scholarly journals Overview of the "Social capital": Its relevance and implications for local communities conference

Sociologija ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
-urednistvo
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
And Control ◽  
Conference Papers ◽  
The Way

Paper presents the partial and idiosyncratic concluding overview of issues raised and discussed during the conference. In different contexts the turn to social capital seems to be a response to feelings that society is "at risk" in the face of radical change (albeit in quite different ways). Under these circumstances, social capital offers a particular sort of explanation of, and remedy for dealing with, perceived changes in the way we live. Conceptually social capital provides a link between families, communities and society, and practically it promises order and control. Three over-reaching perspectives on social capital were represented in the conference papers: erosion, new forms, and continued inequalities. Also methods in defining social capital and its operationalisation have been subject to much debate. The contributions to the "Social capital" conference show that debates about the nature, forms and effects of social capital are highly relevant across contexts.

The role of public libraries in the development of social capital in local communities – a theoretical study

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-196
Author(s):  
Maja Dorota Wojciechowska
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

PurposeSocial capital, understood as intangible community values available through a network of connections, is a factor in the development of societies and improving quality of life. It helps to remove economic inequalities and prevent poverty and social exclusion, stimulate social and regional development, civic attitudes and social engagement and build a civic society as well as local and regional identity. Many of these tasks may be implemented by libraries, which, apart from providing access to information, may also offer a number of services associated with social needs. The purpose of this paper is to present the roles and functions that libraries may serve in local communities in terms of assistance, integration and development based on classical social capital theories.Design/methodology/approachThe paper reviews the classical concepts of social capital in the context of libraries. It analyses the findings of Pierre-Félix Bourdieu, James Coleman, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Putnam, Nan Lin, Ronald Stuart Burt, Wayne Baker and Alejandro Portes. Based on their respective concepts, the paper analyses the role of the contemporary library in the social life of local communities. In particular, it focuses on the possible new functions that public libraries may serve.FindingsA critical review of the concept of social capital revealed certain dependencies between libraries and their neighbourhoods. With new services that respond to the actual social needs, libraries may serve as a keystone, namely they may integrate, animate and engage local communities. This, however, requires a certain approach to be adopted by the personnel and governing authorities as well as infrastructure and tangible resources.Originality/valueThe social engagement of libraries is usually described from the practical perspective (reports on the services provided) or in the context of research on the impact of respective projects on specific groups of users (research reports). A broader approach, based on original social theories, is rarely encountered. The paper draws on classical concepts of social capital and is a contribution to the discussion on possible uses of those concepts based on an analysis of the role of libraries in social life and in strengthening the social capital of local communities.

scholarly journals Toward local sustainability: Social capital as a community insurance in Kazakhstan

2021 ◽  
pp. 187936652110381
Author(s):  
Yuliya Darmenova ◽  
EunJoo Koo
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Mutual Trust ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Reciprocal Relations ◽  
Local Sustainability ◽  
The Face ◽  
Traditional Sense

This article focuses on how social capital, in the form of trust, reciprocal relations, and networks, has contributed to the sustainability of local communities in Kazakhstan in the face of various political and socioeconomic challenges. Drawing on qualitative data, we provide historical evidence of the persistence of locally derived social capital and investigate the ways in which it contributed to local sustainability in Kazakhstan. We first discuss how people in Kazakhstan have historically built and developed networks, reciprocal relations, and mutual trust under different political and economic institutions, for example, in the form of reciprocal labor aid as part of nomadic culture (e.g., “Asar”) and collective funds (e.g., “Kotel”) during Soviet times. We then offer an in-depth understanding of social capital as a form of insurance for local communities, and how it facilitates socioeconomic interactions in contemporary Kazakh society. This study contributes to the understanding of this traditional sense of trust and communal cooperation, as well as its viability in the context of a market economy.

scholarly journals Wpływ kapitału społecznego mieszkańców na kształtowanie przestrzeni wspólnych w środowisku mieszkaniowym

2020 ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Anna Cudny
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
National Development ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Aesthetic Quality ◽  
The Social ◽  
The City

