The intent of this thesis is to conduct an empirical study of social capital in a single resource dependent fishing community, Petty Harbour, Newfoundland. The community under study, Petty Harbour, has a 335 year attachment to what was its primary fishery, Northern cod (Gadus morhua). This ended in 1992 when the Canadian government implemented an indefinite moratorium on Northern cod. Historically the community has exhibited high levels of activism aimed for the most part at protectionism of its primary economic mainstay, the fishery. Social capital by definition implies available resources embedded in social structures such as informal networks that can be accessed and mobilized by individuals or groups for either personal or communal gain (Coleman, 1988; Putnam, 2000; Krishna, 2002; Onyx, 2005). High levels of social capital can lead to collective activism, which according to some, is the single most important contributing factor to sustainability because without activism, an outcome of social capital, there maybe no hope for recovery and sustainability. My hypothesis is that the extent to which one is socially connected through network ties to close friends and/or family (structural social capital) and the level of trust in neighbors (cognitive social capital) will positively correlate with their involvement with activism. Leadership and sense of ownership are introduced as additional independent variables to further explore explanations for the community's level of collective activism and stewardship of the resource. Treating activism as a dependent variable, I am going to examine social capital indicators, suggesting network ties (weak, strong) as independent variables that can partially explain the historically high level of activism. I am also going to propose that the independent variables leadership and sense of ownership will also positively correlate with activism. / Arts, Faculty of / Sociology, Department of / Graduate

This study examined the relationship between aspects of social capital and self-reported delinquency among Turkish juveniles by using a secondary dataset, which is a part of the European Youth Survey. The survey was conducted among tenth graders in 2007 in Bağcılar, Istanbul. The dependent variable of this study, delinquency, was divided into two groups, minor and major, according to the stipulations of the Turkish Penal Code. Social capital was measured by assessing adolescents’ reports of their direct interactions with their parents, peers and community. In order to predict the likelihood of major and minor delinquency independently, two different subsets (N: 1879 and 1837, respectively) of the data set were used. The findings of the multivariate analyses suggest that a low level of social capital contributed significantly to Turkish juveniles’ engagement in major and minor delinquent activities. Among the social capital items, adolescents’ affiliation with delinquent peers had the strongest correlation with both dependent variables.

This study examines the extent to which various forms of social capital impact participation in nonprofit organizations. Previous research has focused on the importance of trust and engagement among social and political networks to form strong community ties that can cultivate the growth of social capital and promote participation in nonprofit organizations. The data analyzed in this study were derived from the Central Florida Social Capital Benchmark survey, collected at the University of Central Florida's Institute for Social and Behavioral Sciences. To represent social capital, related variables from the survey are combined to create indices that represent civic engagement and community trust. For the purposes of this study, participation in nonprofit organizations is defined by volunteerism and philanthropy. Results from this analysis provide evidence that (1) social capital assets are predictors of volunteerism and philanthropy and (2) higher levels of social capital are correlated with increased participation in nonprofit organizations. Although participation in nonprofit organizations can vary depending on a community's characteristics, social capital can be seen as an important element in the development of the nonprofit sector.

The purpose of this study is to develop deeper understanding of the informal contributions of employees to organisational success; more specifically, the exchange ‘mechanism’ by which resources accrue to organisations through the social relationships of their members. The second purpose is to explore the influence of organisational contextual factors on this exchange mechanism; more specifically, the influence – if any – of contingent employment practices. Through the use of a qualitative research design, I have gained an in-depth understanding of the cognitive mechanism employed by organisational actors to arrive at a decision on whether or not to initiate social exchange, in order to facilitate the flow of organisational social capital. Data was analysed using Dimensional Analysis method. This analysis draws on the theoretical perspectives of interpretivism and symbolic interactionism, both of which are underpinned by a social construction epistemology. This provides the necessary link for understanding the connections between macro- and micro-level social action of social exchange in organisational settings. My findings identify a complex cognitive process employed by actors for the purpose of reaching a decision with respect to initiating social exchange in organisational settings. This process is termed Social Exchange Transaction Analysis. It is undertaken at the individual level and ultimately controls the flow of organisational social capital through a social network to the organisation. This complexity is a reflection of both the many dimensions of the phenomenon, and the interconnectedness and interactions between them. Social Exchange Transaction Analysis builds an ‘analytical’ picture of the potential social exchange transaction, to enable the organisational actor to arrive at a decision on whether or not to initiate social exchange – and thereby facilitate the flow of organisational social capital.

Is increased access to social capital associated with a lower likelihood of poverty? Using data from a survey of nearly 10,000 residents of Iowa taken in 1994 and again in 2004, this study seeks to understand what types of social capital are associated with higher or lower likelihood of poverty at both the community and individual levels. Results suggest that higher bonding social capital at both levels is associated with a higher likelihood of poverty. The inverse of this relationship is found between bridging social capital and poverty. Although high bonding is generally an asset, when combined with low levels of bridging social capital, it is associated with significantly higher rural poverty rates in 1994 and 2004— exceeding the statewide average poverty rate of 15%. It is not clear, however, if high levels of bonding social capital cause high poverty rates by creating more insular networks in the context of low social bridging or if high bonding and low bridging are the direct result of high rural poverty.

