Enhancing social indicators research in a forest-dependent community

1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 771-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Parkins
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Statistical Information ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Measure Change ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Northern Alberta

Forest industry host communities are receiving increased attention from policy makers, academics, and municipal leaders. Recently, this attention is trained on measuring social and economic change at the community level and on identifying and developing avenues to greater community well-being. This paper examines aspects of two common social indicators, employment and migration, in the context of a forest-dependent community in Northern Alberta. By using statistical information along with two other major data sources that include interviews with local residents and a variety of reports from local institutions, specific social changes taking place within the community are described. Readers are cautioned against relying solely on statistical information to measure change and are encouraged to triangulate data with local sources. Such efforts may be more time consuming but the results are likely to provide more important insights into how and why certain communities are prospering while others are struggling. The paper concludes with a discussion of social capital as a crucial dimension of community well-being. Key words: forest-dependent communities, social indicators, employment, migration, mobility, community well-being, social capital

Portuguese working group advocacy for intergenerational policies: challenges and results

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Gonçalves ◽  
Alan Hattton-Yeo ◽  
Carla Branco
Keyword(s):  
Social Situation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Ageing Population ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Advocacy Group ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Public Meetings ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the benefits and challenges of the advocacy group for intergenerational policies that was created in Portugal in 2012, the European Year of Active Ageing and solidarity between generations. Design/methodology/approach – The group conducted nine closed group meetings scheduled every three months with an average attendance of five members and six public events bringing together researchers, policy makers, practitioners and civil society. Findings – The group was established as a response to the various social changes happening in Portugal as a consequence of the ageing population, low-birth rate and migration, leading to the need to explore new responses which are based both on the need to promote active ageing and intergenerational solidarity and also the importance of family and state support to multigenerational families as a building block to strengthen communities. Research limitations/implications – The paper sets the context of the changing social situation in Portugal, describes the process used through both closed and public meetings to discuss this and then describes the perspectives of four core groups. Practical implications – Only by pooling resources and thinking intergenerationally will we be able to deliver the opportunities and support that the citizens will need to enable them to age well across the life course. Social implications – Drawing on this and the strong tradition of the family in Portugal it seeks to make the case that an i ntergenerational approach is essential to the countries future social well-being. Originality/value – The creation of the advocacy group created a private space for professionals to explore and strengthen their understanding of the impact of these issues and the potential of approaching policy as an intergenerational issue as one solution.

Social Capital in Development: Bonds, Bridges, and Links in Osa and Golfito, Costa Rica

2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 217-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carter A. Hunt ◽  
William H. Durham ◽  
Claire M. Menke
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Community Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Sustainable Rural Development ◽  
Development Interventions ◽  
Local Residents

Limited social capital poses a critical bottleneck for sustainable rural development. Despite vast investment, development interventions focused on preserving the biodiversity of the Osa and Golfito region of Costa Rica have done little to address poverty or improve the well-being of local residents. The authors of the current study draw upon field research and data gathered from semi-structured interviews with 310 community leaders and rural residents to investigate the bottlenecks to development and how they are related to forms of social capital in the Osa and Golfito cantons in Costa Rica. Specifically, we draw upon the distinction of bonding, bridging, and linking forms of social capital to characterize the nature of benefits from collective action in communities in Osa and Golfito. The data suggest that the lack of bridging and linking forms of social capital may explain the region's persistent development challenges and may thus indicate where development-related investments are most likely to bear fruit.

scholarly journals A call for collaboration: linking local and non-local rangeland communities to build resilience

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
David Phelps ◽  
Dana Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Bonding Social Capital ◽  
Natural Systems ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
Linking Social Capital ◽  
The People ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Non Local ◽  
Social Capitals