Influence of social capital of inhabitants on shaping common spaces in a housing environment The last two decades of the century have brought unusually many changes in the built environment. These include not only changes directly related to the emergence of a new urban fabric, but also changes in social attitudes towards common spaces located in residential areas. The built environment has never been evaluated so strongly. This assessment translates not only into the everyday outdoor activities of residents (necessary, optional and social activities), but also to economic projects (purchase, sale and rental of real estate). At the same time, the city ceases to be, as it has been so far, mainly subjected to criticism, and the residents are gradually changing their demanding attitude concerning the development of space to participate in the process of its creation. Society wants to have a real impact on urban space, especially on the space closest to them. Thus, the right to the city is no longer a privilege or a duty, but it becomes a need. Trying to meet this need results in a phenomenon which we can increasingly observe in Poland, and which we have been witnessing abroad for many years: activities in public space are changing into activities for public space. They include the transformation of common spaces related to the place of residence—improving their aesthetic quality, functional changes, modernization of development elements. Observing numerous examples of public participation in shaping public spaces, it was noticed that the initiation, course and effects of activities largely depend on the social capital of the group undertaking said activity. Accordingly, there is a need for research on the mutual relation between the level of social capital and the issue of shaping and managing public space with the participation of local communities, which will be the main topic of the paper. To investigate the above-mentioned issue, qualitative research methods were used in relation to the relationship: site visit, non-participant observation and focus interviews. This contributed to a comparative study of three selected Warsaw case studies. They were analysed in terms of meeting the qualitative criteria selected for the study. These criteria have been indicated on the basis of the Social Capital Development Strategy 2020, which is one of the parts of the Medium-Term National Development Strategy. The result of the analyses is an indication of derived factors from within the group of space users and external factors that have a positive and negative impact on initiating, carrying out and maintaining the effects of changes in common spaces developed with the participation of local communities in Polish conditions. The conclusions can be used to improve future participation processes related to urban space - both by non-professionals participating in them, as well as experts - architects and town planners.

Living with difference: Refugee education and school segregation processes in Greece

Urban Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (15) ◽  
pp. 3162-3177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pinelopi Vergou
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Refugee Children ◽  
School Segregation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Way

Global challenges and recent changes in conflict areas in the Middle East, Asia and Africa are reasons for the contemporary forced migration into European countries, which have become places of destination or transit posts for a great number of refugees. Cities have become the focus of the socio-spatial debate, as the main units for receiving refugees, either in state camps or in social housing in city centres. In this article, the focus is on the social-spatial configuration of refugee accommodation in local communities and the way these formations generate urban and school segregation. We argue that the placement of urban refugees in large, camp-like structures with low housing standards, mainly in areas outside cities or in rural areas, provides ground not only for social exclusion and ‘territorial stigmatisation’ but also for de facto school segregation. Furthermore, the attempts to house refugees in small cities, through United Nations and NGO-supplied houses, may also raise concerns about the way dispersal policies are implemented, with the distribution of refugee children in specific schools as a result of territorial social-spatial segregation. In both cases, the school segregation of refugees is connected not only with the implications of immigration and education policies but also with the social practices of local communities and the social-spatial characteristics that determine school education. The empirical material of this study is based on information on the socio-economic profiles of neighbourhoods at the census tract level and on qualitative research, through in-depth semi-structured interviews in two different cities in Greece.

The disappearance of “social capital” in rural America: Are all rural children “at risk?”

1989 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan J. DeYoung
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Rural Children ◽  
Community Resources ◽  
Rural America ◽  
Learner Outcomes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Continuous Waves ◽  
Virginia School

Throughout the twentieth century, continuous waves of school reform in America proceeded under the assumption that the science of teaching and learning, under the control of teachers and administrators and removed from the control of parents and communities, would singlehandedly lead to increasingly better learner outcomes. Furthermore, this belief in the quintessential power of professional technique even now pervades the professional discourse on improving the education for “at risk” youths. Yet, in the last decade, James Coleman (among others) demonstrated the powerful effect that local communities can have for improving educational outcomes, when such communities have been enabled to provide the “social capita!” necessary for so doing. Unfortunately, as many cities and metropolitan areas have begun to discover and utilize stable and progressive community resources for the benefit of their schools and their children, we continue to witness declining economies and unstable communities in rural America. If future schooling outcomes in the U.S. are to be enhanced by renewed partnerships between schools and communities, many if not most students in rural and declining communities will continue to be at risk. The following paper briefly traces this conceptual argument, and illustrates how the erosion of “social capital” has adversely affected children and schools in a West Virginia school system.

scholarly journals Social capital as a constitutive element of public security

2021 ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
Monika Adamczyk
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Interpersonal Relations ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Public Security ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Democratic Relations

