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published_or_final_version / abstract / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

This dissertation offers an empirical examination of the relationship between community social capital and health care safety net capacity. The ability and willingness of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and private physicians to serve the uninsured is crucial to ensuring that all Americans have access to a basic level of health care. Among other factors, this ability and willingness has been found to be a consequence of unique community values and traditions. This dissertation examined the extent to which the level of community social capital (community rates of participation in club meetings, projects, volunteer and civic activities) was related to three health care provider outcomes; 1) the willingness of private physicians to deliver uncompensated care; 2) the financial capacity of FQHCs to provide uncompensated care; and 3) the amount of FQHC resources directed toward the provision of largely uncompensated community-oriented services.Community and health care provider data on 1,248 FQHCs across 183 U.S. counties and 12,406 private physicians across 1,029 U.S. counties were collected from multiple data sources. Comprehensive multivariate analyses including Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA), Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM), and a planned comparison was conducted on these data at the community ecological and individual provider levels of analysis.Based on a literature review and the theoretical components of social capital theory, I developed a conceptual framework that proposed a relationship among social context, institutional frameworks and organizational behavior. The dissertation research sought to determine the extent to which the social context in which the organization was embedded influenced organizational behavior.I found that the relationship between community social capital and health care safety net capacity was weak and the direction of the association mixed. Among the findings was a positive and significant relationship between civic participation and FQHC grant revenues. Unexpected findings included significant correlations between community social capital and Medicaid generosity, and social capital and uninsurance. Although the data analysis suggested that unmeasured factors were largely responsible for variation in safety net capacity, it raised interesting questions that provoke future study. Important implications for theory, policy and practice are discussed.

This thesis puts forth an ethnographic, social constructionist account of tattoo shops with the aim of examining how heavily tattooed individuals negotiate positive social meaning in a constructed society. This research assumes that heavily tattooed individuals may be viewed as deviant, which can create problems associated with labeling and stigma. Consequently, these individuals need to develop ways to cope, and can do this by seeking out the company of like-minded people who can help them define away stigma. The central focus of this research will be on the social structures of the space (tattoo shops) and the individuals who visit it - more specifically on their interactions, conversations and experiences. Data were collected from both participant observation and semi-structured open ended interviews with participants. The results from this study demonstrate that tattoo shops are environments that can be interpreted as ‘new third places.’ / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-02 18:45:32.617

Recent Scottish Government policy has increasingly emphasised lifelong learning as the means of developing the nation’s skills and employability. Colleges are frequently presented as the key driver of widening access to lifelong learning in Scotland and are expected to provide effective responses to both social and economic problems. This research focuses on the balance struck in government policy in relation to Scotland’s colleges with regard to social and economic objectives and how this policy is mediated in three diverse colleges. Utilising case studies of three colleges in Scotland, this study found that the economic focus of the Scottish Government, coupled with the market values of the college sector following the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992, has resulted in some colleges emphasising economic priorities at the cost of social objectives. College education is presented as the bridge to the labour market and this has resulted in students equating college learning with acquiring the necessary qualifications to obtain employment. In the larger colleges (both the result of recent mergers) social network development is treated as a by-product rather than a central objective and the connections made by students tend to be confined to narrow subject areas. Learning at these colleges is compartmentalised, so that students develop ‘bonding’ rather than ‘bridging’ social capital, which may narrow rather than widen their horizons (Putnam, 2000). Pursuit of funding initiatives and performance indicators at the larger colleges led to tensions amongst staff members over the loss of community focus and, in the case of one college, a significant increase in learners under 16. The smaller college exhibited a clear community focus, allowing for greater levels of social interaction. It is suggested that colleges need to develop further their role as generators of social, as well as human, capital.

