Working Toward a Just,Equitable, and Local Food System: The Social Impact of Community‐Based Agriculture*

Objective. This article serves as a pilot study of three central aspects of sociological research concerning the impact of local agriculture on local communities: food equity, social integration, and natural human capital. Methods. Four CSA farmers, four partners in a direct‐market organic farm, and four community garden site coordinators working in the Intervale, a local agriculture project in Burlington, Vermont, were interviewed in person for this research. Additionally, the author collected observational data in the Intervale, at two local farmers' markets, and as a member of a local community garden. Result. Different modes of local agricultural production have distinctive effects on the local population with regard to equitable access to healthy food, social inclusion, and experiential knowledge of the natural world. Conclusions. Given class‐based disparities in local agricultural participation, local food projects should consider promoting programs designed for broader social inclusion, including subsidized farmer‐to‐family coupons.     

Social participation and transnational engagement among Korean residents in New Zealand: issues and implications for social work practice

Social work practice involving migration issues requires a good understanding of migrants' social engagement within their embedded context. The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences of social participation and transnational engagement among Korean migrants in New Zealand. The findings from the study show that ethnic-based groups provide Korean residents with the opportunity to actively engage in social and civic practices. Korean migrants are also involved in transnational activities, promoting networks and interactions between the host society and the homeland. This paper suggests that social work with migrants should take into account migrant social capital in the present-day migration context.     

Social Capital, Social Funds and Poor Communities: An Exploratory Analysis

Social capital has captured the attention of social policy-makers and development administrators, with its emphasis on social relationships, civic participation, collaborative action and norms of reciprocity. Social funds support small-scale community-based development projects aimed primarily at reducing poverty. This article synthesizes the relevant literature and explores the nexus between social capital and social funds in relation to poor communities. Drawing upon primary research in Jamaica, the article reports the outcomes of eight social fund sub-projects that involved local organizations in community-driven development processes. It analyses the role of social networks and the influence of community power structures in social capital creation. Social policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

Social Capital in Urban China: Attitudinal and Behavioral Effects on Grassroots Self‐Government*

Objectives. Studies of Western settings, in general, argue that social capital, defined as a set of civic norms and social networks among ordinary citizens, nurtures democratic governance at various levels. Does such a social capital exist in a transitional society such as China? If so, what kind of role does social capital play in affecting individuals' attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward fledging grassroots self‐government in that society? This study is intended to answer these questions, which are crucial for our understanding of China's sociopolitical development as well as for the application of social capital theories in non‐Western societies. Methods. This study is based on the data collected from a representative survey conducted in an urban area in China in 2004. Results. The findings from this study indicate that social capital among urban residents was abundant, and it nurtured the grassroots self‐government system through residents' attitudinal and behavioral orientations toward the system. Conclusions. These findings have strong implications for the future of local democratic governance and applicability of social capital theories in China.     

The Impact of Social Capital on Labor Force Participation: Evidence from the 2000 Social Capital Benchmark Survey

Objectives . Few studies apply the concept of social capital to labor force participation. In this research, I study the relationship between friendship networks and labor force participation as represented by employment and hours worked. Methods . I test five hypotheses representing social capital with network structure, network quality, and network diversity using nationally representative data from the 2000 Social Capital Benchmark Survey. Since this survey enables comparisons across racial/ethnic and gender groups, I am also able to specify how social capital interacts with race/ethnicity and gender to influence labor force participation, while controlling for other prominent theoretical concerns such as human capital theory. Results . I find that friendship networks are generally positively related with increased labor force participation. Further, I find significant social capital differences based on race/ethnicity and gender. Conclusions . I illustrate that social capital can be applied across a broader racial/ethnic/gender spectrum. The findings suggest that programs that attempt to bring valuable labor market information to individuals and communities lacking employment–related information are likely to be effective in reducing inequality, especially if combined with programs for developing human capital.     

Pathways to age-friendly communities in diverse urban neighborhoods: Do social capital and social cohesion matter?