When looking for new solutions to the old social problems, people pay attention to important issues for the good functioning of today’s society, including interpersonal relations, trust, or standards. The term “social capital” has been used for several decades to describe and explain social and political as well as economic changes that took place as a result of the social and economic transformation. It also refers to activities including, among others, the creation of partnerships and democratic relations in local communities in which the social capital forms a basis of permanent networks of social involvement, trust, and mutuality. The purpose of this article is to present the benefits of the local community arising from social capital resources and their positive impact on public safety.

scholarly journals The Sharing Economy and Sustainability of Urban Destinations in the (Over)tourism Context: The Social Capital Theory Perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Zmyślony ◽  
Grzegorz Leszczyński ◽  
Anna Waligóra ◽  
Wiesław Alejziak
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Bonding Social Capital ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

This article contributes to the discussion on the sustainability of the sharing economy by adopting the Social Capital Theory to expand explanations of the sharing economy’s role and scope of relations with local communities in the context of overtourism. As mutual relationships have not been fully recognized through a theoretical perspective, the article aims to examine the sustainability of the process of the sharing economy impacting urban tourism communities in light of Robert Putnam’s approach to Social Capital Theory. On the basis of a selective systematic review, the article discusses the sustainability of the sharing economy through the lens of bridging and bonding social capital. We argue that a new configuration of social capital, i.e., a sharing platform-modified social capital, arises from the unsustainable and disruptive power of the sharing economy implemented by virtual platforms, thereby contributing to an overtourism syndrome. However, from a medium- and long-term perspective, the sharing economy also impacts the bridging nature of social capital, which should lead to a more sustainable balance in its structure. This initial framework for understanding the impact of the sharing economy on sustainability of local communities provides an alternative approach to studying residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism in the areas affected by overtourism.

Assessing Uncertainty

Reputation ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 86-112
Author(s):  
Gloria Origgi
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Strategic Positioning ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Way

This chapter introduces a set of tools from the social sciences, including social capital theory, the theory of networks, and the sociology of hierarchies. It explains how the mechanisms designed to evaluate reputations function and what makes them reliable. It also focuses on the assessment and reliability of reputations. People emit signals meant to convince others of the genuineness of their reputations. Similarly, all things, objects, ideas, and indeed everything that points beyond appearances to hidden qualities, emit signals that inform people more or less credibly that certain qualities really exist. The chapter also explains that reputation is the result not only of strategic positioning but also of the way in which such positioning is perceived by others.

SOCIAL CAPITAL IN LOCAL COMMUNITIES – ITS IMPORTANCE, CIRCUMSTANCES AND BARRIERS OF PROGRESSION IN THE PROCESS OF COMBATING POVERTY

2021 ◽  
Vol 22T (1 (tematyczny)) ◽  
pp. 2-7
Author(s):  
Dariusz Zalewski
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Defense Mechanism ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
New Model ◽  
Main Thesis ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Form

The aim of this article is to present the importance, circumstances, and barriers of social capital progression in the process of combating poverty at a local level. Article refers to project “Capacity – new form of social capital in town community Przasnysz”, which aim is to develop a new model of combating poverty at a local level. The main thesis says the social capital index in Poland is low, and its role is one of the most important defense mechanism against poverty.

Building social capital for constructive adaptive capacity under social stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 247-253
Author(s):  
Yutong Wang ◽  
Pakon Ko ◽  
Nancy Law
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
School Closure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face

PurposeThis study examines how a school progressively built its social capital for agile adaptation to provide inclusive and effective fully online learning provisions through intentionally enhancing its architecture for learning.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a case study to examine how school A was able to respond rapidly and progressively to the demand for quality online learning provisions in the face of unanticipated school closure with an uncertain end date. Video recordings of online school sharing sessions, interviews and documents provided by the school constituted data sources for this study.FindingsIn creating a collective new norm for the implementation of online learning, a school needs to enhance both structural and cognitive aspects of its social capital. School A achieved this through intentional changes to its architecture for learning (i.e. organizational structure, interaction mechanisms, mediating artifacts and technology) when deliberating measures to deliver the changes under periods of serious social stress.Originality/valueAdaptive capacity is a core demand on the social capital of schools and organizations under the “new normal” when the future is unpredictable. This paper uncovers the connection between a school's architecture for learning and its adaptive capacity.

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