Social Capital Social capital has gained tremendous popularity in recent years, driven in large part by the work of James Coleman, Pierre Bourdieu, and Robert Putaman. This increased attention for social capital is evident among several research topics, conference papers, dissertations, and educational journals. Social capital is the name given to a store of value generated when a group of individuals invests resources in fostering a body of relationships with each other (a "social network"). These relationships, it is argued, create trust by fostering shared norms, improve contract enforcement by easing information flows, and enhance sanctions against deviant behavior by facilitating collective action. Hence the real meaning of social capital is the quality of social relations. It is the quality of relationships, understood through the use of the concept “social capital”, which affects the capacity of people to come together to collectively resolve problems they face in common (Stewart-Weeks and Richardson, 1998), and achieve outcomes of mutual benefit (Lochner et al. 1999). Thus, social capital can be understood as a resource to collective action, which may lead to a broad range of outcomes, of varying social scale. For individuals, this can mean access to the reciprocal, trusting social connections that help the processes of getting by or getting ahead. For communities, social capital reflects the ability of community members to participate, cooperate, organise and interact (Cavaye 2001). The narrowest concept of social capital is associated with Putnam. Putnam defines social capital... ... middle of paper ... ...nternet Sources ================ Trust and action: Social capital and non0govermental organisations http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~poli/NewsandEvents/UGRC2003/miles.pdf. Building social capital http://www.kltprc.net/books/contextofchange/Chpt_31.htm Social capital for development http://www1.worldbank.org/prem/poverty/scapital/SChowmeas1.htm Community formation and social capital in Australia http://www.aifs.gov.au/institute/afrc7/giorgas.pdf The myth of social capital in community development http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/programs/hpd/pdf/HPD_1204_defilippis.pdf Social Capital, Regeneration and Urban Policy http://www.bristol.ac.uk/sps/cnrpapersword/cnr15pap.doc. People empowerment vs. social capital. From health promotion to social marketing. http://www.ldb.org/perth99.htm
... and social networks flourish, individuals, firms, neighborhoods prosper economically. Social capital can help to mitigate insidious effects of socioeconomic disadvantage (Putnam, 2000).
In his book The Community of Those Who Have Nothing in Common, Alphonso Lingis (1994) discusses community and proposes an untraditional view of community, the “other community”. Traditionally community is known as a social structure in which individuals have something in common. This usually refers to a shared location, shared identity or common values or beliefs. In this traditional view or “rational community” these commonalities are crucial in uniting individuals.
Lockard, Craig A. Societies, Networks, and Transitions. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Wadsworth, 2011. 190. Print.
William Shakespeare, in his play The Tempest, uses social order, with particular reference to 17th century gender stereotypes to explain the nature of the main character, Prospero. Prospero is master of the three other main characters, with whom he shares very different relationships. Miranda, his daughter, represents the stereotypical "submissive female" of Elizabethan times who didn't resist; she accedes to everything Prospero says. As a result, Prospero exerts a sort of passive control in relation to Miranda, easily exercising power over her. Caliban, on the other hand, represents the complete opposite of Miranda, fitting an unbridled male role that represents deviation from power. Because of Caliban's digression, Prospero commands him with sheer anger and contempt, an aggressive form of control. Fitting between the roles of Caliban and Miranda is Ariel, Prospero's servant. Ariel, a spirit who is never assigned a gender, represents the middle ground between male and female and is thus treated by Prospero with a mixture of aggressiveness and passiveness. This assertive control results in a paternalistic relationship between Prospero and Ariel. Despite these differing relationships, Prospero utilizes each and every character to reach his ultimate goal: the advancement of his political position in Milan.
Provide a 1-2 sentence operational definition of “social construction.” What is an example of social construction. (3pts; full sentences)
Global and local communities seek the greatest opportunities for prosperity and self-fulfillment, but there exists certain criteria that must be met in order to achieve those ends. The most successful communities incorporate the inherent values and virtues of a specific group of people. Communities ought to establish goals to be attained by their members, giving them a sense of cohesion and cooperation. Ideally, communities dictate a rule of law to lead them towards some elements of justice and mutual benefit.
Within community context, there are three components; stability, social ties, and institutional capacity. Stability can be described as accounting for the transitional status of community members. Social ties relate to the connections individuals have with one another within the community. In analyzing the institutional capacity of a neighborhood, one might look at the local institutions ability to procure membership, or participation from community
generalizable to the population because the social bonds solely emphasized on typical white families. However, the psychodynamic theory managed to address the weaknesses of the social bond theory because it’s generalizable towards the population to a greater extent. For instance, psychodynamic theory interventions were tested on the African population in Nigeria who were adolescents from the lower class as these psychodynamic interventions were easy to conduct among populations in order to draw inferences (Taiwo & Osinowo, 2011, pp. 627-629).
Almost all of us live daily with the effects of social construction, whereby one is observed through their cultural or social practices. Society discriminates against us depending on skin colour and social class. Carole Vance in her article “Social Construction Theory”, has a unique approach to social construction of gender. She painstakingly points out that these cultural influences affect individuals on a personal basis, but society as a whole.
Jennifer Unger & C. Anderson Johnson, “Explaining Exercise Behavior and Satisfaction with Social Exchange Theory,” Perceptual and Motor Skills 81 (1995): 603-608.
The Role of Community in Society Communities are an essential part of our society, because we all depend and interact with each other. Communities are groups of people that help an individual to learn and develop new ideas. A society is where people’s relations with each other are direct and personal and where a complex web of ties link people in mutual bonds of emotion and obligation. The idea of community has provided a model to contrast to the emergence of more modern less personal societies where cultural, economic and technological transformations have uprooted tradition and where complexity has created a less personal and more rationalized and goal directed social life.
Social Institutions Life and its functions are divided and categorized into different systems that define social life. These systems are called social institutions. The main purpose of a social institution is to organize and structure society for the benefit of its people. There are many different types of social institutions, such as, family, religion, education, and peer groups. They were all developed for different areas of life, but ultimately, work together to create social order within a society.