ABSTRACT

Using a social capital and social cohesion lens, we reposition the concept of civic engagement among older adults to examine pathways for building age-friendly communities. We analyzed data drawn from a Community-Based Participatory Research study in the Southern U.S. that explored lived experiences of older adults, age 55 and above, who participated in individual interviews (n = 15) and six focus group discussions (n = 45) to examine their perceptions of social identity, social connectedness, and civic engagement geared toward an age-friendly city. Findings indicated that several older adults had access to social networks and socially invested resources, thereby having opportunities for civic engagement and building age-friendly neighborhoods. However, social, cultural, linguistic, and structural barriers were more evident among certain diverse ethnic populations. Marginalized low-income minorities and immigrants, such as Hispanic participants, felt the lack of social cohesion among the larger society limited their ability to give back, thus decreasing their civic engagement activities. In contrast, Caucasian and African-American older adults were able to contribute to the political process through more civic participation activities. We provide implications for examining the role of social capital and social engagement to bolster civic engagement among older adults in building age-friendly communities.     

Bottom Up and Top Down? Community Development in Post‐Soviet Armenia: The Social Fund Model

The main objective of this article is to discuss the effectiveness of bottom‐up, community‐driven approaches in promoting community participation and building local capacity within the post‐Soviet social, institutional and political context of Armenia. In exploring this issue, the article examines the nature of local participation and social relations in rural communities in Armenia and the impact of the World Bank‐supported Armenia Social Investment Fund (ASIF) project on the existing forms of local social organization. One of the objectives of the ASIF project was to promote the participation of local communities in their own economic and social development. The research finds that the project did not change the existing patterns of local social organization and had no significant impact on the nature of participation in the beneficiary communities. Bottom‐up, capacity‐building interventions that mainly focus on changing patterns of interpersonal social relations may not be effective in fostering sustainable civic institutions without changes in the nature of a country's governance.     

Beyond the Local: Extending the Social Capital Discourse

Social capital and community capacity have become key concepts in social policy responses to marginalised individuals and communities. Policy making has occurred in the context of heated debate about the roles government and business institutions in strengthening community capacities. In this paper, we will explore theoretical positions about the role that these institutions play in building local social capital. We argue that the dominant conceptions of social capital in Australia fail to recognise the potential for non‐local institutions to strengthening local community capacity. Drawing on a study of four geographically diverse communities we show that a substantial proportion of community members were disconnected from non‐local government and business institutions. We conclude with some initial suggestions for extending the social capital discourse to recognise and build the role of non‐local institutions in strengthening local communities.     

The assembly of active participation by parents of children subject to a multi‐agency model of early intervention in child and family services

The Common Assessment Framework provides a model of early intervention, which is familiar in local authorities throughout England, and asserts a participatory framework of child and family engagement. This paper is based on a qualitative study of parents and children who were subject to a multi‐agency process of early intervention in children's social care in a local authority in the Midlands of England. I advance the concept of assemblage to consider the basis of an active service user participation as rather more a struggle to achieve than something that has been granted by practitioner agencies. Interview extracts are used to show the enrolment and assembly of participation as a process of service users developing their active human agency in a multi‐agency setting. The article explores the assembling of skills in administration and management of meetings and plans, accessing knowledge and expertise through service user networks, and challenging professional expertise and institutional space while developing personal qualities of confidence and voice as a means of marshalling an effective participation in a multi‐agency setting.     

Exiting TANF: Individual and Local Factors and Their Differential Influence Across Racial Groups*

Objective. We ask whether individual and local factors known to influence reliance on welfare continue to be important under the TANF program, and if such factors differentially affect exit from TANF for African Americans and whites. Methods. We use monthly administrative data on TANF recipients from October 1996 to July 2004 from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. These data are linked to local economic, social, and spatial characteristics to estimate discrete time hazard models of TANF exit. Results. Personal barriers to work (e.g., low education and children) and limited economic and social opportunities in communities reduce the likelihood of leaving TANF. The results show that African‐American exits from TANF are more influenced by human capital and local economic, social, and spatial conditions than are whites' TANF exits. Conclusion. The work‐first initiative under TANF is most viable where individual barriers to work are limited and economic opportunities and community support to become self‐sufficient exist for all people.     

