Community Connections: Social Capital and Community Success1

This article examines the impact of two types of community social capital—ties between civic organizations formed through shared members and ties between residents formed through socializing in local gathering places—on residents’ subjective appraisals of community success. Community social capital studies tend to focus on the first of these types of ties, networks of civic engagement, while the second, gathering place networks, has received relatively little scholarly attention. Studying both allows me to assess the formal and informal arenas of community sociability, providing a more thorough understanding of social capital and community life. I assess the effects of community‐level social capital networks on the individual‐level experience of residing in the community using survey data on 9,962 residents from 99 small towns in Iowa. This rich data set allows me to avoid two shortcomings common in social capital research: I construct genuine network measures of social capital (rather than infer network structure from community attributes) and conduct multi‐level analyses (rather than rely on disaggregation). My findings indicate both types of social capital are positively and significantly associated with resident ratings of community success, suggesting community networks—in both the formal and informal sectors—have important consequences for small towns and their residents.     

Social network and content analysis of the North American Carbon Program as a scientific community of practice

The North American Carbon Program (NACP) was formed to further the scientific understanding of sources, sinks, and stocks of carbon in Earth's environment. Carbon cycle science integrates multidisciplinary research, providing decision-support information for managing climate and carbon-related change across multiple sectors of society. This investigation uses the conceptual framework of communities of practice (CoP) to explore the role that the NACP has played in connecting researchers into a carbon cycle knowledge network, and in enabling them to conduct physical science that includes ideas from social science. A CoP describes the communities formed when people consistently engage in shared communication and activities toward a common passion or learning goal. We apply the CoP model by using keyword analysis of abstracts from scientific publications to analyze the research outputs of the NACP in terms of its knowledge domain. We also construct a co-authorship network from the publications of core NACP members, describe the structure and social pathways within the community. Results of the content analysis indicate that the NACP community of practice has substantially expanded its research on human and social impacts on the carbon cycle, contributing to a better understanding of how human and physical processes interact with one another. Results of the co-authorship social network analysis demonstrate that the NACP has formed a tightly connected community with many social pathways through which knowledge may flow, and that it has also expanded its network of institutions involved in carbon cycle research over the past seven years.     

The Invisible Unattended: Low‐wage Chinese Immigrant Workers,Health Care,and Social Capital in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley*

This study investigates the factors affecting the availability of health insurance, the accessibility of health care, and the dissemination of the relevant information among low‐wage Chinese immigrants in Southern California by relying on the concepts of social and cultural capital. Using community‐based research and in‐depth interviews, our study suggests that a severe shortage in health care coverage among low‐wage Chinese immigrants is influenced by the lack of employment with employer‐provided health insurance within the Chinese “ethnoburb” community. Although the valuable social capital generated by Chinese immigrant networks seems to be sufficient enough to provide them with certain practical resources, the lack of cultural capital renders the social network rather ineffective in providing critical health care information from mainstream American society.     

The role of Landcare group networks in rural Australia: exploring the contribution of social capital

In this paper, the authors report their qualitative research examining the origins, modus operandi and outcomes of two networks. The concept of social capital explains, at least in part, the apparent success of these networks. The two networks attracted substantial funding, created opportunities for participation and shared learning, carried out extensive on-ground works, improved communication structures, adopted more professional management practices and increased the knowledge of members. The key elements of social capital that were important in achieving these outcomes were trust, norms, expectations of reciprocity and linkages. Empowerment acted as a bridge that linked social capital with other factors contributing to network outcomes. The success of these Landcare networks suggests that top-down government stimulus can be a catalyst for bottom-up community development.     

A Strategic Engagement Framework for Nonprofits

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of research data collected over three years at a nonprofit public higher education institution and its community, along with a review of relevant literature, revealed the need for a new framework to guide economic and social value creation by utilizing the social capital held by nonprofit institutions. The study integrated research outcomes from the areas of social capital and institutional–stakeholder engagement to generate the new concept of strategic engagement management and a proposed Strategic Engagement Framework. This framework should help nonprofit organizations deploy their social capital for institutional and societal benefit by facilitating institutional–stakeholder collaboration. The study also tested the utility of implementing one component of the proposed framework: a structure for mapping, maintaining, and evaluating a portfolio of institutional engagement activities.     

