Please complete a detailed outline. Include an introduction that has a topic sentence and tells the
reader which texts will be synthesized.
YOU MUST INCLUDE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING
Introduction Paragraph: In approximately 5-7 sentences, introduce your paper's idea and the
connections that can be made between the texts. The introductory paragraph must be in full
paragraph form. Your thesis statement must be included at the end of the introduction.
Working Thesis: Tell the reader what you're going to prove (thesis/argument) and how you're
going to do it. Feel free to use the Magic Thesis Sentence (MTS) template provided below.
Developing a thesis statement is perhaps the trickiest part of writing an argumentative paper.
By looking at
,
we can see ________________________________________________________.
This (tell the reader what the "This" is) suggests that (or this is important because)_______
. (This last part is your thesis/argument).,
Three Topics Sentences: Every paragraph you will eventually write, will require a strong and
engaging topic sentence that identifies the main idea the paragraph will discuss. What ideas,
similarities, differences are you discussing/juxtaposing between the three texts? The topic
sentence should be general enough to express your paragraph's overall subject, but it should also
be specific enough for your reader to understand your main point.
The body paragraph sentences and quotes MUST be complete sentences.
For each topic sentence you submit, you are also REQUIRED to include TWO DIRECT
QUOTES (one from each scholarly article) to back up the claim AND one from the "They Say, I
Say" reading you are focusing on. Like with the synthesis paper, make the essays/articles "speak
to each other."
Conclusion Paragraph:
• Restate Thesis (but not verbatim)
• 5-7 Sentences
• Summarize YOUR main points and wrap up the ideas addressed in a thoughtful manner.
PROMPT: Write a research essay in response to Danah Boyd, drawing upon research into the
mixing/integration – or lack thereof – on college campuses, online and/or in the military. Frame your
argument as a response to Boyd.
Please complete a detailed outline. Include an introduction that has a topic sentence and tells the
reader which texts will be synthesized.
YOU MUST INCLUDE ALL OF THE FOLLOWING
Introduction Paragraph: In approximately 5-7 sentences, introduce your paper's idea and the
connections that can be made between the texts. The introductory paragraph must be in full
paragraph form. Your thesis statement must be included at the end of the introduction.
Working Thesis: Tell the reader what you're going to prove (thesis/argument) and how you're
going to do it. Feel free to use the Magic Thesis Sentence (MTS) template provided below.
Developing a thesis statement is perhaps the trickiest part of writing an argumentative paper.
By looking at
,
we can see ________________________________________________________.
This (tell the reader what the "This" is) suggests that (or this is important because)_______
. (This last part is your thesis/argument).,
Three Topics Sentences: Every paragraph you will eventually write, will require a strong and
engaging topic sentence that identifies the main idea the paragraph will discuss. What ideas,
similarities, differences are you discussing/juxtaposing between the three texts? The topic
sentence should be general enough to express your paragraph's overall subject, but it should also
be specific enough for your reader to understand your main point.
The body paragraph sentences and quotes MUST be complete sentences.
For each topic sentence you submit, you are also REQUIRED to include TWO DIRECT
QUOTES (one from each scholarly article) to back up the claim AND one from the "They Say, I
Say" reading you are focusing on. Like with the synthesis paper, make the essays/articles "speak
to each other."
Conclusion Paragraph:
• Restate Thesis (but not verbatim)
• 5-7 Sentences
• Summarize YOUR main points and wrap up the ideas addressed in a thoughtful manner.
Why America Is Self-Segregating
danah boyd
H
The United States has always been a diverse but segregated country. This has shaped American politics profoundly.
Yet, throughout history, Americans have had to grapple with
divergent views and opinions, political ideologies, and experiences in order to function as a country. Many of the institutions that underpin American democracy force people in the
United States to encounter difference. This does not inherently
produce tolerance or result in healthy resolution. Hell, the history of the United States is fraught with countless examples of
people enslaving and oppressing other people on the basis of
difference. This isn’t about our past; this is about our present.
And today’s battles over laws and culture are nothing new.
danah boyd is a principal researcher at Microsoft Research and a visiting professor in New York University’s interactive telecommunications program. She is the author of It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of
Networked Teens (2014) and the founder of Data & Society, a research
institute “focused on the social and cultural issues arising from datacentric technological development.” This essay first appeared in 2017
on Points, a blog of Data & Society.
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danah bo y d
Ironically, in a world in which we have countless tools to connect, we are also watching fragmentation, polarization, and
de-diversification happen en masse. The American public is selfsegregating, and this is tearing at the social fabric of the country.
Many in the tech world imagined that the Internet would
connect people in unprecedented ways, allow for divisions to be
bridged and wounds to heal. It was the kumbaya dream. Today,
those same dreamers find it quite unsettling to watch as the
tools that were designed to bring people together are used by
people to magnify divisions and undermine social solidarity.
These tools were built in a bubble, and that bubble has burst.
Nowhere is this more acute than with Facebook. Naive as
hell, Mark Zuckerberg dreamed he could build the tools that
would connect people at unprecedented scale, both domestically and internationally. I actually feel bad for him as he clings
to that hope while facing increasing attacks from people around
the world about the role that Facebook is playing in magnifying social divisions. Although critics love to paint him as only
motivated by money, he genuinely wants to make the world
a better place and sees Facebook as a tool to connect people,
not empower them to self-segregate.
The problem is not simply the “filter bubble,” Eli Pariser’s
notion that personalization-driven algorithmic systems help
silo people into segregated content streams. Facebook’s claim
that content personalization plays a small role in shaping what
people see compared to their own choices is accurate. And they
have every right to be annoyed. I couldn’t imagine TimeWarner
being blamed for who watches Duck Dynasty vs. Modern Family.
And yet, what Facebook does do is mirror and magnify a trend
that’s been unfolding in the United States for the last twenty
years, a trend of self-segregation that is enabled by technology
in all sorts of complicated ways.
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Why America Is Self-Segregating
The United States can only function as a healthy democracy
if we find a healthy way to diversify our social connections,
if we find a way to weave together a strong social fabric that
bridges ties across difference.
Yet, we are moving in the opposite direction with See p. 137 for
ways to provide
serious consequences. To understand this, let’s talk a roadmap for
about two contemporary trend lines and then think your readers.
about the implications going forward.
Privatizing the Military
The voluntary US military is, in many ways, a social engineering project. The public understands the military as a service
organization, dedicated to protecting the country’s interests.
Yet, when recruits sign up, they are promised training and job
opportunities. Individual motivations vary tremendously, but
many are enticed by the opportunity to travel the world, participate in a cause with a purpose, and get the heck out of Dodge.
Everyone expects basic training to be physically hard, but few
recognize that some of the most grueling aspects of signing up
have to do with the diversification project that is central to
the formation of the American military.
When a soldier is in combat, she must trust her fellow soldiers with her life. And she must be willing to do what it takes
to protect the rest of her unit. In order to make that possible,
the military must wage war on prejudice. This is not an easy
task. Plenty of generals fought hard to fight racial desegregation
and to limit the role of women in combat. Yet, the US military
was desegregated in 1948, six years before Brown v. Board forced
desegregation of schools. And the Supreme Court ruled that
LGB individuals could openly serve in the military before they
could legally marry.
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danah bo y d
Morale is often raised as the main reason that soldiers should
not be forced to entrust their lives to people who are different
than them. Yet, time and again, this justification collapses under
broader interests to grow the military. As a result, commanders are
forced to find ways to build up morale across difference, to actively
and intentionally seek to break down barriers to teamwork, and to
find a way to gel a group of people whose demographics, values,
politics, and ideologies are as varied as the country’s.
In the process, they build one of the most crucial social
infrastructures of the country. They build the diverse social
fabric that underpins democracy.
Tons of money was poured into defense after 9/11, but the
number of people serving in the US military today is far lower
than it was throughout the 1980s. Why? Starting in the 1990s
and accelerating after 9/11, the US privatized huge chunks of the
military. This means that private contractors and their employees
play critical roles in everything from providing food services to
equipment maintenance to military housing. The impact of this
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Why America Is Self-Segregating
on the role of the military in society is significant. For example,
this undermines recruits’ ability to get training to develop critical
skills that will be essential for them in civilian life. Instead, while
serving on active duty, they spend a much higher amount of time
on the front lines and in high-risk battle, increasing the likelihood that they will be physically or psychologically harmed. The
impact on skills development and job opportunities is tremendous, but so is the impact on the diversification of the social fabric.
Private vendors are not engaged in the same social engineering project as the military and, as a result, tend to hire
and fire people based on their ability to work effectively as a
team. Like many companies, they have little incentive to invest
in helping diverse teams learn to work together as effectively
as possible. Building diverse teams — especially ones in which
members depend on each other for their survival — is extremely
hard, time-consuming, and emotionally exhausting. As a result,
private companies focus on “culture fit,” emphasize teams that
get along, and look for people who already have the necessary
skills, all of which helps reinforce existing segregation patterns.
