Information technology and social cohesion : a tale of two villages

Acknowledgements This research was made possible by a grant from the EPSRC “Dot.Rural Digital Economy Hub” (EP/G066051/1) at the University of Aberdeen and EPSRC Communities and Culture Network+ (EP/K003585/1).Peer reviewedPostprin

Youth and Social Media in Transition

The Arab Transformations Project: WORK PACKAGE 8: D8.24 Acknowledgements This report was written as part of the Arab Transformations Research Project funded by the EU under Grant #320214. The authors would like to acknowledge Prof Pamela Abbott, Dr Andrea Teti, Dr Ilia Xypolia and Dr Vera Lomazzi for their feedback on earlier drafts of the report. The Arab Transformations Project is coordinated by the University of Aberdeen (UK) and includes further 11 partners: Dublin City University (DCU), Dublin, Ireland; Análisis Sociológicos Económicos y Políticos (ASEP), Madrid, Spain; Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI), Milan, Italy; Universität Graz (UNI GRAZ), Graz, Austria; Societatea Pentru Methodologia Sondajelor Concluzia-Prim (Concluzia), Chisinau, Moldova; Centre de Recherche en Économie Appliquée pour le Développement (CREAD), Algiers, Algeria; Egyptian Centre for Public Opinion Research (BASEERA); Cairo, Egypt; Independent Institute for Administration and Civil Society Studies (IIACSS), Amman, Jordan; University of Jordan (JU), Amman, Jordan; MEDA Solutions (MEDAS), Casablanca, Morocco; Association Forum Des Sciences Sociales Appliquées (ASSF); Tunis, Tunisia.Publisher PD

Information technology and social cohesion: A tale of two villages

The study is about social cohesion in rural communities and how this interacts with Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Social cohesion is considered in terms of both system integration and social integration. System integration includes business and cultural organisations, civil society and communal spaces on and offline, which can provide bridging mechanisms to bring together disparate social groups. Social integration refers to more informal mechanisms of inclusion, including social networks, a sense of belonging, commitment to the common good. The paper considers these elements of social cohesion in relation to the intertwining of on and offline relationships by examining two contrasting rural communities in Northern Scotland. The paper concludes that ICT can play very different roles in social cohesion for different social and cultural groups as well as for different kinds of locational communities, but that ICT is becoming an integral part of rural social relations