Browsing by Subject "Social capital (Sociology)"
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Item Personal Connections And Career Reflections: Examining Social Networks And Career Choices Of African American Women Community College Leaders(2014) Peoples, Deborah Kathleen; Gillett-Karam, Rosemary; Community College Leadership Program; Doctor of EducationThe purpose of this qualitative multi-case study was to examine the role of social networks in the career decisions and leadership of female African American community college senior leaders. The under-representation of women and people of color in leadership is not a new issue, and higher education has acknowledged this lack of representation as both a challenge and an opportunity. Networking is one of many strategies that successful leaders have identified as contributing to their success. This research explored how networks of African American women community college senior leaders are constructed and how they used the resultant resources for professional growth and career progression. Social capital theory provided the framework to characterize the lived experiences of African American women community college leaders as their careers evolved, with particular focus on network characteristics and networking behaviors, and to examine and draw conclusions about one grand tour question and three sub-questions. While social capital researchers used different models to explain the interaction that builds resources, there is agreement that social networks have value. For study participants, social networks provided access to social capital that influenced their career choices and outcomes.Item The Contribution Of Urban 4-H Positive Youth Development Towards Social Capital And The Implications For Social Justice(2016) Fields, Nia Imani; Sekayi, Dia; Education and Urban Studies; Doctor of EducationEducation is a basic human need-it is a means to and an exercise of one's freedom. A meaningful education empowers people to claim their humanity, liberate their people and work towards social justice (Perry, Steele & Hilliard, 2003). The education experience is just as critical to a survival as is food and shelter. For without a meaningful education, one cannot think and do for themselves. However, Darling-Hammond (2010) points out that there is a common misconception that equal education does in fact exist in our country. In fact, “from the time Southern states made it illegal to teach an enslaved person to read, throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, African Americans faced de facto and de jure exclusion from public schools throughout the nation” (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 28). There are many proposed responses to the problems of inequitable education; one of which includes positive youth development (PYD) (Perry, Steele & Hilliard, 2003). Positive youth development programs have the potential to increase one's social capital; particularly for youth who are marginalized by inequitable access to quality education (Erbstein, 2013; Fields & Nathaniel, 2015a; Williams & Le Menstrel, 2013). Within this qualitative study, I focused on PYD's contribution to social capital and social justice. More specifically, I investigated urban 4-H youth development educator perspectives of programs and practices that serve marginalized youth. I aimed to determine the extent to which their practices aligned with a social capital framework. Findings indicated that there are national, state, and local 4-H initiatives towards reaching marginalized youth. However, even with increased 4-H efforts in urban communities and a growing diverse population, there have been barriers that have prevented 4-H from adequately and/or consistently serving youth in the margins. Findings also indicated multiple dimensions of trust, engagement, and networks that led to increased youth efficacy. Here again, educators reported that 4-H could do a better job of engaging and providing inclusive support networks for underserved communities. There were a variety of reported effective programming practices that could be operationalized nationally in an effort to increase access to social capital. Such factors include: increasing culturally relevant programs, providing professional development around diversity and inclusion, fostering service learning and leadership opportunities, and hiring educators that are diverse and culturally competent.Item The Impact Of Market Intelligence Generation,Social Capital, And Entrepreneurial Orientation On Firm Creation: A Focus On Nascent Entrepreneurs(2011) Knox, Edwin Lawrence; Austin, Nathan; Business and Management; Doctor of PhilosophyNew firms formed by entrepreneurs produce nearly half of all new product and service innovations; are the source of creation for at least half of all net new jobs; and are responsible for a major share of increases in sector productivity. Currently in America, there are approximately between12 million and 20 million "nascent entrepreneurs," i.e. those who are engaged in activities to start a new firm, but have not yet formally establish an operating business. Unfortunately, less than 10% of these nascent entrepreneurs will actually create an operational firm. This study developed a model that used a multi-construct framework to explore the roles of a nascent entrepreneur's market intelligence generation (MIG), entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and social capital (SC) in explaining firm creation (FC). The MIG represents the pre-disposition toward the collection of market information pertaining to current and potential customer needs, and preferences; scanning and analyzing environmental factors that may influence customers' needs and want; analyzing competitors' actions and how they might influence customers' needs and preferences; gathering and monitoring marketing intelligence via formal and informal methods. EO refers to the processes, practices and decision-making activities used by entrepreneurs that lead to the initiation of an entrepreneurial firm, including experimenting with promising new technologies, being willing to seize new product-market opportunities, and having a pre-disposition to undertake risky ventures. SC refers the nascent entrepreneur's network structure of embedded relationships (e.g., family, friends, entrepreneurs, and business professionals) that can provide information as well as other resources (e.g. information, capital, customers, and labor) necessary to create a firm. The study sample population is from a national dataset developed specifically for research on nascent entrepreneurs (PSED II). A series of logistic regression analyses were conducted to test hypothesized relationships. The results provide support that MIG, EO and several dimensions of SC do play a role in FC. The findings of the study contribute specifically to the literatures of MO and EO by extending the constructs into the analysis of nascentItem The Impact Of Social Capital Of Entrepreneurs On Government Venture Capital Decisions And Firm Performance(2016) Alolayan, Abdulrahman Ali; Singh, Robert P.; Business and Management; Doctor of PhilosophyEntrepreneurs play an important role in the development of economies. In order to be successful, entrepreneurs need to acquire resources to exploit business opportunities. The question of how entrepreneurs acquire resources has been explored in the literature; however, more research is needed to better understand entrepreneurs' resource acquisition processes, particularly with respect to financial resources. Venture capital is an important source of financial resources, and for Saudi Arabian entrepreneurs, government venture capital (GVC) is a significant source of investment capital. GVC decisions can be impacted through entrepreneurs' social capital. Social capital refers to the benefits that an actor extracts from his/her social structures and networks, and can be operationalized through a focus on social exchange and network characteristics (e.g. strong ties, weak ties, structural holes). In this dissertation, I developed 10 hypotheses and investigated how entrepreneurs' social capital impact GVC funding decisions and early firm performance. Using Burt's (1984) ego-network survey methodology, I collected data from 190 entrepreneurs (12.5% response rate) who applied to three GVC sources in Saudi Arabia – Saudi Credit and Saving Bank, Badir, and Waed. Data were collected through online questionnaire that was administered in early 2016. Using logistic regression and correlation analyses, the study found support for seven hypotheses; three were not supported. The results support the idea that social capital/social network characteristics such as network size, weak and strong ties, structural holes, and network heterogeneity of Saudi Arabian entrepreneurs impact GVC funding decisions and firm performance. The study also examined and found differences in the relative importance of social network subunits (e.g. academic, industry, others) such that industry contacts had more of an impact on funding decisions than any other subunits. Following a discussion of the results, implications for practice, and limitations, future research directions are offered.