The end result is that, in the last 20 years, we’ve watched
one of our major structures for diversification collapse without
anyone taking notice. And because of how it’s happened, it’s
also connected to job opportunities and economic opportunity
for many working- and middle-class individuals, seeding resentment and hatred.
A Self-Segregated College Life
If you ask a college admissions officer at an elite institution
to describe how they build a class of incoming freshman, you
will quickly realize that the American college system is a
diversification project. Unlike colleges in most parts of the
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danah bo y d
world, the vast majority of freshman at top tier universities
in the United States live on campus with roommates who are
assigned to them. Colleges approach housing assignments as
an opportunity to pair diverse strangers with one another to
build social ties. This makes sense given how many friendships
emerge out of freshman dorms. By pairing middle class kids
with students from wealthier families, elite institutions help
diversify the elites of the future.
This diversification project produces a tremendous amount
of conflict. Although plenty of people adore their college roommates and relish the opportunity to get to know people from
different walks of life as part of their college experience, there
is an amazing amount of angst about dorm assignments and
the troubles that brew once folks try to live together in close
quarters. At many universities, residential life is often in the
business of student therapy as students complain about their
roommates and dormmates. Yet, just like in the military, learning how to negotiate conflict and diversity in close quarters can
be tremendously effective in sewing the social fabric.
In the spring of 2006, I was doing fieldwork with teenagers
at a time when they had just received acceptances to college. I
giggled at how many of them immediately wrote to the college
in which they intended to enroll, begging for a campus email
address so that they could join that school’s Facebook (before
Facebook was broadly available). In the previous year, I had
watched the previous class look up roommate assignments on
MySpace so I was prepared for the fact that they’d use Facebook
to do the same. What I wasn’t prepared for was how quickly
they would all get on Facebook, map the incoming freshman
class, and use this information to ask for a roommate switch.
Before they even arrived on campus in August/September of
2006, they had self-segregated as much as possible.
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Why America Is Self-Segregating
A few years later, I watched another trend hit: cell phones.
While these were touted as tools that allowed students to stay
connected to parents (which prompted many faculty to complain about “helicopter parents” arriving on campus), they
really ended up serving as a crutch to address homesickness, as
incoming students focused on maintaining ties to high school
friends rather than building new relationships.
Students go to elite universities to “get an education.” Few
realize that the true quality product that elite colleges in the
US have historically offered is social network diversification.
Even when it comes to job acquisition, sociologists have long
known that diverse social networks (“weak ties”) are what
increase job prospects. By self-segregating on campus, students
undermine their own potential while also helping fragment the
diversity of the broader social fabric.
Diversity Is Hard
Diversity is often touted as highly desirable. Indeed, in professional contexts, we know that more diverse teams often outperform homogeneous teams. Diversity also increases cognitive
development, both intellectually and socially. And yet, actually
encountering and working through diverse viewpoints, experiences, and perspectives is hard work. It’s uncomfortable. It’s
emotionally exhausting. It can be downright frustrating.
Thus, given the opportunity, people typically revert to situations where they can be in homogeneous environments. They
look for “safe spaces” and “culture fit.” And systems that are
“personalized” are highly desirable. Most people aren’t looking
to self-segregate, but they do it anyway. And, increasingly, the
technologies and tools around us allow us to self-segregate with
ease. Is your uncle annoying you with his political rants? Mute
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danah bo y d
him. Tired of getting ads for irrelevant products? Reveal your
preferences. Want your search engine to remember the things
that matter to you? Let it capture data. Want to watch a TV show
that appeals to your senses? Here are some recommendations.
Any company whose business model is based on advertising
revenue and attention is incentivized to engage you by giving
you what you want. And what you want in theory is different
than what you want in practice.
Consider, for example, what Netflix encountered when it
started its streaming offer. Users didn’t watch the movies that
they had placed into their queue. Those movies were the movies
they thought they wanted, movies that reflected their ideal self —
12 Years a Slave, for example. What they watched when they
could stream whatever they were in the mood for at that
moment was the equivalent of junk food — reruns of Friends,
for example. (This completely undid Netflix’s recommendation
Netflix recommends shows to its users based on what they have already
watched.
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Why America Is Self-Segregating
infrastructure, which had been trained on people’s idealistic
self-images.)
The divisions are not just happening through commercialism though. School choice has led people to self-segregate from
childhood on up. The structures of American work life mean
that fewer people work alongside others from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Our contemporary culture of retail and service labor means that there’s a huge cultural gap between workers
and customers with little opportunity to truly get to know one
another. Even many religious institutions are increasingly fragmented such that people have fewer interactions across diverse
lines. (Just think about how there are now “family services” and
“traditional services” which age-segregate.) In so many parts of
public, civic, and professional life, we are self-segregating and
the opportunities for doing so are increasing every day.
By and large, the American public wants to have strong
connections across divisions. They see the value politically and
socially. But they’re not going to work for it. And given the
option, they’re going to renew their license remotely, try to
get out of jury duty, and use available data to seek out housing
and schools that are filled with people like them. This is the
conundrum we now face.
Many pundits remarked that, during the 2016 election season, very few Americans were regularly exposed to people whose
political ideology conflicted with their own. This is true. But it
cannot be fixed by Facebook or news media. Exposing people
to content that challenges their perspective doesn’t actually
make them more empathetic to those values and perspectives.
To the contrary, it polarizes them. What makes people willing to hear difference is knowing and trusting people whose
worldview differs from their own. Exposure to content cannot
make up for self-segregation.
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danah bo y d
If we want to develop a healthy democracy, we need a diverse
and highly connected social fabric. This requires creating
contexts in which the American public voluntarily struggles
with the challenges of diversity to build bonds that will last a
lifetime. We have been systematically undoing this, and the
public has used new technological advances to make their lives
easier by self-segregating. This has increased polarization, and
we’re going to pay a heavy price for this going forward. Rather
than focusing on what media enterprises can and should do,
we need to focus instead on building new infrastructures for
connection where people have a purpose for coming together
across divisions. We need that social infrastructure just as much
as we need bridges and roads.
Joining the Conversation
1. Writer danah boyd argues that, rather than becoming a more
diverse nation, the United States is becoming a nation of
self-contained identity groups. What evidence does she provide to support her argument? In what ways does your own
experience support or challenge boyd’s view?
2. In paragraph 4, boyd writes that Mark Zuckerberg is “naive
as hell,” using language that is informal, especially in contrast to her discussion of “fragmentation, polarization, and
de-diversification,” which is happening “en masse” (paragraph 2). How does this blend of styles affect your response
to the essay?
3. According to boyd, we like the idea of diversity, but we’re
not willing to work for it (paragraph 25). How do you think
Sean Blanda (pp. 212–18) or Barack Obama (pp. 296–313)
might respond?
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Why America Is Self-Segregating
4. Write an essay responding to boyd, drawing on your own
experiences in college, online, in the military, or with something else. Frame your argument as a response to boyd.
5. Self-segregation in college life is a topic on the minds of
other writers, too. Go to theysayiblog.com and search for
Conor Friedersdorf. Read his essay on elitism in college
dorms. What does he say about them?
229
University of Groningen
Facilitating campus interactions - critical success factors according to university facility
directors
Jansz, Sascha Naomi; van Dijk, Terry; Mobach, Mark P.
Published in:
Facilities
DOI:
10.1108/F-03-2020-0031
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Publication date:
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Citation for published version (APA):
Jansz, S. N., van Dijk, T., & Mobach, M. P. (2021). Facilitating campus interactions - critical success factors
according to university facility directors. Facilities, 39(9/10), 585-600. https://doi.org/10.1108/F-03-20200031
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https://www.emerald.com/insight/0263-2772.htm
Facilitating campus interactions –
critical success factors according
to university facility directors
Sascha Naomi Jansz
Department of Spatial Planning and Environment, Faculty of Spatial Sciences,
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands and Research Group
Facility Management, Research Centre for Built Environment – NoorderRuimte,
Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, The Netherlands
Facilitating
campus
interactions
585
Received 6 April 2020
Revised 25 September 2020
18 November 2020
Accepted 28 November 2020
Terry van Dijk
Department of Spatial Planning and Environment, Faculty of Spatial Sciences,
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands, and
Mark P. Mobach
Research Group Facility Management, Research Centre for Built Environment –
Noorder Ruimte, Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen, Groningen,
The Netherlands and Research Group Spatial Environment and the User,
The Hague University of Applied Sciences, The Hague, The Netherlands
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate which critical success factors (CSFs) influence
interaction on campuses as identified by the facility directors (FDs) of Dutch university campuses and to
discuss how these compare with the literature.
