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Social capital is a complicated concept with many different definitions, conceptual approaches, and ways of operationalising it. This category includes introductory articles to social capital.
Webinar This session provides a foundation for understanding what social capital is, where it comes from, and what it does as well as some of the challenges of reading the literature and conducting research on social capital. The session is designed to kick-start your social capital research or to help you with your existing research. […]
There are a lot of similarities between the concepts of social capital and social cohesion. Both are defined in vastly different ways by different authors, both are conceptually vague, and both relate to social setting and social structure. Depending on how you define the concepts there can be considerable overlap between them, leading some authors […]
There are many examples of social capital since it relates to human sociability – our ability to work together, to solve complex problems, and to form the organisations that make up society. It can be most simply understood by the old adage “it’s not what you know, but who you know”. Examples of social capital […]
Opinion piece on the Australian cultural context and its implications for social capital As a geographer and social theorist I have spent a lot of time reading and thinking about Australian culture. For a few years I taught a university course on Australian culture and spent many hours exploring the issues with students in tutorial […]
Importance of social capital Social capital is a vital resource for individuals, groups, and society. Social capital has been described as a lubricant that facilitates getting things done. It allows people to work together and to access benefits from social relationships. Social capital allows modern economies to function efficiently. Our society, economy, institutions, and political […]
Social capital is important because it represents the productive benefits of sociability. The importance of social capital cannot be understated since it relates to every benefit of living in a society rather than as a hermit. Social capital has been described as both a glue and lubricant – a glue that holds societies together without […]
Low social capital could be described as any situation where there is a lack of social structure and organisation, and or where people are prone to act antisocially. Simply put social capital is the productive benefits of sociability. So, when people act or are likely to act antisocially we could describe the context as having […]
A simple way to describe social capital is the benefits derived from being social. The core idea of social capital is that ‘relationships matter’ and that social networks are a valuable asset. That being social and working together is important and valuable. Social capital is aspects of social context (the “social” bit) that have productive […]
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 […]