LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Social Capital: Robert Putnam
built 629 days ago
Social capital, according to Putnam, refers to the features of social organization including networks, norms, and trust that facilitate coordination and cooperation for mutual benefit. Putnam recognized that in regions with high social capital, residents are engaged in public issues, they trust one another, and obey laws. Social and political institutions tend to be organized horizontally, rather than hierarchically. Solidarity, civic participation, and integrity all tend to be highly valued.
Source:
Robert Putnam’s latest work on ethnic diversity and social capital, which shows a negative correlation between the two, has been published: Putnam, R.D. (2007) “E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century. The 2006 Joahn Skytte Prize Lecture”, Scandinavian Political Studies, 30(2):137-174. The study presents results based on the data from the 2000 […]
Source:
Social capital "refers to the collective value of all "social networks" and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other." - Robert Putnam The term "capital" is used by analogy with other forms of economic capital.
Source:
Much of the debate over Putnam's research concerns the empirical validity of his basic finding that American social capital has been declining over the past two generations. Numerous scholars have earlier pointed to contradictory data showing that groups and group membership have actually been increasing over the time period covered by Putnam, or else that the available data simply do not capture the reality of group life in a complex society like that of the United States. By definition, a newly formed group will be less institutionalized than a more established one, and hence less likely to keep good statistical information on itself, or to be observed by third parties collecting statistics on group memberships. There are a large number of informal social networks for which no data exist at all. On the other hand, Putnam excludes from his measures social capital in families, for which abundant evidence of decline exist.
Source:
Robert Putnam’s discussion of social capital, in particular, provides informal educators with a powerful rationale for their activities. After all the classic working environment for the informal educator is the group, club or organization. The evidence and analysis ... provides a case against those who want to target work towards those who present the most significant problems and tie informal educators’ activities to the achievement of specific outcomes in individuals. Several points need underlining here.
Source:
Some researchers, among them Robert Sampson, have concluded that neighborhoods that have more immigrants in them have lower levels of crime, potentially working through more social capital and greater social control. For a brief summary of such articles see Do Immigrants Make Us Safer? (NYT, 12/3/06, Sunday Magazine Section, p. 20, by Eyal Press).
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Robert Putnam