Rene Dubos

Social Capital: Theory and Research Rene Dubos 1st edition

Marc Notes: Incl. bibl. ref. and index; Also avail. in cloth. Publisher Marketing: Leading scholars in the field of social networks from diverse disciplines present the first systematic and comprehensive collection of current theories and empirical research on the informal connections that individuals have for support, help, and information from other people. Expanding on concepts originally formulated by Pierre Bourdieu and James Coleman, this seminal work will find an essential place with educators and students in the fields of social networks, rational choice theory, institutions, and the socioeconomics of poverty, labor markets, social psychology, and race. The volume is divided into three parts. The first segment clarifies social capital as a concept and explores its theoretical and operational bases. Additional segments provide brief accounts that place the development of social capital in the context of the family of capital theorists, and identify some critical but controversial perspectives and statements regarding social capital in the literature. The editors then make the argument for the network perspective, why and how such a perspective can clarify controversies and advance our understanding of a whole range of instrumental and expressive outcomes. Social Capital further provides a forum for ongoing research programs initiated by social scientists working at the crossroads of formal theory and new methods. These scholars and programs share certain understandings and approaches in their analyses of social capital. They argue that social networks are the foundation of social capital. Social networks simultaneously capture individuals and social structure, thus serving as a vital conceptual link between actions and structural constraints, between micro- and macro-level analyses, and between relational and collective dynamic processes. They are further cognizant of the dual significance of the "structural" features of the social networks and the "resources" embedded in the networks as defining elements of social capital. Review Citations:

Reference and Research Bk News 11/01/2001 pg. 122 (EAN 9780202306445, Paperback)

Contributor Bio:  Lin, Nan Nan Lin is Oscar L. Tang Family Professor of Sociology, Duke University. He has conducted research on social capital, social networks, stratification and mobility, and stress coping in the United States, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He has written or edited seven books and published numerous bookchapters and journal articles. He is also an Academician at Academia Sinica in Taiwan and holds honorary professorship in many universities in China. Erickson received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of British Columbia before moving to Harvard where she completed her Doctorate in Social Relations. She then spent three years as an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at Carleton University before joining thefaculty at University of Toronto in 1973. In addition to her work in the Department of Sociology, Erickson is currently cross-appointed to the Centre for Studies on Aging, the Centre for Urban and Community Studies, the Centre for Industrial Relations, and is on the Board of Directors of the Centrefor Health Promotion. Erickson has published articles on a wide variety of topics, getting printed in publications including the Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, American Sociological Review, Social Networks, and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Contributor Bio:  Burt, Ronald S Ronald S. Burt is Hobart W. Williams Professor of Sociology and Strategy, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Contributor Bio:  Cook, Karen Karen Cook is Ray Lyman Wilber Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Stanford University.