Design/methodology/approach – All 13 Dutch university campus FDs were interviewed (office and
walking interview), focussing on CSFs relating to spaces and services that facilitate interaction. Open coding
and thematic analysis resulted in empirically driven categories indicated by the respondents. Similarities and
differences between the CSFs as previously identified in the literature are discussed.
Findings – The following categories emerged: constraints, motivators, designing spaces, designing services,
building community and creating coherence. The campus is seen as a system containing subsystems and is itself
part of a wider system (environment), forming a layered structure. Constraints and motivators are part of the
environment but cannot be separated from the other four categories, as they influence their applicability.
Research limitations/implications – This study was limited to interviews with FDs and related staff.
The richness of the findings shows that this was a relevant and efficient data collection strategy for the
purpose of this study.
Practical implications – By viewing the campus as an open system, this study puts the practical
applicability of CSFs into perspective yet provides a clear overview of CSFs related to campus interaction that
may be included in future campus design policies.
Social implications – This (more) complete overview of CSFs identified in both literature and practice
will help FDs, policymakers and campus designers to apply these CSFs in their campus designs. This
improved campus design would increase the number of knowledge sharing interactions, contributing to
For their contribution to this paper the authors would like to thank Marjolein Overtoom and Oscar
Couwenberg. This research was funded by Facility Directors of Dutch Universities. The authors
would like to thank them for their input and support.
Facilities
Vol. 39 No. 9/10, 2021
pp. 585-600
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0263-2772
DOI 10.1108/F-03-2020-0031
F
39,9/10
innovation and valorisation. This could create a significant impact in all research fields, such as health,
technology or well-being, benefitting society as a whole.
Originality/value – This study provides a comprehensive overview and comparison of CSFs from both
literature and practice, allowing more effective application of CSFs in campus design policies. A framework
for future studies on CSFs for interaction on campuses is provided.
Keywords Interaction, Services, Campus, Spaces, Proximity, Shared facilities, Context
586
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Dutch universities have three main objectives: education, research and knowledge
valorisation (VSNU, 2013). Knowledge valorisation is often stimulated by means of a “triple
helix” of academic-industry-government relationships (Etzkowitz, 2008). One example is the
opening-up of the university campus. A campus is defined by Dinteren et al. (2017) as an
active open innovation environment where actors can meet and inspire each other in the
presence of high-end shared facilities and at least one renowned knowledge carrier, which
largely determines the campus’s thematic profiling. Many universities now seek to attract
companies to their campuses to create a meeting place where the different campus users,
such as university staff, company employees and students, can interact (Buck Consultants
International, 2018; TU Delft, 2014; VU Amsterdam, 2014). This paper focuses on Dutch
university campuses (the university is the “renowned knowledge carrier”). For companies,
(re)locating to a university campus can also be advantageous. Becker et al. (2003) identified
the following assumed benefits for corporate campuses: branding, identity and community,
cost and control, security and business continuity, attraction and retention of staff,
communication and collaboration and provision of amenities and services.
Co-location on a campus is assumed to increase interactions across different
organisational units owing to geographic proximity, which in turn is assumed to stimulate
innovation (Becker et al., 2003; Curvelo Magdaniel, 2016; Geenhuizen, 2010). The built
environment influences people’s behaviour (Meusburger, 2009) and thus also stimulates or
inhibits the interaction of the different users. Therefore, Burlage and Brase (1995, p. 140)
argued that “campus architecture should be grounded in the research on behaviour”.
Behaviour can also be limited owing to constraints, defined in leisure research as factors
that prevent or prohibit an individual’s participation in an activity (Jackson et al., 1993 cited
Moghimehfar and Halpenny, 2016). However, Jackson et al. proposed that people facilitate
their participation though a negotiation process, which is inspired by their motivation to
attend. In other words, if there is sufficient motivation, people will negotiate constraints to
be able to perform the desired behaviour, in this case interaction. In a preceding review
article by the same authors, the following critical success factors (CSFs), which influence
how spaces and services stimulate interaction on campuses, were identified in the scientific
literature: geographic proximity, cognitive proximity, scale, transitional spaces, comfort and
experience, shared facilities and events/local buzz/networks (Jansz et al., 2020).
In this paper, the campus is seen as a system, described by Checkland (1981, cited
Checkland, 2012) as a group of interacting or interrelated entities that form a unified whole
and responds to influences from its environment (all entities outside the system’s boundary).
It is important to realise that the system boundary is not fixed, in the sense that the system
has smaller subsystems and is in itself also a functional part of a wider system (buildings
are part of the campus and the campus is part of the region). Furthermore, the system is
open to influences from its environment and has to respond appropriately. Therefore, a
system will, in principle, be part of a “layered structure”, making a hierarchy of systems
(Checkland, 1981 cited Checkland, 2012). In this paper, the boundaries between the
subsystem (CSFs), system (campus) and wider system (environment) will be assumed as
perceived from the viewpoint of university facility directors (FDs). Opening up the campus
involves FDs, as they are responsible for a university’s spaces and services. As described in
EN ISO 41001:2018:
Facility management is an organisational function which integrates people, place and process
within the built environment with the purpose of improving the quality of life of people and the
productivity of the core business (NEN, 2018).
In this case, the core business is valorisation and the FD’s contribution is to facilitate
interaction through spaces and services. Of course, this system boundary may not be as
rigid as it seems. As well as having a direct influence on campus, FDs can also have an
indirect influence on environmental factors, such as political decisions, university strategy
and city developments. For example, they may meet with the municipality to discuss
increasing public transit options to campus. However, this initiative is not part of their “core
domain” and opportunities to do so may differ per campus.
Over the years, campus management has become more complex and challenging, which
increases the need for evidence-based management information to support campus decisionmaking (Den Heijer, 2011). However, the question is whether CSFs identified in the literature
are the same as those used by FD’s when creating campus design policies, as success factors
of campuses can be increasingly complex and relative to user behaviours (Rytköne, 2016).
Instead, it may be possible that FDs operate primarily on the basis of experience and
intuition, designing their campus spaces in the way that they feel is most productive for
facilitating interactions.
In a bid to close this knowledge gap, this paper presents the CSFs identified by FDs at the
13 Dutch universities as stimulating campus interaction. What do they see as the
determining factors that they strategically act on? In-depth interviews and thematic analysis
were used to collect the CSFs that they apply. The results allow a comparison with the
preceding literature review, enabling a discussion. Finally, a more complete list of CSFs
based on both literature and experience that may be used in future campus designs is
presented. The practical implementations and experiences of FDs yield an interesting view
on how campus spaces and services tend to stimulate interaction between different campus
users. Their perspective adds to the existing, more formally acquired, theory.
Methodology
To be able to include all 13 Dutch university campuses and collect all CSFs FDs see as most
important, an in depth interview study was used. This qualitative approach was chosen to
ensure that CSFs not described in the literature would have room to emerge and the in-depth
reasons as to why CSFs are important and of their interrelationships could be discussed
(Hennink et al., 2020).
As mentioned in the introduction, FDs may operate primarily on the basis of experience
and intuition. In the literature, this experience-based approach has been referred to as
“phronesis”, often translated as “practical wisdom”. Phronesis is the ability to use one’s
experience to implement general knowledge in a specific situation and is context dependent
(Aristotle, trans 1976 cited Flyvbjerg, 2001). Scientific literature, on the other hand, is
generally geared towards universal theories (also called “episteme”). Flyvbjerg (2001),
however, argues that this focus is not appropriate for studies focussing on human
behaviour. As Flyvbjerg explains, a universal theory “requires that the concrete context of
Facilitating
campus
interactions
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everyday human activity be excluded, but this very exclusion of context makes explanation
and prediction impossible” (2001, p.40). This is because:
[. . .] in social science, the object is a subject [. . .] these self-interpretations and their relations to
the context of those studied must be understood in order to understand why people act as they do.
(Flyvbjerg, 2001, p. 32)
588
In other words, the context influences people’s behaviour, while people also influence the
context.
To see whether any similarities and/or differences emerge between the phronesis and
episteme approach and see whether one could reinforce the other, the results from the
interview study are compared to the literature in the discussion section.
To ensure that the context would have room to emerge in the interviews, a walking
interview was used to encourage spontaneous interaction, with the environment prompting
the discussion of the related CSFs (Kinney, 2017). The FDs were asked to select a location on
campus that embodies the CSFs they mentioned, walk through the location with the
interviewer and point out examples in the space. These walking interviews generate more
place-specific data than sedentary interviews and engage to a greater extent with features in
the area under study and their connections (Evans and Jones, 2011).
