Renascent Social Capital In Japanese Communities

This book is about social capital--social relationships such as trust, norms and networks that facilitate cooperation among members of a community. Based on a thorough review of the concept of social capital, it discusses trend of social capital in Japan from a civil society perspective, in particular, emerging nonprofit organizations as well as some aspect of traditional neighborhood associations. Nonprofit organizations, which voluntarily have been trying to solve social problems and to create new social values, have an important role in creating social capital. Nonprofits in Japan have successfully created, accumulated and utilized social capital in various fields. The role of nonprofits and various actors in community in creating and utilizing social capital in policy and practice are also discussed. It gives a reader an opportunity to reconsider the Japanese society from a social capital perspective, and to think how to revitalize trust and connections amon! g people and community for their well-being and invigorating civil society.

The purpose of this volume is to highlight the impacts on civic engagement of social capital, and its various component parts (trust, norms, networks and associations), in diverse parts of Asia. Addressing the pressing need for improved governance within the spatial, political and cultural realities in the rapidly transforming landscapes of Asia, the contributors to the book bring together interdisciplinary work that focuses on the ways in which civic engagement can link with social capital building. The goal of this volume is to inspire policy that recognizes that a vibrant society with access to rich stores of positive social capital requires civil society, alternate civilities and the state. The result is a dialogue on the interplay of social capital and civic engagement in socio-political contexts quite different from those found in the West. This book contributes to current discussions about the nature of social relations and their connection to politics and change and offers a unique lens into the validity of these important concepts in contemporary research across a variety of Asian settings. It will be of interest to social scientists across the board, especially those with an interest in Asia and Asian development.

This book tells the story of a citizen group through the example and results of their participation in local civic life. The book draws attention to the complicated conditions under which civic participation may succeed. The story is about the individuals and organizations in the regional Japanese town of Takefu, but these events are also placed in the context of the surrounding Japanese Sea region of west Japan and the wider currents of the Japanese nation-state at the time. Also inlcludes maps.

This open access book offers both conceptual and empirical descriptions of how to “frame” sustainability challenges. It defines “framing” in the context of sustainability science as the process of identifying subjects, setting boundaries, and defining problems. The chapters are grouped into two sections: a conceptual section and a case section. The conceptual section introduces readers to theories and concepts that can be used to achieve multiple understandings of sustainability; in turn, the case section highlights different ways of comprehending sustainability for researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders. The book offers diverse illustrations of what sustainability concepts entail, both conceptually and empirically, and will help readers become aware of the implicit framings in sustainability-related discourses. In the extant literature, sustainability challenges such as climate change, sustainable development, and rapid urbanization have largely been treated as “pre-set,” fixed topics, while possible solutions have been discussed intensively. In contrast, this book examines the framings applied to the sustainability challenges themselves, and illustrates the road that led us to the current sustainability discourse.

This book tackles global economic and social issues from a perspective that may seem obvious but which no author has yet taken: that we humans are living beings. In today’s artificially globalized world, we have increasingly lost sight of our original humanity. Despite the serious environmental, social, and political problems we are facing, we cannot stop focusing on economic growth, efficiency, and liberalization. In doing so, we continue to make the world “slicker” and more unstable. This book identifies these conventional values and ways of thinking as the root cause underlying many of today’s challenges, and it offers the perspective of a “bumpier” and more organic human existence that provides a greater sense of traction and stability. The book begins with a discussion of global systems and structures, proposing a “world with two systems” to limit the effects of artificially constructed globalization. The second part examines the modern welfare state, outlining a process to revive democracy and social capital by making social issues the business of everyday citizens. The third and final part focuses on human well-being, emphasizing physicality and the Japanese concept of kata as keys to restoring our humanity. Rather than searching for specific solutions through specialized knowledge, this book makes use of the author’s broad perspective acquired through many years of public policy research and reform. It asserts that knowledge should be acquired through hands-on experience and in studies based on real-world situations, involving people at the forefront of society’s challenges, whether politicians, businesspeople, scientists, craftspeople, or farmers. In both its analysis of humanity’s problems and the solutions it offers, this book takes an entirely new yet utterly natural approach to steering humanity off the global economic superhighway.

The Encyclopedia of Community is a major four volume reference work that seeks to define one of the most widely researched topics in the behavioural and social sciences. Community itself is a concept, an experience, and a central part of being human. This pioneering major reference work seeks to provide the necessary definitions of community far beyond the traditional views.

Recently the topic of civil society has generated a wave of interest, and a wealth of new information. Until now no publication has attempted to organize and consolidate this knowledge. The International Encyclopedia of Civil Society fills this gap, establishing a common set of understandings and terminology, and an analytical starting point for future research. Global in scope and authoritative in content, the Encyclopedia offers succinct summaries of core concepts and theories; definitions of terms; biographical entries on important figures and organizational profiles. In addition, it serves as a reliable and up-to-date guide to additional sources of information. In sum, the Encyclopedia provides an overview of the contours of civil society, social capital, philanthropy and nonprofits across cultures and historical periods. For researchers in nonprofit and civil society studies, political science, economics, management and social enterprise, this is the most systematic appraisal of a rapidly growing field.

Specialist forms of housing with care are becoming increasingly popular in the United Kingdom, largely as a result of the ageing of the population and the relative wealth of the latest generation of older people. Retirement villages and extra care housing are two models of provision that have seen particularly spectacular growth. This is partly because in many ways they are perceived to promote government agendas for increasing independence and wellbeing for older people. They also aim to meet older people's aspirations for a good quality of life in their retirement years and to live somewhere they feel they belong. Many such housing developments are marketed as 'communities of like minded people', offering security, peace of mind, a range of facilities and new opportunities for friendship and social interaction. This important book investigates changing concepts and experiences of community across the lifecourse and into older age and how they play out in housing with care settings. An overview of how the housing with care sector has developed, both in the UK and internationally, is provided. The book emphasizes the central importance of a sense of community for older people's quality of life and explores the impact of a range of factors including social networks, inclusive activities, diversity and the built environment. The book will be of particular interest to students in the fields of gerontology, social policy, housing, planning, the built environment and community development. It will also appeal to academics, policy makers, practitioners, service providers and researchers, both in the UK and other countries with similar housing with care options, including the USA, Australia and New Zealand.