Place is not a static backdrop for social relationships; rather, it is a dynamic product of the interactions among the people, practices, objects, and representations contained within it. Often, street-involved people who use drugs are excluded from interactions that would otherwise allow them to participate in community dynamics. In Vancouver, British Columbia, peer-based outreach groups redress these barriers by providing low-threshold positions to individuals living with active or past addiction. The overall question of this thesis is: what is the role of place in the health of an individual and of a community? Objectives include: (1) applying existing models of social exclusion to outline barriers preventing Peer Members from engaging in placemaking; (2) mapping the ideological positionality of the Peer Members and the rest of the community with regard to citizenship; and (3) exploring how Peer Members utilize their biosocial role as outreach workers to establish social capital and situate themselves as participants in a healthy community. By providing a platform where various social identities can interact with one another, ties of familiarity are established between these groups, thus enabling the transfer of resources, knowledge, and shared norms of respect. The first half of the discussion focuses on how social and geographic displacement legitimizes the process of social abandonment. Consequently, this relegated the Peer Members and their peers into the role of anti-citizen, rationalized their marginalization, and reinforced the wider community’s stigma toward people who use drugs. The latter half of the discussion illustrates how the Peer Members utilize their biosocial role of outreach and support workers to navigate boundaries and establish social connections to circulate knowledge and information within and among different social fields. This enabled the expression of mutual reciprocity, thereby negotiating the place of people who use drugs and harm reduction among the wider community. Place is therefore a concept that shapes, and is shaped by, the social networks that determine social legitimacy or illegitimacy. Although marginality and oppression cannot be transformed immediately, creating a social environment where Peer Members can be supported and support one another helps mitigate the marginalization that characterizes their lives.

This thesis increases the understanding of networking and especially the role of third parties in the network infrastructure. That networking is an important activity that plays a central role for companies’ success is common sense in today’s highly changing environment. However, the role of third parties operating within the networking infrastructure has only been research sparingly. As the author’s literature review showed even though we have knowledge about the network process and attributes of the different actors there is still a lack of theories to explaining them. For instance, it is still unknown how the third party can successfully bridge structural holes and how its specific characteristics influence the network. Furthermore, it is unclear how this is affecting the people and consequently the companies involved in the network. The empirical focus of this thesis is on the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands and the empirical study consists of a qualitative case study. Data is collected through documents, participant observations and qualitative interviews in the Netherlands. The research shows that the third party has succeeded in provide a business and social platform that facilitate the process of combination and exchange of intellectual capital and this creates business opportunities for the members of the network. The study contributes to the research about the third party in the network infrastructure by identifying three success processes how the third party can contribute to the business network and this are: firstly, in combining and exchanging knowledge through a well-developed network structure. Secondly, through creating anticipation and motivation between the members for sharing of knowledge and thirdly, when bridging the gap between different actors with various kinds of knowledge. The thesis also provides suggestions for how the third party can improve their work to create and deepen relationship within networking. As the thesis demonstrates the role of the third party in a network and as more business is done within networks and with the help of a third party, it also has practical implications. In particular, the study is beneficial for the Swedish Chamber of Commerce, but also for other third party organizations that aim to improve their role in the networking process.

Background: Many of today’s young adults suffer from impaired psychological well-being and report suffering from psycho-somatic symptoms related to stress. Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, risky alcohol consumption, lack of physical activity and poor diet are known predictors of ill health and may have long lasting impacts on young people’s lives. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to 1: measure adult high school students’ social capital and 2: examine the association between their social capital and psychological well-being as well as the association between social capital and the lifestyle factors; smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet and academic achievement. Methods: Questionnaires were used to measure high school students’ social capital self- rated psychological health, lifestyle factors and academic achievement. Participants were high school students 18 years and older (n=124) enrolled in Nacka Enskilda Gymnasium and Mörby Gymnasium, two high schools in counties with similar demographic backgrounds, measured in annual salaries, on the outskirts of Stockholm, Sweden. Results: Total social capital was significantly associated with no less than 6 factors of health; self-rated mental health, self-rated stress, psycho-somatic symptoms, intensive physical exercise, consumption of fruit and membership to a club. In addition, consumption of vegetables and expected grade point average (Grade point average (GPA): final GPA’s in Sweden range from 0-20) were significantly associated with individual factors of social capital. Conclusion: The results of this study support the findings of many earlier studies; that social capital appears to be significantly associated with young peoples’ health and well-being. The findings lend weight to earlier studies and contribute to the multitude of voices that lobby for investing in the further development of policies and interventions that aim to increase young peoples’ social capital.