Participants
As this paper focusses on current (and possible) interaction stimulation strategies for
university facility management, the FDs of all 13 universities in The Netherlands with
physical campuses were selected for the interviews (see Table 1). The FDs were contacted at
one of their quarterly national meetings and all agreed to cooperate. The interviews took
place in spring/summer 2018.
The participants (N = 26) were 13 facility directors (1 interim), 11 guests invited by the
FD (four facility managers of the visited location, four representatives of real estate
departments, two experienced facility management employees as the FD had recently
changed and one director of new business development), plus two whose presence on
location was unplanned (one company employee, one business incubation manager).
Interview protocol
Interviews were semi-structured to ensure that the specific dimensions of the research
question could be addressed while leaving room for respondents to add context (Galletta,
2013). Interviews started with open questions about what FDs regarded as CSFs, followed
by questions specifically relating to spatial and service factors because interaction is place
dependent (Meusburger, 2009) and services are often indicated as an important enabler for
interaction (Van De Klundert and Van Winden, 2008). The same interview protocol was used
during all interviews and all preparations (invitation, briefing, etc.) were standardised to
ensure comparability.
As described earlier, a place-based, participant-driven (walking) interview was used
because of the focus on the spatial or locational cues that respondents assumed influence
human interaction behaviour and increase knowledge sharing. However, as confidentiality
cannot be assured when interviewing in a public place and participants might be concerned
about being overheard, the walking interview was combined with a desk interview
(following the advice of Kinney, 2017). One respondent only took part in an office interview
because there was “no interaction-oriented location available”.
Respondents were asked to decide on a location beforehand; it had to be a notable example of
a place on campus where unplanned interactions between companies and the university might
Gen
Med/Gen
Med/Gen
Med/Gen
Tech
Tech
Med/Gen
Tech
Tech
Vening Meineszgebouw A
The Gallery
Plus Ultra
Tilburg University
Radboud University
Leiden University
University of Groningen
Delft University of Technology
Eindhoven University of
Technology
Utrecht University
University of Twente
Wageningen University and
Research
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
University of Amsterdam
Maastricht University
*Office interview only, respondents
reported that there was no suitable
location
Amsterdam Venture Studios
Start-up village
Employee lounge – School of Business
and Economics
Intermezzo (Toren)
Outdoor campus spaces
Wijnhaven
Energy academy
YES! Delft
Cataclyst
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Med/Gen
Med/Gen
Med/Gen
Med/Gen
Interview location
University
Type of
university
Separate
Combined
Combined
Combined
Separate
Separate
Separate
Separate
Separate
Combined
Separate
Combined
Separate
Services and
real estate
30.523
10.026
10.779
13.050
19.899
26.853
28.875
21.651
10.766
22.359
31.019
16.861
28.047
No. of
students
103
471
140
–
77
135
198
245
143
Utrecht Science Park
Kennispark Twente
Wageningen Campus
VU Campus
Amsterdam Science Park
Brightlands Maastricht
Health Campus
–
Mercator Science Park
Leiden Bio Science Park
Campus Groningen
TU Delft Science Park
TU/e Science Park
–
–
31
159
73
Included in number of
companies (Buck, 2018)
No. of
companies
(Buck, 2018)
Facilitating
campus
interactions
589
Table 1.
Overview of Dutch
universities,
med = medical,
gen = general, tech =
technical
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take place. Before starting the interview, participants were given an informed consent form
stating that the interview would be recorded and transcribed and that all information would be
anonymised in any resulting publications. Interviews began with a short introduction, explaining
our aim to find what spatial and service characteristics could be identified as critical success
factors for interaction. The interview protocol included 14 questions.
590
Analysis
The data was recorded and transcribed. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted (Braun
and Clarke, 2006) using ATLAS.ti V8 software (Friese, 2014). As described by Braun and
Clarke (2006), thematic analysis consists of five steps: data familiarisation; initial coding;
searching themes; reviewing themes; and defining and naming themes. An additional step was
added to this process during step 4. At this stage, not only did the first author review the
themes but a second coder also reviewed all codes, quotations and themes created by the first
author in the first three steps. This was then combined into a final set. To ensure readability,
the themes were grouped by the first author based on the interview data, using the categories
defined by the respondents as a starting point. Only later, in the discussion, was this grouping
compared to the grouping found in the literature. In the data, multiple quotes used slightly
different names for the same categories. The names “designing spaces and building
community” were taken directly from the data, while the names “constraints, motivators,
designing services and creating coherence” were agreed upon by the authors (Figure 1). Only
those mentioned 10 times or more or mentioned by more than half of the respondents were
included in the categories “designing spaces and designing services”.
Results
The interviews produced a series of statements about what FDs consider to be CSFs, as well
as statements suggesting certain perceived categories, hierarchies and interrelations. The
following quote illustrates the recurring CSF categories mentioned by the respondents:
Figure 1.
Final themes and
categories
You need content. You need vision. Then you’ll need a place [. . .] and a program to run in this
place. And then of course, communication is important to properly set up the network”. (INT-07)
Another respondent framed it slightly differently: “You need three things: a community
[. . .], a space [. . .] and a program [. . .]” (INT-11). The authors further refined these category
names into the following six categories, to most accurately capture the full scope of the CSFs
in these groups: constraints, motivators, designing spaces, designing services, building
community and creating coherence. “Constraints” was the only factor not mentioned as a
specific category by the respondents, possibly because they found it too obvious to mention.
Whereas the four categories of designing spaces, designing services, building
community and creating coherence all include CSFs that can be directly influenced by FDs,
the other two categories are of a special type. Constraints and motivators are outside a FD’s
sphere of influence (e.g. campus size) and set the stage for the applicability of CSFs. They
are a part of the environment and outside the system’s boundary (see methodology). For
example, motivators may relate to a university’s strategy and long-term goals, steering the
directions FDs may choose when implementing CSFs. In other words, constraints and
motivators are CSFs that are not part of the design itself but which set the stage for which
CSFs from the other four categories can or cannot be included in the campus design.
This hierarchy between the categories was also indicated by respondents when they
emphasised why certain measures from other campuses would not work on theirs. Just as a
campus consists of different layers (campus, buildings, floors, rooms), the CSFs in the open
campus system are part of a layered structure. Constraints and motivators are part of the
environment (higher layer) and directly influence the applicability of the categories in the
lower layer (Figure 1). Constraints limit interaction behaviour on campus but (as described
in the introduction) motivators can inspire a negotiation process that facilitates the desired
behaviour, in this case interaction.
As mentioned in the methodology section, the CSFs above the dotted line are outside the
system’s boundary (outside the FD’s scope) and can only be influenced indirectly by FDs.
The four categories below the line are part of the “core domain” of the FDs and represent
how they can add value to the campus by including these in their campus design. It is clear
that this includes not only designing spaces and services but also building community and
creating coherence on the campus. These four core activities are at the heart of the FD’s
scope of work. However, the system boundary will not be the same for each campus and
may change over time. An FD’s scope can be expanded, or constraints and motivators may
change, creating new opportunities for FDs to add value.
As the interviews specifically targeted CSFs relating to spaces and services, most of the
emergent themes are in these categories. This was also clearly the area where respondents
felt most comfortable making statements although not all agreed on exactly which services
or design choices should be included in their scope. In other words, the system boundary
and which factors can be directly or indirectly influenced by FDs, differs per campus and
may change over time. Because of space constraints, not all CSFs relating to spaces and
services mentioned by one or more respondents can be discussed in this paper. Therefore,
only those CSFs named ten times or more, or by more than half of the respondents, are
included in these sections.
Constraints
The respondents were very aware of both their significance and their limitations in
facilitating interaction through campus design. While they named many CSFs that they use
to stimulate interaction, they were also very aware of the environment in which they
operate, including the constraints and motivators. The “constraints” category includes CSFs
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that are outside the FDs’ sphere of influence (structural constraints, e.g. campus size or
distance to the nearest city) and, therefore, outside the system boundary (see methodology).
However, constraints are all-important when considering interventions:
All those concepts, you can’t apply those here. You have to analyse the situation every time;
what’s the context, what type of people, what type of university, which strategy can you apply to
what you are in that moment. For example, [X] might say ‘only one lunch location for the whole
campus’ but imagine we did that here: we’d have to supply them with bicycles because of the
huge distances”. (INT-09)
Depending on an FD’s scope, they may or may not be in a position to implement certain
measures to facilitate interaction. Even though many campuses have existed for several
decades, no ideal blueprint for the organisational structure of campus facility management
has emerged. In some cases, real estate management (campus planning, building projects,
etc.) is organised separately from campus services (catering, cleaning, etc.), while in other
cases, these are housed within the same department (Table 1).
Some campuses have an organisational structure with a separate campus management
organisation to increase accountability for overall campus integration, which can affect an
FD’s scope. It may include developers, consultants, event managers, campus planners and
municipal and/or neighbourhood representatives. They can be in charge of the selection
procedure for which companies may or may not be located on campus.
