Coleman Social Capital

Social capital is defined as the capacity of social institutions, such as families, churches, schools, or other community organizations to make an investment of attention and advice, support and concerned interest in other community members according to reformer L.J. Hanifan. As a dependent of the community social capital is applied to my everyday life. It helps me to obtain resources for my education such as scholarships, teaches me how to work together with my peers, becoming a positive role model to youth, and build trusting relationships with others in the community. Social capital is seen as a support group from leaders in the community.

For this reading reflection on Chapter eight from Berkman, was based on social capital, social cohesion, and health. By the introduction of the chapter, it goes over the definition of social capital and its theoretical pathways that links into health. According to the text, social capital is being defined as “resources that are accessed by individuals as a result of their membership of a network or a group” (Berkman 291). For the theoretical pathways of social capital to health, it goes over the three group-level mechanisms merit that is relevant to health outcomes is social contagion, informal social control, and collective efficacy, where they all benefit to their group such as a community (Berkman 293). However, there is a dark side to social

First, community is reinforced when the phrase “every one belongs to every one else” is said by Lenini, Fanny, and later Henry Foster(Huxley 43, 46). This introduces the idea that the people in the community are a support system for each other. Second, the idea of identity is reinforced by the separation of the classes and the value for intelligence. The higher classes are looked up at because of their intelligence and ability. On the other hand, the lower classes are looked down upon because of their lack of intelligence and ability. Third, stability is reinforced when the Controller says “No civilization without social stability. No social stability without individual stability(Huxley 42).” He stresses the importance of stability of society and goes on to explain that war and unhappiness is caused by an unstable society. Also, he explains how far society has come and the struggle to establish the “perfect

Social capital is the is the social connections that allow for social interactions in which an individual has opportunities to build bonds, help others out, and affect change for the better. When the social engagement is reciprocated, it can produce benefits for the multiple individuals engaged in the activity and so further the circumstance of the society.

Social Construction is defined by Society: the Basics as “the process by which people creatively shape reality through social

Community is built of two main elements. First, community requires communal caring. Members need to put themselves in positions where they are able to relate to other members and does everything “within reasonable limits of self-sacrifice” (65). The second is communal reciprocity. Individuals will serve other members of the community, not for exchange of goods, but to provide generosity and support. These elements of community appear in the lives of all individuals, even the most capitalist ones. Humans are entirely capable of these.

According to many such as Reed-Danahay, Pierre Bourdieu, a French sociologist of the 20th century is recognized as being among the most instrumental sociologists of our epoch. According to Bourdieu, one’s existence is not merely to exist but in reality is to find existence within a social context in order to find recognition. According to Bourdieu, individuals strengthen and reproduce their social status within a specific class through the use of cultural and social capital. Social capital is defined as one’s association with important connections or involvement within society whereas cultural capital is outlined as an individual’s level of knowledge, experiences and education. He argues that social capital and cultural capital is equally

When discussing why societies are better with deep social capital, Putnam writes “dense networks of interaction probably broaden the participants' sense of self, developing the "I" into the "we” (Putnam, 1995, pp. 2-3). To me, this means that when people are not concerned with only themselves but also with others, things like peace building and community involvement occur. In terms of peace building, if social capital was dense and I had a high social capital level, when something intrigued me and drove me to advocate for peace such as ending violence, it wouldn’t be a fight that I was starting alone but instead the “we” would help fight this battle. For me, this means that if I really want to make a difference in this world, I need to be more involved and increase my social capital. By doing so, I can impact others to do the same and the chances of building peace as a community would be greater. Furthermore, the piece in the article where he ties the whole concept of social capital and its decline to bowling really hit home for me. When it is put in perspective in such a way that Putnam did to describe how even bowling has decreased in profits because people prefer now to bowl alone rather than a s a group or in a league, it really forced one to reflect upon their own involvement. (Putnam, 2010). If as a society and even myself we continue to not fully engage with others but rather masked by technology and our own life circumstances, peace will never be built. As someone who believes in social justice, I know that peace is something I want to help build and thus need to change my social capital

Studies have also found that dropping out is more likely to occur among students from single-parent families and students with an older sibling who has already dropped out than among counterparts without these characteristics. Other aspects of a student's home life such as level of parental involvement and support, parent's educational expectations, parent's attitudes about school, and stability of the family environment can also influence a youth's decision to stay in school. For example, results from the NCES study found that students whose parents were not actively involved in the student's school, whose parents infrequently talked to them about school-related matters, or whose parents held low expectations for their child's future educational achievement were more likely to drop out.

Through social capital, there is a spontaneous cooperation within the people. Spontaneous cooperation emphasizes the value of trust, and the importance of being both reliable and honest as a

There has been considerable and growing interest in social capital theory in current years, evidenced by its relevance to various disciplines and numerous subject areas. This interest stems from the appeal of the concept as it integrates sociology and economics, and combines a number of ideas including civic tradition, civicness, civic involvement and social cohesion. Existing studies have suggested that social capital has considerable benefits for a range of economic and sociological outcomes. These purported benefits, and the concept behind social capital, are not new but rooted in the work of early economic and sociologic thinkers.

The final form of capital Bourdieu goes over is social capital. He mentions that “social capital, made up of social obligations (‘connections’), which is convertible, in certain conditions, into economic capital and may be institutionalized in the forms of a title of nobility” (Bourdieu 1986, p.243). Social capital is a way to gain both cultural and economic capital. Belonging to a certain group allows a person access to things people within those groups

Social capital refers to the quality of interactions among people and whether they share a common perspective. The culture of an organization contributes to the level of social capital an organization can achieve. When social capital in an organization is high you will find strong positive relationships built on honesty, trust, respect and mutual understanding. This motivates people to

It is common saying that, man is a social animal and a person cannot survive without a society [Hamirani 2008].

One theme that emerged in our course discussion was that humans are in desperate need of community, but our social structure dictates that community is not a priority -- our main objective is to produce and acquire, and through this misguided and rather