The people who live in Australia’s rangelands are vital for maintaining natural systems, agricultural production, infrastructure for tourism and many services and products which benefit the nation. However, the number of people living within many rangeland regions is declining, services are being withdrawn and resilience undermined. Social capital is an important concept within the resilience literature. Bonding social capital is based strong ties within relatively homogenous local groups, bridging social capital is based on ties between more diverse local groups and linking social capital is based on ties between local and external groups. Within the rangelands, there are often strong bonding and bridging social capitals based on internal social and formal connections, but gaps in linking social capital due to weak or imbalanced connections with external groups and organisations. There is evidence that all three social capitals are needed for regional resilience, and the gap in linking is thus a key issue. People who live outside the rangelands can help rebuild this resilience by linking their skills, knowledge and expertise with local groups and communities. Many city-based scientists, policy makers, influencers and other professionals work in and have empathy for the rangelands. By connecting meaningfully with local groups such as Landcare, service clubs, philanthropic groups or Indigenous Rangers, they would find many benefits to their own endeavours through improved policies, knowledge and service delivery. Central-western Queensland is provided as an example where many such mutual benefits and networks already exist, offering pathways for linking local residents with external experts. Current platforms offer opportunities for a greater range of external academic institutions and organisations to engage with locals, with everyone standing to gain.

scholarly journals The Importance of the Neighbourhood Environment and Social Capital for Happiness in a Vulnerable District: The Case of the Pajarillos District in Spain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noelia Somarriba Arechavala ◽  
Pilar Zarzosa Espina ◽  
Ana Teresa López Pastor
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Neighbourhood Environment ◽  
Individual Health ◽  
Demographic Traits ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
The Individual

AbstractThe characteristics of neighbourhoods, their physical and social environment, have been shown to have profound effects on the individual well-being and happiness of their residents. In an effort to help design policies and action plans that enhance well-being in the district, our study seeks to understand how happiness levels among residents in a low-income neighbourhood in Spain are linked to their socio-demographic traits, individual health, relationships with the area, and community, as well as with the physical environment of the neighbourhood. The study is part of a project called "Educa-Pajarillos Sostenible". The project aims to improve the quality of life of the area’s citizens by carrying out a series of actions. One of these actions is an eco-social map of happiness, which involves designing and applying a survey and which serves as a source of analysis for our research. An Ordered Choice Logit econometric model was applied to measure the effect of the happiness of demographic, neighbourhood environment, social capital, and socio-demographic characteristics. Results confirm the importance of variables related to the neighbourhood’s social capital and physical environment as key elements in local residents’ happiness. The findings also indicate that traditional indicators used to measure well-being, such as education or difficulty making ends meet, are not significant.

Urban and rural millennials: Heterogeneity of the young adult generation

2019 ◽  
pp. 5-28
Author(s):  
Vadim V. Radaev
Keyword(s):  
Coming Out ◽  
Generational Differences ◽  
Cohort Analysis ◽  
Social Indicators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Generational Cohort ◽  
Rural Infrastructure ◽  
Sociological Approach ◽  
Monitoring Survey

A sociological approach towards the generational cohort analysis is developed. A special emphasis is made upon the youngest adult generation of millennials coming out of their adolescence in the 2000s. A broad range of social indicators is used for empirical exploration of intra-generational differences between urban and rural millennials. Data were collected from the annual Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE) in 2003—2016. Numerous significant differences have been revealed with regard to the educational level, family planning, use of modern gadgets and digital technologies, commitment to healthy lifestyles, and some values. Some practices are more widely spread among rural millennials, whereas other practices are more characteristic of urban millennials. Most of revealed differences are explained by the lower level of material well-being of rural millennials and lower quality of rural infrastructure.

