‘I Stand on My Own Two Feet but Need Someone Who Really Cares’: Social Networks and Social Capital among Unaccompanied Minors for Becoming Established in Swedish Society

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 372-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malin Eriksson ◽  
Malin E Wimelius ◽  
Mehdi Ghazinour

Abstract Settling in a new host country as an unaccompanied minor holds a lot of challenges such as adaptation of new social norms, learning a new language and understanding a new culture. Social networks may foster good conditions for settlement in the host community but little is known about the availability, quality and significance of social networks for unaccompanied minors (UM) in Sweden. The aim of this qualitative grounded-theory situational study was to explore experiences of social networks among UM and the significance of those networks for becoming established in Sweden, based on data from in-depth interviews with 11 young persons. Unaccompanied young persons were broadly found to be involved in three different kinds of networks: professional carers, like-ethnic friends and ‘Swedes’ in general. Networks with professionals (i.e. linking social capital) were perceived as both a secure base and a source of rejection, and could either facilitate or obstruct the establishment. Supporting networks with like-ethnic friends (bonding social capital) proved to be the most available and important resource for becoming established, while access to networks with Swedes (bridging social capital) was in general low but still perceived as important for becoming established, not least for reducing language and cultural barriers.

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-46
Author(s):  
Taane La Ola ◽  
Nur Isiyana Wianti ◽  
Muslim Tadjuddah

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the differences in the strength of social capital that is bonding and bridging two community groups, namely land-dwellers and Sama Bajo boat-dwellers in three islands in Wakatobi Marine National Park. This study used a post-positivistic research paradigm, and the primary data were collected by using a questionnaire to 240 respondents who represented the group of land-dwellers and Sama Bajo boat-dwellers on the islands of Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, and Tomia. This research was also supported by qualitative data through in-depth interviews from several informants and desk studies. The results showed that bridging social capital relations tend to be weak in the two forms of interactions between the Sama Bajo and the land-dwellers on Wangi-wangi Island and Kaledupa Island, while bridging social capital tend to be secured in Tomia Island. We found that the social context through the historical links in the past and identity played a role in the relationship of bridging social capital and bonding social capital in the three communities as an analytical unit of this research.  


Author(s):  
Shun Gong ◽  
Peng Xu ◽  
Senhu Wang

Social capital in immigrants has drawn considerable attention from social scientists. Previous studies have paid attention to how immigrants’ bonding social capital (defined as social networks with co-ethnic residents) and bridging social capital (defined as social networks with native residents) are associated with their economic achievement. However, little attention has been paid to immigrants’ different social capital’s effects on psychological well-being. Drawing data from Chinese immigrants in Japan, we examined how these Chinese immigrants assimilated into Japanese society and how their bonding and bridging social capital related to their psychological well-being. The results show that bonding social capital directly affected immigrants’ psychological well-being, whereas bridging social capital indirectly improved their psychological well-being by improving economic status. This study contributes to previous literature on how immigrants’ different social capital is related to their psychological well-being.


2011 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Xia

This article examines the impacts of two types of social capital – bonding and bridging – upon the performance of grassroots self-government institutions in rural China, based on an original survey of 410 villages throughout the whole of China. The findings indicate that, on the one hand, bonding social capital still has a very solid foundation in the rural areas of China. On the other, bridging social capital is in formation in Chinese villages, even though the stock of bridging social capital is currently very moderate. Moreover, this study finds that bridging social capital, as manifested in general trust and inclusive social networks, positively affected the governance performance of each surveyed village. Yet, bonding social capital, as manifested in particular trust and exclusive social networks, tends to negatively impact the performance of Chinese rural governance. These findings help clarify some theoretical issues about, and shed some light on the prospects of, the rural self-governance system in China.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0308518X2110000
Author(s):  
Jonathan Muringani ◽  
Rune D Fitjar ◽  
Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

Social capital is an important factor explaining differences in economic growth among regions. However, the key distinction between bonding social capital, which can lead to lock-in and myopia, and bridging social capital, which promotes knowledge flows across diverse groups, has been overlooked in growth research. In this paper, we address this shortcoming by examining how bonding and bridging social capital affect regional economic growth, using data for 190 regions in 21 EU countries, covering eight waves of the European Social Survey between 2002 and 2016. The findings confirm that bridging social capital is linked to higher levels of regional economic growth. Bonding social capital is highly correlated with bridging social capital and associated with lower growth when this is controlled for. We do not find significantly different effects of bonding social capital in regions with more or less bridging social capital, or vice versa. We examine the interaction between social and human capital, finding that bridging social capital is fundamental for stimulating economic growth, especially in low-skilled regions. Human capital also moderates the relationship between bonding social capital and growth, reducing the negative externalities imposed by excessive bonding.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8489
Author(s):  
Hua Pang ◽  
Jingying Wang ◽  
Xiang Hu

