Construction Of Social Capital Research Articles

The contribution of rural social networks to the consolidation of social capital

This article exhaustively reviews the literature on rural social networks' role in the construction and consolidation of social capital in rural communities. A detailed analysis of case studies and relevant theories examined how these networks, made up of family relationships, friendships, local associations, and community ties, contribute to rural communities' socioeconomic development and well-being. With this objective, a critical and narrative study was developed, with a protocol developed to achieve high methodological rigor. The results highlighted the challenges rural social networks face in the context of urbanization, globalization, and technological change, and how these external influences affect the dynamics and effectiveness of rural social capital. In addition, strategies and policies can strengthen rural social networks and, therefore, social capital, thus facilitating local development and social inclusion. Finally, areas of future research are suggested to understand better the potential of rural social networks in promoting sustainable development and social equity in rural areas.

Trust and Social Capital in the Old City of Hyderabad: A Study of Self-Help Groups of Women, India

Why do people trust each other? Do people form groups through mutual trust or self-interest? How does the theory of rational choice and accompanying individualism affect the concept of social capital? Are social cohesiveness in groups and financial success related? Such questions generate interest in conditions promoting association and group emergence, such as trust, reliability, reciprocity, and shared values, which are inherent factors for cohesion. Self-help groups (SHGs) in an urban context are used to comprehend the aforementioned questions. The proposed study is based on the following hypothesis: the formation of groups is not based on trust but on material- and non-material- need-based individual rational choices that force them to cooperate with each other. It is found that a sense of insecurity among migrant women, an emotional need, led the formation of the imagined communities and has paved the way to construct trust. Thus, trust is found to be secondary in construction and sustainability of social capital. Castes, regions, and religions are strong factors; however, they are found to be less effective for the migrants than native SHG members. Therefore, among migrants, trust channelized itself vertically around a sense of fear.

Impact of social capital, sex and education on the utilization of public health services: a cross sectional study based on the China migrant dynamic survey

BackgroundChina is making efforts to promote the equalization of National Essential Public Health Services (NEPHS) for internal migrants. Studies have demonstrated that the impacts of social capital on health services are different among subgroups of people. Clarifying these differences will help China accurately promote the equalization of NEPHS for the internal migrants and provide reference for other countries.MethodsData from the China Migrant Dynamic Survey of 2017, involving 130,642 migrants in 31 provinces were used to clarify the complex relationship between social capital and the utilization of NEPHS. Social capital was divided into regional cognitive social capital (RCSC), regional structural social capital (RSSC), individual cognitive social capital (ICSC), and individual structural social capital (ISSC). Then, multi-level logistic regression was conducted to analyze their impacts on the utilization of NEPHS of the migrants, and whether such impacts are moderated by sex and education.Results(1) There are significant differences in the levels of CSC, SSC, and NEPHS utilization between different sexs and educational subgroups of the migrants, among which the educational difference is more prominent. (2) An interaction exists between the levels and dimensions of social capital and NEPHS projects. Also, the impact of SSC on NEPHS is always greater than that of CSC at the same level. (3) The effects of RCSC, RSSC, ICSC, and ISSC on NEPHS utilization by migrants are not moderated by sex. However, a high education could weaken the relationship between RCSC and health education, ISSC and health education, and RSSC and health records but strengthen the correlation between RSSC and health education.ConclusionSocial capital plays an important role in the access of migrants to NEPHS. Governments should vigorously promote the construction of regional social capital, encourage migrants to actively participate in community activities, especially pay attention to the enhancement of the migrants with low SES to the destination identity.

Network Peacekeeping in the Construction of Virtual Social Capital

In the life of modern man, and of society as a whole, the role of virtual interaction is growing, especially in social networks and virtual communities. In this regard, the problem of virtual social capital construction arises. The paper deals both with the classical concept of “social capital” and the possibility of transferring the phenomenon to network reality. The author considers the approaches of Russian and foreign authors to the legitimacy of this concept usage, as well as of the role of virtual communities as a means of virtual social capital realization. Moreover, the paper presents a novel concept of “network peacekeeping”, which is of extraordinary relevance in modern society of anomie and growing aggression in virtual communications. Network peacekeeping can be implemented using technology such as script implantation. A script is a tool that is implanted into an aggressively destructive network discussion characterized by such markers as: frustration, negativity, depreciation, depression, insults, hostility, threats, trolling, confrontation, chauvinism, discredit, rage, provocation, etc., expressed by the offensive and obscene vocabulary. Verbal aggression reveals the following psychological dominants of network communication: collective fears, resentment, aggression, ideological separatism, and intellectual terrorism. To suppress the aggression growth in the most intense online discussions, a specially developed script is implanted into them – a text with the group agreement potential. The author presents an experiment conducted in three online discussions using such a script. The management of network communications using script implants acts as network peacekeeping that strengthens virtual social capital.