Affiliative Segregation of Outsiders from a Community: Bonding and Bridging Social Capital in Hachimori-cho, Japan

Abstract: Social capital makes cooperation possible even in situations of social dilemma. People develop bonding social capital when their network is dense. However, bonding social capital tends to make them look inward and to foster strong out-group hostility, which hinders the development of bridging social capital between groups. I investigated the possibility that bonding social capital may help develop bridging social capital from which all group members gain profits. Fieldwork was conducted in Hachimori-cho, Japan, where outsider Saru-Oiage volunteers are segregated from community residents. The volunteers have dense social networks and develop bonding social capital. They gain skills and take pride and responsibility in their actions from the bonding social capital, so that they can pursue the same interests as community residents, namely, expel monkeys from farmlands. Residents accept volunteers eagerly because they work well, and the existence of "good" outsiders contributes to the development of local identity. An affiliative relationship between volunteers and residents is maintained by the enormous efforts of the coordinators. Because the coordinators recently immigrated to Hachimori, they could understand the situations of outsiders as well as those of community residents, and they gain the most benefits from bridging social capital. These conditions were necessary for bridging social capital, or the cooperative relationship, between the two groups in Hachimori-cho.     

Community conflict resolution: the development of social capital within an interactional field

Purpose: In recent years, we have seen the concept of social capital incorporated into academic and popular discourse within the United States and across the globe. Social capital has been linked to the differences in land sale prices among agricultural producers to the economic decisions individuals make as they participate in a market economy to educational attainment, and the collective benefit of more effectively managing the physical and economic resources of a collective.Justification for the focus on social capital has been based on the role social capital plays in enhancing the ability of communities to manage human, economic, and environmental capital. High degrees of social capital have been suggested to enhance a community’s ability to manage controversy. Yet, little is known about the development of social capital within a community. Questions arise such as, “Does a community have to have social capital before a conflict develops if it is to successfully resolve a community wide dispute? If not, then what conceptual framework will provide insight into the development of social capital as a community engages local conflict?”This paper provides a linkage between the community literature, which examines community as an interactional field and the evolving concept of social capital. The concept of community as an interactional field was supported by Kauffman (1959) as he presented an argument that community can be viewed as a field of social interaction, which when strengthened and focused, the result is the creation of public good oriented actions. This public focus provides a structure to better organize and manage community wide resources.Wilkinson, a student of Kauffman, continued this conceptual work as he described two fields. The social field and the community field. The primary distinction between the two fields is that in the social field individuals pursue their own self interest while a community field cuts across these fields and is more generalized. It is within the community field that we see collective action focusing on public good.Methods: Drawing upon a case study the question of “how does social capital develop?” is addressed. This paper examines the development of social capital within the context of a community conflict. By examining the process through the lens of community as an interactional field the development and impact of social capital is highlighted. Utilizing a case study of a small rural Nebraska community the process of social capital development is examined as a small geographically isolated rural community engages across social fields building social capital as it heals and gains skills to manage its human, economic and environmental resources.In this paper I provide a theoretical overview of the conceptual components of social capital, link those to the concept of community as an interactional field and use this theoretical synthesis to examine a case study of a small Nebraskan community as it attempts to resolve a serious community conflict.Results: The findings suggest that social capital is a consequence as well as a cause of community action. The interaction within the social field provides a preliminary forum for increased acquaintanceship densities, which provide in-depth personal knowledge about players across social fields and beyond specific self interests. Norms develop, trust and reciprocity evolve from the increased acquaintanceship density across social fields. Social capital develops as the collective action takes on a community focus versus that of a specific individual or organization. In the case of Alton, Nebraska, social capital developed within the community field as the residents engaged in conflict over a local school.Conclusion: This case study provides insight into how social capital not only can enhance the community’s ability to manage resources but may develop as a consequence of collective action such as resolving a local conflict.     

“There Ain’t No Bond in Town Like There Used to Be”: The Destruction of Social Capital in the West Virginia Coalfields1

There is a paucity of research focusing on the circumstances that cause or contribute to a decline in social capital within communities. Furthermore, relatively few researchers employ qualitative methods in their studies of social capital, despite the multidimensional and many‐layered nature of this concept, characteristics that make social capital well suited for qualitative analysis. To address these two gaps in social capital research, I explore the mechanisms that have led to a depletion of social capital in the southern coal‐producing region of West Virginia. I examine whether the coal industry, which has caused bitter conflicts among residents over environmental degradation and union loyalties, has also undermined social capital in the region. My principal data include 40 semi‐structured, face‐to‐face interviews with randomly selected individuals in a coal‐mining town and a demographically similar non‐coal‐mining town in West Virginia. I analyze the experiences of residents in each town, assessing the qualitative differences in community and personal life associated with social capital. I find that the loss of social capital in the coal‐mining community has arisen through a combination of depopulation and the community‐wide conflict that arose when an anti‐union coal company bought out the union coal mine at which many in the community worked, challenging the union identity so engrained in this region.     