[. . .] they have a separate entity responsible for communication, business development, I believe
there are 10-15 people working on a day-to-day basis to improve the cross-fertilisation between
university, companies, municipality, province, and all the other parties currently involved there.
They’re really driving that and developing a score of events looking for this interaction between
the different campus users”. (INT-07)
But, the respondents stated, this separate organisation must have a sufficient mandate to be
functional.
The type of university influences “creating coherence” (see below) and a university’s
level of attraction to companies, thus influencing the interaction potential. The different
types mentioned by respondents are technical, medical and general universities, broader and
smaller scope universities and large and small universities (in terms of either student
numbers or campus size). For example: “At a technical university, you will see this more
often because of the combination of facilities” (INT-08), referring to the shared use of costly
facilities.
Based on a campus’ relationship with the city there is a difference in the spaces and
services that FDs feel they need to provide. For campuses that are within the city, some
spaces and services can be shared:
The city is a very important meeting place for us. People come to [X] because it is [X] and that is
where you meet, in endlessly different ways you meet each other there. For us, it is often not so
obvious to do something ourselves because a lot of facilities are already in the city itself and
people have very different needs. (INT-12)
For campuses that are a fair distance from the city, these spaces and services will have to be
provided by FDs.
The city may also play a role in the thematic direction of the campus:
This campus is really oriented towards the city and the added value for the city. Here, we try to
connect with all ministries, hospitals, governments and more. Here, it is really focused on the
themes of [the city]. (INT-05)
Motivators
The “motivators” category shows why (unplanned) interaction between companies and
universities is needed, what results are expected and it allows FDs to weigh the advantages
and disadvantages of different strategies. These are often formulated in the university’s
strategic vision, which should be connected to both the university board and employees
(INT-11).
The main reason to look for cooperation with companies is to increase a university’s
valorisation efforts:
This university has three core objectives: 1) Education, 2) Research and 3) Valorisation.
Valorisation is no more than the practical application of your knowledge and that’s where you get
the connection with companies”. (INT-11)
Generally, a certain chain of events is expected, leading from interaction, through
knowledge sharing, to innovation and valorisation (Jansz et al., 2020).
The war for talent is named as one of the main reasons why companies want to be
located on campus. “[those companies] [. . .] only want one thing: to be close to the students”
(INT-10). Expected results for this CSF range from joint projects between companies and
students to start-ups and being able to recruit the talented workforce that companies need.
Private funding (e.g. through contract research) is becoming increasingly important for
universities, as public funding is not keeping pace with the growing student numbers. Also,
grant applications often require matching by private companies. “And it has to do with
finance. That you do scientific research in cooperation with someone who is also physically
present, that almost guarantees long-term cooperation in the research” (INT-13).
A university’s image or brand is very important, as a major part of university funding is
linked to the number of students. Having companies on campus can play a large part in
enhancing this image.
It’s exposure, of course [. . .] their image is very important for a university. So, when you have an
important cooperation partner physically present on your campus, that also gives a good
appearance. (INT-13)
Organisational culture can contribute to or block spontaneous meetings. Respondents
mentioned having to actively “pull people out of their buildings” as one of the main reasons
why there was less spontaneous interaction than they would have liked. A good way to
achieve this is to organise events, giving people a reason to go to a different or new location.
“You have to make sure people come out of their buildings or into each other’s buildings,
you have to make sure there is programming” (INT-01). “It all adds up to the open character
of the campus to make sure people feel it’s a matter of course to come out of their buildings
[and interact]” (INT-01). Another issue is fear of intellectual property theft. One respondent
mentioned mixing different sectors in an incubator setting to prevent these issues.
Designing spaces
When asked where most spontaneous meetings take place on campus, one respondent said:
The interaction actually takes place on different levels of scale. At the level of the campus as a
whole, zooming in on the building level it is at theme-oriented facilities, such as the [sustainability
themed department], [incubator spaces] or [multi company building]. And at the floor level we
have living rooms people can use on a daily basis and bring their guests. (INT-07)
The respondents agreed that the spatial design of spontaneous meeting places plays a
distinct role in stimulating unplanned interactions but not all respondents felt that it is
within their scope to design these. “That is not my expertise. That would be interior
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architecture” (INT-13). However, they do have a clear vision and named the following
concepts to stimulate unplanned meetings through spatial design: open/transparent,
informal, atmosphere and geographic proximity.
Creating an open and transparent space means that people should feel free to enter the
space and participate in whatever is going on. The space should be visible, easy to find and
accessible. You should be able to see what is going on inside before entering the space.
Closed-off spaces (such as closed offices or inaccessible buildings) were specifically named
as a barrier to interaction.
There is a clear need for informal spaces, where you can talk about different topics in an
informal way, as opposed to more formal rooms (such as meeting rooms). This is often
combined with catering facilities and good coffee (mentioned specifically 30 times). This
informality can be achieved through the use of furniture and lounge areas and by giving
people an opportunity to make a space their own. This is also connected to a space’s
atmosphere, which gives people an opportunity to choose which space best suits their needs.
“And it’s also putting people at ease, saying: it’s ok. You can come in here. You can sit here,
and you can just talk to each other here, to create that informal atmosphere” (INT-01).
However, creating a certain atmosphere also depends on current trends: “[This building has]
a pit where a lot of dialogue or session dialogue-like things happen. But after five years it is
almost dated again so you need something new. That changes very quickly” (INT-01).
Geographic proximity was also mentioned, but on a very general level. Often,
respondents were referring to being on the same campus as a measure of proximity, though
not necessarily in the same building or on the same floor. However, they did point to “being
close to your colleagues” as a way to stimulate interaction and mentioned long distances and
urban structures that inhibit easy travel as main barriers to interaction, originating in the
environment. Furthermore, there is the risk of creating only a temporary effect: “Once you
are closer to each other, first you find each other more often than before, but then you get
used to it and it decreases” (INT-12).
Designing services
The services provided on campus were often cited by respondents as the main reason for
companies to wish to be located on campus. In general, respondents especially mentioned
coffee, public access, opening hours, provision of information, relaxation opportunities and
parking as important campus services. Most of these are on the building or floor level.
However, when focussing on strategies for services that can positively influence interaction
between different campus users, they most frequently mentioned catering, meeting spaces,
shared research facilities, sports, a library and event locations. Depending on the strategy,
these can be on the level of the campus, building or floor. “Good coffee always does the trick.
Good coffee. Really good coffee” (INT-14). (For readability, only those mentioned 15 times or
more have been included in Figure 1.)
For shared research facilities, especially those that are costly have the greatest effect as
this cooperation creates new opportunities to use this equipment. “The shared [laboratory]
facilities [are the key], because it’s such a costly and expensive facility that the joint
management is effective and efficient for both parties” (INT-14).
Building community
Respondents felt that the campus should be an integrated whole, home to an innovative
community where interactions and knowledge sharing are appreciated:
And we really try to stimulate [interactions in public spaces] as it’s always a barrier to sit down
on someone else’s turf or to do something there or to have to go there”. (INT-05)
A large part of creating a community is event programming: “[. . .] if you want to make this
successful, you’ll have to set up a substantive program. Because if you don’t [. . .] it’ll die
out” (INT-05). This requires an event manager dedicated to programming, which can be an
opportunity for campus facility management:
If you really leave it up to the campus users, it won’t take off. That’s when this employee can take
up a broader role. They can be a broker between different research areas, close to the action, who
knows people. And that makes it easier for others with ideas as well, as they have an easy point of
contact to spar with. (INT-05)
“Fun” events such as weekly drinks are considered to add to the overall campus experience,
as they create an atmosphere where people feel free to interact with each other. However,
respondents also stressed the importance of content-related activities, such as conferences,
workshops and lectures. “And then you see that people congregate who have at least one
thing in common. [. . .]. And then you get new interactions very easily” (INT-01). While some
respondents see event programming as a way to actively contribute to the campus’s success,
not all respondents feel that it should be part of their scope. Another possibility is to set up
the initial program and then transfer the management of the program once everyone is
convinced of the added value.
Networks were often mentioned as part of a healthy community. Respondents also relate
network building to creating a talent base and opportunities to share knowledge:
We would like companies located on campus to be more aware of and more knowledgeable about
each other so you can build and sustain a kind of network. [. . .] For example, so you can ensure
that they can find each other better and know about each other’s presence more. (INT-02)
Respondents mentioned local buzz as an important CSF and the result of a well-functioning
community. Gertler (1995) defines local buzz as the information and communication ecology
created by face-to-face contacts, co-presence and co-location of people and firms within the
same industry and place or region (Gertler, 1995 in: Bathelt et al., 2004). “Yes, so, that local
buzz, the chance of collision, local buzz, that’s what companies find important. The
unexpected interactions. Being able to quickly contact a researcher” (INT-01).