Students’ Dorms as Agents of Social Capital

In this paper, we will try to prove one of our hypotheses, which is thatthe construction of social capital is present in students’ dorms. Thesocial capital of an educational institution such as a students’ dormis reflected in the mutual trust and cooperation of all elements of theeducation system. These are primarily pupils, educators and parents.Of great importance is the degree of mutual trust of students andeducators, especially the perception of students about it. Cooperationamong students does not exclude the rivalry. In the very concept ofthis paper, a case study will be applied to the example of secondaryschool students’ homes on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Corporate Social Responsibility supports the construction of a strong social capital in the mining context: Evidence from Peru

This paper seeks to explore the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Social Capital (SC) in the mining industry. The qualitative analysis was complemented by the insights provided by interviews with key informants as well as the emerging literature on the intersection of SC and CSR. The findings revealed a framework with four quadrants to understand how CSR proposed by a mining company impacts SC, as well as the best practices to move from negative CSR to positive CSR that can generate strong SC.

Bezpieczeństwo państwa — czynniki miękkie

NATIONAL SECURITY — SOFT FACTORSThis article is divided into three parts, in the first part it is explained what social capital is, and its role in national security is depicted. In the second part, the problem of the importance of social rules in the construction of social capital is discussed. The third part of the article is the culmination of the analysis and shows the role of soft factors in the process of building national security. The quality of social capital depends on how the society works. It is strongly related to other pillars of state security, including the armed forces. The most important message from the content of this article is the statement: a strong society means a safe state.

Guanxi or weak ties? Exploring Chinese diaspora tourists’ engagements in social capital building

ABSTRACTMost of existing studies assume that diaspora tourism can facilitate the tourists to reconnect socially to their ancestral home. Yet, how and why diaspora tourists engage in social capital building during their home return trips is still uncertain. Whether they feel socially connected and which groups they are more likely to build connections with are unknown. This study explores the ways in which diaspora tourists foster and sustain social capital by focusing on the case of Chinese immigrants and descendants. Based on 39 in-depth interviews with Chinese home return travellers, four scenarios of how they engage in transnational social capital building are identified. The findings suggest that how a diaspora tourist constructs social capital is influenced by the individual’s place and collective identity, values and perceptions he/she holds, obligations, and personal interests. Migrants in each scenario devote to building different types of social capital with ties of varied strength and depth, suggesting that the effects of diaspora tourism in facilitating the construction of social capital are different. This study advances our understanding of the social functions of diasporic return, and provides practical implications for destination managers who want to better understand the motives and social needs of home return travellers.

Znaczenie innowacji technologicznych dla podnoszenia poziomu jakości życia mieszkańców miast — wybrane przykłady rozwiązań w polskich start-upach

The importance of technological innovations in raising the quality of life of city dwellers: Selected examples of solutions in Polish start-upsThe main goal of the study is to analyze technological solutions offered by start-ups, designed to im­prove the living standards of city dwellers. The text consists of two parts, theoretical and practical. In theoretical considerations, the author relies on selected literature items. The review of secondary sources first of all serves to define the concept of start-up, and then to expand and enrich the practical part with additional technological solutions for the described projects and this role is directly related to the purpose of the presented article. In the practical part, selected case studies were described and analyzed with reference to the results of the author’s own research. The research project was car­ried out by the author in 2016–2017 in cooperation with the Wroclaw Agglomeration Development Agency. Its aim was to analyze the start-up ecosystem in Wroclaw and to try to find an answer to the question about the importance of start-ups for the quality of life of city dwellers. Recommendations for the local authorities in Wroclaw on how to support ventures in entering the market and remain­ing there were of additional value. The project consisted of three parts. The first two were analyses of secondary sources, on the basis of which the necessary information was collected related to the definition of a start-up company and the current situation of enterprises in Poland and Wroclaw, and quantitative research in the form of an online survey on asample of n=108 start-ups from Wro­claw. The last stage of the research project was the qualitative part. It was in the form of individual interviews with start-ups and industry experts. Seven respondents took part in this component of the study. The result of the research was acharacterization of the start-up environment in Wroclaw. Answers to the questions asked in the questionnaire, supplemented by expert interviews, allowed to determine, among others, the branches in which Wroclaw start-ups operate, to identify the products offered by them and to extrapolate the results of start-ups’ situation to the whole of Poland. Based on the obtained knowledge, it was possible to present the importance of technological solutions of individual start-ups for the quality of life of city dwellers. According to the results of own research and the analysis of secondary sources, it can be stated that the presence of startups in urban space improves the quality of life of city dwellers, while also supporting the construction of social capital.