Social Capital Construction and the Role of the Local State1

Abstract As globalization weakens the role of the nation state, increased theoretical and practical attention is being focused on community level action, especially on the role of social capital. Proponents of social capital have placed primary emphasis on voluntary associations. This paper looks at the role the state can play in building social capital. The historical nature of social capital in the community, the organizational structure of governmental intermediaries, and the design of specific program interventions condition social capital building. Hierarchical governmental intermediaries are contrasted with participatory community based initiatives. Three key factors: autonomy, linkage and returns on investment for both intermediaries and participating residents, are shown to affect social capital construction.     

Neighborhood disadvantage, network social capital, and depressive symptoms

Research on why neighborhood disadvantage matters for health focuses on the capacity of neighborhoods to regulate residents' behavior through informal social control. The authors extend this research by conducting a multilevel analysis of data from a 1995 telephone survey of 497 residents of 32 neighborhoods in a U.S. city. The authors find that network social capital mediates the contextual effect of neighborhood disadvantage on depressive symptoms and that health effects of network social capital persist when perceived neighborhood disorder, a standard indicator of low informal social control, is controlled for. The findings demonstrate the value of a conceptualization and measurement of network social capital that (1) considers ties that transcend neighborhood boundaries, (2) investigates health benefits of network social capital in the forms of closure and embedded support resources and range and embedded instrumental resources, and (3) uses network data on specific network members with strong and weak ties to respondents.     

Social capital and disasters: How does social capital shape post-disaster conditions in the Philippines?

ABSTRACT

Social capital is a common feature among disaster-resilient communities. This research aims to define how social capital shapes the post-disaster conditions in the 2011 Typhoon Washi-affected communities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City in Region 10 Philippines. Qualitative analysis was used in analyzing the data gathered through purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews. Thirty typhoon survivors and 14 focal persons of the government and non-government agencies were chosen based on their active involvement in the community. The findings revealed that the solidarity among typhoon-affected communities contributed to the recovery of the survivors. The findings also highlighted that the solidarity in the typhoon-affected communities is part of the normative structure of the society where bonding and linking social capital are nurtured. Further, the community remains to believe that their respective local officials can be trusted and are capable of helping them in times of need despite the shortcomings during the 2011 Typhoon Washi. We argue that social capital in the community is not easily diminished over a crisis and therefore must be nurtured towards effective community-based disaster resilience mechanisms.     

Rural Students’ Social Capital in the College Search and Application Process

Although the growing mandate for higher education creates challenges for students in rural areas, rural high school graduates currently attend college at a rate similar to their peers in other locale types. Prior research has attributed this accomplishment to family, school, and community social capital, yet the processes through which students translate social capital into educational attainment remain unspecified. This study examines how successful rural students access and engage various forms of social capital during the college search and application process. Analysis of semistructured interviews with 30 college graduates from communities throughout one predominantly rural state showed that family social capital provided most students with generalized support, but college‐specific guidance tended to correlate with parental education and income. Most students benefited from school social capital, primarily through pro‐college climate, peer networks, teachers, guidance counselors, and academic tracking. Students accessed community social capital through supportive youth and adult interactions, extended family ties, and a caring community, but these forms of social capital did not explicitly support the college search process. Although quantitative studies have operationalized family, school, and community social capital as distinct concepts, this study argues that these constructs cannot be disentangled given the interconnectedness of rural families, schools, and communities.     

Building ‘community’ for different stages of life: physical and social infrastructure in master planned communities

As cities around the world struggle to cope with increasing populations, major new master planned housing developments are being undertaken to meet the demand for housing. Such urban developments are influencing workforce, household, and community relations, which in turn drive health and well-being outcomes, and affect social capital and labour market participation. This paper reports findings from the first phase of data collection for the Work, Home and Community Project. Fourteen focus groups were conducted with 68 men and women who live and/or work at newly developed master planned communities in South Australia and Victoria. Findings indicate that familiarity, availability, and the enabling of social bridges contribute to the development of community and social capital in these residential areas. For individuals at different stages of life these factors were facilitated or inhibited by specific physical and social infrastructures in the residential area and the workplace. At a time when concerns are being raised about the ability of people to combine work, home, and community these findings shed some light on the physical and social infrastructures that can enable or constrain the building of healthy communities.     

It is risky business: can social capital reduce risk-taking behaviours among disadvantaged youth?

This study addresses the gap in the research for sound multidimensional assessment of social capital and its relationship with risk-taking behaviour among youths living in disadvantaged communities. Social capital and adolescent risk-taking outcomes were studied cross-sectionally in 1371 secondary students living in two disadvantaged communities within Australia. First, a multidimensional measure of social capital was developed and tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Then, the associations between social capital and a range of youth risk-taking behaviours were examined using structural equation modelling across five-year groups (Grades 7–12). With a few exceptions, higher levels of social capital and belongingness within the school and community were generally associated with decreases in smoking, alcohol and drug consumption, and physical violence. Some outcomes were more strongly associated with family and peer social capital, while others associated more with neighbour and community social capital, indicating that attempts to build social capital need to be targeted across the whole community. This study supports the notion that social capital can be measured empirically and is beneficial in alleviating many of the detrimental health outcomes commonly associated with risk-taking behaviours during adolescence.     