One respondent gave a clear overview of what was needed to create a community:
If I were to start a new community, I’d need three things: someone to facilitate everything on
location, a space where everyone can meet. And that space must have an innovative atmosphere,
so when you enter it’s like ‘Yes! This gives me energy, and this is where it happens, I want to be
here. And third, there must be a program. (INT-11)
Creating coherence
The CSF named most often and by all respondents was “content”: the interaction must be
able to provide knowledge useful to the university’s primary process of education, research
or valorisation. This is not unexpected as it is part of the definition of facility management
(see Introduction). This category has been named “creating coherence”, as all CSFs relate to
making sure the right people (with complementary skills or knowledge) meet each other.
Connection to the primary process, or content, is all-important: “If there is no connection
on content, the presence of a company makes little sense. [. . .] You’re looking for partners,
companies, government agencies that make you stronger” (INT-12). To ensure this
connection on the content, many campuses (though not all) use a selection procedure to see if
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a company should be allowed to locate on campus or not. “This interaction between research
and companies is required, otherwise a company cannot establish itself here. [. . .] We’re not
just a business park, we’re a university” (INT-09). To set selection criteria, it is essential that
a campus has a clear profiling theme. This brings clarity to all campus users and visitors
and ensures that everyone shares a common interest. The profiling themes are expected to
work best when campus users have different backgrounds or come from different
disciplines (multidisciplinary) and are, therefore, able to bring new and unexpected
knowledge into these interactions and to stimulate interdisciplinary research areas.
Discussion
Now that the CSFs of FDs have been identified, these can be compared to the CSFs identified
in the preceding systematic literature review by the same authors (Jansz et al., 2020) and the
added value for companies located on a corporate campus (Becker et al., 2003). Figure 2
shows the open campus system, with its layered structure of CSFs and the parallels
(confirmations) between the CSFs found through experience and in the literature.
Before making a comparison, it is important to look at how FDs view their part in
facilitating interactions on campus. Clearly, FDs feel that they have an important part to
play in facilitating interactions, yet they are very aware that they cannot force these
interactions to take place. They put into perspective how manageable this goal is. The CSFs’
Figure 2.
Open campus system –
comparison of CSFs in
literature (left) and in
experience of FDs
(right)
value is relative, as FDs operate on a complex playing field in which constraints originating
in the environment can limit their opportunities to implement certain strategies. This is a
very different mindset to that of the scientist, who identifies CSFs based on observations
and a focus on general theories.
The respondents see the CSFs as part of a layered structure with many different
subsystems, which itself is part of a wider system (as described by Checkland, 2012) see
introduction), making the factors interrelated and interdependent (this interconnectivity is
evident in both the literature and in practice). An example is the connection between
community, networks, local buzz and event programming (as also [partially] described by
Breznitz et al., 2018 and Capdevila, 2015): to kick-start the community, a certain amount of
effort is required to organise events. Also, spaces, services and cohesion need to be supplied
by the organisation. Once events are happening in the community, this will create local buzz
and strengthen the network, which will in turn increase event attendance. When the local
buzz reaches a high enough level, some of it may feed back into the ecosystem in the form of
informally organised events. This would allow a formal event planner (an opportunity for
FDs to add value) to withdraw and transfer this task to the campus users. This requires FDs
to think in terms of webs of strategic interventions, rather than lists of factors in their own
right.
There are many parallels between the CSFs mentioned in the literature and in practice
(Figure 2), confirming their importance. For example, both stress the importance of a
connection of the content (“cognitive proximity” (Zhong and Luo, 2018) or “creating
coherence”) However, although there are direct relationships, similar categories do not
always encompass exactly the same things. For example, while “events/local buzz/
networks” is also represented in the “community” category, this category is more extensive.
Also, “transitional spaces”, such as “third spaces” (public places on neutral ground where
people can gather and interact (Oldenburg, 1989)), is partly covered by “open/transparent,
informal and atmosphere”, but is broader than just these three. Finally, “geographic
proximity” is defined differently: while FDs refer to geographic proximity as being on the
same campus, the scientific literature describes how unplanned interaction through
geographic proximity alone is limited to 50 m for frequent interaction (Allen, 1997), or to the
building floor for less frequent interaction (Becker et al., 2003; Schwab et al., 2016).
While campus users will ideally move through the campus automatically, creating
opportunities for unplanned meetings on the campus level, this is generally not the case.
Scale has an effect on the interactions taking place or not (Capdevila, 2015; Schwab et al.,
2016; Venable, 1981). In fact, many meetings take place on the level of the workplace, floor or
building. This relates to the fact that interaction is an inherently individual activity and
while both individuals are on campus, their direct environment is always on a smaller scale
(the system boundary of the individual is different from the system boundary of the
campus). The challenge is, therefore, to facilitate easy movement between these levels of
scale, so that users may encounter each other all over the campus, which is an opportunity
for FDs to add value.
Also, not all CSF categories named in practice are represented in the literature (Figure 2).
The layered structure indicated by the FDs shows the interconnectivity of the CSF
categories and reveals that the categories located in the environment, which are
fundamentally linked to the applicability of the CSFs within the system’s boundary, were
not identified in the previous literature review: constraints and motivators (although
motivators does hold many parallels with Becker et al. (2003) for corporate campuses).
Constraints can eliminate the implementation of certain CSFs, while motivators may inspire
a negotiation process to remove these restrictions (Moghimehfar and Halpenny, 2016). It is
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important to note that the previous literature review did not specifically look for these
constraints and motivators (as they are outside the system’s boundary) but neither did the
interviews. However, the FDs clearly stated (unsolicited) that the system cannot be viewed
fully outside its environment. It is an open system that can only operate within the
constraints and motivators originating in its environment, responding to any changes that
may occur. This (unsolicited) inclusion of the layered structure might be expected to appear
in the literature as well, but it did not. This may be indicative of the different points of view
of practitioners and scientists.
Whereas, scientists look for universal laws and patterns that will pass peer-review tests,
practitioners such as the FDs have a perspective rooted in implementation and justification
while being aware that they cannot force interactions to take place. Traditionally, scientists
analyse the campus in isolation from its environment, effectively assuming that it is a closed
system. However, the respondents feel that the campus is an open system, which needs to be
viewed in its environment to result in practically applicable guidelines for campus design.
This difference in their relationship with reality has also been addressed by Flyvbjerg (2001)
through the concept of phronesis (see methodology).
Conclusion
This paper has looked into the experience-based knowledge (“phronesis”) of university FDs
regarding CSFs for interaction in campus design. These CSFs are especially important as
campuses are opening up to company (re)location to create a meeting place where the
different campus users, such as university staff, company employees and students, can
interact. These CSFs, within the system boundary of the campus, were then compared to
those found in the literature.
In thematically analysed interviews, the FDs of the 13 Dutch campuses, identified
six main CSF categories: constraints, motivators, designing spaces, designing services,
building community and creating coherence. These are part of a layered structure, with
subsystems, which is itself part of a wider system in which constraints and motivators
affect the other four CSF categories, showing that the CSFs are interrelated and
interdependent.
There are many parallels between the CSFs identified in the literature and in practice
although similar categories can be broader or smaller in either. Also, even though they
use the same terminology, they may not always mean the same things. An FD addition
to the current literature is the acknowledgement that the environment, with its
constraints and motivators, cannot be fully separated from the system. It is an open
boundary and the precise location of that boundary may differ per campus and change
over time.
FDs are very aware that they cannot force these interactions to take place, they can only
be facilitated. They emphasise the role of the environment and put the value of the CSFs in
perspective, as they operate on a complex playing field. This provides us with a richer view
of the CSFs that influence interaction through campus design. Respondents clearly state that
although interaction should take place on the campus scale, the scale of the interaction itself
is always on the individual level. The present authors, therefore, suggest that the movement
between the different levels of scale needs to be as comfortable as possible, which is where
FDs can really add value. Further research on where these interactions take place and how a
campus user moves between these different levels of scale could further support FDs in the
future.
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Peer-Reviewed Article
ISSN: 2162-3104 Print/ ISSN: 2166-3750 Online
Volume 9, Issue 2 (2019), pp. 687-704
doi: 10.32674/jis.v9i2.943
© Journal of International Students
https://ojed.org/jis/
Seeking a Sense of Belonging: Social and Cultural
Integration of International Students with American
College Students
Julia Rivas
Katherine Hale
Monica Galloway Burke
Western Kentucky University
ABSTRACT
International students studying at higher education institutions in the United
States experience challenges as they adjust to new environments. Social
connectedness to American college students could mitigate such challenges
and assist international students with social and cultural integration. This
study, using qualitative data from interviews, examined international
students’ experiences and their sense of belonging on an American college
campus, including the factors that contribute to or deter from it.
