scholarly journals Social capital and social trust in urban China

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yinxuan Huang

Owing to the dynamics of internal migration and the hukou system, urban areas in China always consist of a four-tiered structure of urban locals, urban migrants, new urbanites and rural migrants. This paper aims to examine the differences among these four groups in terms of social capital and to explore how the association between social capital and social trust may vary across the four groups. Data are based on the 2014 China Labour-force Dynamics Survey. Our analysis of 7662 responses first indicates that patterns of social capital in the four urban groups appear to be largely distinct. Second, we find a clear rural–urban division in social trust in the Chinese city: rural migrants and new urbanites tend to be less trusting than urban locals and urban migrants. Among the aspects of social capital under consideration, social network support and neighbourhood attachment are associated with higher levels of social trust, whereas the effects of bonding and bridging civic organizations on social trust are relatively weak. However, these patterns indeed tend to vary across the four groups of urban residents in the cases of civic engagement and social network support. Consequently, these findings suggest that the interplay of individuals’ hukou identities and migration experiences in urban China has an important impact on their social connectedness, which also presents distinctive implications for social trust.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Vincent Woon

<p>In the past two decades, China has realised one of the fastest and largest rural to urban migrations in the world. The country’s urban population has increased by 20% over the last 20 years due to rapid urbanisation and a drastic improvement in urban opportunities. It is projected that by the year 2020 China aims to house 60% of its population in urban areas, resulting in a population shift of over 100 million people. One of the major issues which is presented to rural migrants is the hukou system. Hukou acts as a domestic passport which prevents rural migrants from attaining social benefits within urban areas. This has created an underclass within China’s urban areas known as the “floating population”.  This thesis focuses on the architecture of the “floating villages” of China which accommodate this floating population. The floating village is an informal settlement of migrant workers which develops around construction sites. The village provides services such as food, entertainment, medical care and recycling to the construction workers., However, as a pseudo-urban typology accommodating many of the functions of a town, it lacks one important element: a focused communal area. The absence of deliberately designed a communal space has led to social tensions within the floating village due to the different cultural origins of the migrant workers. Migrant workers arrive in floating villages without knowledge of urban culture and with no communal support. Varying migrant accents, and traditions, alongside struggles with poverty, creates friction between workers.  This thesis proposes a temporary and portable architectural intervention within the floating village which fosters a positive community. The research of community design is explored through an architecturalisation of Dr Robert D. Putnam’s understanding of social capital.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 233339361879207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari Dyregrov ◽  
Pål Kristensen ◽  
Atle Dyregrov

The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of social network support after traumatic deaths and, by demonstrating the complexities of such encounters, to highlight whether such support may be totally beneficial. A phenomenological dynamic and relational perspective was applied to 22 in-depth interviews with parents bereaved as a result of the 2011 terror attack in Norway. Three main themes were identified in respect of interactional support processes: (a) valued support, (b) stressful experiences, and (c) interactive barriers. As well as describing the value of experienced support, the article also elaborates on the effect of lacking, avoidant, and inept support. The findings show that insecure communication and a nonmatching understanding of time and emotional overload can form interactive barriers between the bereaved and their networks. By better understanding the relational regulation processes inherent in social support we may provide informed advice to both the bereaved and their networks to maximize recovery.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Navin Kumar ◽  
William Oles ◽  
Benjamin A. Howell ◽  
Kamila Janmohamed ◽  
Selena T. Lee ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundSocial connections can lead to contagion of healthy behaviors. Successful treatment of patients with opioid use disorder, as well as recovery of their communities from the opioid epidemic, may lay in rebuilding social networks. Strong social networks of support can reinforce the benefits of medication treatments that are the current standard of care and the most effective tool physicians have to fight the opioid epidemic.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review of electronic research databases, specialist journals and grey literature up to August 2020 to identify experimental and observational studies of social network support in patient populations receiving medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). We place the studies into a conceptual framework of dynamic social networks, examining the role of networks before MOUD treatment is initiated, during the treatment, and in the long-term following the treatment. We analyze the results across three sources of social network support: partner relationships, family, and peer networks. We also consider the impact of negative social connections.ResultsOf 5193 articles screened, 46 studies were identified as meeting inclusion criteria (12 were experimental and 34 were observational). 39 studies indicated that social network support, or lack thereof, had a statistically significant relationship with improved MOUD treatment outcomes. We find the strongest support for the positive impact of family and partner relationships when integrated into treatment attempts. We also identify strong evidence for a negative impact of maintaining contacts with the drug-using network on treatment outcomes.ConclusionsSocial networks significantly shape effectiveness of opioid use disorder treatments. While negative social ties reinforce addiction, positive social support networks can amplify the benefits of medication treatments. Targeted interventions to reconstruct social networks can be designed as a part of medication treatment with their effects evaluated in improving patients’ odds of recovery from opioid use disorder and reversing the rising trend in opioid deaths.


