Download or read book Social Epidemiology written by Lisa F. Berkman and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-03-09 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book shows the important links between social conditions and health and begins to describe the processes through which these health inequalities may be generated. It reviews a range of methodologies that could be used by health researchers in this field and proposes innovative future research directions.
Download or read book Social Capital and Health written by Ichiro Kawachi and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As interest in social capital has grown over the past decade—particularly in public health —so has the lack of consensus on exactly what it is and what makes it worth studying. Ichiro Kawachi, a widely respected leader in the field, and 21 contributors (including physicians, economists, and public health experts) discuss the theoretical origins of social capital, the strengths and limitations of current methodologies of measuring it, and salient examples of social capital concepts informing public health practice. Among the highlights: Measurement methods: survey, sociometric, ethnographic, experimental The relationship between social capital and physical health and health behaviors: smoking, substance abuse, physical activity, sexual activity Social capital and mental health: early findings Social capital and the aging community Social capital and disaster preparedness Social Capital and Health is certain to inspire a new generation of research on this topic, and will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in public health, health behavior, and social epidemiology.
Download or read book Corporate Social Capital and Liability written by Roger Th.A.J. Leenders and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 1999-07-31 with total page 586 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What enables some organizations to routinely perform better than others? Conversely, what makes some firms consistently perform worse than their competitors? Within a single corporation, what enables some teams or individual firm members to outperform their counterparts? Through the concept of social capital, this book addresses these questions by studying the effects of relationship networks on the ability of corporate players (firms and their members) to attain their professional goals. The idea of social capital has become one of the premier approaches to studying networks in the context of organizations but the literature still lacks a conceptual paradigm that connects the various approaches, definitions and measure of social capital into an integrated analytical model. By explicitly connecting social networks to the goals of corporate players, this book provides a unifying framework to the study of social capital in an organizational context. In this volume `social capital' is defined as the resources that accrue to an actor through his or her social relationships and that aid in the attainment of goals. The book introduces the new notion of `social liability' as a framework to analyze the negative effects social networks can have on the attainment of goals by firms and/or their members. Corporate Social Capital and Liability thus presents a new way to tie together findings and approaches in the literature by explicitly addressing the distinction between networks and outcomes, the distinction between networks at the level of firms and networks at the level of individuals, and the distinction between positive outcomes of social structure (social capital) and negative outcomes (social liability). The book's contributors are forty-six acclaimed scholars from around the world with backgrounds in management, business and sociology. Together, they describe how social relationships within and between firms positively affect the ability of corporations to achieve fruitful alliances; gain access to information, resources, knowledge and financial capital; and recruit qualified personnel. The book makes an explicit distinction between networks at the level of firms and networks at the level of individuals. The outcomes of networks are also considered at these different analytical levels by addressing such questions as: how do social relationships between firms assist firms and individuals in the attainment of their goals? How do these relationships obstruct goals? What is the effect of networks between individuals (within and between firms) on the performance of these individuals and the firms they work for? Can networks be managed to yield social capital rather than social liability? The unifying framework of social capital and social liability is helpful in studying business enterprises, and also useful in other disciplines which analyze social networks and organizations, such as community studies, economics, and political science.
Download or read book Bowling Alone Revised and Updated written by Robert D. Putnam and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2020-10-13 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated to include a new chapter about the influence of social media and the Internet—the 20th anniversary edition of Bowling Alone remains a seminal work of social analysis, and its examination of what happened to our sense of community remains more relevant than ever in today’s fractured America. Twenty years, ago, Robert D. Putnam made a seemingly simple observation: once we bowled in leagues, usually after work; but no longer. This seemingly small phenomenon symbolized a significant social change that became the basis of the acclaimed bestseller, Bowling Alone, which The Washington Post called “a very important book” and Putnam, “the de Tocqueville of our generation.” Bowling Alone surveyed in detail Americans’ changing behavior over the decades, showing how we had become increasingly disconnected from family, friends, neighbors, and social structures, whether it’s with the PTA, church, clubs, political parties, or bowling leagues. In the revised edition of his classic work, Putnam shows how our shrinking access to the “social capital” that is the reward of communal activity and community sharing still poses a serious threat to our civic and personal health, and how these consequences have a new resonance for our divided country today. He includes critical new material on the pervasive influence of social media and the internet, which has introduced previously unthinkable opportunities for social connection—as well as unprecedented levels of alienation and isolation. At the time of its publication, Putnam’s then-groundbreaking work showed how social bonds are the most powerful predictor of life satisfaction, and how the loss of social capital is felt in critical ways, acting as a strong predictor of crime rates and other measures of neighborhood quality of life, and affecting our health in other ways. While the ways in which we connect, or become disconnected, have changed over the decades, his central argument remains as powerful and urgent as ever: mending our frayed social capital is key to preserving the very fabric of our society.