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abstract: This mixed-method study of a community association discusses the potential for a comeback in associationalism. This comeback is posited to first occur within associations before it can occur across associations. This study discusses research on associations and critiques its failure to not go far enough to understand how to spur this comeback. In particular, this study suggests that future research needs to focus more on the psychological components of social capital and pay more attention to the more informal forms of association behavior. The findings of this community case study provide a preliminary model of psychological social capital development and transference. The findings suggest that Herzberg's (1959) factors, attitudes, and effects complex still holds merit after considering psychological social capital effects, specifically cognitions and behaviors. Evidence from looking at associational and community involvement is presented that suggests that psychological social capital can be transferred between associations and their respective communities. A framework for intentionally stimulating psychological social capital transference is presented based on an association's leadership program. Thus, psychological social capital transference as a theory is presented for consideration in future research and application. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Community Resources and Development 2014

Att skaffa arbete i ett nytt land kan inte vara enkelt, för människor med utländsk bakgrund som migrerat till Sverige består ofta de första åren av någon biståndsform. Det sociala nätverket är en viktig kanal för att komma ut i arbetslivet och med tanke på problematiken med att få arbete som människor med utländsk bakgrund utan nätverk har uppsatsen som syfte med denna att undersöka på vilket sätt nätverk har haft betydelse för individerna i arbetsmarknads etableringen som kommit till Sverige från Kosovo. Undersökningsfrågorna som kommer att besvaras under arbetet är på vilket sätt har nätverk påverkat människor med utländsk bakgrunders karriärval i Sverige? Och Vilka olika typer av socialt kapital har haft betydelse i arbetsmarknadsetablering? Syfte och frågeställningar grundar sig i Milnet, Migrants Labour Networks. Detta är ett nytt forskningsprojekt som undersöker vilka former av nätverk personer från forna Jugoslavien rör sig i.Uppsatsen tar utgångspunkt i begreppen socialt samt överbryggande och anknytande kapital av Bourdieu samt Hodkinson & Sparkes brytpunkter. Vidare bygger uppsatsen på en social nätverksanalys och innehållsanalys.Några av de centrala resultaten är att informanterna har genomgått olika brytpunkter och att dessa har påverkat deras karriär på olika vis, samt att våra informanter har ett anknytande socialt kapital och börjat utveckla ett överbryggande socialt kapital. / Obtaining a job in a foreign country is not an easy task. People who have immigrated to Sweden are often dependent on government support during the first year. Therefore, social networking is an important factor in becoming a part of society and settling into the work-life. Considering how difficult it is to get a job without any connections, we have decided to examine how the social network has played a role in the lives of individuals who have immigrated from Kosovo to Sweden. Further, we will discuss how it has affected them in the labor market. The inquiry questions that will be answered in this essay are: How have social networks affected those with foreign backgrounds with their career choices and which types of social capitals have played an important role in their work establishment? The purpose and the questions of the issue are based in Milnet, Migrants Labour Networks. This is a new research project which examines the different types of networks that individuals from Yugoslavia move in. The essay has its starting point in the concepts of social together with superstructure and relating capital of Bourdieu and Hodkinson & Sparkes. Further, this essay is based on social network analysis, as well as content analysis. Some of the main results are that the informants have undergone different inflection points and that these have affected their careers in various ways. Further, the results have shown that our informants have a relating social capital and have started to develop an overworked social capital.

Master of Science / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning / Stephanie Rolley / This is an exploratory study investigating: How those currently experiencing homelessness perceive the influence of bonding and bridging social capital on their future successful residential reintegration. It is an important consideration in understanding the emotional and intellectual circumstances of residents entering a rural shelter environment, and discovering what types of social capital residents need and have access to. This research used phenomonography to gain access to the thoughts and opinions of residents of the Harvey County Homeless Shelter, coupled with grounded theory to discover emergent themes in those transcripts. The study topic was explored through direct inquiry of people experiencing homelessness in Newton, Kansas. Through an interview process, five areas of inquiry were studied: demographics, residential history, social connections, community connections, and social connectedness and community belonging. Using grounded theory methodology, the responses were coded and the writing of rich memos determined and explored themes. Emergent themes; an analysis of their relevancy to the study topic; an examination of the areas the study topic satisfied; and, identification of areas where it failed to satisfy are topics of exploration concerning the findings. Community courtesy, individual personality, healthy relationships, and social connections over address were the four emergent themes to come from the five categories of inquiry. In general, resident’s perceptions of social capital were important to their future efforts toward residential reintegration, although in slightly different ways than the study topic assumed.

Recent studies on networking, social capital and elites have done much to expand academic knowledge in each of these topic areas. Elites are defined in several ways, including their attributes and their use of and access to power. However, far less research has been conducted on how those attributes and/or power are used by local political elites. A great deal of research has also been conducted on social capital, what it is and how it can benefit society, but less work has been done on the local politician’s individual production and use of social capital. Despite the important role that networks and networking play in producing social capital, local elite networks thus remain largely unexplored. We know little of how their networks are constructed and used in the pursuance of status and less on how the elite adapt the use of their networks in response to socio-economic change. In focusing on the construction and use of social capital networks by the Borough Aldermen and Councillors in Northampton over the longue durée, this work redresses those shortcomings. The research uses a large number and variety of sources which provide a wealth of qualitative and quantitative data with which to explore elite networking and social capital in the town. The work contributes towards furthering academic knowledge on how elites gain maintain and propagate status. The research reveals that the elite use two different constructs of networks, each of which provides different benefits for the user. It is the symbiosis of these networks which enables the political elite to respond to socio-economic and political events. The research also finds that overlapping networks produce the largest exchange of social capital, which is translated into gaining and maintaining status. It is clear that, over the longue durée, the importance of business networks in producing social capital has drastically reduced, and has been replaced by the growing importance of political association membership. It is also evident in the research that the expansion of formal institutions in the business and political arenas has led to individual Councillors and Aldermen making strategic choices. Using a market mentality of returns, they decide which networks give greater social capital and are thus more valuable and useful in gaining and maintaining elite status.