Keywords: belonging, college students, cultural integration, international
students, social integration
INTRODUCTION
International students are a population in higher education that has been
rising in recent years. According to the Open Doors Report on International
Education Exchange (2016a), the enrollment of international students to the
United States (US) increased 7% over the previous year academic year with
a total of over one million international students accessing higher education
682
in the US during the 2015-2016 academic year. This increase marks the
tenth consecutive year that Open Doors reported growth in the total number
of international students in U.S. higher education as there are now 85
percent more international students studying at U.S. colleges and
universities than were reported a decade ago (Institute of International
Education [IIE], 2016b). Still, the number of globally mobile students is
expected to continue to increase (Altbach & Basset, 2004).
International college students come to the US to access superior
education; however, during their academic journey, they encounter many
demands, which include building new friendships, navigating different
social and cultural norms, and confronting the challenges associated with
daily living (Mori, 2000) such as adapting to new cultural values, foods, and
weather (Li & Gasser, 2005). In addition, they face challenges in adapting
to the academic and social environment, which may include difficulty with
the English language and communication, developing friendships, and a lack
of knowledge of the American culture (Johnson & Sandhu, 2007). Social
connectedness to American college students could mitigate such challenges
and assist international students with social and cultural integration. Social
connectedness, defined as “the subjective awareness of being in close
relation with the social world’’ (Lee & Robbins, 1998, p. 338), is considered
a significant predictor of adjustment (Duru & Poyrazli, 2007; Yeh & Inose,
2003). In general, experiencing positive social interaction can encourage
psychological well-being and adjustment of international college students
(Li & Gasser, 2005; Ye, 2006).
International students also face significant challenges in adjusting and
developing a sense of belonging on U.S. campuses often due to difficulties
in acclimating to a new social life, potential language barriers, and limited
knowledge of the new culture (Bentley, 2008). As sense of belonging and
social and cultural integration are critical for success in higher education, it
is important to investigate the factors that positively impact the social
connectedness of international students. This research study, using
qualitative data from interviews, examined the experiences of international
students with sense of belonging and social connectedness on an American
college campus, including the factors that contribute to or deter from it.
683
LITERATURE REVIEW
In conjunction with the educational experience, traveling to the US provides
international students with the opportunity “to participate in transnational
networks―social networks in which day to day interactions involve people
from two or more countries” (Gargano, 2009 as cited in Glass, Wongtrirat, &
Buus, 2015, p. 53). Studies have demonstrated that interaction between
international students and American peers are linked to several benefits,
which include higher levels of satisfaction and a more positive experience
academically and non-academically (Trice, 2004). A survey of 497 graduate
international students regarding their social interactions with Americans
found that those who socialized with Americans were more involved on
campus and socialized with students from other countries as well (Trice,
2004). On the other hand, international students with little interest in social
interaction may tend to isolate themselves, causing higher probability of
suffering from low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression (Darwish, 2015).
In a study at two Midwestern universities, 143 international students were
surveyed to identify students’ social support systems, life stress, academic
stressors, and reactions to stressors. The results of this study demonstrated
higher reactions to stressors for female international students compared to
males in the sample pool where higher level of academic stressors were
predicted by higher levels of life stress and by lower level of social support
(Misra, Crist & Burant, 2003). In addition, Sinha (1988) proposed that
individuals in individualistic cultures often have more skills in entering and
leaving new social groups than those in collectivistic cultures; but making
new “friends” implies lifelong intimate relationships with many obligations
and not non-intimate acquaintances which occurs more often in
individualistic cultures.
There are several factors that influence the ability of international
students to effectively become socially and academically integrated. Such
variables that could impact international students’ sociocultural adaptation to
a new environment include one’s country of origin, cultural distance based on
whether students come from a collectivist or individualist background,
student’s culture and customs, language ability, length of stay in the host
culture, social connectedness, interpersonal skills, and frequency of contact
with host nationals (Constantine, Anderson, Berkel, Caldwell, & Utsey, 2005;
Darwish, 2015; Searle & Ward, 1990; Surdam & Collins, 1984; Tafarodi &
Smith, 2001; Ward & Kennedy, 1992, 1993a, 1993b; Ward & Rana-Deuba,
1999; Ward & Searle, 1991; Wilton & Constantine, 2003). Therefore, social
connectedness and support are important for this population of students. A
684
study conducted by Sherry, Thomas, & Hong Chui (2010) demonstrated that
international students face English language problems, financial problems,
and difficulty adapting to new culture. Suggestions to improve such obstacles
include improving financial assistance and scholarships, creating
opportunities for international students to improve language and practice
speaking English with American students.
Each of these studies
demonstrated some obstacles to which international students are exposed
when studying in the US. Araujo (2011) explained that international students
with higher levels of English proficiency experienced lower levels of
acculturative stress, which can positively influence their academic
experience; and students with lower English proficiency have more
probability of experiencing depression, low self-esteem and anxiety. These
studies illustrate the challenges that can affect international students in every
area of their lives. However, with adequate support from American colleges
and universities, international students can obtain the benefits of higher
education in the US (Glass et al., 2015).
Gaining an understanding of international students’ social belonging and
integration while at U.S. universities is imperative to determine whether
institutions are meeting their needs and, ultimately, to ensure that these
students have a positive educational experience to support their academic
persistence. Using participants’ narratives, this phenomenological study
investigates the following research questions:
1. What factors impact international students’ sense of belonging and
connectedness with American students?
2. What are international students’ perception of culture and social
interaction in America?
RESEARCH METHOD
In this study, the researchers used qualitative methodologies (Creswell, 2013)
to extensively explore the experiences of international students and obtain a
more robust comprehension of their perspectives related to their transition and
social belonging. We examined how participants described their experience
with the phenomenon of sense of belonging in their collegiate experience in
the US and attempted to determine what participants had in common by
reducing “individual experiences with a phenomenon to a description of the
universal essence” (Creswell, 2007, p. 58). Qualitative research is both
exploratory and descriptive, employing intensive fieldwork through
interviews (individual and focus group), observation, and document analysis
685
(Creswell, 1998) and provides intersections of personal narratives in a way of
making meaning (Glesne, 2006).
Using interviews for data collection, this study examined four
characteristics associated with international students’ lived experiences and
transition: (a) perspective of American culture; (b) social interaction with
American college students; (c) sense of social belonging; and (d) academic
and campus experiences. The format for the individual interviews was semistructured, which enables the researcher to pose a set number of
predetermined questions in a specified order but offers the flexibility to probe
(Herman & Reynolds, 1994). Broad and general questions were posed in the
interviews were helpful in getting “a textural description and structural
description of the experiences, and to provide an understanding of the
common experiences” (Creswell, 2007, p. 61). After receiving IRB approval,
in-depth interviews were conducted with participants in a person-to-person
format and recorded with a digital voice recorder and transcribed. Data were
also collected through a demographic survey.
Participants
For this research study, a mid-sized public institution in the southern
region of the US was used as the site. International students were selected
through purposeful sampling. In 2015, the enrollment of international
students was 1,377 at the institution, which had more than doubled over the
previous five years. Students from Saudi Arabia, China, and India accounted
for over 63% of all international enrollment in 2015. The interviewees were
contacted via email and recommendations from other students and staff were
also considered. The sample consisted of 17 international students from
diverse educational levels and ethnicities. There were 10 males and seven
females, with nine studying at the undergraduate level (including Exchange
and Author: please spell out this abbreviation here and add brackets are it
ESLI students) and eight at the graduate level (including ESLI students). The
average age of the participants was 25.1 (minimum=19 and maximum = 38).
Approximately 59% of the participants had been at the institution two or more
years and about 29% less than a year. The majority (nine) were from the
continent of Asia with the most from the countries of Pakistan and Saudi
Arabia. Most of the participants have majors/programs of study in the science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) areas (47%). Table 1
provides a detailed profile of the participants.
