Social Capital and Natural Hazards Governance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Aldrich ◽  
Michelle A. Meyer ◽  
Courtney M. Page-Tan
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Community Resilience ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
The Impact

The impact of disasters continues to grow in the early 21st century, as extreme weather events become more frequent and population density in vulnerable coastal and inland cities increases. Against this backdrop of risk, decision-makers persist in focusing primarily on structural measures to reduce losses centered on physical infrastructure such as berms, seawalls, retrofitted buildings, and levees. Yet a growing body of research emphasizes that strengthening social infrastructure, not just physical infrastructure, serves as a cost-effective way to improve the ability of communities to withstand and rebound from disasters. Three distinct kinds of social connections, including bonding, bridging, and linking social ties, support resilience through increasing the provision of emergency information, mutual aid, and collective action within communities to address natural hazards before, during, and after disaster events. Investing in social capital fosters community resilience that transcends natural hazards and positively affects collective governance and community health. Social capital has a long history in social science research and scholarship, particularly in how it has grown within various disciplines. Broadly, the term describes how social ties generate norms of reciprocity and trust, allow collective action, build solidarity, and foster information and resource flows among people. From education to crime, social capital has been shown to have positive impacts on individual and community outcomes, and research in natural hazards has similarly shown positive outcomes for individual and community resilience. Social capital also can foster negative outcomes, including exclusionary practices, corruption, and increased inequality. Understanding which types of social capital are most useful for increasing resilience is important to move the natural hazards field forward. Many questions about social capital and natural hazards remain, at best, partially answered. Do different types of social capital matter at different stages of disaster—e.g., mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery? How do social capital’s effects vary across cultural contexts and stratified groups? What measures of social capital are available to practitioners and scholars? What actions are available to decision-makers seeking to invest in the social infrastructure of communities vulnerable to natural hazards? Which programs and interventions have shown merit through field tests? What outcomes can decision-makers anticipate with these investments? Where can scholars find data sets on resilience and social capital? The current state of knowledge about social capital in disaster resilience provides guidance about supporting communities toward more resilience.

Economic Significance of Social Capital

2011 ◽  
pp. 46-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Polishchuk ◽  
R. Menyashev
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Formal Institutions ◽  
Transmission Channels ◽  
Economic Significance ◽  
Bonding And Bridging ◽  
The Impact

The paper deals with economics of social capital which is defined as the capacity of society for collective action in pursuit of common good. Particular attention is paid to the interaction between social capital and formal institutions, and the impact of social capital on government efficiency. Structure of social capital and the dichotomy between its bonding and bridging forms are analyzed. Social capital measurement, its economic payoff, and transmission channels between social capital and economic outcomes are discussed. In the concluding section of the paper we summarize the results of our analysis of the role of social capital in economic conditions and welfare of Russian cities.

scholarly journals The Impact of Individual Motivations and Social Capital on the Continuous Usage Intention of Mobile Social Apps

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8364
Author(s):  
Sangjae Lee ◽  
Byung Gon Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Collective Action ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Social Exchange ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Social Capital Theory ◽  
Quality Level ◽  
Continuance Usage ◽  
Continuance Usage Intention ◽  
The Impact

Mobile social apps have experienced enormous growth as online personal networking media. Social exchange theory (for individual motivation), theories of collective action and social capital theory (for social capital) can be applied in order to understand how an individual’s behavior may exert effects on or receive influences from other users with regard to the continuance usage intention of mobile social apps. This study examines individual motivations and social capital affecting relationship quality in terms of trust in and satisfaction with mobile social apps and how these factors influence continuance usage intentions of mobile social apps. An online survey is used to collect 320 responses from users of mobile social apps. Our results indicate that promotional motivation and innovativeness affect relationship quality levels. Maintaining relational enhancement, social homogeneity, and social identity along with service usefulness have effects on the relationship quality level, which in turn affects continuance usage intention. Given the lack of studies regarding the application of the theories of collective action and social capital to gain a better understanding of continuance usage intentions, this study provides additional insight into how individual motivations and social capital affect continuous usage.

