Participation in Bridging and Bonding Associations and Civic Attitudes: Evidence from Flanders

Current scientific research and recent policy initiatives reveal an intense interest in the effect of social capital on a broad range of socioeconomic outcomes both at the individual level (e.g., civic attitudes) and the societal level (e.g., democratic or economic performance). Despite persistent argumentation in this debate that voluntary associations are of crucial importance in this process, empirical research usually reveals but a weak relation between membership and democratic (or civic) attitudes. In this paper, we follow recent arguments that various types of associations may play different roles. Specifically, we empirically distinguish between bridging and bonding associations based on the socioeconomic diversity within an association. Using a dataset on association membership in Flanders, we find empirical support for the view that individuals’ values and attitudes indeed differ across members in (predominantly) bridging or bonding associations.

Social Networks and Individual Perceptions: Explaining Differential Participation in Social Movements

This paper seeks to explain differential participation in social movements. It does so by attempting to bridge structural-level and individual-level explanations. We test a number of hypotheses drawn from the social networks and the rationalist perspectives on individual engagement by means of survey data on members of a major organization of the Swiss solidarity movement. Both perspectives find empirical support: the intensity of participation depends both on the embeddedness in social networks and on the individual perceptions of participation, that is, the evaluation of a number of cognitive parameters related to engagement. In particular, to be recruited by an activist and the perceived effectiveness of one's own potential contribution are the best predictors of differential participation. We specify the role of networks for social movements by looking at the nature and content of networks and by distinguishing between three basic functions of networks: structurally connecting prospective participants to an opportunity to participate, socializing them to a protest issue, and shaping their decision to become involved. The latter function implies that the embeddedness in social networks significantly affects the individual perceptions of participation.     

Family,Social Capital and Family Associations

Social capital (SC) is a concept variedly defined and object today of great attention at an international level: it concerns trust among people, the ability to activate nets, solidarity, and civic engagement in the public sphere.

The SC constitutive character makes it producible only in original and fundamental relationships (in primis the family), where trust is developed and the code of solidarity is current.

Nevertheless, the increasing fragmentation and individualization of the family seem to consume SC, rather than to increase it. This leads to the question about the nature of SC today as constituted by the family. Some phenomena, for example family associationism, show that the family is still a patrimony irrefutable for social life: when families constitute family associations, they produce primary and secondary SC.     

Adolescents' Civic Engagement: Concordant and Longitudinal Associations Among Civic Beliefs and Civic Involvement

Associations between adolescent civic and organized activities (volunteering, standard political, social movement, school/community, religious) and civic beliefs (comprised of should, obligation, and respect judgments) were examined. Cross‐sectional models (N = 703, M_age = 15.87) indicated domain specificity between adolescent civic beliefs and behaviors. Longitudinal models (n = 219, M_age = 15.39) indicated that adolescents' standard political beliefs predicted greater levels of standard political involvement one year later, and school/community activities predicted greater standard political beliefs a year later. Youth volunteering predicted lower standard political beliefs, and standard political involvement predicted lower community service beliefs one year later. Findings support the assessment of adolescent sociomoral civic beliefs and demonstrate how civic experiences and civic beliefs can mutually promote each other during adolescence.     

Individual Participation in Collective Action in the Context of a Caribbean Island State: Testing the Effects of Multiple Dimensions of Social Capital

This article presents the findings of a case study examining the relationship between social capital and individual participation in collective action on a Caribbean island recovering from devastation inflicted by Hurricanes Ivan and Emily. Using data drawn from 114 residential surveys on the island of Carriacou, Grenada, over the summer of 2006, we empirically test social capital as a predictor of individual participation in both formal and informal civic events. In addition, we further the theoretical development of the concept of social capital by independently testing the relationships between its multiple dimensions, specifically social networks; interpersonal trust; and norms of reciprocity. We find that associational membership and age are the two strongest predictors, while interpersonal trust, gender, and marital status are also significant. Our path analysis reveals that there is not a significant direct effect between associational membership and interpersonal trust, suggesting that the two dimensions may have independent, yet complementary, influences. This study sheds light on factors influencing citizen participation in “civic” forms of collective action in a developing region of the world, while demonstrating the multidimensional nature of social capital.     

Contingent Pathways from Joiner to Activist: The Indirect Effect of Participation in Voluntary Associations on Civic Engagement1

Many analysts of civil society argue that the path from activity in voluntary associations to political participation is largely mediated—membership leads to unintentional political socialization through discussion and/or cognitive engagement, which then leads to participation. Others, however, have noted that groups are often effective in the direct mobilization of their members. This article tests these competing claims, while also considering the extent to which the mediation process relies on negative social capital (targeted requests for activity). Employing a series of structural equation models, I find strong support for the mediation argument, as well as for the perspective that negative social capital is a significant mediator in the pathway from social joiner to political activist.     

城市青年志愿活动参与动机研究

综合国际上对志愿者参与动机研究与我国本土经验研究,有利于深入分析城市青年参与志愿活动原因与动机。目前,青年参与志愿服务活动动机呈多元化特征：青年参与志愿者服务活动体现出较明显的政府动员特征,而宗教价值驱动不明显;青年参与志愿服务活动时,更多是基于一种社会公益的奉献精神与互助精神,在参与活动过程中也获得社会资本的积累。     

RELIGIOUS INVOLVEMENT AND EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES: The Role of Social Capital and Extracurricular Participation

Previous research has observed that religious participation is positively related to a wide variety of adolescent outcomes, including academic achievement, but relatively little is known about why this is the case. We focus on a group of related potential explanations for why religious involvement improves educational outcomes. We examine whether religious participation enhances academic outcomes among teens by the way in which it shapes their social ties, or social capital, focusing on both intergenerational relationships and on relationships with peers. We also examine the potential intervening role of extracurricular participation. Using structural equation models to analyze data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), we examine the potential role of social capital and extracurricular participation in mediating the relationship between religious participation and academic achievement, dropping out of high school, and attachment to school. We find that religious attendance promotes higher intergenerational closure, friendship networks with higher educational resources and norms, and extracurricular participation. These intervening variables account for a small part of the influence of adolescent religious participation on the educational outcomes in this study.     

