the standards regulating the field of housing construction in the region, both applicable during the period of the pandemic and after it.

Social Sciences and Inequalities in the New Post-COVID-19 “Normal”

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 (either through its direct effects by the disease it causes or the measures taken in an attempt to control its spread) had, and still has, a profound effect at several levels beyond the medical, such as the economic and social, political, scientific, psychological, educational, legal and religious levels, among others. However, studies demonstrate that this influence has not been the same for all due to old inequalities and also the emergence of new inequalities. In this letter to the Editor, the authors discuss some of the contributions of the Social Sciences to the understanding of social inequalities in this new post-COVID-19 “normal” through the mobilization of relevant literature and also their experience in analysing COVID-19 with the eyes of the Social Sciences, notwithstanding their plurality. The results of this analysis allow concluding that the Social Sciences can make a very relevant contribution – in an interdisciplinary way – to the understanding of this phenomenon of the relationship between COVID-19 and inequalities based on socioeconomic factors with the aim of increasing social cohesion and social justice. Received: 4 October 2021 / Accepted: 11 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

LITERARY FOLKTALES PROMOTING CHILDREN'S MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES/KARYA SASTRA YANG MENINGKATKAN KECERDASAN MULTIPEL ANAK-ANAK

The objective of this study wasto investigate how literary folktale narrations promoting children's multiple intelligences. In this study qualitative design was adopted. The target populations of this study were found in Awi zone. In this case, expert sampling was used to capture multiple intelligences entrenched in a meticulous manifestation of knowledge in folktales.Through purposive sampling 20 folktale narrators (10 females and 10 male) were interviewed and two group discussions were conducted. The result of the study showed that engagement of children within literary narrations enablesthem to promote their linguistic, logical, spatial, musical, natural, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and bodily kinesthetic intelligences. Result and discussion showed thatliterary folktale narrations promote social cohesion regardless of age and gender. The children at any talent stage were acquainted with how to use their multiple intelligent through learning and their life experiences. This hypothesis is significant to elementary education because teachers able to observe more recurrently that students learn in different ways. Therefore, there is close relationship between literacy and folklore in influencing naturalist intelligencechildrento make a distinction among animals, categorize, and use features of the environment.Keywords: children, folktale, intelligences, literaryAbstrakTujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk meneliti bagaimana narasi folktale yang meningkatkan kecerdasan multipel anak-anak. Dalam penelitian ini, digunakan desain kualitatif. Target populasi penelitian ini ditemukan di wilayah Awi. Dalam kasus ini, expert sampling digunakan untuk mengkaji kecerdasan multipel yang berakar dalam manifestasi pengetahuan folktale. Melalui purposive sampling(penyampelan berdasarkan tujuan), 20 pencerita folktale (10 perempuan dan 10 laki-laki) diwawancarai dan dua diskusi kelompok dilakukan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pelibatan anak-anak dalam narasi sastra memungkinkan mereka untuk meningkatkan kecerdasan linguistik, logis, spasial, musik, alami, interpersonal, dan kinestetik tubuh mereka. Hasil dan pembahasan ini menunjukkan bahwa narasi folktale meningkatkan hubungan sosial tanpa memandang usia dan jenis kelamin. Anak-anak pada setiap tahap bakat berkenalan dengan bagaimana menggunakan kecerdasan multipel mereka melalui pembelajaran dan pengalaman hidup mereka. Hipotesis ini sangat penting bagi pendidikan dasar guru dapat mengamati secara berulang-ulang bahwa siswa belajar dengan cara yang berbeda. Oleh karena itu, ada kaitan erat antara literasi dan cerita rakyat dalam memengaruhi kecerdasan alami anak-anak untuk membuat perbedaan di antara hewan, mengategorikannya, dan menggunakan karakteristik lingkungan. Kata Kunci: anak-anak, dongeng, kecerdasan, literasi

Educational inequality in the Kebribeyah Somali refugee camp in Ethiopia: an autoethnography

Due to the Somali Civil War of 1991, more than 10,000 Somali refugees resettled in Kebribeyah, a town in the Somali region of Ethiopia. For nearly three decades, the local and resettled refugee communities shared the resources the region had to offer, adopted a new common cultural norm, and fostered some levels of social cohesions. It is the education sector, however, that caused social conflicts and hatred between resettled Somalis and the native Somali-Ethiopians. Currently, the education of Somali refugee children is funded by various international organizations, such as the United Nations. On the contrary, the local Somali-Ethiopian children pay their way to schools which leads to poor educational experiences. Using autoethnography as the research method, this article examines the formation of educational gaps between the local and refugee children. Findings suggest that educational inequality can exist between refugee and host communities, if not properly managed, and can ultimately impact social cohesion and stability in the refugee-hosting regions.

Trust: the key to social cohesion and growth in Latin America and the Caribbean

Trust is the most pressing and yet least discussed problem confronting Latin America and the Caribbean. Whether in others, in government, or in firms, trust is lower in the region than anywhere else in the world. The economic and political consequences of mistrust ripple through society. It suppresses growth and innovation: investment, entrepreneurship, and employment all flourish when firms and government, workers and employers, banks and borrowers, and consumers and producers trust each other. Trust inside private and public sector organizations is essential for collaboration and innovation. Mistrust distorts democratic decision-making. It keeps citizens from demanding better public services and infrastructure, from joining with others to control corruption, and from making the collective sacrifices that leave everyone better off. The good news is that governments can increase citizen trust with clearer promises of what citizens can expect from them, public sector reforms that enable them to keep their promises, and institutional reforms that strengthen the commitments that citizens make to each other. This book guides decision-makers as they incorporate trust and social cohesion into the comprehensive reforms needed to address the regions most pernicious challenges.

The Potential of Gamification for Humanitarian Organizations to Support Integration in Migration Contexts

The aim of this chapter is to explore the connections between the inherent characteristics of gamification and the current need for sustainable integration activities that are based on meaningful social interactions. By highlighting the potential of gamification for creating democratic spaces of social interaction and engaging diverse actors in joyful encounters, it is possible to underline the notion of social change that gamification can induce. In the area of integration, humanitarian organizations can harness the potential of gamification in their integration activities in order to ensure increased social cohesion. Through a critical analysis of existing gamification and integration approaches, the chapter provides arguments for why gamification is perfectly suited to improve integration processes by highlighting the manifold applications of gamification experience in the humanitarian field.

Financial Development and Sustainable Competitiveness in Arctic Region: A Dynamic Panel Data Analysis

The present study investigates the effect of financial development on sustainable competitiveness and its components (natural capital, resource intensity, and social cohesion) in the Arctic region. We employ bank-based, stock-market based, and composite index to measure financial development. To deal with endogeneity bias, system GMM is utilized. The results show a positive and significant effect of financial development on sustainable competitiveness. The estimates also assert that financial development encourages resource efficiency and social cohesion in the region. In contrast, we find the negative effect of financial development on natural capital. This suggests that overexploitation of natural resources may provide short-term benefits to the local and regional communities but it may threaten the long-term sustainability of the Arctic. Thus, the financial sector should be guided to support financing and investing activities in alternative eco-friendly technologies and ventures for reducing excessive natural resource utilization.