Under 2010 var nästan var tredje VC investering i Sverige riktat till Life Sciences.Life Sciences är en bransch som täcker områdena bioteknik, medicinteknik, medicin och sjukvård. Branschen kännetecknas av att företagen arbetar mycket utifrån framtida förväntningar och ej framställda produkter. Därför är det viktigt för VC företagen som agerar inom Life Sciences att kunna identifiera den potential och de problem som kommer med en investering. För att bekräfta potentialen och problemen genomförs en due diligence. Due diligence är till för att finna styrkor och svagheter. Det är de anställda på VC företagens uppgift att genomföra due diligence vilket innebär att det är viktigt att inneha anställda med den rätta kompetensen. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur anställda kan påverka due diligence.    Utgångspunkten för studien är att beskriva hur due diligence genomförs av VC företag som investerar inom Life Sciences. Den ska även förklara hur de anställda kan påverka denna process. För att kunna genomföra det har vi arbetat genom tre olika delar av due diligence. Dessa är kommersiell, finansiell och juridisk. Varje del har sitt fokus men är av samma betydelse för att få fram ett samlat värde. Tidigare forskning har identifierat att utbildning, erfarenhet och nätverk är viktiga egenskaper för anställda som ska utvärdera ett investeringsobjekt. Utifrån det har vi samlat på oss teorier för att kunna identifiera vilken påverkan anställda kan ha på due diligence genom dessa egenskaper.   Studien har utarbetats ifrån det kvalitativa synsättet. Eftersom att forskningen inom Venture capital relaterat till Life Sciences är knapp finns det få studier att luta sig emot. För att kunna fånga hur due diligence genomförs och hur de anställda påverkar anser vi att den kvalitativa metoden är att föredra framför den kvantitativa. Vi har intervjuat personer som har en aktiv roll och ett stort ansvar i due diligence. Vi har låtit respondenterna svara för företagen som helhet.   I slutsatsen kommer vi fram till att oberoende vilken sammansättning av anställda VC företagen har genomförs due diligence mycket likartat. Det är tydligt att anställda kan påverka due diligence och då framförallt i den kommersiella genom egenskaperna utbildning och erfarenhet.

”Sustainable reconciliation”, a form of international aid relief program, has been developed and constructed to help populations overcome war trauma, using different activities within art, entertainment and sports.  Theorists claim that if conducted properly, activities such as these, should lead to good social capital, causing higher levels of culture tolerance, gender equality and creativity, as well as better health and life satisfaction. This study has examined how the non-governmental organization, the Cross Cultural Project Association’s relief program, the Open Fun Football Schools has affected its participants in Belgrade, Serbia. A quantitative analysis has been conducted through the means of a multi question survey, to see if certain variables are correlated with the projects influence, “OFFS social capital”. According to the results, the activities did have positive effects on education, culture tolerance, gender equality, creativity, heath and life satisfaction. In addition the social capital influenced by the activities was found to be dependent on participants’ level of culture tolerance, and vice versa. The project is found to set the foundation for good social networking possibilities and create good social capital, all great aspects for the purpose of peace building.

