Research...
Social Capital and Economic Growth11th Jul 2011
"Social capital” is a term that refers to the goodwill, trust, and cooperation evident in any particular organization or society. Social capital has been informally recognized in the worlds of management and government for some time, however little has been written on the subject or its practical applications. Today, many believe that social capital is an under-leveraged intellectual capital asset which could be powerfully mobilized within both organizations and communities to deliver benefit....more
Social Capital, Economy and Wellbeing
11th Jul 2011
At the beginning of this review of what research has thus far revealed, and what remains to be shown, about the relations among social capital, the economy and well-being, some clarifying def- initions are in order. I shall start with a dis- cussion of each of the three concepts under review, and will then consider ways in which these may be linked....more
Agricultural Economics: Community and Social Capital
11th Jul 2011
Through a multi-faceted effort of extension outreach, teaching, and research, the Department of Agricultural Economics addresses important issues related to rural economies and communities. As part of its mission, the Department conducts programs that contribute to rural and community economic development....more
Building Social Capital: A Learning Agenda for the Twenty-first Century
11th Jul 2011
Social capital creates local economic pros- perity. Putnam (1993a), Fukuyama (1995), Coleman (1988, 1990) and other social scientists have lent legitimacy to what those involved in community econ- omic development have known intuitively for years: the level of inter-personal trust, civic engagement and organisational capa- bility in a community counts....more
Social Capital for Aged People in Khuzistän Province, Iran: toward developing a scale
8th Jun 2011
Abstract—Measuring social capital is main issues for sociologist and politicians after widespread of it. The other issue is increasing aged population in developing countries. The study was conducted to respond to this issues and developing a relevant scale of social capital for aged people. Literatures were reviewed and indicators of social capital estimated for aged as well. Operational items evaluated among 768 elder samples upon cluster-ratio sampling in eight districts of Khuzistän province in Iran. The findings suggested the acceptance of social capital’s items for aged to illustrate their situations in social sphere and items of scale upon Cronbach’s alpha are validated as well. There are differences within its categories of rural-urban and ethnicity that warn policies for seniors in society....more
6. Neighborhood Management and Social Capital
28th May 2011
valuable resource for anyone interested in using social capital in their work ...more
Social Capital, Social Inclusiona and services for people with learning disabilies
23rd May 2011
Both social capital and social inclusion have emerged as significant concepts for human services in the last decade and yet their inter-relationship remains largely unexplored. This article argues that, whilst they are similar in their vision for a healthy society, they adopt sufficiently different perspectives to stimulate and challenge each other....more
Conflict, Security and Development
23rd May 2011
The World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development examines the changing nature of violence in the 21st century, and underlines the negative impact of repeated cycles of violence on a country or region’s development prospects. ...more
6 Expert Ways to Maximize Social Capital
23rd May 2011
In most industries and professions, there are plenty of other people who do what you do. You need social capital in order to get recognized, remembered, recommended … and hired. Social capital is generated when you invest in your relationships, by being as valuable as you possibly can be in your network. That means knowing and recommending others, and becoming engaged in your networks so that you’re seen as an invaluable resource....more
Schools, Communities and Social Capital
30th Apr 2011
A new report by the National College of Leadership for Schools and Children’s Services in England, provides impressive evidence that effective schools generate significant amounts of social capital. ...more
Social Media in Crisis
27th Apr 2011
A live example of how social media helps a crisis. ...more
Poverty Causes More Mistrust Than Race
27th Apr 2011
Poverty and gross inequality are six times more likely than ethnic diversity to cause British people to be suspicious of their neighbours, according to research carried out by a team including Dr Nick Allum from the Department of Sociology....more
Children Playing on the Street Makes Communities More Resilient
27th Apr 2011
I recently spent a few days in Bilbao, Spain, and was amazed to walk on streets full of children. Is there a population explosion in Spain? In the middle-class community where I was staying, I was reassured that the birth rate is below that of most parts of North America and yet the streets vibrate with life. There is no need for long SUV commutes to get the little ones to soccer practice as the children wander from their apartments after school and play in the city squares. There are always adults nearby, often sitting with neighbours drinking coffee, or a glass of wine. What looks like chaos is actually a careful dance by which a community raises its children together....more
Social Capital and the Family
27th Apr 2011
As the main source of economic and social welfare for its members, the family is the first building block in the generation of social capital for the larger society (Bubolz 1998, Hogan 1998). In addition to influencing the human capital development of children, the family's internal and external relationships model behaviors that are transmitted via children to future relationships....more
150 Things you can do to build social capital
27th Apr 2011
A list of 150 actions you can take to build social capital!...more
Social Trends: The Role of Social Capital
30th Mar 2011
Investing in each other and the community: the role of social capital...more
Sport and Social Capital in the United Kingdom
30th Mar 2011
Abstract While sport has long been recognised to have many benefits, researchers, policy makers and politicians have recently become especially interested in the contribution it might make to strengthening community bonds and promoting active citizenship– what the present Labour Government calls ‘civil renewal’. This paper analyses data from a large number of exiting statistical studies in order to understand what light they shed on the role sport does or could play in building social capital and civil renewal. ...more
Making is Connecting: The social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0.