scholarly journals Social Capital’s Role in Humanitarian Crises

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P Aldrich ◽  
Oluwaseun Kolade ◽  
Kate McMahon ◽  
Robert Smith
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Bridging Social Capital ◽  
Linking Social Capital ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Karamoja Region

Abstract The growing scale and persistence of humanitarian crises constitute a critical problem for nation-states, aid organizations and crisis-affected people. Many humanitarian responders continue to focus on material aid, providing essential supplies and services during these crises, while other actors restore physical infrastructures. We believe aid efforts are overlooking the pivotal nature of horizontal and vertical ties within and between communities. Using qualitative and quantitative data from Uganda and Nigeria, we show how social capital matters even during the most severe crises. Our interviews and regression analyses of survey data show that deeper reservoirs of bridging social capital associate significantly with the preparedness of individuals displaced by violence in Nigeria, and that bonding and linking social capital correlates with greater resilience for people stressed by food insecurity in Uganda’s Karamoja region. Some concrete policy recommendations emerge for aid agencies and decision-makers that can invest in rebuilding social infrastructure in affected populations.

scholarly journals Community Informatics and Sustainability: Why Social Capital Matters

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyn E Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
Trust And Reciprocity ◽  
Awareness Raising

This paper adopts a holistic approach to explain why social capital matters for effective implementation, widespread uptake, greater social inclusion, and the sustainability of CI initiatives. It describes a theoretical framework drawn from diffusion of innovation, community development and social capital theories. The framework emphasises the interplay between physical infrastructure (including hard technologies and their location in the community), soft technologies (including capacity building, education, training and awareness raising), social infrastructure (including local networks and community organisations) and social capital (including trust and reciprocity, strong sense of community, shared vision, and outcomes from participation in local and external networks).

The Impact of Social Infrastructure and Physical Infrastructure on Economic Growth in Punjab, India

2021 ◽  
pp. 002190962110439
Author(s):  
Jagmohan Singh
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
District Level ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
The Impact

Against the backdrop of socio-economic crisis and declining role of the state in infrastructure development, this article evaluates the inter-district disparities in social infrastructure (SI) and physical infrastructure (PI), and consequently attempts to examine the impact of SI and PI on economic growth in Punjab at two points in time, that is, 2004–2005 and 2016–2017. For this purpose, a district level social infrastructure index (SII) and a district level physical infrastructure index (PII) encapsulating 12 and 10 indicators, respectively, have been computed employing principal component analysis. The findings of the study revealed that PI acts as a pivotal catalyst to accelerate economic growth, whereas SI does not demonstrate any significant association with economic growth in Punjab. Furthermore, it is observed that pervasive inter-district disparities exist in SI and PI development and the majority of the districts depict a gloomy picture of infrastructure development in Punjab.

Anthropogenic causes of landslides and their implications for monitoring

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaushik Ramanathan ◽  
Nirmala Vasudevan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Hazards ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Landslide Occurrence ◽  
Landslide Event ◽  
The Impact

<p>Are we justified in referring to all landslides as natural hazards? With the effects of climate change, landslide incidences are increasing all over the world, and many of them accompany floods and occur due to extreme weather events. It has been unequivocally established that humans are responsible for global climate change. Further, landslides also occur in deforested areas. Even if one were to discount the effects of deforestation on climate change and the subsequent occurrence of landslides, one cannot ignore the fact that deforestation leads to slope instabilities in multiple ways. It decreases the effective retaining strength of the slope materials and also exposes more slope material to weathering and consequent leaching. Thus, deforestation and climate change, caused directly or indirectly by human beings, have a significant bearing on landslide occurrence. Furthermore, several catastrophic landslides in recent times have occurred due to indiscriminate human activity, such as constructing dams and other structures on fragile slopes, blasting slopes for road construction without providing adequate toe support, excessive mining, constructing faulty retaining structures on unstable slope material, etc. Over the years, such human activity has resulted in landslides of all types and at various scales. Whether a landslide is natural, caused due to anthropogenic factors, or a combination of the two, the investigation approach and monitored parameters remain the same; we still need to identify the various causative factors and quantify their rates of change over time in the run up to the landslide event. However, we need a paradigm shift in our perspective and treatment of landslides. We need to accept that human activity is, or can be, responsible for landslide occurrence. With this change in perspective, we would monitor slopes with an increased awareness that human actions could negatively impact slope stability. This, in turn, would entail monitoring at every stage to ensure that no human activity adversely impacts the natural balance, thus paving the way for truly sustainable development. We would be doing great disservice to the investigation and monitoring of landslides by such preconceived notions as all landslides are natural hazards. It is high time that we accept our part in compounding the problem of landslide occurrences and come up with solutions to monitor the impact of human activity on the environment to prevent landslides.</p>