The purpose of this study was to explore the role and significance that ethnic churches have in the lives of Korean immigrant women in Canada. Particular attention was paid to the ethnic church as a potential leisure site, and the benefits associated with church participation, such as social interaction, social capital development, adaptation to living in Canada, and resistance to constraining ideologies. At the same time, possible negative outcomes of church association were also addressed, as appropriate, such as lack of integration into the broader Canadian society and reproduction of traditional gender ideologies. Purposeful intensity sampling method was used to find Korean immigrant women who could provide information-rich stories for this exploratory in-depth study. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted one-to-one with a semi-structured format. Seven women were interviewed. These women were all first-generation married Korean immigrants who had lived in Canada for over one year. Initially the first participants were recruited through advertisements handed out to various churches in an urban/suburban region of south-west Ontario. Snowball sampling also took place as an alternative method for finding more information-rich cases. The analysis of this study resulted in the following themes: The first theme was the benefits gained from ethnic church attendance. These included exchange of information, emotional support and reinforcement of ethnic identity. Second, conflicts, divisions and challenges deriving from church attendance were explored. Negative aspects such as challenges between traditional and new values, lack of interaction with mainstream Canadian society, and reinforcement of gender inequality were evident. Finally, despite the difficulties that derived from being a member of the Korean ethnic church, the community provided help in adjusting in the new life for the women. The Korean ethnic community acted as an extension of family while helping newcomers through a variety of services in adjusting to life in Canada. The findings of this study do show that the Korean ethnic church is an important site for leisure for women. Although church attendance does not seem to specifically facilitate integration or resistance to the Canadian society, it did help them to re-create a smaller community that helped the women deal with their daily lives. As a result they often felt no need to step out into the larger society: thus creating ‘little Koreas’ within Canada.

There were three focal objectives of this research. The research aimed to determine whether an association exists between perception of financial strain and involvement in campus clubs and organizations, actual finances, and involvement in clubs and organizations, and the levels of social capital generated by involvement in campus clubs and organizations. Results indicate that the perception of financial strain has no significant effect on involvement in campus clubs and activities. The analysis also reveals that actual finances have an insignificant relationship with involvement in campus clubs and organizations. There were significant relationships revealed when social capital was measured. The research found a significant positive relationship between level of involvement and job connections, new acquaintances, dating relationships, close friends, trust other club members to listen, trust other club members to help in a crisis, reciprocity, and obligation to participate. The cross-tabulations between level of involvement and the variables general trust, influence on identity, and influence on tolerance produced no significant relationships.

Population retention and growth is a concern for cities, towns, and rural municipalities across Canada, and population change is one of the best available indicators of economic prosperity and community success. As such, it is important to understand the factors driving the location decisions of Canadians, and to use this information to help communities develop strategies to ensure their longevity and to comprehend the various features influencing future prosperity. The results of this study clearly show that local community characteristics do indeed influence local population growth. Important factors include economic indicators, the presence of different types of amenities, and the proximity of the community to urban areas. <p> Previous research has been completed on the topic of community population change and amenities in other countries, but Canada has not been examined until now. This study utilizes census data at the municipality level to examine these issues. The analysis consists of an econometric model with population change as the dependent variable, and a number of local factors as the explanatory variables. In general, the results of this study complied with theoretical predictions. Communities with favourable amenities and economic factors were found to have higher population growth. Also, different age groups were found to value different bundles of amenities and economic opportunities. <p> Amenities were found to be important factors affecting population growth. Communities with higher average housing prices and lower average incomes had higher population growth. Although this is seemingly a contradictory result, it implies that amenities have been capitalized into incomes and housing prices over time and thus more than income appears to be determining the pattern of housing values across Canada; an outcome predicted by the theoretical framework of the study. Medical amenities were found to be more important for older segments of the population, though all ages valued being near large acute care hospitals. Communities with high rates of violent crime tended to have lower population growth rates. Natural amenities such as mountains and pleasant weather, and the presence of water did not consistently result in higher community population growth. <p> Economic factors such as industry diversification, high local employment rates, and growing employment prospects were very important in influencing population growth, especially among younger segments of the population. However, economic and financial opportunities do not appear to affect migration decisions of the elderly, who are influenced more by medical amenities. Except for youth, local employment opportunities were not as important as having opportunities in surrounding communities. The presence of agriculture and resource extraction sectors tended to result in lower population growth. Finally, proximity to larger urban centres and population size appeared to be beneficial for communities. <p> Overall, the results of this study provide insight for community leaders, policy makers, and others interested in the dynamics of community population change, and will help governments efficiently allocate resources to communities and form strategies to deal with declining community populations.

