Research Projects on Social Networks and Social Capital

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Research Projects on Social Networks and Social Capital

unpublished papers are available upon request

1) Faith and Organizations Project (2003-present) is a national research/practice project examining the relationship between faith communities and their organizations. The study explores the role of social capital, theology and religious culture in faith based non-profit organizations, as well as the dynamics between organizations and their founding faith communities. The project compares organizations founded by Catholics, mainline Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Evangelicals, African American Christians, and Latino Christians in three sectors: 1) social services, 2) health and senior services, and 3) organizations that evolved out of denominationally based community organizing activities. The pilot study for the project was completed in 2005, comparing 11 organizations in Philadelphia and the greater Washington DC metropolitan area.

Publications and Papers:

Connections Between Faith Communities and Their Non-profits: Findings from the Faith and Organizations Project Pilot Study on the Role of Religious Culture and Theology on Social and Health Services. Washington DC: George Washington University.

2) Kenosha Social Capital Study (1999-2001) is a study of the Latino and African American sub-communities of Kenosha focusing on the dynamic between Latino and African American focused community based organizations and churches; community residents; employers; and the city-wide community organization and church context. Multi-method team study consisting of four components: 1) Ethnography in key organizations and churches serving these communities; 2) life history interviews with 30 families (15 from each community) regarding social resources, work, education, and involvement in organizations and churches; 3) survey of employment practices of Kenosha employers; 4) needs assessment survey of the Kenosha Latino population. The project was funded by the Aspen Institute Non-Profit Sector Research Fund and the Palmer foundation.

Publications and Papers:

Kenosha Social Capital Project Education Report: Churches, Non-profits and Community. Indiana, PA: Indiana University of Pennsylvania, July 2001.

Small Minority Based Non-profits in the Information Age: Examples from Kenosha, WI. Presented at the Independent Sector Spring Research Forum, Washington D.C., March 2001.

Social Capital, Community Organizations and Churches in Kenosha: Exploring the Dynamics Between and Within "Majority" and "Minority" Communities through Organizations. Presented at the Society For Applied Anthropology Meetings, Merida, Mexico, March 2001.

Faith through Works: Church as a Source for Non-profit Activity, Community, Social Capital and Empowerment in Kenosha, WI. Presented at the 29th annual Association for Research in Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Meetings, New Orleans, LA November 2000.

Conceptualizing Community through Non-profits and Churches in "Minority" Communities: Social Capital in Action in Kenosha, WI. Presented at the 4^th International Conference of the International Society for Third Sector Research, Dublin, Ireland, July 2000.

3) Neighborhood Settlement House Evaluation Study (1998-1999) is an evaluation study of the effects of changing welfare and child welfare policy on a Milwaukee community based organization, its neighborhood, and its participants. The neighborhood center which requested the research is a settlement house using a one-stop-shop model which includes educational and basic services for the entire age range through partnerships with 15 organizations. Multi-method team study consisting of four components: 1) ethnography of the Neighborhood Settlement House and the agencies associated with the facility; 2) depth interview study of Neighborhood Settlement House Participants (48 families); 3) community resource analysis through statistical mapping of the neighborhood, windshield survey of community organizations, and interviews with selected organizations and churches; 4) analysis of Neighborhood Settlement House administrative databases and correlation of those data with available demographic resources on the community.

Unpublished Papers:

Organizations, Communities and Social Capital: Exploring the Dynamics Between Community Based Organizations, Churches and the Communities they Serve in a Milwaukee Neighborhood. Presented at the 28th annual Association for Research in Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Meetings, Arlington, VA November 1999.

Organizations and Communities: Conceptualizing the Dynamics of Social Capital as Support for Low Income People under Welfare Reform: the Milwaukee Experience. Presented at the 97th annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Chicago, November 1999.

4) Faith Based Organizations in Philadelphia (1990-1997) These papers draw on a combination of research and participant observation while serving in administrative and consulting positions in Philadelphia. Approximately 20 formal interviews were conducted with key people involved with the organizations to supplement observations. Publications also draw on secondary source documents including board and Meeting minutes, annual reports, histories, planning files and newspaper articles.

