Social Capital, Social Identities

Social Capital, Social Identities
Author: Dieter Thomä
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2014-08-19
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110381826

Current research on social capital tends to focus on an economic reading of social relations. Whereas economists pride themselves on reaching out to social theory at-large, sociologists criticize the economization of the social fabric. The concept of social capital serves as a touchstone for the study of the role of the economy in modern societies. It serves as a breach for expanding the reach of economic categories, yet it also yields the opportunity for questioning and transforming economic premises in the light of social theory and philosophy. Exploring the concept of social capital in the context of related terms like embeddedness, trust, sociability, and cooperation is particularly instructive. This collection of papers from various disciplines (philosophy, sociology, economics, religious studies) combines conceptual studies and empirical findings. It is a plea for re-embedding economic thought in a broader theoretical framework. By exploring the varieties of social identities implied in the theories of social capital, the authors argue for a social (or more sociable) conception of man.

Transnational Families

Transnational Families
Author: Harry Goulbourne
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2010-01-21
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1135181942

Contemporary Western society is changing and, controversially, migration is often flagged up as one of the reasons why. The nature of population change challenges the conventional understandings of family forms and networks whilst multiculturalism poses challenges to our understanding of social change, families and social capital. This innovative book provides an overview of the emergence of new understandings of ethnicities, identities and family forms across a number of ethnic groups, family types, and national boundaries. Based on new empirical data from fairly distinct sets of transnational family networks in minority communities with a substantial presence in the United Kingdom – principally, Caribbean and Italian, but also drawing on others such as Indian – it examines their lived experiences and uses the concept of social capital to explore how these families manage to maintain close and meaningful links. Transnational Families discusses, explains and illustrates the substantial problems and issues confronted by communities and families, academics and policy-makers/implementers, and non-governmental organisations within a transnational world. It will be of interest to students and scholars of migration, transnationalism, families and globalisation.

Social Capital and Economics

Social Capital and Economics
Author: Asimina Christoforou
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2014-05-30
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1135050686

This volume provides a collection of critical new perspectives on social capital theory by examining how social values, power relationships, and social identity interact with social capital. This book seeks to extend this theory into what have been largely under-investigated domains, and, at the same time, address long-standing, classic questions in the literature concerning the forms, determinants, and consequences of social capital. Social capital can be understood in terms of social norms and networks. It manifests itself in patterns of trust, reciprocity, and cooperation. The authors argue that the degree to which and the different ways in which people exhibit these distinctively social behaviours depend on how norms and networks elicit their values, reflect power relationships, and draw on their social identities. This volume accordingly adopts a variety of different concepts and measures that incorporate the variety of contextually-specific factors that operate on social capital formation. In addition, it adopts an interdisciplinary outlook that combines a wide range of social science disciplines and methods of social research. Our objective is to challenge standard rationality theory explanations of norms and networks which overlook the role of values, power, and identity. This volume appeals to researchers and students in multiple social sciences, including economics, sociology, political science, social psychology, history, public policy, and international relations, that employ social capital concepts and methods in their research. It can be seen as a set of new extensions of social capital theory in connection with its themes of social values, power, and identity that would advance the scholarly literature on social norms and networks and their impact on social change and public welfare.

Groups at Work

Groups at Work
Author: Marlene E. Turner
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 567
Release: 2014-04-04
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1317779185

This book has two purposes. First, it is fundamentally about groups at work, both as they attempt to accomplish their goals and as they operate in organizational settings. Second, it draws together group researchers from social psychological and organizational studies. Each chapter focuses on a central issue regarding groups as they work and examines that issue by drawing from both social psychological and organizational research. Thus, this book centers on the convergence and divergence of these two fields.