社会资本、融资结网与企业间风险传染——浙江案例研究

以往的社会资本研究大多关注于积极效应,较少提及其可能的负面效应。本文通过案例研究方法,以浙江的绍兴和台州为研究对象,分析了社会资本、融资风险网络结构和风险传染之间的关系,为社会资本负面效应的理论研究提供了实证支持。研究发现,高社会资本会提高融资风险网络的平均中心度,降低网络破碎程度,并会致使网络凝聚程度提升,进而加剧企业间风险传染。据此,本文从社会资本角度对发生于我国实体经济中的风险传染现象做出了理论解释。     

Fostering social capital in an international multi-stakeholder issue network

Scholars have theorized that public relations contributes to societies and communities by bringing attention to pressing public issues and fostering social capital in civil society networks. However, the extant research has studied civil society networks of NGOs, donors, and the media in transitional countries. This study extends the public relations model of civil society in two ways. First, it broadens the scope to an international context. Second, it draws from the multi-stakeholder issue network perspective to conceptualize a civil society network as a space where stakeholders of an issue mix their interests as they collectively address a pressing public issue. The literature on international and multi-stakeholder networks suggest that the international scope and the mixing of interests across sectors may restrict the production of social capital. The results from the social network analysis suggests that the mixing of interests across sectoral and geopolitical boundaries did not restrict the production of social capital. Rather, the patterns of the relationships among those on the core and those on the periphery of the network restricted the production of social capital. Such finding demonstrates how public relations’ functions like relationship building can have profound influences on social capital and civil society networks. The implications for public relations theorizing and research are discussed.     

Social capital and economic development in regional Australia: A case study

This article reports the findings of a case study of social capital and economic development conducted in two towns in regional Australia between 2001 and 2002. The hypothesis driving the research states that a town displaying a high level of social capital will also display a high level of economic development, while a town with a low level of social capital will display a low level of economic development. Moreover, it is suggested the social capital will exert a positive causal influence on economic development. The study goes some way to confirming this hypothesis and provides empirical evidence to suggest that both bonding and bridging social capital are important for successful community economic development outcomes.     

Evolutionary Process of Social Capital Formation through Community Currency Organizations: The Japanese Case

Community currency systems are said to influence the revival of communities by promoting either local economic growth or social capital accumulation. However, no empirical studies have examined the multiple competing mechanisms for providing social support through transactional networks among participants. The current study connects network structural concepts to theories of social capital, transaction costs, homophily, and resource dependency at multiple levels and evaluates transactional relationships for community rebuilding and local economic development. We examine the evolutionary process of dynamic networks among local residents or organization members with network configurations in one of the largest Japanese community currency systems, “Peanuts.” Using longitudinal network data over 12 years for approximately 1400 actors, we conclude that the evolution and achievement of transactional network dynamics and partner selections differ between the two groups of participants: individual members and organization members. We also provide practical implications for sustaining participants’ transactions and commitment.     

Advancing social inclusion in the neighbourhood for people with an intellectual disability: an exploration of the literature

The shift from segregated facilities to community settings did not automatically lead to social inclusion for people with an intellectual disability (ID). Policies are increasingly decentralized but little is known about the factors that are important to realize social inclusion in the neighbourhood. This literature study identifies five domains barriers and facilitators for social inclusion in the neighbourhood: individual characteristics, informal network, professional care, neighbourhood characteristics, and government policies. The findings suggest that social inclusion in the neighbourhood is a dynamic process that shows a series of complex interactions between environmental factors and personal characteristics to provide opportunities for people with an ID. It is recommended to include the perspectives of people with an ID and other neighbourhood residents in future research on social inclusion. Specific attention is needed for the role of neighbourhood social capital in achieving social inclusion in the neighbourhood.     

SOCIAL CAPITAL THEORY AS AN INTEGRATING THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK IN TECHNOLOGICAL DISASTER RESEARCH

Conceptual and empirical research on technological disasters has produced a number of seminal contributions including concepts of recreancy, collective trauma, lifestyle and lifescape change, corrosive community, secondary trauma, and the ecological-symbolic perspective. This article presents social capital theory as a comprehensive framework that incorporates and integrates these key conceptual elements and theories. After presenting fundamental elements of social capital theory, we demonstrate how key concepts in technological disaster research relate to social capital. We conclude that while social capital theory has merit and potential for improving our understanding of all disaster events, it is particularly useful in comprehending the multifarious impacts of technological disasters.