The notion of social capital (SC) is increasingly used as a framework for describing social issues in terrestrial communities. For more than a decade, researchers use the term to mean the set of trust, institutions, social norms, social networks, and organizations that shape the interactions of actors within a society and that are considered to be useful and assets for communities to prosper both economically and socially. Despite growing popularity of social capital especially, among researchers in the social sciences and the humanities, the concept remains ill-defined and its operation and benefits limited to terrestrial communities. In addition, proponents of social capital often use different approaches to analyze it and each approach has its own limitations. <p>This thesis examines social capital within the context of technology-mediated communities (also known as virtual communities) communities. It presents a computational model of social capital, which serves as a first step in the direction of understanding, formalizing, computing and discussing social capital in virtual communities. The thesis employs an eclectic set of approaches and procedures to explore, analyze, understand and model social capital in two types of virtual communities: virtual learning communities (VLCs) and distributed communities of practice (DCoP). <p>There is an intentional flow to the analysis and the combination of methods described in the thesis. The analysis includes understanding what constitutes social capital in the literature, identifying and isolating variables that are relevant to the context of virtual communities, conducting a series of studies to further empirically examine various components of social capital identified in three kinds of virtual communities and building a computational model. <p>A sensitivity analysis aimed at examining the statistical variability of the individual variables in the model and their effects on the overall level of social capital are conducted and a series of evidence-based scenarios are developed to test and update the model. The result of the model predictions are then used as input to construct a final empirical study aimed at verifying the model.<p>Key findings from the various studies in the thesis indicated that SC is a multi-layered, multivariate, multidimensional, imprecise and ill-defined construct that has emerged from a rather murky swamp of terminology but it is still useful for exploring and understanding social networking issues that can possibly influence our understanding of collaboration and learning in virtual communities. Further, the model predictions and sensitivity analysis suggested that variables such as trust, different forms of awareness, social protocols and the type of the virtual community are all important in discussion of SC in virtual communities but each variable has different level of sensitivity to social capital. <p>The major contributions of the thesis are the detailed exploration of social capital in virtual communities and the use of an integrated set of approaches in studying and modelling it. Further, the Bayesian Belief Network approach applied in the thesis can be extended to model other similar complex online social systems.

Issues of educational inequality have been hotly debated in China ever since the higher educational reform in the late 1990s. High tuitions and the privileged access of advantaged groups are attracting more peoples concerns. This thesis examines the current status of Chinese student access to higher education in the post-reform era, and explores the urban-rural and strata differences among students with different social origins and family backgrounds. The expansion and tuition reform of Chinese higher education not only poses financing college as the biggest difficulty for those disadvantaged groups, but also perpetuates the established social hierarchy. This thesis finds that, despite the progress made in equalizing access by urban-rural and strata origins at the mass higher education era in China, disadvantaged groups remain their unfavorable status in accessing higher education, as compared to their counterparts who are economically, culturally, and socially superior. The initial quantitative access differences are gradually turning into qualitative disparities, the higher the demand for the university or/and major, the more urban and higher socioeconomic students enroll. The theories of financial, cultural, and social capital were employed in the thesis and provide a plausible explanation to the continuing disadvantaged status of poor groups. The methodology used is mainly a quantitative technique that resorts on a variety of secondary data, such as national and provincial yearbooks of educational statistics and census, large sample surveys, and case studies from previous research. The findings will have many policy implications concerning the expansion, financing, and affordability of higher education in China.