Suchergebnisse

A variável 'confiança' ganhou ultimamente largo uso nas pesquisas em ciências sociais e poucos conceitos parecem ter atraído tanta atenção de uma ampla variedade de disciplinas acadêmicas. Na ciência política. Nas teorias sobre capital social e cultura política, enfatizando sua importância para a democracia, a confiança tem sido considerada uma variável essencial para a compreensão das sociedades. Este trabalho aborda algumas das diferentes teorias que estão ligadas tanto à definição como aos efeitos da confiança generalizada e depois, tratará de questões ligadas à incerteza das medidas de confiança generalizada.

The variable trust has become widely used in the social science research lately and few concepts seem to have attracted so much attention from such a broad variety of academic disciplines. In political science in the theories on social capital and political culture, emphasizing its importance for democracy, trus has been seen as na essential variable for the understanding of societies. In social capital theory the generalized interpersonal trust is often given a particularly important role to initiate virtuous circles of development in the societies. This paper will treat some of the different theories that are connected both to the definition and the effects of generalized trust and then issues connected to the uncertainty of the measurements of generalized trust

Intergroup contacts can occur in many different places but are often studied only limited to a specific context. This study contributes with data that taps intergroup contacts that occur in both the private and the public sphere, using data from a large-scale survey directed towards individuals nested within 36 different municipalities and over 1,250 different neighborhoods with varying levels of visible minorities. The results also showed that just using the mere frequency of intergroup contacts is not sufficient to understand its association with community trust. Intergroup contacts that occurred in the neighborhood and in civil society organizations had a statistically significant association with community trust, while intergroup contacts that occurred in schools/workplaces and at home did not. The results also indicated that the neighborhood context moderated the impact of intergroup contacts. Whether contacts generated negative experiences mattered. Negative experiences mattered more for community trust especially for those who lived in diverse neighborhoods. The results indicated an asymmetry between the importance of positive and negative experiences of intergroup contacts for community trust.

This study examines the extent to which engagement within civil society relates to various forms of social trust among residents in local communities that received varying shares of asylum seekers during the European refugee crisis of 2015 to 2017. The study is based on a representative survey collected from individuals within 36 local Swedish communities that received very different shares of asylum seekers. The result suggests that engagement in civil society organizations moderates community trust under conditions of increased diversity. Outgroup trust varies with the share of asylum seekers only among those not involved in civil society. The results also suggest that involvement in civil society does not moderate generalized trust if the share of asylum seeker varies.

When dealing with the complex policy issue of how to maintain social cohesion within an increasingly diverse society, decision-makers often view civil society organizations as important actors that can provide opportunities for intergroup contacts and pathways for immigrants to integrate. The present study uses data from a large-scale survey directed toward individuals nested within 36 different local communities and over 1250 different neighbourhoods with varying levels of visible minorities. The results contribute by showing that it is important to consider not only the frequency of intergroup contacts but also the context in which those who are involved in civil society organizations live. Those who are involved in civil society organizations at the local level are embedded in local contexts that moderate how respondents perceive whether others are to be trusted. Very frequent intergroup contacts within civil society organizations correlated more strongly with higher levels of community and outgroup trust among those with native backgrounds who lived in diverse neighbourhoods. Similarly, the results indicated that perceptions of intergroup contact mattered. Neighbourhood diversity and outgroup trust were statistically significant only for those who perceived intergroup contacts to be very positive or rather positive. ; Funding Agencies|Swedish Ageny for Youth and Civil Society; Stiftelsen Lansforsakringsbolagens Forskningsfond