Role of culture animation in preserving the spiritual values of the globalized society

Purpose of the article. The purpose of the article is to reveal the key ideas and principles of animation of culture in the historical and theoretical perspective, refinement of its etymological and semantic foundations as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Animation of culture is a socio-cultural phenomenon, a dynamic process of the formation of social relations connected with culture. The methodology of the research is based on an integrated combination of analytical, historical, culturological and comparative methods and generalization, which enables exploring historical theoretical origins, paradigms, and models of animation of culture as an important foundation for the construction of social and cultural capital. Scientific novelty lays in defining the essence and significance of animation of culture as an effective tool for combating exclusion of personality from the socio-cultural space, cultural activation, and social participation. Conclusion. Animation of culture at the present stage is becoming the more and more actual and popular method of activity in the cultural and social sphere, aimed at developing the creative potential of the passive part of the society. The purpose of animation of culture is to change the person, the surrounding reality, to find the way out of spiritual and intellectual apathy of a significant part of society through the culture and socio-cultural environment.

From individual social capital to collective social capital: empirical evidence from inter-firm financing trust network

The paper proposes two theoretical hypotheses about how collective social capital is constructed based on the operation of individual social capital in Chinese context: the logic of particularist guanxi operations and the logic of social prestige recognition. The two hypotheses are tested by an empirical study about inter-firm networking for financing supports It is found that the former logic, which is strengthened by guanxi proximity including kinship proximity, geographic proximity, and industrial proximity, would make the focal firm restrain its trust relationship within a particular small group, leading the firm to become part of a sectarian small-group trust network; and the latter logic, which is strengthened by classification homogeneity, would encourage the focal firm to trust unspecified business partners, leading firms to become part of a large-scale open trust network. The trust radius of the focal firm has a mediating effect on the relationship between individual social capital and the collective-level structure of inter-firm financing trust network, thus exerting important influence on the construction of collective social capital.

Properties, communities and robustness in the Yucatan sea cucumber trade network

Understanding fishery market systems is vital to promoting the efficient development of small-scale fisheries. It can assist in the refocusing of public policy on goals beyond merely maintaining production, which promotes the construction of social capital that favors governance in environmental and/or economic crises. This study is an analysis of the Yucatan (Mexico) sea cucumber (Isostichopus badionotus) trade network examining seven ports; it analyses the social network to describe its structure, the communities within it, the actors and their roles (cooperative fishers, permit holders and traders), and its robustness. The analyzed network is a scale-free type in which 80% of sea cucumber trade actors are related to one of them and control 66% of the entire network transactions. It is a robust network that is resistant to random attacks but is clearly vulnerable to focused attacks. Descriptions are provided of the characteristics of its communities and of its subnetworks in the most important ports. The most relevant actors in system connectivity were identified, and the structural properties of the network were calculated. The results are presented comparatively between the original system and a simulated scenario where the most connected actor is eliminated. This study is an important baseline for later analyses of how the local sea cucumber trade network may respond to internal and external stressors.

Effect of Public Library-Mediated Information Sharing on the Construction of Social Capital

Effect of Public Library-Mediated Information Sharing on the Construction of Social Capital

Community-based Lifelong Education as a Mechanism for the Formation of Social Capital Enhancing Residential Safety