As the most prevalent social media platform in mainland China, WeChat enables interpersonal communication among users and serves as an innovative marketing platform for enterprises to interact with consumers. Although numerous studies have investigated the antecedents of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), WeChat users’ specific behaviors still receive limited academic attention. Drawing from social capital theory and social exchange theory, this article develops a model to systematically explore three differentiated types of WeChat behaviors and their association with users’ social capital and e-WOM intention. The conceptual model is explicitly evaluated by utilizing web-based data gathered from 271 young people. Obtained results demonstrate the path effects indicating that: (1) WeChat use behaviors such as seeking, sharing, and liking can positively influence bonding social capital, while only the impacts of sharing and liking on bridging social capital are significant; (2) bonding and bridging social capital are both significant predictors of e-WOM intention, and bonding social capital is the more influential of the two; (3) bonding social capital partially mediates the effect of seeking on e-WOM intention. These findings are eloquent for researchers and operators to further grasp the increasing importance of WeChat adoption and social capital on young generations’ e-WOM intention in the evolving digital age.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond Tutu Ayentimi ◽  
Robert Ebo Hinson ◽  
John Burgess

PurposeThis paper, grounded on social capital and social networking theory, examines how postgraduate students in Ghana cultivate and utilise social resources towards career development.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a qualitative study design, the authors recruited and conducted interviews with postgraduate student-workers undertaking a two-year Master of Science in International Business.FindingsThere was an active engagement and consciously pre-plan mobilisation of social resources and utilisation of social resources among the postgraduates. Despite the diverse processes of social capital development identified, four important key themes emerged underpinning social capital mobilisation and utilisation: (1) the recognition of the importance of social capital acquisition, (2) the strong link between social capital and individual successes in employment and business opportunities, (3) the importance of the utilisation of social resources for emotional support and (4) the use of social capital to reinforce the individual social identity and recognition of an individual's worth.Practical implicationsThe authors offer a theoretical and practical contribution with a frame of understanding by demonstrating that there is more to social capital than economic gain.Social implicationsUnlike the findings from prior research in Africa, the strong institutional and cultural conditions did not constrain the key force of education and employability as drivers in attainment and social positioning. This is an interesting and positive finding from the research, especially in terms of the importance of providing educational opportunities to overcome institutional and cultural barriers to workforce participation and career development.Originality/valueSocial networks contribute to career success, and while the participants used social networks that reinforced ethnic and religious bonds, there is the opportunity to develop networks through other identity processes, especially education. Formal education imparts more than formal skills and qualifications. It provides the opportunity to access networks that transcend personal identity such as ethnicity and to get support for career development.


Author(s):  
Azza Abdel-Azim Mohamed Ahmed

This research aimed to explore types of online social capital (bridging and bonding) that the Emiratis perceive in the context of social networking site (SNS) usage. A sample of 230 Emiratis from two Emirates, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, was used to investigate the hypothesis. The results showed that WhatsApp was the most frequent SNS used by the respondents. Also, a significant correlation of the intensity of social networking usage and bridging social capital was found, while there was no significant association between SNS usage and bonding social capital. The factors determined the SNSs usage motivations among the respondents were exchange of information, sociability, accessibility, and connections with overseas friends and families. Males were more likely than females to connect with Arab (non-Emiratis) and online bonding social capital. Both genders were the same in their SNSs motivations and online bridging social capital.


Author(s):  
Mathieu-Claude Chaboud

This chapter addresses the reactions from communities of early supporters of companies turning from participative forms of financing to classical venture capital and/or buyouts by blue chip firms. Through the study of two recent cases of major crowdfunding successes, namely Oculus VR, a Californian company which obtained nearly $2.5 Million in an exemplary Kickstarter campaign and was later bought by Facebook for $2 Billion, and Mojang, a Swedish company formed to manage the unprecedented success of a video game, Minecraft, sold to supporters from its unfinished versions, the firm being later purchased by Microsoft for $2.5 Billion. Both of these companies had to manage the changes in the nature of their relationships with their early supporters. This chapter proposes typologies of potentially harmful changes induced by attempts to transform bonding social capital into bridging social capital, as well as countermeasures available to entrepreneur to control the effects of such situations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 903-922
Author(s):  
Yung-Shen Yen ◽  
Mei-Chun Chen ◽  
Chun-Hsiung Su

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of social capital on job performance when workers interact with coworkers through social media in organizations.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modeling was conducted, and a sample of 230 workers in Taiwan was investigated.FindingsThis study found that bonding social capital has a greater impact on job performance than bridging social capital for interactions among coworkers through social media in organizations. Moreover, bridging social capital affects job performance more strongly for male workers than for female workers, but bonding social capital affects job performance more strongly for female workers than for male workers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study extended social capital theory by adding the mediating effects of job satisfaction and relational satisfaction and the moderating effect of gender into the model.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that company managers need to train workers how to use social media to appropriate their affordances and consider the work team relationship to position adequate strategies for male and female workers.Originality/valueThis study advances the previous knowledge of social capital theory for workers interacting with coworkers through social media in organizations.


2005 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
KIM QUAILE HILL ◽  
TETSUYA MATSUBAYASHI

We test propositions about how different forms of civic engagement are related to democratic representation in American communities. Our data are for the samples of communities, their citizens, and their leaders originally examined by Verba and Nie inParticipation in America(1972). Our analyses of those data indicate that membership in bridging social–capital civic associations is unrelated to democratic responsiveness of leaders to the mass public but that bonding social–capital membership is negatively associated with such responsiveness. We also demonstrate that bonding social–capital civic engagement weakens the democratic linkage processes inherent in elections.


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