Author: Ian Gillespie Cook Publisher: Springer ISBN: 3319114840 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 140
Book Description
This book provides a critical understanding of contemporary issues within global society and how these relate to six case study examples (UK, USA, China, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Japan). The authors draw on their diverse experience to explore four major themes of contemporary relevance: overall aging of societies; governance and institutions; emergency services and public health provisions; and community activism and involvement. The key issues within the book--sociability, social capital, and community development--are examined in the context of an ever increasing aging world. The authors' sense of optimism is linked to growing evidence that community activism is on the rise and can effectively plug the gap between public need and provision of service.
Author: John M. Halstead Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317686047 Category : Architecture Languages : en Pages : 232
Book Description
In Social Capital at the Community Level, John Halstead and Steven Deller examine social capital formation beyond the individual level through a variety of disciplines: planning, economics, regional development, sociology, as well as non-traditional approaches like engineering and built environmental features. The notion of social capital in community and economic development has become a focus of intense interest for policy makers, practitioners, and academics. The notion is that communities with higher levels of social capital (networks, trust, and norms) will prosper both economically and socially. In a practical sense, how do communities use the notion of social capital to build policies and strategies to move their community forward? Are all forms of social capital the same and do all have a positive influence on the community? To help gain insights into these fundamental questions Social Capital at the Community Level takes a holistic, interdisciplinary or systems approach to thinking about the community. While those who study social capital will acknowledge the need for an interdisciplinary approach, most stay within their disciplinary silos. One could say there is strong bonding social capital within disciplines but little bridging social capital across disciplines. The contributors to Social Capital at the Community Level have made an attempt to build that bridging social capital. While disciplinary biases and research approaches are evident there is significant overlap about how people with different disciplinary perspectives think about social capital and how it can be applied at the community level. This can be from neighborhoods addressing a localized issue to a global response to a natural disaster. This book is an invaluable resource for scholars, researchers and policy makers of community and economic development, as well as rural sociologists and planners looking to understand the opaque process of social capital formation in communities.
Author: Deepa Narayan Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 42
Book Description
Matching a measure of social capital with data on household income in certain rural villages in Tanzania shows that social capital is indeed both capital (in that it raises incomes) and social (in that household incomes depend on village, not just household, social capital).Narayan and Pritchett construct a measure of social capital in rural Tanzania, using data from the Tanzania Social Capital and Poverty Survey (SCPS), a large-scale survey that asked individuals about the extent and characteristics of their associational activity and their trust in various institutions and individuals.They match this measure of social capital with data on household income in the same villages (both from the SCPS and from an earlier household survey, the Human Resources Development Survey). In doing so, they show that social capital is indeed both capital (in that it raises incomes) and social (in that household incomes depend on village, not just household, social capital).The magnitude of social capital's effect on incomes is impressive: a one standard deviation increase in village social capital increases a household proxy for income by at least 20 to 30 percent.This is as great an impact as an equivalent increase in nonfarming assets, or a tripling of the level of education.Data from the two surveys make it possible to identify some of the proximate channels through which social capital affects incomes: better publicly provided services, more community activity, greater use of modern agricultural inputs, and greater use of credit in agriculture.This paper - a joint product of Social Development, and Poverty and Human Resources, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the Bank to understand the social determinants of sustainable development.
Author: Christiaan Grootaert Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 1139438026 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 384
Book Description
Previously the role of social capital - defined as the institutions and networks of relationships between people, and the associated norms and values - in programs of poverty alleviation and development has risen to considerable prominence. Although development practitioners have long suspected that social capital does affect the efficiency and quality of most development processes, this book provides the rigorous empirical results needed to confirm that impression and translate it into effective and informed policymaking. It is based on a large volume of collected data, relying equally on quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to establish approaches for measuring social capital and its impact. The book documents the pervasive role of social capital in accelerating poverty alleviation and rural development, facilitating the provision of goods and services, and easing political transition and recovery from civil conflicts.
Author: Alva G. Greenberg Publisher: Springer ISBN: 3319332643 Category : Psychology Languages : en Pages : 247
Book Description
This book provides a comprehensive overview of how communities can leverage their social capital to improve overall quality of life for citizens. In addition, it offers detailed guidance on the design, implementation, and evaluation of social capital initiatives. It defines critical concepts of social capital, its decline in recent years, and the potential for rebuilding it through progressive social policy initiatives. Chapters present an innovative social policy template, Serve Here, for improving Americans’ collective quality of life, starting with young adults. Serve Here sets out a comprehensive, sustainable service learning plan aimed at increasing quality higher education for young adults, reducing college debt, and enhancing long-term civic participation and community building. The book offer guidelines for developing tailored solutions to ensure greater parity of social capital to regional, demographic, and other marginalized populations. Featured topics include: The civic value of social capital. The economics of social capital in communities. Building social capital across communities by leveraging personal relationships. Social capital and returning military veterans. Millennials and social capital. Teaching the social entrepreneurs of tomorrow. Social Capital and Community Well-Being: The Serve Here Initiative is a valuable resource for clinicians and practitioners as well as researchers and graduate students in community psychology, social work, education, and healthcare policy.