686
< 1 year
< 1 year
< 1 year
2 years
< 1 year
> 2 years
P2
P3
P4
P5
P6
Length of
Residency
P1
Student
Male
Female
Male
Male
Female
Male
Gender
687
College/Major
22
22
23
23
22
Mechanical Engineering
(Undergraduate)
Electrical Engineering
(Undergraduate)
Dental Hygiene
(Undergraduate)
English as a Second Language
International (ESLI) (Undergraduate)
English as a Second Language
International (ESLI)(Graduate)
Sport Psychology
19
(Undergraduate)
Age
Table 1: Demographics of Participants
Jordan
Pakistan
Brazil
Peru
Canada
Saudi Arabia
Country of
Origin
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Employed
Prior Activity
> 2 years
< 1 year
> 2 years
> 2 years
2 years
1.5 years
2 years
> 2 years
P7
P8
P9
P10
P11
P12
P13
P14
Male
Female
Female
Male
Female
Female
Male
Male
688
26
26
28
20
38
34
27
23
Engineering Technology
Management (Graduate)
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
Nigeria
Public Health (Graduate)
Public Health (Graduate)
Ukraine/Angola
Iran
Nigeria
Denmark
Nigeria
Biology (Undergraduate)
Folk Studies/Religious Studies
(Graduate)
Nursing (Undergraduate)
Photojournalism
(Exchange Student)
Engineering
(Graduate)
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Full-time
employment
Business
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
> 2 years
> 2 years
1 year
P15
P16
P17
Female
Male
Male
689
21
27
27
Pakistan
Taiwan
Exploratory Studies/No Major
(Exchange student)
Pakistan
Engineering Technology
Management (Graduate)
Computer Science (Graduate)
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Studying at
university level
Data Analysis
To systematically “uncover and describe the structures, the internal
meaning structures, of lived experience” (van Manen, 1990, p. 10) of
international students, data analysis involved coding and the development
and discovery of patterns. Coding, described by Charmaz (2001) [Author:
please add this citation’s reference to the References section] as the “critical
link between data collection and their explanation of meaning” (as cited in
Miles, Huberman, & Saldaña, 2014, p. 72), provided an opportunity to
develop constructs, categories, and attributes through finding patterns and
interpreting meaning in the participants’ narratives. To examine
perspectives, cultural values, and relational experiences of the participants,
values coding was used to “reflect a participant’s values, attitudes, and
beliefs, representing his or her perspectives or worldview” (Miles et al.,
2014, p. 75). The codes were collapsed into similar categories and three
themes emerged.
RESULTS
A number of salient themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis. We
highlight only a select number of narratives that best reflect each theme and
offer insights regarding the factors that impact the participants’ feelings of
belonging and ability to connect with American peers. The main themes
include perspectives of the US, factors impacting social belonging and
social life, and academic and campus experience.
Perspectives of the US
During the interviews, several questions about the participants’
perspective of the US were presented. The majority of the participants
provided similar opinions by referring to Americans as having a sense of
superiority, being hard to get close to, and exhibiting superficial
interactions. As expressed by an undergraduate student from South
America, “For me American people are very reserved, very closed in their
own lives; so, it's kind of hard to get a close relationship with American
people.” Although international students recognized the friendliness of
Americans, participants also perceived building close friendships to be very
difficult due to the lack of reciprocation on the part of Americans.
The degree of social interaction an international student establishes is an
important variable in social connectedness and belonging, and culture
690
influences how they view and approach connecting with others and social
networking with American students. Students who experience cultural
differences can present difficulties establishing social network with
Americans (Trice, 2004). Previous studies demonstrate that students who
come from collectivistic cultural backgrounds (e.g., China, Japan, Korea,
Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, and India) tend to have a difficult time
understanding how to connect with their American peers, as American
culture emphasizes assertiveness and self-reliance (Darwish, 2015). An
individualistic culture (e.g., North America and some European cultures)
emphasizes and prefers independent and personal individual development
and self-expression whereas collectivist culture (e.g., East Asia, African,
Latin American, and Middle Eastern or Arabian countries) focuses more on
the group than the individuals where everyone is connected to others
because each is part of a group, tribe, family, or other type of unit and
behavior dependent on the values and preferences of others (Markus &
Kitayama, 1991; Schmidt, 2006; Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal, Asai, &
Lucca, 1988). Sinha (1988) proposed that individuals in individualistic
cultures often have more skills in entering and leaving new social groups
than those in collectivistic cultures; but making new “friends” implies
lifelong intimate relationships with many obligations and not non-intimate
acquaintances which occurs more often in individualistic cultures. This
concept is maintained by a graduate student from Nigeria (P7) who asserted
as follows.
Social relationships in America are quite different from the
international. I have to say that because America, being an
individualistic country, social network here is not as close as
it is for internationals and that is why internationals here
come together and that is why we are very flexible in terms of
bonding together; whereas Americans, they are a little, I don't
want to say, kind of scared of stepping up and meeting new
internationals.
Several participants acknowledged the cultural differences between the US
and their country of origin while also referring to those differences as
challenging experiences due to the lack of understanding, autonomy, and in
some cases, exposure to other cultures. A graduate student from Saudi
Arabia (P1) provides examples of becoming more autonomous and
independent since he began to study in the US.
691
I think here I do everything for myself, not same for my
country. In my country father will give me money, mother
makes me food for me. But here, I make everything for
myself. I go for cell phone. I buy it every month. I give
money for it so I can talk to my home. Also, I make food for
me. I do everything for myself. I like that.
Factors Impacting Social Belonging and Social Life
Finding a sense of belonging for international students in American
institutions presents challenges. Most of the participants interviewed
expressed finding a deeper connection with other international students
rather than American peers. The lack of understanding and assimilation of
cultural differences results in feelings of disappointment or loneliness in
some cases, which creates a more profound connection with other
international peers (as cited in Darwish, 2015). An undergraduate student
from Brazil (P4) expressed that he had a closer connection with international
peers due to cultural understanding,
I am not sure why I have more international friends. I think
we are closer because we understand each other better. We
are more interested about… I don’t want to be like saying that
we are not interested about other cultures, but that is what it
seems because we always come to talk with each other, you
know. I feel that Americans don’t have the interest about
other cultures or something like that. I don’t want to
generalize, like I said, I have some American friends but I
lean more to internationals.
This statement aligns with the finding by Yang, Teraoka, Eichenfield and
Audas (1994) that there is a belief that Americans are not interested in other
cultures, which can serve as a barrier to intercultural interactions.
Additionally, although a positive social interaction facilitates connections
with others and can have a beneficial impact on well-being, a negative
interaction can have a harmful impact and a more influential effect on
psychological well-being for individuals (Lincoln, 2000). A 20-year-old
undergraduate male (P11) reported as follows.
I had some bad experiences with American students and
whenever I approach some American students, I don’t find
692
that same mutual impact as I find with international students.
It’s just, I would say, I connect better with internationals and
from what I have heard, internationals connect better with
internationals.
The level of social belonging also depends on the disposition of the
international student. For example, participants who perceived themselves
as having a more social personality tended to look for more interaction with
others and, therefore, felt more comfortable in making connections with
others. Conversely, individuals with less social interest tend to become
isolated, which generates a higher probability of suffering from low selfesteem, anxiety, and depression (Darwish, 2015). A 27 year old male
graduate student from Pakistan (P16) revealed possessing an interest in
enhancing his social life as follows.
I have an active social life. I felt I cannot stay by myself, to
be honest, like doing nothing or I cannot focus on one thing
for a long time; so, I need to get out, meet new people, get to
know them, get to share my experiences.
Furthermore, a female undergraduate student from Nigeria (P9) shared a
similar opinion but added that the onus of social interaction is on the
international student as well.
I think it’s the same everywhere, because we are human
beings. If you really want to be social, if you really want to
be friendly with people, you will. You will go out of your
way to do things and be social, but when you want to be
isolated, you can still do that, and I think it’s the same way
everywhere in the world.
Academic and Campus Experience
Participants in this study expressed encountering different challenges
throughout their academic journey which included language barriers,
differing educational systems, and discrimination. A lack of English
proficiency represents a significant barrier for international students to
become academically, personally and professionally successful (Darwish,
2015). In fact, language is considered the most challenging aspect for
international students (Araujo, 2011). Some participants indicated having to
693
mentally interpret sentences before verbalizing the desired statement, which
at the beginning of the acclimation process could cause participants [Author:
please reword the following for clarity and grammar.] withdrawing feelings
and intimidation. A 22 year old female from Pakistan (P5) described her
difficulties with speaking English as follows. “I find it difficult for speaking
because I have to choose what I am going to say and sometimes I have to
make structures in my head before saying them.” This sentiment was also
expressed by a 26 year old male (P14) from Saudi Arabia.
You speak another language and the biggest challenge is
getting over making mistakes. I hate making mistakes and
that is one of the reasons why I stopped talking. Like at the
beginning, I hated to talk. Like if you ask me something, I
will have the shortest answer ever; like I will always find the
shortcut to the answer, so I won't talk a lot and I won't make
mistakes.
Despite language and cultural obstacles, the majority of participants in
this study acknowledged that they found English to not be difficult and to
have a high satisfaction level of academic performance.
Some of the participants also noted a difference between their home
country’s education system and the American educational system. As
indicated by Greenfield et al. (2006), a student from a collectivist society
may wait for directions to follow instead of asking questions, may need to
fit into the surrounding culture rather than feeling comfortable standing out,
or may be more passive than a student from an individualistic society.
Adjusting to the differing educational ...
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