Young People, Social Capital and Ethnic Identity

Young People, Social Capital and Ethnic Identity
Author: Tracey Reynolds
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2013-10-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317966562

Social capital and ethnicity are crucial to young people’s understandings of their social world. The strong bonding networks often assumed in ethnic groups suggest that individuals may prefer to be bonded to each other according to shared socio-cultural factors such as shared histories, memories, language, customs, traditions and values. However, bridging forms of social capital allow new understandings of ethnic identities to emerge, and which involve dynamic and complex social processes that are continually changing and evolving according to time, location and context. This book explores the ways in which the concepts of social capital and ethnicity play a central role in young people’s relationships, participation in wider social networks and the construction of identities. Researchers and scholars working in the fields of children and youth studies, education, families, social and racial and ethnic studies, offer differing accounts of the ways in which social capital operates in young people’s lives across diverse social settings and ethnic groups. This edited book is timely and significant given the public interest of researchers, academics, politicians and policymakers working in areas of youth and community work, race relations and cultural diversity. This book was published as a special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies.

Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated

Bowling Alone: Revised and Updated
Author: Robert D. Putnam
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Total Pages: 592
Release: 2020-10-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1982130849

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.

Social Justice, Education and Identity

Social Justice, Education and Identity
Author: Carol Vincent
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2003-12-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1134433484

This collection will give readers interested in questions of social justice and education access to the work of some of the key contributors to the debate in the UK.

Principles of Entrepreneurship in the Industry 4.0 Era

Principles of Entrepreneurship in the Industry 4.0 Era
Author: Rajender Kumar
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2022-10-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1000738639

The feature that distinguishes this book from all other books on entrepreneurship is the comprehensive discussion of the challenges and opportunities that entrepreneurs encounter in the Industry 4.0 era. It enables readers to start dreaming big, visualizing, and encourages them to think clearly and creatively. The book emphasizes creativity and innovation as the core of entrepreneurship, by stretching imagination, thinking about problems and solutions, and visualizing their ventures at the local, national, and global scale. It also discusses the role of women in private enterprise, and entrepreneurship in the post COVID-19 world.

Virtual Social Identity and Consumer Behavior

Virtual Social Identity and Consumer Behavior
Author: Natalie T. Wood
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2014-12-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317452577

The creation and expression of identity (or of multiple identities) in immersive computer-mediated environments (CMEs) is rapidly transforming consumer behavior. The various social networking and gaming sites have millions of registered users worldwide, and major corporations are beginning to attempt to reach and entice the growing flood of consumers occupying these virtual worlds. Despite this huge potential, however, experts know very little about the best way to talk to consumers in these online environments. How will well-established research findings from the offline world transfer to CMEs? That's where "Virtual Social Identity and Consumer Behavior" comes in. Written by two of the leading experts in the field, it presents cutting-edge academic research on virtual social identity, explores consumer behavior in virtual worlds, and offers important implications for marketers interested in working in these environments. The book provides special insight into the largest and fastest growing group of users - kids and teens. There is no better source for understanding the impact of virtual social identities on consumers, consumer behavior, and electronic commerce.

Identity Economics

Identity Economics
Author: Meral Uzunöz Altan
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2024-07-08
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1040088074

Critics contend that identity economics overemphasizes social identities as drivers of economic activity, potentially obscuring other elements including personal preferences, incentives, and market pressures. Identity-related notions are challenging to measure and quantify meaningfully and rigorously, which is one of the most common criticisms. Identity economics has long been debated by economic scientists and practitioners, but it is still considered to be in its infancy, which also draws attention to the absence of a clear consensus and solid empirical support. This book fills that gap by providing an in-depth analysis of the main claims made in favour of identity economics. It explores the reliability of identity-based explanations, the difficulties with measurement and quantification, concerns about overgeneralization and essentialism, the function of economic institutions, policy implications, a lack of agreement and empirical evidence, and considerations of intersectionality and multidimensionality. The book considers three interrelated aims. Firstly, it familiarizes readers with the concept of Identity Economics. Secondly, and essentially, it persuades a larger audience of the relevance and creativity of this sector, and thirdly, it advocates for the applicability of the approach to the field of knowledge. The focus of the examination centres around these three objectives. Few would argue that identity impacts our decisions but given that solid theory is predicated on good abstraction, the real question is whether we lose anything by excluding identity from the theory. The book skilfully weaves together the literature from several disciplines including regional, gender, labour, social areas of studies, thus academics, students, and researchers in these fields will find the individual contributions useful for their respective areas of study.