Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions In Modern Italy

VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE A Quantitative Approach

In the latter years of the twentieth century, the social relevance of the leisure field diminished as consumption and individualism came to dominate leisure and recreation research and praxis across modern democratic nations. A consequence of this focus in leisure studies has been a neglect of community and the common good. Now, at the commencement of the twenty-first century, three interrelated crises become increasingly apparent ‐ the crisis of identity or self, a social crisis, and a political crisis. If leisure studies is to contribute to an attempt to address these crises and rebuild community, how might this happen without returning to the norms, duties and traditional structures that have oppressed and marginalized citizens? In this paper the notion of social capital is used to examine community structures and their potential contribution to social cohesion, trust, mutuality, co-operation and openness. The challenge is to develop a concept of community that can provide spaces for the social self and civic engagement to emerge. The paper explores the role of leisure practices in this pursuit. Central to the discussion is Borgmann’s notion of focal practices ‐ those pursuits which bring an engagement of mind and body and a centring power ‐ and the way in which such practices create shared meaning and communities of celebration. Participation in communities of celebration entails people coming together in sports, festivals, hobbies, volunteering, and the arts, and finding in these leisure activities common and public goods. This communitarian conceptualization of leisure stands in stark contrast to the privatization of leisure that has become commonplace in recent decades.

Moving beyond individualism in leisure theory: a critical analysis of concepts of community and social engagement

An important question to microfinance is the relevance of existing social capital in target communities to the performance of group lending. This research presents evidence from field experiments in South Africa and Armenia, in which subjects participate in trust and microfinance games. We present evidence that personal trust between group members and social homogeneity are more important to group loan repayment than general societal trust or acquaintanceship between members. We also find some evidence of reciprocity: those who have been helped by other group members in the past are more likely to contribute in the future. During the past decade, exploring the role that social capital plays in economic behaviour has emerged as one of the most fascinating and fertile areas of economic research. Although precise definitions of social capital are notoriously difficult to pin down, one of the early pioneers of the concept, Coleman (1988), defines social capital as social structure that facilitates certain actions of actors within the structure. In his definition, Coleman specifically highlights the roles of mutual obligation, expectations and trustworthiness, social norms, social sanctions, and the transmission of information. Important studies in both developed and developing countries have analysed the impact of social capital in economic relationships. Putnam’s celebrated work, Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy (1993) and Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital (1995), brought attention to the role that social capital plays in the development of the modern state. Udry’s ground-breaking (1994) work in Nigeria illustrated how the social capital existing in traditional societies may allow for more efficient credit contracts than in developed economies with weaker social

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The effect of social capital on group loan repayment: evidence from field experiments*

Offering much more than a purely theoretical or retrospective view of public management, this exciting text is an invaluable new addition to the field of public management. Putting the American model in perspective, it establishes the historical, theoretical, analytical, practical and future foundations for the comparative study of public management. 
Taking a boldly integrative approach, Laurence E. Lynn Jr. combines topics of best practice, performance, accountability and rule of law to provide a much-needed umbrella view of the topic. 
Well-written and illustrated with case study examples, this is one of the most exciting books on public management available today. As such it is an essential read for every student of public management, administration and public policy.

Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions In Modern Italy

Citations

VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE A Quantitative Approach

Moving beyond individualism in leisure theory: a critical analysis of concepts of community and social engagement

The effect of social capital on group loan repayment: evidence from field experiments*

Public Management: Old and New

Social Capital and Poor Communities

Related Papers (5)

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

Social Capital in the Creation of Human Capital

Foundations of Social Theory

“Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital”

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