How a Nonprofitness Orientation Influences Collective Civic Action: The Effects of Civic Engagement and Political Participation

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This research addresses the question of how the institutional frame of “nonprofitness” shapes the civic...     

Towards an Inclusive Social Policy for the UK: The Need for Democratic Deliberation in Voluntary and Community Associations

In western capitalist societies the state has become increasingly criticized for its inadequacy as a mechanism for distributing welfare inclusively. In particular, it has been criticized for its lack of flexibility in meeting the needs of increasingly plural populations, and for being too distant to enable service users to participate in the meeting of their welfare needs. Consequently, in many countries, including the United Kingdom, voluntary and community associations have been used to distribute welfare with the belief that it can remedy the defects of universal state provision. This paper suggests the voluntary and community sector can only achieve this if the organizations are democratically organized, ensuring participation from staff and users. Moreover, participation should be based around the norms of deliberative democracy. The paper argues that this form of participation will best ensure that the needs, preferences, and interests of subordinate groups are included in social policy delivery, due to the fostering of public reason.

Immigration and Civic Participation in a Multiracial and Multiethnic Context1

This article seeks to understand civic participation among Asians and Latinos in a multiethnic, multiracial context. We investigate the usefulness of an expanded model of civic engagement, one that makes central factors related to migration, such as length of residence, language acquisition, and citizenship, for groups that include a large number of immigrants. The 1992–1994 Los Angeles Survey of Urban Inequality allows us to test a model of civic participation that incorporates variables previously neglected – migration‐related factors, but also multiracial contexts and interracial ties – to better explain participation differences among a diverse population.     

State Legislature Web Sites and Public Participation: Designing a Civic Resource

The chief information technology officers (CTOs) of the 50 state legislatures were surveyed to determine the volume of each of their legislature's Web site use, their preferences of design criteria, their methods of audience evaluation, and the structure of control over site design and content. CTOs reported receiving over 1½ million visitors each week when in session. Use was related to site quality. Content was ranked above interactivity as a design criterion, but there was confusion as to what made a site interactive. Staffs that made an effort to determine audience preferences and focused on external and internal audiences produced higher quality sites. The legislatures' structure of control appeared to be one of only modest centralization.     

社会阶层与民事纠纷的解决——转型时期中国的社会分化与法治发展

本文利用2005年中国综合社会调查数据(CGSS2005),描述并分析中国人是否卷入民事纠纷并采取行动,以及如何行动的决定因素。我们特别关注的是社会阶层属性的影响力。研究表明,中国不同的社会阶层在对民事纠纷如何反应上存在着显著的差异。统治精英相对来说更少依赖政府渠道而更多诉诸法律途径来解决纠纷。中下层社会阶层成员更多地信赖政府渠道,把日常纠纷诉诸政府。没有确凿证据表明中产阶级更多地利用法律解决民事纠纷。此外,教育也是决定人们如何对民事纠纷采取行动的重要因素:受过更多教育的人,更少把问题诉诸政府渠道而更多地把纠纷诉诸法律途径。基于这些经验研究,我们进一步探讨了转型时期中国社会分化的法律涵义,并认为对中产阶级兴起的法治意义应当抱谨慎的乐观态度。     

社会化媒体时代的政治参与不平等:强化抑或均衡

数字不平等研究需要超越互联网使用频率和技能等关注维度,聚焦分析在线政治参与不平等。对一个全国性的大学生样本的分析发现,在线政治参与可分为网络政治表达与在线资源链接行动,且它们具有不同的影响因素。其中,网络政治表达在较大程度上受制于大学生的家庭经济地位,而在线资源链接行动的积极性与大学生的培养层次、发展效能感均呈现出负向关系。这些发现表明,取决于在线政治参与的形式,社会化媒体的发展既在一定程度上映射了线下政治参与的状况,同时为弱势群体提供了新的参与渠道,扮演了均衡器的角色。此外,成长于东北和西部地区的大学生网民尚未充分利用互联网来表达政治或获取支持。     

Community Attachment,Religious Participation,and Quality of Life Satisfaction among Adults Involved in Civic Participation

Civic participation constitutes a range of activities that strengthen participatory democracy, such as voting, volunteerism, association membership, or political and community activism. Factors associated with civic participation are community attachment, religious participation, and quality of life satisfaction. Using a sample of 55 adults, ages 18 to 92 years, the results indicate that this is an engaged sample group in the volunteer arena with high religious attendance, attachment to their communities, and average satisfaction with their quality of life as outcomes of their civic participation.     

Social Capital and the Human Psyche: Why Is Social Life "Capital"?

In this article, we propose a revised definition of social capital, premised on the principles of evolutionary psychology. We define social capital as any feature of a social relationship that, directly or indirectly, confers reproductive benefits to a participant in that relationship. This definition grounds the construct of social capital in human nature by providing a basis for inferring the underlying motivations that humans may have in common, rather than leaving the matter of what humans use capital for unspoken. Discussions and empirical reviews are presented on the innateness of human sociability, sex differences in sociability, and psychological mechanisms that mediate sociability .