scholarly journals Creating Community Resilience Through Elder-Led Physical and Social Infrastructure

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Aldrich ◽  
Emi Kyota
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Social Infrastructure ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Physical Infrastructure ◽  
Reduction Strategies ◽  
Aging Populations ◽  
Risk Reduction Strategies ◽  
The City

AbstractObjectiveNatural disasters and rapidly aging populations are chronic problems for societies worldwide. We investigated the effects of an intervention in Japan known asIbasho, which embeds elderly residents in vulnerable areas within larger social networks and encourages them to participate in leadership activities. This project sought to deepen the connections of these elderly residents to society and to build elderly leadership and community capacity for future crises.MethodsWe carried out surveys of participants and nonparticipant residents across the city of Ofunato in Tohoku, Japan, 1 year after the intervention began. Our surveys included questions assessing participation levels inIbasho, demographic characteristics, efficacy, social networks, and a sense of belonging.ResultsRegression analysis and propensity score matching of more than 1100 respondents showed that regular participation in theIbashoproject had a statistically significant and positive connection with various measures of social capital.ConclusionsGiven its relatively low cost and focus on deepening cohesion, we suggest that this community-based project could be replicated and scaled up in other countries to deepen resilience, elder health, and social capital. Moving away from an emphasis on investing in physical infrastructure, we believe that disaster risk reduction strategies should center on social infrastructure. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:120–126)

scholarly journals The economic essence of social capitaland features of formation in modern conditions

2021 ◽  
pp. 65-75
Author(s):  
V. Vyborna
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Economic Agents ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
The Social ◽  
Holistic Theory ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Impact

The article summarizes the theoretical approaches to the definition of the category of social capital and considers the impact of modern changes on its formation and reproduction. It is substantiated that the holistic theory of social capital is not complete, which actualizes the research on deepening the essence of the definition of the category of social capital and systematizing the features of its formation. The evolution of the concept of social capital, modern approaches to the study and basic components of this type of capital are analyzed. It is established that initially social capital was considered as a special manifestation of relations between people, which contributes to the solution of common problems, including determined by the established ties between people. The components of the concept of "social capital" - trust, connections and norms, as well as considered as a certain resource available to man. It is argued that in the current environment, social capital includes the following elements - obligations and expectations, which depend on the reliability of the social environment; the ability of the social structure to transmit information flows and norms, which are accompanied by sanctions. Social capital involves the benefit of its various manifestations, or the return on efforts to maintain interpersonal relationships. It is established that scientific research is underway to develop an integrated indicator that has contributed to a comprehensive and adequate assessment of the level of development of social capital, in particular at the macro level. The versatility of the concept of social capital is proved, which requires for its study to adhere to an interdisciplinary scientific approach and take into account numerous factors of external and internal environment of its formation. The positions of scientists who prove the positive impact of social capital on various result indicators, in particular the growth of any economic system, are presented. The definitions of the category of social capital proposed by Ukrainian researchers are systematized and consensus is highlighted in the understanding of it as a resource based on stable social ties and used to generate additional income. The author's definition of understanding the category of social capital is proposed, which is considered on the basis of relationships based on trust and mutual obligations not directly related to the main activities of economic agents, and contribute to the formation and strengthening of their competitive advantages. The factors that influence the development of social capital and adjust its interpretation accordingly are systematized. Keywords: social capital, trust, relationships, social ties.

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