30th Mar 2011
This is a chunk of text about social capital, which was originally written as part of the book ‘Making is Connecting: The social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0,’ by David Gauntlett. The book was published by Polity Press in March 2011....more
Democracy 'requires' strong civil society.
17th Mar 2011
The extensive civil society and a high level of social trust within the country was a strong basis for democratization, a renowned American intellectual said at a Chulalongkorn University seminar this morning on "Community and Democracy: Why Civil Society Is Essential to Democratic Reform?"...more
Arab Social Capital is there - It's Young and It's Connected
17th Mar 2011
Dr. Putnam is famous for popularizing the concept of “social capital” – the notion that societies succeed, and democracy works and thrives, when groups of people are bound tightly together in networks of common purpose....more
Social Capital and the Middle East
17th Mar 2011
WHAT has the problems in Libya, Tunisia and Egypt in common with the Oscars? The answer is Facebook and the Social Network. The latter is the name of the film about the founders of Facebook that won three Oscars....more
Twitter, Facebook and Youtube's role in Middle East Uprisings
17th Mar 2011
Recent national protests, in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere in the Mid-East heavily relied on the Internet and social technologies like Twitter, TwitPic, Facebook and YouTube in the early stages to accelerate the social protest. ...more
Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey
17th Mar 2011
Social capital, like intelligence, generally coheres as a core concept. Some people are smarter than others, and people adept at math are likely to be good at poetry; which is why one can speak of IQs (Intelligence Quotients). However, at a finer grain, there are different types of intelligence the best mathematicians are not the best poets, and neither are they necessarily emotionally intelligent....more
The Power of the People: Social Capital and Post-Disaster Recovery
16th Mar 2011
Neighborhoods with deeper levels of social capital are better able to make their voices heard and connect with authorities. When New Orleans officials showed “green dots” where they planned on doing no rebuilding, connected communities spoke out loudly and clearly....more
Social Capital in Post-Crisis Resilience
16th Mar 2011
The reservoirs of social capital and the trust (or lack thereof) between citizens in disaster-affected communities can help us understand why some neighborhoods in cities such as Kobe, Japan; Tamil Nadu, India; and New Orleans displayed resilience while others stagnated. Social capital—the engine for recovery—can be deepened both through local initiatives and interventions from foreign agencies....more
International Womans Day: Can Technology Close the Gap for Girls and Women?
10th Mar 2011
In 1906, a woman by the name of Welthy Fisher launched a school in China to give girls the skills they needed in order to play a greater role in their society. The teaching tools this 27-year-old woman relied upon were books and chalkboards, paper and pens. Now, more than a century later, the organization she founded finds itself in an era where information and communication technologies (ICT) are being used at an increasing rate to improve education and learning environments. But will these new tools really make a difference for girls and women in disadvantaged areas across the globe?...more
Social Capital 'not about money'
8th Mar 2011
That was what some Members of Parliament focused on when they rose and spoke on the importance of building up social capital here, during the Committee of Supply debate on the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports yesterday....more
Arab Social Capital is there - It's Young and It's Connected
7th Mar 2011
Dr. Putnam is famous for popularizing the concept of “social capital” – the notion that societies succeed, and democracy works and thrives, when groups of people are bound tightly together in networks of common purpose....more
For Gen Y, There Are No Weak Ties, Only Ties That Aren't Strong Yet
28th Feb 2011
People who study communities and networks refer to people’s friends as “strong ties” and their acquaintances as “weak ties.” Much of today’s social networking technology has enabled new types of relationships with weak ties....more
Reflections on LIFT Conference 2011
28th Feb 2011
Solis cited political scientist Robert Putnam who defined social capital as "the collective value of all 'social networks' and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other." Social capital, Putnam said, can be measured by the amount of trust and "reciprocity" in a community or between individuals. Nothing of that, however, is measured by today's tools. The problem is that these imperfect "social capital" scores are currently used against us....more
Collective Urban Living for the 21st Centuary
23rd Feb 2011
Kurt McCulloch investigates the idea of urban developments that could help foster social capital. ...more
BRADBERRY: Can we do this better together?