Publication:

Trusting that of God in Everyone: Three Examples of Quaker Based Social Service in Disadvantaged Communities. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, volume 28 number 3: pp 269-295. First presented at the 26th annual Association for Research in Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Meetings, Indianapolis, December 1997.

Trusting that of God in Everyone: Three Examples of Quaker Based Social Service in Disadvantaged Communities. PONPO Working Paper Number 255. New Haven: Yale University. First presented at the 26th annual Association for Research in Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action Meetings, Indianapolis, December 1997. (Expanded version of published paper above).

5) Social Networks, Career and Training Paths for Participants in Education and Training Programs for the Disadvantaged (1996-1997) (Social Network Study) is a statistical study of 338 people enrolled in nine training programs or community college in Philadelphia. Study participants came from a stratified sample of people in training programs which served the range of low-income individuals in the Philadelphia area. The programs included training that drew both men and women and a combination of schools which offered adult basic education, job specific skills, and college education. The project also included a mandatory community service program for two parent families on welfare and a mandatory job development program. The questionnaire included career and training histories of study participants, public assistance use, and demographic information. Eighty-three percent of the participants were on welfare at the time of the study and, 94 percent had been on public assistance at some point in their life.

Publication:

Social Networks, Career and Training Paths for Participants in Education and Training Programs: Technical Report. Philadelphia: Produced for the Philadelphia Private Industry Council. 1997

6) Life Experience of Welfare Recipients (1992-1996) is the qualitative companion project to the Social Network Study including life history interviews of 20 individuals and participant observation of over 100 public assistance recipients in various education and training programs offered by the Institute for the Study of Civic Values.

7) Eastern European Refugee Resettlement in Philadelphia (1984-1988). This study focused on the dynamics between recently arrived Polish and Soviet Jewish refugees and the organizations that resettled them. The study looked at the dynamic between refugee families and the primarily faith based non-profits that contracted with government to provide resettlement, other non-profits working with refugees, government and the religious and ethnic communities that hosted their arrival in the United States. While this project does not specifically discuss faith based service, it discusses the role of religious and ethnic culture on the organizations and communities participating in the resettlement process. Research included participant observation in agencies and life history interviews with 40 representative families. A small number of newly arrived families were followed through periodic interviews and informal interaction for one year.

Publications:

Fieval is an Engineer: Immigrant Ideology and Economic Adjustment of Eastern European Refugees. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, volume 1, number 2: pp 227-248. First presented at the 87th annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Phoenix, AZ, November 1988.

In the Big Village: Economic Adjustment and Identity Formation for Eastern European Refugees in Philadelphia, PA. PhD Dissertation, Temple University Anthropology Department, 1988.

Instrumental and Economic Adjustment of Polish and Soviet Jewish Refugees in Philadelphia, PA: A Study of the Context of Resettlement. Report produced as part of NSF dissertation improvement grant #BNS 8602374. December 1988.

Papers and Publications Drawing From Several Projects:

Social Capital and Welfare Reform: Organizations, Congregations and Communities. Columbia University Press.

Getting Beyond the Training vs. Work Experience Debate: The Role of Labor Markets, Social Capital, Cultural Capital, and Community Resources in Long Term Poverty. Women, Politics, and Policy, 27 (3/4) invited double special issue. First presented at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) conference, Washington D.C., June 2003. Also published in the conference proceedings.

Social Capital, Community and Economic Development. White paper produced for Foundation for Community Empowerment. Dallas: FCE.

The Role of Social Capital in Building Healthy Communities: Policy Paper Produced for the Annie E. Casey Foundation. November, 2004. Baltimore: Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Social Capital and Community Supports for Low Income Families: Examples from Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Social Policy Journal., 1 (1): pp 35-56. First presented at the Work, Welfare and Politics Conference, University of Oregon, February 2000.

Pathways to Opportunity: The Role of Race, Social Networks, Institutions and Neighborhood in Career and Educational Paths for People on Welfare. Human Organization, volume 59, number 1: pp 72-85. 2000

Welfare to Network. London: Demos Quarterly, number 12: 30-32. 1997