This week I was sitting in an airport bar waiting for a flight. As I looked down the bar, all but one of the other 12 people were on their smart phones. No one was talking. There was no social interaction in that physical space, as all but one were occupied elsewhere. Were they all …
Is the use of personal mobile devices eroding the public sphere? Read More »
For more than 10 years I have been following the literature on social capital measurement, and hoping that someone will publish a thorough synthesis and analysis of measurement techniques to produce at least a good guide to its measurement in different contexts. I suspect this is a (near) impossible task given the commonly discussed problems …
Social capital is social relations that have productive benefits. The best way to understand social capital is through the old adage, “it’s not what you know, but who you know”. We intuitively understand that we can derive benefits from our relationships with others, whether it be as simple as finding a reliable mechanic (which can …
The more people you know, the more you do for these people, the more you give to other people you know, then the more social capital you have and the more benefit you can derive from it. You can generally only benefit from social capital under certain conditions Social capital is best ‘used’ when there …
There are several dichotomies for classifying types of social capital. There are two main classifications for social capital: Network perspective From a network perspective social capital can be classified as either bonding or bridging with a third type suggested as linking. Bonding social capital – ties between individuals with a relatively high degree of network …
Attempts to measure social capital are flawed by problems with separating form, source and consequences – a common problem with the conceptualisation of social capital. Unfortunately few researchers understand this complexity and readily confuse the three, resulting in measurement indicies that don’t rigorously reflect the state of social capital in the study context. Social capital …
When we talk about barren cultural landscapes what do we actually mean? Are we suggesting there is a lack of culture? Or do we mean the outcomes of said culture are somehow undesirable or negative (from a certain perspective)? I hear about how modern culture is hollow, eaten out by rampant individualism. I hear about …
A barren cultural landscape: causes and solutions Read More »
Social capital is relevant to every aspect of human existence as it facilitates information flows and distributes other forms of capital in ways that would otherwise not occur. I receive emails almost every day from people who are looking to apply social capital to an aspect of social, political, economic, educational, environmental, or an other …
Social Capital 20213 Westin Alexandria, Virginia February 27-28, 2013 http://www.socialcapitalpartnerships.com/conference/ MatchPoints Seminar 2013 The Culture of Politics, Economics and International Relations 23-25 May 2013 http://matchpoints.au.dk Ethnic Diversity and Social Capital: Mechanisms, Conditions and Causality Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) 24 and 25 May 2013 http://www.wzb.eu/en/research/migration-and-diversity/migration-and-integration/call-for-papers Business and Social Science Research Conference: Dubrovnik 2013 Dubrovnik, Croatia …
I have been busy over the new year period creating this new site. More than 150,000 people visited the old site in 2012, prompting me to improve the site to offer more features, more information, and hopefully an even better resource on social capital and related concepts. The popularity of Social Capital Research has surprised …
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