Download or read book Social Capital written by David Halpern and published by Polity. This book was released on 2005 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work presents an introduction to the concept of social capital - a term which refers to the social networks, informal structures and norms that facilitate individual and collective action.
Download or read book African Education and Globalization written by Ali A. Abdi and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2006 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Containing both theoretical discussions of globalization and specific case analyses of individual African countries, this collection of essays examines the intersections of African education and globalization with multiple analytical and geographical emphases and intentions.
Download or read book Social Capital and Poor Communities written by Susan Saegert and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2002-01-10 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Neighborhood support groups have always played a key role in helping the poor survive, but combating poverty requires more than simply meeting the needs of day-to-day subsistence. Social Capital and Poor Communities shows the significant achievements that can be made through collective strategies, which empower the poor to become active partners in revitalizing their neighborhoods. Trust and cooperation among residents and local organizations such as churches, small businesses, and unions form the basis of social capital, which provides access to resources that would otherwise be out of reach to poor families. Social Capital and Poor Communities examines civic initiatives that have built affordable housing, fostered small businesses, promoted neighborhood safety, and increased political participation. At the core of each initiative lie local institutions—church congregations, parent-teacher groups, tenant associations, and community improvement alliances. The contributors explore how such groups build networks of leaders and followers and how the social power they cultivate can be successfully transferred from smaller goals to broader political advocacy. For example, community-based groups often become platforms for leaders hoping to run for local office. Church-based groups and interfaith organizations can lobby for affordable housing, job training programs, and school improvement. Social Capital and Poor Communities convincingly demonstrates why building social capital is so important in enabling the poor to seek greater access to financial resources and public services. As the contributors make clear, this task is neither automatic nor easy. The book's frank discussions of both successes and failures illustrate the pitfalls—conflicts of interest, resistance from power elites, and racial exclusion—that can threaten even the most promising initiatives. The impressive evidence in this volume offers valuable insights into how goal formation, leadership, and cooperation can be effectively cultivated, resulting in a remarkable force for change and a rich public life even for those communities mired in seemingly hopeless poverty. A Volume in the Ford Foundation Series on Asset Building
Download or read book Social Capital written by Partha Dasgupta and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2000 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contains a number of papers presented at a workshop organised by the World Bank in 1997 on the theme of 'Social Capital: Integrating the Economist's and the Sociologist's Perspectives'. The concept of 'social capital' is considered through a number of theoretical and empirical studies which discuss its analytical foundations, as well as institutional and statistical analyses of the concept. It includes the classic 1987 article by the late James Coleman, 'Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital', which formed the basis for the development of social capital as an organising concept in the social sciences.
Download or read book The Benefits of Learning written by Tom Schuller and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting the findings of the first large scale study on the social consequences of participation in various forms of adult and lifelong learning, this book investigates the relationships between education and key social concerns such as health.
Download or read book Community Organizing written by Ross J. Gittell and published by SAGE. This book was released on 1998-06-10 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing new insight into an important community development challenge, this text looks at how to stimulate the formation of community-based organizations and effective citizen action in neighbourhoods.
Download or read book In Good Company How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work written by Don Cohen and published by . This book was released on 2001-02 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Knowledge has always resided in organizations-but it wasn't until the Information Age put a premium on ideas that intellectual capital was recognized as a critical resource. Now, forces like technology, globalization, and the rise of free agency and virtual workplaces are bringing another form of "hidden" capital to the forefront. In Good Company is the first book to examine the role that social capital-a company's "stock" of human connections such as trust, personal networks, and a sense of community-plays in thriving organizations. Written by leading knowledge management experts Don Cohen and Laurence Prusak, this groundbreaking book argues that social capital is so integral to business life that without it, cooperative action-and consequently productive work-isn't possible. The authors help today's leaders understand the nature and value of social capital, suggest ways they can encourage and enhance it, and explore how they can protect this vital but increasingly vulnerable resource in a volatile, virtual world. Drawing on major social and economic theories, and the experiences of organizations including the World Bank, Aventis Pharma, Alcoa, Russell Reynolds, and UPS, In Good Company identifies the social elements that contribute to knowledge sharing, innovation, and high productivity. The authors convincingly show how almost every managerial decision-from hiring, firing, and promotion to implementing new technologies to designing office space-is an opportunity for social capital investment or loss. They also reveal the benefits that derive from investments in social capital, such as greater commitment and cooperation, increased talent retention, and more intelligent responses to customer needs. A landmark book on the critical role that relationships play in organizational success, In Good Company helps employees at all levels recognize the power of social capital to help people work better, and make organizations better places to work. Don Cohen is a writer, consultant, and the editor of Knowledge Directions . Laurence Prusak is Executive Director of the IBM Institute for Knowledge Management and co-author of Working Knowledge: How Organizations Manage What They Know .
