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Most quantitative research in social capital focuses on civic engagement in formal organisations. Data on social capital in informal social networks are harder to obtain and there has also been insufficient means for investigating this. In this paper, we use the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to conceptualise and measure three types of social capital: neighbourhood attachment, social network and civic participation. The first two refer to informal social networks and the last to formal social networks. We use gllamm (Generalized Linear Latent and Mixed Models) to construct the latent variable scores from the categorical component variables. We also analyse the socio-cultural determinants of the three types of social capital and their impacts on social trust. The results show that socio-cultural conditions affect social capital generation. People in disadvantaged positions are more likely to draw social capital from weak ties and those in advantaged positions are more likely to do so from formal civic engagement. We also find that social capital has an effect over and above people's own socio-cultural positions. Informal social networks, especially having good neighbourly relations, tend to foster greater trust than does formal civic engagement.

The underlying frame of social work is the nation state, and it is from within the state that welfare strategies and social policies are devised and implemented. However, post-colonialism, globalisation, migration and the associated implications for human rights, social justice and social welfare policies contest the idea of a clearly defined space for social work and present new challenges for researchers and practitioners. Transnational Social Work and Social Welfare argues for the increased importance of the transnational perspective in social work theory and practice. The book challenges the idea of the nation state as a given entity and argues that globalization and an increasing number of people crossing borders must have an impact on the theories and strategies of social work. The international contributors are critical of a restricted focus on a geographically defined space and the impact on work with clients. With cases covering China, France, India, UK, Germany, Malaysia, Israel, Turkey, the book highlights the challenges as well as the opportunities this new perspective can open up for theories and strategies in social work. It will be of interest to students, researchers and social workers interested in migration, social care, poverty and cultural competency in health and social care.

This book offers a systematic view of social analysis that will advance the communication of results between different academic disciplines. It overcomes misunderstandings that are due to the use of an unstructured variety of methodological traditions in the analysis of complex socioeconomic and political processes. The book focuses on the special features of human society: humans as subjects, non-repetitiveness and irreversibility of social actions, and the peculiar relations between necessity and possibility in human action. It defines methodological criteria, procedures and rules that enable researchers to select and classify realistic hypotheses to derive general principles and basic organizational features. It then applies these criteria in critical reviews of major theories and interpretations of society and history, offering clarifications and alternative proposals with regard to crucial aspects of anthropological, political, juridical, sociological, and religious thought.

ABSTRACTThis paper is inspired by the observation that the social norm approach (SNA) to socially desirable behaviour change – that is,telling people about what lots of other people do– retains something of a Cinderella role among social marketing practitioners and academics. Thus, the objective of this paper is to bring the social norm approach to the attention of a wider – and specifically, marketing and social marketing – audience, in the hope that the practice, study and critical analysis of the approach can be widened and deepened. We begin this task by tracing the background of the social norm approach to its origins in psychology and social psychology and by discussing a number of typical social norm campaigns. Thereafter, we review four key characteristics of successful social norm campaigns. In our discussion, we return to a more theoretical discussion of how the social norm approach works, and we pose a number of questions that emerge from the paper. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This long-awaited two-volume book examines how the interplay of ideas and actions applied to environmental problems has laid the foundations for global environmental management. It looks at how ideas, interests, and institutions affect management practice; how management capabilities in other areas affect the ability to deal with specific environmental issues; and how learning affects society's approach to the global environment.The book focuses on efforts to deal with climate change, ozone depletion, and acid rain from 1957 (The International Geophysical Year) through 1992 (the UN Conference on Environment and Development). The settings include Canada, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the former Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and international environmental organizations. Topics include problem framing, agenda setting, issue attention, risk assessment, monitoring, option assessment, goal and strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. Volume 1 provides an overview of the project, of global environmental management in general, and of the three central environmental issues studied; it also contains the individual country studies. Volume 2 contains the management function studies and the book's conclusion.Authors in the set includeJeannine Cavender-Bares, William C. Clark, Ellis Cowling, Nancy M. Dickson, Gerda Dinkelman, Rodney Dobell, Renate Ell, Adam Fenech, Alexander Ginzburg, Elena Goncharova, Peter Haas, Eva Hizsnyik, Michael Huber, Peter Hughes, Jill Jager, Marc Levy, Angela Liberatore, Diana Liverman, Justin Longo, David McCabe, Donald Munton, Elena Nikitina, Karen O'Brien, Edward Parson, Vladimir Pisarev, Ruud Pleune, Miranda Schreurs, Simon Shackley, Peter Simmons, Heather Smith, Vassily Sokolov, Ferenc L. Toth, Jeroen van der Sluijs, Josee van Eijndhoven, Claire Waterton, Cor Worrell, and Brian Wynne.More information is available from the SLG web site.

This paper discusses the deepening of the current capitalist crisis in practical/theoretical groundings; its overcoming is not simply a theoretical but a concrete question. While the US-capitalism becomes more aggressive, its theoretical apprehension has been historically suppressed and substituted by more unifying discourses. A new paradigm arises: political left and right have merged. The political programs of the last decades were caught off guarded and cannot offer concrete, satisfying answers to real, social demands. However, the reorganisation of the Left from within could open the possibility for real social transformation. ; This paper discusses the deepening of the current capitalist crisis in practical/theoretical groundings; its overcoming is not simply a theoretical but a concrete question. While the US-capitalism becomes more aggressive, its theoretical apprehension has been historically suppressed and substituted by more unifying discourses. A new paradigm arises: political left and right have merged. The political programs of the last decades were caught off guarded and cannot offer concrete, satisfying answers to real, social demands. However, the reorganisation of the Left from within could open the possibility for real social transformation.

Examines issues related to the use of social research in planning & formulating social policy, reviews a series of models of research use, & considers researchers' motives for producing policy-relevant research as well as the institutional obstacles they face. Focus is on practical characteristics of a research study that increase the likelihood of its consideration & application by policymakers. Recommendations are made for discussion & research in this area. 29 References. Adapted from the source document.

Social entrepreneurship is usually understood as an economic activity which focuses at social values, goals, and investments that generates surpluses for social entrepreneurs as individuals, groups, and startups who are working for the benefit of communities, instead of strictly focusing mainly at the financial profit, economic values, and the benefit generated for shareholders or owners. Social entrepreneurship combines the production of goods, services, and knowledge in order to achieve both social and economic goals and allow for solidarity building. From a broader perspective, entities that are focused on social entrepreneurship are identified as parts of the social and solidarity economy. These are, for example, social enterprises, cooperatives, mutual organizations, self-help groups, charities, unions, fair trade companies, community enterprises, and time banks. Social innovation is a key element of social entrepreneurship. Social innovation is usually understood as new strategies, concepts, products, services, and organizational forms that allow for the satisfaction of needs. Such innovations are created in particular in the contact areas of various sectors of the social system. For example, these are spaces between the public sector, the private sector, and civil society. These innovations not only allow the solving of problems but also extend possibilities for public action.