Intergroup contacts can occur in many different places but are often studied only limited to a specific context. This study contributes with data that taps intergroup contacts that occur in both the private and the public sphere, using data from a large-scale survey directed towards individuals nested within 36 different municipalities and over 1,250 different neighborhoods with varying levels of visible minorities. The results also showed that just using the mere frequency of intergroup contacts is not sufficient to understand its association with community trust. Intergroup contacts that occurred in the neighborhood and in civil society organizations had a statistically significant association with community trust, while intergroup contacts that occurred in schools/workplaces and at home did not. The results also indicated that the neighborhood context moderated the impact of intergroup contacts. Whether contacts generated negative experiences mattered. Negative experiences mattered more for community trust especially for those who lived in diverse neighborhoods. The results indicated an asymmetry between the importance of positive and negative experiences of intergroup contacts for community trust. ; Funding: Linkoping University; Lansforsakringars forskningsfonds grant; Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society

The aim of the present study is to investigate the potential link between religious participation and civic engagement in Sweden. Religious participation probably plays a different role in a secular context compared to a context where religion and politics are more intertwined. First, do those who regularly attend religious services in Sweden volunteer and participate in charitable giving more often compared with those who do not? Second, are those who regularly attend religious services more, or less, politically active between elections compared with those who do not in Sweden? Third, do those who regularly attend religious services in Sweden receive more requests to volunteer than those who do not? The study uses survey data on volunteering from random samples of individuals in Sweden. Results showed that volunteering was limited to a restricted group of organizations. There is a higher propensity among those who regularly attend religious services to volunteer within political parties. Those who frequently attend church were significantly more often requested to volunteer by someone else.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the potential link between religious participation and civic engagement in Sweden. Religious participation probably plays a different role in a secular context compared to a context where religion and politics are more intertwined. First, do those who regularly attend religious services in Sweden volunteer and participate in charitable giving more often compared with those who do not? Second, are those who regularly attend religious services more, or less, politically active between elections compared with those who do not in Sweden? Third, do those who regularly attend religious services in Sweden receive more requests to volunteer than those who do not? The study uses survey data on volunteering from random samples of individuals in Sweden. Results showed that volunteering was limited to a restricted group of organizations. There is a higher propensity among those who regularly attend religious services to volunteer within political parties. Those who frequently attend church were significantly more often requested to volunteer by someone else. ; Funding: Linkoping University

The aim of this paper is thus to further explore the relationship between involvement in voluntary associations at the community level and specific forms of political participation. We pose the following questions. Do voluntary associations contribute to specific forms of individual political participation in a consociational context? Do voluntary associations encourage forms of political participation aimed at directly interacting with the policy process, or do they promote extraparliamentary forms of protest? The study contributes with testing three different measurements of community level involvement in voluntary associations and their correlations with individual level political participation. The empirical data is based upon a mulitilevel sample of 4232 individuals located in 33 different Swedish municipalities. Results show that only direct contacts with local elites are significantly correlated with community level participation in civil society organizations. This result may be interpreted as indicating that local voluntary associations contribute to the local political culture.

AbstractThe aim of this paper is thus to further explore the relationship between involvement in voluntary associations at the community level and specific forms of political participation. We pose the following questions. Do voluntary associations contribute to specific forms of individual political participation in a consociational context? Do voluntary associations encourage forms of political participation aimed at directly interacting with the policy process, or do they promote extraparliamentary forms of protest? The study contributes with testing three different measurements of community level involvement in voluntary associations and their correlations with individual level political participation. The empirical data is based upon a mulitilevel sample of 4232 individuals located in 33 different Swedish municipalities. Results show that only direct contacts with local elites are significantly correlated with community level participation in civil society organizations. This result may be interpreted as indicating that local voluntary associations contribute to the local political culture.

A cornerstone of democracy is the capacity of citizens to influence political decisions either through elections or by making their will known in the periods between elections. The aim of the present study is twofold: (1) to explore what factors inherent of the voluntary associations that determine the perceived success in their attempts to influence policy and (2) to investigate what role the composition of the local government have on the perceived success. This study is based on a survey conducted among 404 local voluntary associations in four different municipalities in Sweden. The results show that the frequency contacts influence perceived success positively, while the level of civic engagement of the voluntary associations affected the perceived success negatively. Having a heterogeneous local government also contributed positively to the perceived success to influence policy. ; Publ online June 2013