Informal social networks in Korea: Covering the cost of major life events

This article investigates an informal voluntary social arrangement for financial assistance with discrete major life events known in Korea as Sang-Ho-Bu-Jo. This informal voluntary arrangement is neither public nor private, but is based on social networks that produce a unique form of civic society. Sang-Ho-Bu-Jo covers people's transitional one-time needs. This study explores the practice of Sang-Ho-Bu-Jo and its origins and provides the first systematic empirical study of this social phenomenon. Three large databases are used to analyze the scope and level of participation, as well as what variables correlate with such involvement. The study finds a high rate of participation, over 80% of households, and an average investment of 2–4% of household expenditure. Sang-Ho-Bu-Jo can help scholars and policy makers worldwide in understanding the role of socialization, social networks, and social capital in explaining innovative informal methods of social care.     

Church Attendance,Social Capital,and Black Voting Participation*

Objectives. We test the traditional studies of political participation that suggest enhanced education and income will help reduce the racial gap in voting. Methods. We adopt a Bayesian model to test the impact of education and income on both black and white racial groups. We also link the explanation of black voting participation to social capital. Results. We find that bonding and bridging social capital as well as human capital are all important in explaining white voting participation, but only bonding social capital, measured by church attendance, explained African‐American voting participation. Conclusions. We conclude that the utility of social capital theory and continuing significance of human capital theory must be considered in a racial context. In addition, our findings offer important implications about the continuing role of black churches for increasing social capital and political participation.     

Effectiveness of Local Governance: Interactions Between Social Capital and Institutional Structures

This paper critically evaluates the debate on what makes local governments more effective, higher social capital (such as trust, reciprocity, and informal social networks) or stronger institutional structures (such as democratic processes, ombudsman, and social audits). Empirical analysis of a decentralized welfare scheme in India, the Andhra Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (APREGS), using the latent variable path analysis modeling approach reveals that creation of formal democratic institutional channels in itself does not impact governance performance. Rather, it is mediated by complex institutional and social capital issues. For example, formal information dissemination activates social capital, leading to effective local governance. However, this (higher social capital and better institutions) does not automatically lead to empowerment or trust in the local government. The influence of the economically and politically powerful mediates this relationship. These and other results, cumulatively, highlight the complexity involved in the effectiveness of government empowerment initiatives. The paper calls for a fresh and wider debate on decision‐making dynamics in rural India, especially the interaction between government institutions, social capital, and the historical societal dynamics.     

Political Participation and Cumulative Disadvantage: The Impact of Economic and Social Hardship on Young Citizens

In this article, we seek to provide the most comprehensive exploration to date of the effects of economic and social disadvantage on young citizens' voter turnout. We look at four overlapping domains of hardship—those rooted in (a) the family context, (b) the community context, (c) the school context, and (d) major events and life transitions. Our conceptual model of cumulative advantage/disadvantage identifies the different ways in which disadvantages can have cumulative effects on social outcomes generally and on civic participation in particular. Our framework also suggests how patterns of advantage and disadvantage may be mediated by social institutions. Using data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey, we show that disadvantages rooted in the family have major impact on all groups of young citizens and that family disadvantage interacts with school disadvantage for whites. We also show that the effects of early parenthood, being arrested, and dropping out of school have differential effects depending on race. We also show that community colleges function as civic leveling institutions—especially for African American youth.     

The mediating effect of civic community on social growth: The importance of reciprocity

This paper examines the effects of economic structural change on community social capital. The content of 156 interviews in Southern communities entrenched in the offshore oil economy, were used to investigate the consequences of industrial and civic restructuring on the social structure and social ties among local residents. The central finding is that population turnover and in-migration of workers demanded by a rapidly expanding economy enhances the density of weak tie networks within the community. However, the activation of these weak ties is highly dependent upon perceptions of future reciprocity from newcomers to the community by the entrenched members. Weak ties are important because they serve as a foundation for community members engaging in collective problem solving. Civic and social institutions can mediate the negative effects of rapid community growth shown. When newcomers are not integrated into the community, it may lead to exploitation and exclusion due to stigmatic labels.     