Author: Ross Gittell Publisher: SAGE Publications ISBN: 1452221219 Category : Science Languages : en Pages : 207
Book Description
Community Organizing provides new insight into an important national challenge how to stimulate the formation of genuinely community-based organizations and effective citizen action in neighborhoods that have not spawned these efforts spontaneously. Since Robert Putnam′s identification of the role of social capital in regional governance and economic development, there has been a virtual industry of interest and action created around the implications of his findings for the development of low-income communities. Yet, there remains a paucity of detailed empirical effort testing and refining his ideas. This book attempts to fill this gap. Community Organizing distills lessons from a national demonstration program that employed a novel approach to community organizing consensus organizing. Consensus organizing enhances social capital, building both stronger internal ties and capacity in low-income communities and fostering new relations (bridges) between residents of low-income communities and larger metropolitan area support communities. Using evaluation research and detailed comparative study of community development activity in three diverse demonstration sites, Ross Gittell and Avis Vidal identify key elements of building social capital, which strongly affect community development: comprehension of community development, credibility of effort and participants, confidence, competence, and constructive critiques of efforts. Other elements are more relevant to program management and implementation and include communication among participants, congruence of program effort, management of inherent contradiction, and adjusting implementation to reflect local context. This book describes the limits and promise of building social capital and will be of interest to community development students and professionals.
Author: Deepa Narayan-Parker Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
July 1997 Matching a measure of social capital with data on household income in certain rural villages in Tanzania shows that social capital is indeed both capital (in that it raises incomes) and social (in that household incomes depend on village, not just household, social capital). Narayan and Pritchett construct a measure of social capital in rural Tanzania, using data from the Tanzania Social Capital and Poverty Survey (SCPS), a large-scale survey that asked individuals about the extent and characteristics of their associational activity and their trust in various institutions and individuals. They match this measure of social capital with data on household income in the same villages (both from the SCPS and from an earlier household survey, the Human Resources Development Survey). In doing so, they show that social capital is indeed both capital (in that it raises incomes) and social (in that household incomes depend on village, not just household, social capital). The magnitude of social capital's effect on incomes is impressive: a one standard deviation increase in village social capital increases a household proxy for income by at least 20 to 30 percent. This is as great an impact as an equivalent increase in nonfarming assets, or a tripling of the level of education. Data from the two surveys make it possible to identify some of the proximate channels through which social capital affects incomes: better publicly provided services, more community activity, greater use of modern agricultural inputs, and greater use of credit in agriculture. This paper-a joint product of Social Development, and Poverty and Human Resources, Development Research Group-is part of a larger effort in the Bank to understand the social determinants of sustainable development.
Author: Nan Lin Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0199565988 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 489
Book Description
The volume brings together some of the leading scholars around the world working on social capital to study how individuals and groups access and use their social relations and social connections to do better in society in order to achieve their goals.
Author: Susan Saegert Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation ISBN: 1610444825 Category : Social Science Languages : en Pages : 352
Book Description
Neighborhood support groups have always played a key role in helping the poor survive, but combating poverty requires more than simply meeting the needs of day-to-day subsistence. Social Capital and Poor Communities shows the significant achievements that can be made through collective strategies, which empower the poor to become active partners in revitalizing their neighborhoods. Trust and cooperation among residents and local organizations such as churches, small businesses, and unions form the basis of social capital, which provides access to resources that would otherwise be out of reach to poor families. Social Capital and Poor Communities examines civic initiatives that have built affordable housing, fostered small businesses, promoted neighborhood safety, and increased political participation. At the core of each initiative lie local institutions—church congregations, parent-teacher groups, tenant associations, and community improvement alliances. The contributors explore how such groups build networks of leaders and followers and how the social power they cultivate can be successfully transferred from smaller goals to broader political advocacy. For example, community-based groups often become platforms for leaders hoping to run for local office. Church-based groups and interfaith organizations can lobby for affordable housing, job training programs, and school improvement. Social Capital and Poor Communities convincingly demonstrates why building social capital is so important in enabling the poor to seek greater access to financial resources and public services. As the contributors make clear, this task is neither automatic nor easy. The book's frank discussions of both successes and failures illustrate the pitfalls—conflicts of interest, resistance from power elites, and racial exclusion—that can threaten even the most promising initiatives. The impressive evidence in this volume offers valuable insights into how goal formation, leadership, and cooperation can be effectively cultivated, resulting in a remarkable force for change and a rich public life even for those communities mired in seemingly hopeless poverty. A Volume in the Ford Foundation Series on Asset Building
Author: Lisa F. Berkman Publisher: Oxford University Press ISBN: 0199395330 Category : Medical Languages : en Pages : 641
Book Description
"Eleven fully updated chapters include entries on the links between health and discrimination, income inequality, social networks and emotion, while four all-new chapters examine the role of policies in shaping health, including how to translate evidence into action with multi-level interventions."
Author: Ian Gillespie Cook
Author: John M. Halstead
Author: Deepa Narayan
Author: Christiaan Grootaert
Author: Alva G. Greenberg
Author: Ross Gittell
Author: Deepa Narayan-Parker
Author: Nan Lin
Author: Susan Saegert
Author: Lisa F. Berkman