scholarly journals Role of non-state organizations in strengthening social capital: case study of Mansehra district of KP province, Pakistan

Author(s):  
Shoaib Nasir ◽  
Mudassar Yasin ◽  
Muhammad U. Mehmood ◽  
Muhammad Luqman ◽  
Muhammad Yaseen ◽  
...  

The building of functional linkages between non-profit/non-state organizations and other collaborators at various levels is a necessity to benefit the welfare of the rural poor. Pakistan is also embracing its inclusion in the list of economies that are considered to have weak social capital. Strengthening of social capital has a valuable contribution by the NGOs especially in the rangelands of Pakistan. The current study is designed to examine the role of non-governmental and non-state organizations in building up social capital. Data were taken from three different localities in the Mansehra district of Hazara region in Pakistan adopting qualitative and quantitative approaches. A weak organizational infrastructure in terms of horizontal and vertical principles (transparency, viability, integrity, accountability etc.) was found in all three study areas. The access to social capital at sites I II obtained 1.98 and 1.78 respectively and residents of site III were found deprived. The study showed that rural people with low income (often referred to as poor) have lower social incomes compared to people with high- and medium-income levels (often referred as well off and better off). The limitations of time availability and social confidence results in no contact or social interaction among poor. A significant role of NGOs has been observed in bringing poor and oppressed people into mainstream social capital. The study delineates the increased involvement of registered and unregistered local groups/organizations in the development of rural community. Findings of the research also conclude that local community groups are more vital than that of the registered organizations due to their informal culture and true representation of practical needs of the community. The volunteers played an important role in creating social grants, and their inclusion in the form of a comprehensive social capital plan will result in refinement of services and overall betterment of society.

2020 ◽  
pp. 095624782095902
Author(s):  
Caroline O N Moser

This paper describes the role of intergenerational processes in increasing or reducing multidimensional inequality in Indio Guayas, a low-income peripheral settlement in Guayaquil, Ecuador. It also examines the importance of family social capital, irrespective of spatial location, as against household social capital in these processes. This longitudinal case study included a dataset on trends from 1978 through 1992 to 2004, in-depth studies over the decades, and further comparative research in 2018. The anthropological narrative is provided by the voices of three women and their families over 40 years. In 2018, interviews my son and I undertook for the documentary film Calle K demonstrated the importance of family social capital in the intergenerational reciprocity among mothers, daughters, fathers and sons, while illustrating different intergenerational trajectories addressing the challenges of inequality at this micro-level. The postscript points to the likely critical importance of family social capital in the context of the appalling COVID-19 pandemic.


2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann M. Ishimaru

Background/Context Faced with rapidly changing demographics, districts are increasingly looking to partner with parents to support and improve student learning. Community organizing holds promise for pursuing educational equity through the development of low-income parent participation and leadership, but previous research has focused primarily on the use of structural social capital theory in qualitative studies to understand school-based organizing mechanisms and impacts in traditional urban centers. Focus of Study The aim of this study was to examine whether district-level organizing efforts might be associated with improved parent-school relations in schools and how such efforts to build a new relationship may be enacted and negotiated at the school level within the context of a district-organizing group collaboration in a “new immigrant” destination. Research Design This mixed-methods sequential explanatory study used social capital and the concept of institutional scripts to quantitatively investigate the relationship between Latino parent organizing and parent-school relations across a district, then qualitatively explore the dynamics of parent-school social capital in a nested case study of one school. Data Collection and Analysis Using teacher-survey data from a stratified random sample of teachers in schools across the district, I fit multilevel regression models to examine whether schools with more organizing engagement had greater structural and functional parent-school social capital. I subsequently analyzed interview, observation, and document data to examine how organizing efforts sought to build positive parent-school relations at an elementary school that represented a key focal point for the district-organizing group collaboration. Findings/Results Schools with high organizing had greater structural social capital than schools with little or no organizing, but high organizing schools did not have greater functional social capital in the form of teacher-parent trust. The case study findings suggested that the dominant institutional scripts about the role of parents were simultaneously rewritten and reinforced even as organizing approaches worked to foster a new relationship between parents and educators. Conclusions/Recommendations Districts and schools that collaborate with community organizing groups can augment their social resources and expertise, particularly in reaching out to low-income Latino parents and effectively educating their children. Yet, the dominant institutional scripts in schools – about the role of parents, professional authority, and control – suggest the complexity of efforts to improve parent-school relations. Those seeking to build meaningful parent and community participation in schools would do well to move beyond traditional forms of parent involvement in the journey toward deeper engagement and collaboration.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Benavides-Salazar ◽  
Cristina Iturrioz-Landart ◽  
Cristina Aragón-Amonarriz ◽  
Asunción Ibañez-Romero

