Online Social Networking, Interactions, and Relations: Students at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein

Online social networking (OSN) is an activity performed through social network sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram. OSN has become a dominant interaction mechanism within contemporary society. Online platforms are woven inextricably into the fabric of individuals’ everyday lives, especially those of young adults. We present a mixed-methods study—conducted at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein—that analyzes how students reflect on their everyday experiences of OSN. The key theoretical frameworks guiding this research are phenomenology, existentialism, and reflexive sociology. These theoretical lenses collectively assist in broadening our understanding of the students’ experiences that reveal the complexities associated with their interactions and social relations via SNS. From their narratives we learn how the students make sense of their engagements on SNS, how these engagements have an impact on their social interactions, and how OSN affects their self-presentation.Dziekan Wydziału Ekonomiczno-Socjologicznego (B18112CZAS1175.01; MPK: 2122524000)

Routine dynamics in action: replication and transformation

Contains an Open Access chapter.This book explores central themes in the enactment and coordination of organizational routines, including replication and transfer, ecologies and interdependence, action and the generation of novelty and technology and sociomateriality.

The Effect of the Bologna Process on the Duration of Studies

This paper evaluates the effect of replacing traditional German five-year degrees with three-year bachelor programs on the duration until graduation and dropping out of university. Using an extensive dataset containing detailed administrative data on more than 9000 students, competing risks models are estimated. The results reveal that the Bologna process reduced the duration until graduation in absolute and relative terms, indicating that one of the reform´s main objectives was achieved. In addition, there is a favorable impact of being enrolled in a bachelor program on the probability of dropping out of university for students enrolled at the faculty of humanities. However, the results concerning university drop out are less conclusive for the other faculties