Cooperation, Trust, and Social Capital in Southeast Asian Urban Slums

We conduct experiments in the field with people who live in urban slums to measure trust and cooperation and to see how behavior varies with demographic factors and associational measures of social capital. Overall, we find high rates of contributions among Thai and Vietnamese participants in a voluntary contribution game and we see that many participants are willing to socially sanction other participants who free ride. At the individual level, we find that behavior varies with many demographic factors (e.g., sex, schooling, age) and with many associational factors (e.g., home ownership and community homogeneity). However, many of these correlations differ significantly between our Thai participants and our Vietnamese participants indicating the role of culture.social capital, cooperation, trust, social disapproval, social dilemma, experiment, Thailand, Vietnam

Cooperation, Trust and Social Capital in Southeast Asian Urban Slums

We conduct experiments in urban slums to measure trust and cooperation and to see how behavior varies with demographic factors and associational measures of social capital. Overall, we find high contribution rates among Thai and Vietnamese participants in a voluntary contribution game, and we see that many participants are willing to signal their disapproval of free riding despite it being costly to do so. At the individual level, we find that behavior varies with many demographic factors and with many associational factors. However, these correlations often differ significantly between our two locations, indicating the role of culture, defined broadly.Cooperation, trust, social disapproval, Thailand, Vietnam

Engaged Pedagogy and Transformative Learning in Graduate Education: A Service Learning Case Study

Operating at the interface between ideas and action, graduate education in geography and planning has a responsibility to provide students with theoretical and practical training. This paper describes service-learning as a form of engaged pedagogy, exploring its ability to interrogate notions related to the “professional turn” and its contributions to transformative learning. Using a case study of a graduate-level service-learning course at the University of Toronto, we address the challenges associated with service-learning and highlight opportunities for students, faculty, universities, and community organizations. Our case study is based on assessment and analysis of the course and contributions to student learning, professional development, and community engagement. We contend that, at the graduate level, service-learning is an underutilized pedagogical tool. Service-learning can impart high-demand skills to graduate students by transforming how students learn and move from knowledge into ideas and ultimately action, and by offering opportunities for developing higher-order reasoning and critical thinking.   À la frontière entre les idées et l’action, les études supérieures en géographie et en planification se doivent de fournir aux étudiants une formation à la fois théorique et pratique. Cet article décrit l’apprentissage par le service comme une forme de pédagogie engagée, tout en explorant sa capacité à ébranler les notions liées aux « priorités professionnelles », et en analysant ses contributions à l’apprentissage transformateur. À l’aide de l’étude de cas d’un cours d’apprentissage par le service au cycle supérieur à l’Université de Toronto, nous abordons les défis associés à l’apprentissage par le service et nous mettons l’accent sur les possibilités qui s’offrent aux étudiants, aux enseignants, aux universités et aux organismes communautaires. Notre étude de cas se fonde sur l’évaluation et l’analyse du cours en question, de même que sur ses contributions à l’apprentissage des étudiants, au perfectionnement professionnel et à l’engagement communautaire. Nous sommes d’avis que l’apprentissage par le service est un outil pédagogique sous-utilisé aux cycles supérieurs. L’apprentissage par le service peut transmettre des compétences inestimables aux étudiants des cycles supérieurs en transformant la façon d’apprendre des étudiants et en passant de l’étape des connaissances à celle des idées et éventuellement à l’action, tout en développant un niveau de raisonnement plus élevé et une réflexion critique.&nbsp