Author(s):  
Marva Mirabolghasemi ◽  
Noorminshah A. Iahad

The Community of Inquiry (CoI) model has been used for exploring various aspects of blended learning courses using technology such as Course Management Systems (CMSs). However, there is a lack of research literature evaluating CoI in environments where students use an educational social network in addition to a CMS and face to face teaching and learning. This study investigates a learning experience in blended learning that combines the usage of a CMS, Edmodo, which is an educational Social Network Site (SNS) and face to face teaching and learning. The results have shown a significant relationship and prediction of overall learning experience in relation to teaching, cognitive and social presence in blended learning. Moreover, social presence is the most significant factor to predict the overall learning experience of students.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miaoxi Zhao ◽  
Yiming Wang

In this paper, we demonstrate an integrated spatio-social network analysis to measure the degree of segregation within a Chinese urban neighborhood in terms of the everyday activities by rural migrants and local urban residents at such routine venues as restaurants, grocery stores, barber shops, etc. Our data were collected in May 2014, through an integrated geographical and social survey conducted within an inner-city neighborhood around Kecun in south China’s Guangzhou Municipality. Although Kecun features a highly condensed and mixed dwelling pattern between the rural migrants and indigenous urban population, we find that within our sample of 110 local and 132 migrant residents, the former tend to socialize more inwardly with their peer locals and visit neighborhood amenities more often such as pubs, stadia, and public kindergartens. In contrast, the migrants tend to attend local roadside food stalls, outdoor recreation facilities, small clinic shops, grocery malls, and private ( minban) kindergartens more often. Overall, only a modest degree of social interaction between the locals and migrants appears to exist in Kecun. On top of the methodological implications of our study, we argue that urban segregation in China is both socially and spatially different from its Anglo-American counterpart. More empirical research is needed to understand and assess social segregation underlying the everyday urban life in Chinese cities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 155798832097630
Author(s):  
Cheríe S. Blair ◽  
Shannon Dunlap ◽  
Michael Tzen ◽  
Carl A. Castro ◽  
Jeremy T. Goldbach ◽  
...  

Knowledge surrounding perceived network support and alcohol consumption among active duty U.S. military personnel is limited, particularly among sexual minorities. We sought to determine the correlates of hazardous alcohol consumption and whether perceived network support moderated the relationship between sexual orientation and Alcohol Use Identification Test (AUDIT-C) score. The sample comprised cisgender men currently serving in the U.S. military ( N = 292). Participants were recruited through respondent-driven sampling and completed an online survey. Logistic regression analysis evaluated associations between positive AUDIT-C with sociodemographic characteristics (including sexual orientation), military service, mental health, and perceived social network support. Interaction analysis assessed the moderating effect of perceived network support on sexual orientation and AUDIT-C. Among study participants, 52.7% (154/292) had positive AUDIT-C, while 65.4% (191/292) self-identified as heterosexual/straight and 34.6% (101/292) identified as gay or bisexual. In adjusted analysis, positive AUDIT-C was associated with increased post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology (adjusted odds ratio [adjOR] 1.03; 95% CI [1.00, 1.06]; p = .019) and high perceived network support (adjOR 1.85; 95% CI [1.04, 3.29]; p = .036), while mental health service utilization had reduced odds of positive AUDIT-C (adjOR 0.40; 95% CI [0.20, 0.78]; p = .007). In interaction analysis, high perceived network support was associated with increased odds of positive AUDIT-C among sexual minority men (adjOR 3.09; 95% CI [1.21, 7.93]; p = .019) but not heterosexual men (adjOR 1.38; 95% CI [0.68, 2.81]; p = .37). Hazardous alcohol use was prevalent among all men in our sample. Perceived social network support may influence hazardous alcohol consumption, particularly among sexual minority servicemen. These findings suggest the potential role of tailored social network-based interventions to decrease hazardous alcohol use among military personnel.


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