23rd Feb 2011
One theme throughout the case studies which include observations in places like Tupelo, Mississippi, Portland, Oregon, Waupun, Wisconsin, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania’s public school system is, as one reviewer put it, “the importance of building in a redundancy of contact in any social capital initiative so that people encounter one another in multiple settings and contexts. This reinforces a sense of reciprocal obligation and extends the boundaries of empathy in the community”....more
Libraries Create Social Capital
23rd Feb 2011
The term social capital was coined by social scientist James Coleman. It is defined by Miklos Marschall, former executive director of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, as the "values and social networks that enable coordination and cooperation within society…the relationship between people and organizations, which form the glue that strengthens civil society."...more
Community Owned Businesses: How Communities Become Entrepreneurs
23rd Feb 2011
The community embraces cooperative ideals and tenets as a means to benefit members and build social capital....more
Having a Strong Community Protects Adolescents from Risky Behaviors
23rd Feb 2011
@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Adolescents in communities with more social capital may have better role models or mentors. Or perhaps in a more empowered community, where people feel comfortable stopping someone else’s bad behavior, the young people also feel less helpless as individuals. They might believe that “you have some control over what’s going to happen to you,” Evans says. ...more
Impact of ICT on Social Capital in Aboriginal Communities in Canada
11th Feb 2011
This article examines the potential impact of information and communication technology on social capital in First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. ...more
Social Capital Example: Cut out and Keep
28th Jan 2011
Examples of social capital practice can pop up anywhere. By looking at the definition that is used by Assist Social Capital from the OECD stating that social capital is “networks together with shared norms, values and understandings that facilitate cooperation within or among groups” and then using it as a lense to view current projects all over the world, one can see that so many of these projects are examples of social capital at its best. ...more
China Economy Eyes Post-Quake Gain in Social Capital
28th Jan 2011
(Reuters) - It's callous when nearly 70,000 people lie dead to wonder whether anything good economically could emerge from the rubble of last month's Sichuan earthquake....more
Social Capital: Civic Community and Education
28th Jan 2011
The notion of social capital is a useful way of entering into debates about civil society – and is central to the arguments of Robert Putnam and others who want to ‘reclaim public life’. ...more
Building Social Capital Through Microfinance
25th Jan 2011
Social capital, defined as “features of social organization, such as trust, norms and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions”, is built up as a result of repeated interpersonal interactions....more
Plenty of people in the neighborhood but we're home alone
15th Nov 2010
A book launched by Julia Gillard this week argues social alienation has gone too far SEVERAL measures of social capital are on the wane. Organisational membership is down. We are less likely to attend church. Political parties and unions are bleeding members. Sporting participation and cultural attendance are down. Volunteering is likely below its post-war peak, though it did record a rise in the late 1990s....more
Social Capital and Disasters
15th Nov 2010
In the last two weeks we have seen many initiatives and solidarity movements ventured upon by Indonesians to help the victims of natural disasters in Wasior, Mentawai and Yogyakarta. Fund raising and charity nights were organized by various groups in numerous cities to collect money and materials to be distributed to the survivors....more
Memphis Coorporate Volunteers are Recognized for Giving More Than Just Money
15th Nov 2010
By day, Sharon Wilson answers phones and sets up meetings for directors at FedEx Services Inc. In her off time, she delivers meals to the elderly for the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association, works on Habitat for Humanity houses, and builds decks, pressure washes, paints and tiles for "all those little babies" at Hope House....more
Mero Columnit Dan Casey: It's a new day for city police.
