Dominant society centred interpretations of social capital in Australia are
inadequate to explain the economic fortunes and social prosperity of rural
Australian communities. Given the continued contention over interpretations and
measurement of social capital, this research sought to assess the relationship
between different interpretations of social capital and rural communities resilience
and prosperity.
¶
Utilising both quantitative and qualitative techniques to establish the relative
levels of social capital in two communities of divergent growth, the primary
objective was to test the association asserted between levels of social capital and
prosperity and resilience in the rural Australian context.
¶
The research findings highlight three notable issues. Surveying social capital with
current instruments is only effective in establishing the well being of rural
communities which appears related to their resilience, not their ability to prosper.
Secondly, the operational frameworks and responsibilities for social capital
adopted by governments dictate the manner in, and degree to which they deem
bridging and linking networks necessary and appropriate. This significantly affects
the role social capital is perceived to play in communities. Lastly, while
interpretations of social capital regard it as a normative factor in social life, rather
than being comprised of different and dynamic elements affecting communities
ability to prosper, the concept will remain unable to effectively contribute to the
policy domain.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/216866 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Brooks, Kathryn Janet (Lamb), kal@aapt.net.au |
| Publisher | The Australian National University. Faculty of Arts |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.anu.edu.au/legal/copyrit.html), Copyright Kathryn Janet (Lamb) Brooks |
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