Download or read book Communities and Technologies 2007 written by Charles Steinfield and published by Springer. This book was released on 2007-07-16 with total page 565 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book covers the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and communities – both physical and virtual. Community technology applications are studied in many contexts. The book demonstrates the dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of evolving communities and technologies scholarship.
Download or read book Our Kids written by Robert D. Putnam and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-03-29 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The bestselling author of Bowling Alone offers [an] ... examination of the American Dream in crisis--how and why opportunities for upward mobility are diminishing, jeopardizing the prospects of an ever larger segment of Americans"--
Download or read book Why the Garden Club Couldn t Save Youngstown written by Sean Safford and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-31 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Sean Safford compares the recent history of Allentown, Pennsylvania, with that of Youngstown, Ohio. Allentown has seen a noticeable rebound over the course of the past twenty years. Facing a collapse of its steel-making firms, its economy has reinvented itself by transforming existing companies, building an entrepreneurial sector, and attracting inward investment. Youngstown was similar to Allentown in its industrial history, the composition of its labor force, and other important variables, and yet instead of adapting in the face of acute economic crisis, it fell into a mean race to the bottom.Challenging various theoretical perspectives on regional socioeconomic change, Why the Garden Club Couldn’t Save Youngstown argues that the structure of social networks among the cities’ economic, political, and civic leaders account for the divergent trajectories of post-industrial regions. It offers a probing historical explanation for the decline, fall, and unlikely rejuvenation of the Rust Belt. Emphasizing the power of social networks to shape action, determine access to and control over information and resources, define the contexts in which problems are viewed, and enable collective action in the face of externally generated crises, this book points toward present-day policy prescriptions for the ongoing plight of mature industrial regions in the U.S. and abroad.
Download or read book Social Capital and Information Technology written by Marleen Huysman and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A multidisciplinary examination of the interplay between social capital--the value derived from social ties--and information technology. The concept of social capital, or the value that can be derived from social ties created by goodwill, mutual support, shared language, common beliefs, and a sense of mutual obligation, has been applied to a number of fields, from sociology to management. It is only lately, however, that researchers in information technology and knowledge management have begun to explore the idea of social capital in relation to their fields. This collection of thirteen essays by computer scientists, sociologists, communication specialists, economists, and others presents a multidisciplinary look at this particular intersection of information technology and social science and the need to adopt a sociotechnical perspective.For the most part the contributors take a positive view of the interplay of social capital, knowledge sharing, and community building. Some essays look at specific instances, including the on-line and face-to-face relationships of a community of athletes, the building of social capital among Iranian NGOs, and the Internet-based communities created by the open-source movement, while others discuss more general ideas of civic and personal communities. The last four essays examine computer applications that augment social capital, including topic- and member-centered communications spaces such as the Expert Finder and the Loops system and virtual repositories of knowledge such as the Answer Garden and Pearls of Wisdom.
Download or read book Putting Purpose Into Practice written by Colin Mayer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to provide a precise description of how companies can put purpose into practice. Based on groundbreaking research undertaken between Oxford University and Mars Catalyst, it offers an accessible account of why corporate purpose is so important and how it can be implemented to address the major challenges the world faces today.
Download or read book Brokerage and Closure written by Ronald S. Burt and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2007-09-06 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social Capital, the advantage created by location in social structure, is a critical element in business strategy. Who has it, how it works, and how to develop it have become key questions as markets, organizations, and careers become more and more dependent on informal, discretionary relationships. The formal organization deals with accountability; Everything else flows through the informal: advice, coordination, cooperation friendship, gossip, knowledge, trust. Informal relations have always been with us, they have always mattered. What is new is the range of activities in which they now matter, and the emerging clarity we have about how they create advantage for certain people at the expense of others. This is done by brokerage and closure. Ronald S. Burt builds upon his celebrated work in this area to explore the nature of brokerage and closure. Brokerage is the activity of people who live at the intersection of social worlds, who have a vision advantage of seeing and developing good ideas, an advantage which can be seen in their compensation, recognition, and the responsibility they're entrusted with in comparison to their peers. Closure is the tightening of coordination in a closed network of people, and people who do this do well as a complement to brokers because of the trust and alignment they create. Brokerage and Closure explores how these elements work together to define social capital, showing how in the business world reputation has come to replace authority, pursued opportunity assignment, and reward has come to be associated with achieving competitive advantage in a social order of continuous disequilibrium.
