Understanding Of Social Capital Research Articles

Bridging or Bonding: An Organizational Framework for Studying Social Capital in Kindergartens.

The article develops our understanding of social capital by analyzing social capital as an organizational phenomenon. The analysis is based on qualitative data consisting of interviews and documents obtained from six different kindergartens in Norway. Kindergartens are used as a “prism” through which we can understand how social capital is formed—and the mechanisms that shape the development of various forms of networks within welfare organizations. More specifically we look at drop-in kindergartens. The specific purpose of these kindergartens is to provide open and inclusive arenas that promote integration and community. We find that the kindergartens vary in the degree to which they succeed in building bridging forms of networks and communities. Using concepts from organizational theory and Wenger’s (1998) theory of communities of practice, we find that formal organizational factors such as ownership, organizational goals, profiling, location, and educational content impact the formation of bridging forms of social capital. The composition of the user groups and the user groups’ motivation for participating most clearly affect the conditions for community formation. The composition of the user groups is the result of a number of organizational factors and organizational mechanisms. Kindergartens that have a heterogeneous user group, and a user group with a community orientation (Morse 2006), are more successful at creating bridging types of social networks.

Social Capital –A Dynamic View

We argue for the need to adopt a dynamic approach towards the understanding of social capital that can provide insights on how social capital can be leveraged as a response to shifting contextual exigencies. Our paper offers a unifying typology of social capital along four dimensions – autonomous, constrained, formative and normative. We develop the following four views of social capital – normative-constrained, normative-autonomous, formative-constrained, formative-autonomous. Furthermore, we draw on an empirical study in an agricultural cooperative to illustrate these four views and the varying sources of social capital manifested therein. It is this variation in use that undergirds our understanding of a dynamic conception of social capital.

Social capital: a qualitative investigation of principal views

The purpose of this study is to determine the knowledge and opinions of school principals about the concept of the social capital. This research is deemed essential regarding increasing the awareness of school administrators who could play a significant role in mobilizing the potential social capital in schools. The study has been conducted in a qualitative design in the direction of this purpose, and the data of the research have been obtained by using the semi-structured interview form. The participants of this study consisted of 20 voluntary school principals. The data have been collected and digitized under the common categories after encoding. According to the findings of the study, the school principals indicate networks (social relations), trust and norms as the factors that create the social capital. It is observed that they benefit from the networks (social relations) dimension of the social concept most. Besides, it is seen that the school principals who can reveal the social capital can use the trust and social networks elements more useful. It is thought that the findings of the research would contribute to the better understanding of social capital by school principals and the realization of the social capital in schools.

Building Social Capital in Micro Environment: The Family, Attachment Theory and Socialization

Social capital is an instantiated informal norm that promotes cooperation between two or more individuals. The understanding of social capital can provide valuable insights into the social network and links that individuals and communities have, and importantly how these networks and links can be utilized to contribute to positive outcomes for the individual and the community life. In this way the explaining of social capital may enlarge our understanding of how individuals can work cooperatively to achieve shared goals and to deal with difficulties within environment productively. In this period, families as micro environment create norms and social ties for their members. Bowlby’s “Attachment Theory” strongly suggests a positive domino effect of trusting relationships spreading out from the family and into wider circles of life. Individuals who see from their parents volunteering and supportive behaviors in childhood period, they are in more likely engage those behaviors for communities in adulthood-it has called as socialization of an individual-. Also this socialization process contributes to wider social networks. The study is a literature review deeply. It aims to investigate about building social capital in family as micro environment and, effect of attachment styles and socialization process for members in family life on their social capital.

Social Capital of Social Capital Researchers

This paper investigates the co-authorship network of star researchers from different disciplines who work on social capital. There has been a recent surge of interest in social capital. Articles on social capital that are published in the last five years constitute more than 60 percent of all articles on social capital. Research on social capital now spans sociology, economics, management, political science and health sciences. Despite this interest there is still not a consensus on the definition and the measurement of social capital. This is partially due to lack of interaction between disciplines. By employing a simple social network analysis this paper shows that the social capital of social capital researchers is low between disciplines. Different from other theories of capital, social capital theory has concurrently been developed by various disciplines and as such, research across disciplines will improve our understanding of social capital.

Putnam and radical socio‐economic theory

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to review the social capital treatment of Robert Putnam, the most influential conceptual theorist. The paper will detail how Putnam's treatment of social capital has evolved, examine the arguments of his critics and will also critique his socio‐economic analysis.Design/methodology/approachThe approach taken is a literature review that investigates Putnam's social capital understanding and considers the reasons why this conceptual treatment “touched a nerve” and proved so influential and adaptable.FindingsPutnam's social capital treatment belongs to a socio‐economic communitarian tradition that can be traced to de‐Tocqueville, which offers an alternative to both mainstream free market ideology and to leftwing socio‐economics.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper is to identify Putnam as a radical in a methodological sense, reinvigorating a Burkean, consensual interpretation of socio‐economics. The value of this paper is to offer a critique of Putnam's interpretation of social capital.

The Structure of Social Capital: An Austrian Perspective on its Nature and Development

As the literature on social capital has emerged over the past two decades, both advocates and critics of the concept have grappled with the question ‘what is the nature of “social capital?”’. By viewing this question through the lens of Austrian capital theory (particularly under Lachmann's influence) we can understand social capital as being structural in nature, made up of heterogeneous and often complementary elements. This way of thinking about social capital opens the door for understanding the role of the ‘social entrepreneur’ as discovering new combinations within the social capital structure. By carving out a role for the change agent, we see social capital development as a process of social learning that extends the cognitive reach of individuals beyond what they can know directly. An Austrian approach to social capital advances the theoretical debate by linking the literature on network analysis (in which the focus is on individualistic accumulation of social capital) and broader questions of social capital embedded within community-wide norms. Further, an Austrian understanding of social capital informs policy debates, such as the question of whether social capital development can be, or needs to be, part of a deliberate development strategy.

Local participation in development initiatives: The potential contribution of an understanding of social capital

Local participation in development initiatives: The potential contribution of an understanding of social capital

The myth of social capital in community development

This article argues that contemporary interest in social capital by community development theorists, funders, and practitioners is misguided and needs to be thoroughly rethought. It argues that social capital, as understood by Robert Putnam and people influenced by his work, is a fundamentally flawed concept because it fails to understand issues of power in the production of communities and because it is divorced from economic capital. Therefore, community development practice based on this understanding of social capital is, and will continue to be, similarly flawed. The article further argues that instead of Putnam's understanding of social capital, community development practice would be better served by returning to the way the concept was used by Glenn Loury and Pierre Bourdieu and concludes with a discussion of how these alternative theories of social capital can be realized in community development practice.