Social capital predictors of children's school status in Mexico

This study explores whether family and community social capital variables influence children's school status in Mexico. Additional predictors related to human and financial capital were included as control variables. Two hundred and four mothers were interviewed as part of a larger study on the impact of social capital on children's street work in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Logistic regression results suggest that family and community protective factors associated with children's academic achievement include parental help with homework, mothers' academic aspirations, extended family support and mothers' social support networks. The author reports on family- and community-based predictors of children's school status and discusses the social work profession's role in strengthening families and communities to enhance children's academic achievement.     

人们如何卷入公共参与事件——基于广州市恩宁路改造中公民行动的分析

本文旨在探讨是什么使得公民卷入现实的公共参与网络,影响这种公共参与的行动力、持续性和影响力的因素是什么。基于对广州市恩宁路改造中公民参与的研究,本文发现,虚拟社区虽然拓展了人们的现实联系,因其动员的广泛性而推动了公共参与的兴起,但能否转化为现实中有影响力的持续公共参与行动还与线下的联络和动员机制及其特性密切相关：基于人际网络的联络和动员推动了公共参与行动的行动力及其持续性,开放的城市空间则为这种现实的参与行动拓展了影响力。本文对不同联络和动员机制的区分,有助于从“历时性”和“差异化参与”的角度解释公民参与在转型期中国的发展。     

The role of family centres in reducing social isolation in deprived communities

Social exclusion and isolation are worldwide social and health concerns with negative effects becoming exacerbated in deprived communities. There is limited understanding related to the role of community‐based centres in reducing social exclusion and isolation, so the aim of this research was to explore the role one family centre had in improving social inclusion in a deprived community in Glasgow, Scotland. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was utilized to analyse interviews from 10 parents to explore their lived experiences of creating and developing social networks through family centre attendance. Findings indicate that attending the family centre positively impacted on social inclusion and social support for all parents interviewed. Relationships created in the centre were proposed as being meaningful, non‐judgemental and produced social capital—rooted in reciprocity and trust. Findings can inform services that aim to reduce social isolation in deprived communities.     

Debating group structure: How local,translocal, and national voluntary organizations promote democracy

America's changing civic universe has been the focus of great attention in recent years. A debate has ensued over what kinds of organizations made the United States a “nation of joiners.” Communitarian and social capital theorists assert that local organizations both anchored civic life in the U.S. in years past and hold the key to its future. Skocpol, on the other hand, insists that translocal organizations have historically proven most beneficial to democracy. This paper uses contemporary data to examine the merits of local, translocal, and national voluntary groups from the perspective of promoting civic and political engagement. Findings suggest that while strictly national organizations have few redeeming qualities, local and translocal groups promote civic engagement equally well. On this basis, the debate between Skocpol and the social capitalists and communitarians seems overblown. When it comes to the promotion of political engagement, however, translocal groups outperform their local counterparts.     

市场社会中社会参与的路径问题——关系信任还是普遍信任

已有研究多数认为市场经济、社会参与有助于普遍信任的建立,“关系”则阻碍这种信任的形成。基于CGSS2005数据,本文应用结构方程模型和多层次线性模型分析了市场经济、社会参与和关系信任对普遍信任的多重影响。研究表明：以亲属信任为核心的关系信任对普遍信任具有消极影响;当社会组织成员间信任仍是一种关系信任时,社会参与对普遍信任也呈现出消极作用;市场经济发展能够提高普遍信任,但同时推动了“关系”的使用,从而使得当代中国的市场经济与普遍信任间存在着相反的双向影响。因此,在经济建设中必须进一步推动社会参与。社会参与不仅仅要关注于组织的增长,也需要在制度层面上给予“跨关系”成员交往更多的支持。