Penguatan Wilayah Perbatasan: Studi Kasus Pulau Sebatik Kabupaten Nunukan Provinsi Kalimantan Timur

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Baskoro Wicaksono
Keyword(s):  
Central Government ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
East Kalimantan ◽  
Border Policy

This study describes the border management policy conducted by the central government, provinceof East Kalimantan and Nunukan. Policies such as the establishment of regulatory, institutionalstrengthening, programs and infrastructure development. The policy is getting good responsefrom the elite and the masses. On the other hand policy makers have expectations of localcommunities border synergism Sebatik Island in order to build and develop the border areas so asto break the chain of dependence on Malaysia. The research was conducted in Sebatik Island,East Kalimantan province Nunukan with the formulation of the problem (a) what policies areoriented to maintain borders, (b) How is the public response to government policy, (c) What areyour expectations of policy makers in local communities to regional border. This study usedqualitative methods to phenomenological research strategy. Techniques of data collection in thisstudy using two ways, namely in-depth interviews and secondary data view Results indicate thatthe existing policy of both the central and provincial to district borders do not solve the problembecause it is made on the island of Sebatik with other border regions. The policy does not includelocal knowledge, where it is desperately needed by the people Sebatik. In addition to policies onprograms and infrastructure development of the center, the district adopted a policy of inactionagainst the illegal cross-border trade, which on the one hand against the rules but if enforced thenpeople can not perform economic activities that impact well-being. Policies like this gets a positiveresponse from the public. Expectations for the future border policy is to load local content orlocal knowledge.Keyword: border policy, local knowledge, dependent relationship

Growth and Social Capital: Empirical Analysis of the Relationship

2019 ◽  
pp. 128-134
Author(s):  
Ksenia V. Bagmet
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Social Capital ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
International Institute ◽  
Level Of Economic Development

The article provides an empirical test of the hypothesis of the influence of the level of economic development of the country on the level of development of its social capital based on panel data analysis. In this study, the Indices of Social Development elaborated by the International Institute of Social Studies under World Bank support are used as an indicators of social capital development as they best meet the requirements for complexity (include six integrated indicators of Civic Activism, Clubs and Associations, Intergroup Cohesion, Interpersonal Safety and Trust, Gender Equality, Inclusion of Minorities), comprehensiveness of measurement, sustainability. In order to provide an empirical analysis, we built a panel that includes data for 20 countries divided into four groups according to the level of economic development. The first G7 countries (France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom); the second group is the economically developed countries, EU members and Turkey, the third group is the new EU member states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania); to the fourth group – post-Soviet republics (Armenia, Georgia, Russian Federation, Ukraine). The analysis shows that the parameters of economic development of countries cannot be completely excluded from the determinants of social capital. Indicators show that the slowdown in economic growth leads to greater cohesion among people in communities, social control over the efficiency of distribution and use of funds, and enforcement of property rights. The level of tolerance to racial diversity and the likelihood of negative externalities will depend on the change in the rate of economic growth. Also, increasing the well-being of people will have a positive impact on the level of citizens’ personal safety, reducing the level of crime, increasing trust. Key words: social capital, economic growth, determinant, indice of social development.

Social Capital and Sustainable Health Care: An Analysis of Community Based Palliative Care Model of Kerala

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Azeez. E.P
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Voluntary Organizations ◽  
Community Based ◽  
The Social ◽  
Palliative Care Units

Social Capital is the most crucial asset which significantly influence the efficacy and resilience of any community. Social capital is a dependent variable that depends upon the competence and coherence of the individuals in the community and mode of social relationships, trust and networks they maintain. It is one of the most sustainable social resources that originate from human relations and results on the mutual support of people. Utilization of Social capital has a wide applicability in the process of social inclusion, especially in dealing with the vulnerable and disadvantaged sections in the community itself. Voluntary organizations are very keen to utilize the social capital for community/social services and community development in a sustainable manner. Community based de-institutionalized Palliative Care is one of the foremost among such organizations that made social capital in a strategic way for social inclusion and community well being. This paper analyses the extent to which different elements of social capital helps in initiating the sustainable community based palliative care movement by assessing the unique intervention strategies carried out by the palliative care. This paper explores conceptual questions of how social capital and voluntary community based services are correlated. A case study method was adopted for the study in which ten palliative care units were analyzed. The results show that a number of social capital elements are playing a vital role in the sustainability of community palliative care movement in Kerala.

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