본 연구의 목적은 지역사회 기반 평생교육이 사회자본과 문화자본을 매개로 주거 안전성에 미치는 영향을 고찰하는 것이다. 지역사회 기반 형식의 평생교육 참여는 주민 간 의사소통의 준비성에 대한 공개적인 의례의 성격을 띠고 있어 주민 간 이에 대한 공유지식 형성이 사회자본 구축을 촉진할 수 있다. 지역주민들은 평생교육 참여를 통해 열린 대화를 조건화해주는 공유지식을 창출한다. 공유지식의 형성은 사회자본 구축을 촉진하고 주민 간 대화와 의사소통의 길을 열어주는 조정자 역할을 한다. 주민자치센터는 주민 접근성이 용이한 장점을 활용하여 문화․여가 프로그램을 운용하여 주민 간 원만한 인간관계를 형성하고 상호작용할 수 있는 여건을 조성해준다. 본 연구는 지역사회 기반 평생교육이 주민의 사회자본과 문화자본을 유의미하게 증가시키고 있음을 확인하였다. 이는 근린주거의 주민 학습장이 주민 간 의사소통을 통한 사회자본을 향상시키며 문화예술교육 활동에 참여가 주민의 문화자본을 유의미하게 신장하였음을 의미한다. 그러나 지역사회 기반 평생교육으로 신장된 사회자본은 주민의 주거 안전성을 유의미하게 향상시켰으나 문화자본의 영향을 소멸시켰다. 지역기반 평생교육의 문화예술 프로그램 참여가 주민의 문화적 소양의 제고에 기여하지만 주민 간 상호작용을 통한 주거 안전성에 미치는 영향을 사회자본의 영향과 공유하고 있다고 해석할 수 있다. 본 연구는 평생교육이 실행되는 형식 즉 지역성, 주민 간 상호작용, 소속감과 같은 평생교육의 지역사회 기반성이 가지는 중요성을 확인에 의의가 있다.The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of community-based lifelong education on local safety through social capital and cultural capital. Participation in lifelong education in a community-based format is a public ceremony about the readiness of communication between residents. Thus, the formation of shared knowledge among residents can facilitate the construction of social capital. Local residents create shared knowledge that conditions open dialogue through participation in lifelong learning. The formation of shared knowledge among residents can act as a mediator to open the way for dialogue and communication. The residents self-governing center takes advantage of easy accessibility to residents and establishes cultural and recreational programs, allowing residents to voluntarily participate in creating relationships with their neighbors along with conditions for interaction. This study confirms that the lifelong education system implemented by the local community such as the Citizens Autonomy Center significantly increases the social capital and cultural capital of the residents through improved communication with neighbors. At the same time, participation in cultural arts education activities through the residents autonomy center significantly increased the cultural capital of the residents. According to the results of this study, the social capital expanded by community-based lifelong education significantly improved residential security, while cultural capital had no impact on residential security. Unlike cultural capital, which is embodied in individual residents, social capital exists in the relationship between residents and the improvement of social capital affects the safety of residents.

Starred cosmopolitanism: Celebrity chefs, documentaries, and the circulation of global desire

AbstractSeveral documentaries about celebrity chefs were released between 2010 and 2012, building on trends that have turned knowledge of and access to fine dining restaurants into a crucial arena for globalized elite’s construction of social status and cultural capital. The analysis of three of these films – Three Stars, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and Step up to Your Plate – indicates how media contribute to the formation of a global canon of practices, performances, and discourses that naturalize the accomplished, knowledgeable, and male chef trained in established and prestigious food traditions as the culinary ideal.

ITALO-AUSTRALIAN TRANSNATIONAL HOUSES: BUILT FORMS ENHANCING SOCIAL CAPITAL

The literature reveals that culture, as a way of life, is a factor determining the house’s spatial form, which, in turn, can contribute to the construction and/or enhancement of social capital. Scholars also stress that in the past the study of the relationship between houses’ spatial form and social capital has focused on physical spatial environments at macro scale, neglecting the investigation of micro-scale housing. Namely, regardless of the interest to this relationship, direct assessment of the extent to which the spatial form of transnational houses contributes to the formation and enhancement of social capital in a host built environment is still rare in the field. The specific objective of this paper is to explore how the spatial form of Italian transnational houses in Australia contributed to the formation of social capital. It is argued that the spatial form of houses built by Italian migrants in post WWII Brisbane was conceptualized as means of re-establishing and enhancing social activities and/or interactions, and therefore contributed to the formation and enhancement of social capital. In order to provide an answer to the main question, the system of social activities performed within the domestic setting was investigated. Data obtained from visual material and interviews with participants was analyzed in order to reveal how the spatial form of Italian transnational houses enhanced social capital.