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how entrepreneurial families (EFs) influence the development of entrepreneurial ecosystems (EEs) by using the family social capital (FSC) approach. Design/methodology/approach For this paper, the authors analyzed the Manizales EE as a case study. The authors used a variety of data collection procedures, including in-depth interviews with 26 entrepreneurs and mentors. Findings The authors established how EFs affect EE development, identifying how the FSC bridging mechanisms impact the EE’s social and cultural attributes, boosting entrepreneurial dynamics. Originality/value The results indicated the relevance of EFs’ embeddedness and the degree of the FSC institutionalization in promoting of entrepreneurship within the EEs.


2021 ◽  
pp. 239965442110411
Author(s):  
Lauro Gonzalez ◽  
Fernanda Lima-Silva ◽  
Marlei Pozzebon

Research on street-level bureaucrats has examined the various ways in which these professionals have implemented public policies in areas such as healthcare, education, and security, often emphasizing the role played by discretion in the implementation process. Despite its importance, the concept of street-level bureaucracy has scarcely been approached by housing studies. This study focuses on the role of street-level workers in the delivery of public housing to the lower-income population. We affirm the value of complementing street-level discretion with the concept of proximity, a premise borrowed from the microfinance literature, to increase the understanding of the interactions and relationships established between street-level workers and policy recipients during the implementation process. Such complementarity may contribute to a more accurate understanding of the housing policy implementation dynamics on the street-level and the possible adjustments to meet local needs. To explore this issue, we used a theoretical lens inspired by Goffman’s frame analysis that points to the importance of relational mechanisms that characterize the interactions between street-level workers and beneficiaries. These lenses were applied to a collective case study of Minha Casa Minha Vida-Entidades, a Brazilian subprogram in which street-level workers linked to social housing movements assume a leading role in the planning and execution of interventions. The results indicate that the combination of proximity and discretion has a positive influence on the implementation of housing policies. Our analysis shows the existence of nonprofit-oriented arrangements that may present different features and nuances at the implementation (micro) level and contribute to the (macro) debate on housing policies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lwando Mdleleni

Purpose This paper aims to explore the role of university in promoting, generating and sustaining social innovation (SI). It aimed to understand how higher education institutions have extended their contribution beyond the traditional function of teaching and research to perform in socio-economic problem-solving. It looks at the kinds of contributions which universities potentially make to SI processes, and the effects that this has on the direction and magnitude of SI, and by implication social development. This was done by drawing lessons from a SI project that the University of the Western Cape has been involved in, i.e. Zenzeleni Networks Project. Design/methodology/approach To address the research question with this framework, the author adopted an exploratory research design using a case study. This research is qualitative, exploratory and descriptive, based on a case study built with secondary data. Findings This paper submits that universities can potentially function as key role players in promoting SI initiatives and fostering social transformations. Universities contribute with different kinds of resources and inputs to foster new SI ideas. Originality/value The paper suggests that socially innovative university projects may contribute to community social sustainability maintaining social cohesion by increasing social capital and providing resources for the empowerment of the marginalised communities. In so doing, they contribute to overcome social exclusion and promote more sustainable forms of development at community level. More research is needed on how universities can build community networks with local community partners, who can use the insights of academic research to replicate interventions and move to scale.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Harris ◽  
Naser Jamal Khdour ◽  
Ahmad Al Maani ◽  
Naser Saif
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-169
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mehdi Nasiri Khalili ◽  
,Mohammad Reza Zand Moghaddam ◽  
Syed Jalaldin Daryabary ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Geografie ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maja Grabkowska

Urban regeneration has become a key issue in the development of contemporary cities. The paper discusses bottom-up regeneration practices performed by inhabitants of a decaying inner-city neighbourhood under post-socialist conditions, which differ notably from the widely researched Western European context. Results of a qualitative study in Wrzeszcz Dolny, Gdańsk, have indicated the leading role of newcomers to the area in animating bottom-up regeneration efforts, which in turn translate into an activation and integration of the local community. Thus, it is argued that an in-migration into the inner city, usually interpreted as gentrification, does not necessarily generate losses for the indigenous inhabitants but can also bring a desired social change and significantly contribute to the building of inclusive civil society. The presented case study therefore signals the need for a careful investigation and precise labelling of the post-socialist inner-city transformation processes, as well as demonstrates how increasing participation might be employed as the potential antidote to ills associated with gentrification.


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