15th Nov 2010
Has a new era of transparency dawned over the Roanoke Police Department?...more
Connected Communities
26th Sep 2010
This report argues for a new approach to community regeneration, based on an understanding of the importance of social networks....more
3. Connected Communities: How social networks power and sustain the Big Society
21st Sep 2010
Traditional approaches to community regeneration which define communities in solely geographic terms have severe limitations...more
Social Capital, Health and Community Action: Implication for Health Promotion
6th Jun 2010
This paper explores the relationship between social capital and health to contribute to the theoretical framework of the role of social capital for health and health promotion. ...more
Labour market participation: the influence of social capital
6th Jun 2010
ONS has developed a framework for measuring social capital in the UK . As part of the broader ONS study, a review has recently been undertaken of social capital-related studies in the UK and in other countries which have relevance to the UK labour market....more
The Measurement of Social Capital in the United States
11th May 2010
As a society, the U.S. has a strong history of group-joining, giving, and community spirit, all key components of social capital.1 At the same time, we also have a strong history of government distrust, and a belief that the government should stay out of individuals’ personal and family lives....more
The Social Mirror Theory
9th May 2010
Society is currently experiencing a lack in social cohesion and human relationships. Why is this?...more
Social Capital Formation and Diversity in Canadian Cities: Impacts of Individual and Place-Related
9th May 2010
Social Capital Formation and Diversity in Canadian Cities: Impacts of Individual and Place-Related...more
Social Capital among Older Chinese Adults:
21st Feb 2010
This paper presents the findings of a study on older adults in urban China to identify differences between groups of older adults whose age and health status differs in terms of the impact of social engagement. ...more
The 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index
21st Feb 2010
What is prosperity, and how is it achieved?...more
Residential mobility and outcome change in deprived areas
1st Nov 2009
Residential mobility and outcome change in deprived areas. Evidence from the New Deal for CommunitiesProgramme...more
Perceptions of Neighbourhood & Community in Central Queensland
23rd Aug 2009
The aim of the Central Queensland Social Capital Survey was to establish baseline data on levels of social capital in Central Queensland. This baseline data will facilitate further study of the relationships between social capital and health. This report presents the fi ndings of the survey in relation to perceptions of the local area, neighbourliness, social support and civic engagement. Comparisons between Central Queensland and United Kingdom are presented for purposes of benchmarking...more
Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurs: Communities, Social Capital, Actors' Strategies
23rd Aug 2009
Ethnic Minority Entrepreneurs: Communities, Social Capital, Actors' Strategies...more
The trajectories of Polish immigrant businesses in Scotland and the role of social capital
23rd Aug 2009
"Entrepreneurship and Growth of Family Firms”, Cracow University of Economics, June2009. ...more
Hill Holt Wood
12th Jul 2009
Powerpoint presentation from Social Capital conference 09...more
Social Capital, Community Resilience, and Collective Efficacy: The Brookview Neighborhood Case
12th Jul 2009
In the Brookview Neighborhood, residents strategically used forms of bonding and bridging social capital in order to fight against increasing crime, displaying characteristics of resourcefulness, persistence, and courage while employing these forms of social capital for community benefit. ...more
Community Particiapation: Who Benefits?
12th Jul 2009
Government has made a significant investment in community participation on the back of evidence suggesting that it builds stronger networks between people who live in the same neighbourhood. However, this report questions the accuracy of this belief and looks at whether community dynamics and relationships can in fact make good governance hard to achieve....more
The Well-being of Nations
11th Jul 2009
The OECD's social objective is not simply to increase economic growth; it is also to improve well-being. Since the early 1980s, measures of well-being have lagged behind trends in per capita GDP in many OECD countries. While the reasons for this divergence are complex and not well understood, the significance of human and social capital is that they appear to support wellbeing directly. ...more
Social Capital: The Missing Link?
11th Jul 2009
Social capital is the glue that holds societies together and without which there can be no economic growth or human well-being. Without social capital, society at large will collapse, and today’s world presents some very sad examples of this....more
Social Capital and Social Wellbeing
11th Jul 2009
In Australia, social capital has emerged as an area of great interest to a large number of government agencies, community and welfare organisations, research institutions and community development practitioners. The potential for social capital to make a positive contribution to outcomes in diverse areas of social concern such as health, community safety and education has captured the interest of policy makers, social analysts and researchers....more
Social Capital in the North East: How do we measure up?
5th Jul 2009
This report breaks down national statistics to a regional level. It tests some commonly held hypotheses about the friendliness of people in the North East and the strength of our communities, and makes some interesting comparisons between the North East and our friends in the South....more
Does Social Capital Determin Health?
27th Jun 2009
This paper starts from an empirical assessment of different dimensions of social capital in the transition countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The level of social capital is lower in CEE-CIS countries compared to other countries in Europe and beyond....more
Social Capital Indicators
27th Jun 2009
Social capital runs throughout discussions about social cohesion and the integration of deprived and minority groups who are socially excluded from relations with mainstream society. This report considers social capital is a network-based process that can generate both positive and negative outcomes through social norms1 and trust, and that these are shaped at the societal, neighbourhood and individual level.docs/SCIndicatorsCreFinal(2).pdf...more
Social Capital & Poverty Eradication
27th Jun 2009
One of the three major, interrelated lines of action in UNESCO’s strategy on “The eradication of poverty, especially extreme poverty” is to focus on mobilizing social capital by building capacity and institutions, with a view to advocating and enabling the poor to enjoy their rights in areas of UNESCO’s competence. Thus UNESCO is recognizing the role of social capital as an important component in the poverty eradication efforts....more
Social Capital: A Discussion Paper
27th Jun 2009
This paper discuss reviews the information that was available in 2002 and discusses what is social capital, why is it important and what has been happening to social capital, etc?...more
The Place of Social Capital
27th Jun 2009
This paper provides a brief introduction to the recent theoretical and empirical literature on social capital as it pertains to economic development issues, with a particular focus on its significance for OECD countries. ...more