Facebook Communication Habits and Social Capital

Facebook is the most popular social network today allowing its users to build a virtual network of friendships, acquaintances and contacts, which enables them to connect the virtual and real world. Th e establishment and reinforcement of these connections leads to the development of social capital, which is a cohesive element for any kind of community. This paper focuses on the relationship among various factors that operate on this social network. It aims at disclosing the mutual connection of communicational habits and users’ habits of the informants who participated in the research (N=161), as well as the roles of these habits in the construction of social capital. The initial hypothesis of the research is that the frequency of Facebook use and the length of owning a Facebook account have a positive correlation with communicational habits and provide a positive experience of Facebook users. The research was done via a questionnaire administered in the winter of 2012. Th e questionnaire was uploaded to a commercial site SurveyMonkey . Answers were coded and statistically processed in SPSS 13.0. The results indicate that older users have fewer Facebook accounts and that those who have owned a Facebook account for a longer time tend to check their Facebook page more often. Besides that, the frequency of Facebook use has a positive and statistically significant correlation with the sense of belonging to a community. This is confirmed by other statistically significant results: the users’ opinion that Facebook allows them to meet interesting people is correlated with the sense of belonging to a community and the attitude that Facebook allows them to communicate with others. Opportunities to communicate with others on Facebook positively correlate with maintaining contact with people who live far away, which in turn correlates with maintaining contact with people from the users’ vicinity. This leads to the conclusion that investing both time and effort in communication and maintaining contact on Facebook induces an increased sense of belonging and connection. However, social capital develops and thrives mostly when online connections are just an extension of offline contacts. This is confirmed by the fact that connections with people who live far away are weak and insufficient for the growth of social capital.

The Intercultural Relations as A Main Factor of Intercultural Social Capital for Socio-Economic Development in Multicultural Societies. The Research Example of Trieste, Italy.

The present paper is based on extensive research, titled ““Administration of social services in multicultural societies, contemporary approaches of the intercultural relations and intercultural communication: The case of Trieste in Italy and Thessalonica in Greece”. within the framework of co-operation with the University of Aquila Italy.The present study, by exploring the intercultural social capital and intercultural relations within the city, aims to highlight the qualitative characteristics of this social capital and these relations, by assessing and interpreting them.Over the past few years the global community has been experiencing a hail of changes in all areas of the political, economic, and social activity and every nation is making heroic efforts to maintain its quality of life at a high standard.The magnanimous financial crisis, the political parties, the new social-political movements, the perceptions concerning self-management and the increasing process of globalization have “wiped –out’ the welfare state and have undermined the entire social welfare system on an international scale, a fact which appoints the social capital and the networks as countervailing entities of major importance, entities that actually support the socio-economic development and social cohesion, as well.Migration, which leads to the formation of cultural minorities, is defined as one of the main culprits of social exclusion at an individual and group level. At a social level, national and cultural differences, which are constantly spiraling, owing to international migration, are recognized as one of the main structural changes taking place not only in the societies of the European Union, but also all around the world.The research results showed that the cultural diverse groups get close to each other and form networks based upon their cultural characteristics. Also, it was shown that the intercultural relationships development and encouragement by the local authorities lead to the construction of a strong social capital, which is necessary for the socio-economic development and social cohesion. Key words Intercultural relations, economic crisis, social economy, social enterprises, intercultural social networks, local development.

스마트기기와 SNS 활용이 사회자본 형성에 미치는 영향 연구

본 연구에서는 스마트기기 및 SNS의 활용이 사회자본의 형성에 미치는 영향을 설문조사를 통해 실증적으로 분석하였다. 분석 결과, 스마트기기는 다양한 커뮤니케이션 방식을 제공함으로써 교량적 사회자본을 확장할 수 있는 기반을 마련해 주고 있다. SNS는 오프라인에서 형성된 사회적 관계를 온라인으로 확장시킴으로써 결속적 사회자본을 강화하고 있으며, 온라인 커뮤니티 구축을 통한 사회적 관계의 확장을 이끌어내어 교량적 사회자본을 증대시키고 있다. 반면, 스마트기기를 이용한 SNS의 활용은 사회자본의 증대와 관련이 없는 것으로 나타났으나, 사람들의 사회활동의 참여를 활발하게 함으로써 복합적인 사회자본을 형성하는 것으로 나타났다.

Exploring how social capital works for children who have experienced school turbulence: what is the role of friendship and trust for children in poverty?

This paper is concerned with the role of friendship in the construction of social capital within schools for students in poverty. It undertakes an analysis of friendship through the lens of students who have experienced turbulence. ‘Turbulence’ refers to a type of pupil mobility between schools (not to be confused with social mobility) understood as when a child enters or leaves school at a non-standard time. An examination of the ways in which ‘turbulent’ children seek to make friendships provides an opportunity to consider the ways in which different types of friendships affect the construction of social capital in school. This paper examines these processes for six ‘turbulent’ children from low-income families, and explores the different orientations to the construction of social capital between these children and their non-‘turbulent’ friends. This study extends our understanding of the role of friendship in the construction of social capital and may help to develop an agenda for considering the importance of friendship, social capital and education for children in poverty.