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This study attempts to understand the issues and challenges related to healthy aging faced by Chinese seniors who are living in a cultural and social context different from their home countries. Using an ecosystems perspective, the study focuses on exploring three major components in seniors’ lives: health, social capital, and residential environment, and then analyzing the interactions among the components. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used in this study. A survey was conducted with seniors in Winnipeg Chinese communities to collect quantitative data on health (SF-36) and social capital (views of community, trust and reciprocity, civil participation, social networks and social support, and social participation), and focus group interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data on social capital and residential environment. One hundred and one respondents were interviewed in person to fill out the questionnaire and 43 seniors participated in focus group interviews. PASW 18 (SPSS) and NVivo 8 were applied to analyzed quantitative and qualitative data respectively. Descriptive and bi-variate statistics, a comparison of Winnipeg sample data and general Chinese-Canadian seniors data, and qualitative findings are presented to describe the research target group’s demographics, health conditions, social capital, and residential environmental issues. Overall, Winnipeg Chinese seniors enjoy moderate health; but many of them reported different levels and types of difficulties they had experienced with health care and health care support services. Both quantitative and qualitative data demonstrate the level of low social capital among Chinese Seniors in Winnipeg. The quantitative data reveal some correlations between social capital factors and Chinese seniors’ health conditions, among which the most significant is that social capital likely has effects on female Chinese seniors’ mental health and male Chinese seniors’ physical health. In particular, the level of social networks and social support was positively correlated with older Chinese women’s mental health. The environments in which these seniors lived appeared to have hindered or triggered them in building or increasing their social capital. For example, those who had acquired less support from their immediate micro environment – family – tended to be more motivated to extend their social connections in a larger environment in order to obtain resources for problem-solving. Cultural influence and health care support services were critical factors in Chinese seniors’ considerations and expectations of a residential environment. In contrast to traditional Chinese cultural norms of an inter-dependent living arrangement, the majority of Chinese seniors preferred to live in separate households from their adult children. Another important finding is that a cultural- and linguistic-homogeneous residential environment does not necessarily provide positive support to Chinese seniors for their acquisition of social capital. Upon further analysis of social capital and its relationships with health and residential environments, the study offers implications from research findings to social work practice, integrating cross-cultural considerations. The study concludes with an analysis of limitations as well as suggestions for recommendations for future research. / May 2015

Thesis advisor: Joseph O'Keefe / Thesis advisor: James Marini / Using social capital theory as a conceptual framework, this qualitative study of one Massachusetts district analyzed how principals’ relational trust and interconnectedness with central office administrators (COAs) correlated with their perceptions of district efforts to support their growth and development. Data included interviews with principals and COAs and document analyses. Findings revealed a decided split among principals, with some reporting high trust levels and close connections with COAs and others reporting distrust and isolation. Of the district’s five major initiatives designed to support principals, two were perceived positively by most principals, two received mixed reactions with connected principals more favorable than isolated principals, and one received widespread negative perceptions. District initiatives widely perceived to be effective mirrored principal goals, provided opportunities for COA direct assistance, and were structured to facilitate the development of professional assistance relationships. Conversely, the initiatives with mixed or negative perceptions lacked such relationship-building opportunities. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: James E. Lubben / The fact that destination countries in contemporary migration are predominantly welfare states marks a distinct departure from historical patterns. While the impact of international migration on the welfare state is highly contested in the literature, the other side of the relationship--the ways in which advanced welfare states influence the incorporation of immigrants--has barely been examined. This study tests the applicability of an extension of the Welfare Regime Theory in the incorporation of foreign-born as compared to natives across 24 European nations clustered in 5 different welfare regimes. Specifically, it explores how much of the variability in self-reported economic and social capital indicators of incorporation is attributable to the nature of the welfare state and to specific theoretical traits associated with different welfare regimes. Results indicate that immigrants fare economically better in countries with comprehensive welfare systems of social protection and that country's amount of social spending has a positive influence in the economic incorporation of foreign-labor. The impact of the welfare state on individuals' economic well-being is higher for the native-born population than for their immigrant counterparts. Generous welfare systems are also beneficial for the social capital formation of immigrant communities. Immigrants residing in countries representative of the Scandinavian regime report higher levels of generalized trust, trust in institutions and frequency of informal social contacts than immigrants residing in countries representative of other welfare regimes. The same pattern is observed for the native-born population. Country's spending in social benefits increases the social trust and frequency of socialization of both groups, although the impact is larger for the native-born population. Country's spending in means-tested social benefits decreases social trust while country's spending in non-means-tested benefits increases it. Native-born individuals report higher levels of generalized trust and socialize more often than equivalent immigrants. However, the level of trust in country's institutions is higher for immigrant than for their native peers. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

We can observe a well-documented decline of trust levels in Western societies: from the reputation of political representatives as being "not trustworthy" to the rise of anti-system-oriented populist parties. Yet the implications of different forms of distrust for a society and democratic institutions have been theorized in conflicting ways so far. In order to illuminate existing inconsistencies in social and democratic theory, this article addresses two research questions: What are the implications of different manifestations of distrust for the acceptance of democracy and democratic institutions? How do different forms of distrust affect the motivation to become engaged in democratic decision-making and in civil society institutions? Taking empirical evidence from 25 focus groups in Germany, our findings show that growing social divisions affect the role distrust plays for political interest representation of social groups and for the acceptance of liberal representative democracy.