Relevance of social capital and its implications for children: Study in three Belgrade urban settings

Namera je ovog rada da preispita neka teorijska i metodološka pitanja relevantnosti koncepta socijalnog kapitala za decu, kao i njegove praktične implikacije. Analiza se zasniva na podacima iz ankete manjeg obima i osam grupnih intervjua sa decom starom 13-14 godina u tri beogradska naselja. Koristeći operacionalizaciju koju je razvila V. Morrow (2003), autorka ispituje validnost, u slučaju dece kao subjekata, komponenti socijalnog kapitala kao što su: društvene mreže, osećaj pripadanja i lokalni identitet zajednica i građanski angažman. Nalazi pokazuju da svaka od ovih komponenti ima svoje osobenosti kada su u pitanju deca, što treba imati na umu kada se socijalni kapital koristi kao teorijski koncept i metodološko oruđe. U zaključku autorka otvara pitanje da li bi, uzimajući u obzir društvena ograničenja kojima su izloženi, bilo bolje razmišljati o razmatranim komponentama socijalnog kapitala kao o "društvenim resursima" pre nego kao o "kapitalima" kada su u pitanju deca kao društvena grupa. Ovaj argument ima i specifične praktične implikacije.The paper aims at questioning some theoretical and methodological issues of relevance of social capital concept for children and its policy implications. The evidence for the analysis comes from the small-scale survey and eight focus group interviews with 13 - 14 year old schoolchildren in three Belgrade urban settings. By using the operationalisation developed by V. Morrow (2003), the author explores the validity in the case of children of social networks, sense of belonging and local identity community, and civic engagement as features and components of social capital. The evidence shows that each of these features has its particularity when children and young people are concerned, which has to be kept in mind when using social capital as theoretical concept and methodological tool. The validity of the concept of social capital in its broader terms for children is questioned in the paper. Considering different kinds of social constraints, one could ask whether it would be more helpful to think about the defined components as "social resources" than as "capital" when we consider children as a social group. This argument has also specific policy implications

Families and social capital in Serbia: Some issues in research and policy

U radu se ispituje heuristička i metodološka vrednost koncepta socijalnog kapitala u istraživanju porodica u društvima koja prolaze kroz post-socijalističku transformaciju. Nakon diskusije o konceptualnim problemima vezanim za socijalni kapital i proučavanje savremenih porodica sumiraju se nalazi najnovijih istraživanja o porodicama u Srbiji koji se odnose na socijalni kapital. Dokazuje se da postoje dve strane socijalnog kapitala u društvima u post-socijalističkoj transformaciji kakvo je Srbija kao i da su posledice primarnog ("vezujućeg") socijalnog kapitala dvostruke i da sve to ima složene efekte na različite nivoe društva. U zaključnom delu se ukazuje na neka metodološka i pitanja socijalne politike koja su se otvorila u analizi.Based on several recent studies on families and households in Serbia, the paper examines the heuristic and methodological validity of the concept of social capital as applied in studying families in post-socialist transformation. After discussing conceptual issues and problems related to social capital and study of contemporary families, the findings from the studies related to social capital are summarized. It is argued that in a post socialist society in transformation, such as Serbia, there are two sides to social capital, that consequences of strong "bonding" social capital are twofold, and that this has complex effects on different societal levels. In the concluding part, some methodological and policy issues that emerged from the evidence are pointed out

Experience of unplanned maternity: case studies of two young single mothers in Belgrade

The paper is based on the analysis of narratives from the case studies of two young single mothers from the longitudinal qualitative research in Belgrade. The aims of the paper are exploration and interpretation of the positioning and meaning of motherhood within social biographies of the working-class single mothers. The intention is to study experience of single motherhood among young women with lower social-economic status by exploring how it is contextualised within structural, normative and institutional frameworks, as well as within relational and biographical contexts. The analysis proved the assumption that, although the position of motherhood within their life courses is similar, its meaning within their social biographies is different due to their different experience and subjectivities. In the concluding discussion, I argue for taking into account feelings as part of maternal experience, as well as to interpret agency as embedded in relational and biographical contexts within a young woman's social biography

Changes in transition to adulthood of young people in Serbia between 2003 and 2011

U članku se razmatra tranzicija u odraslost mladih u Srbiji poređenjem nalaza dva anketna istraživanja iz 2003. i 2011. godine. Cilj analize je da se ustanovi da li postoje promene u tempu, kao i putanjama tranzicije koje bi mogle da ukažu na njihovu destandardizaciju i individualizaciju. U postavljanju okvira analize se prikazuju neka od problematičnih pitanja vezana za pristup tranzicije u odraslost, koja se potom u završnom delu članka dalje razmatraju u odnosu na rezultate analize. Nalazi istraživanja ukazuju na postojanje izvesnog ubrzanja u tempu tranzicije, koje je mahom rezultat veće finansijske nezavisnosti mladih. Prelazak u odraslost je odložen i pr odužen, ali su putanje prelaska i dalje standardizovane. Uporedne analize nekih obeležja tranzicija mladih na Balkanu vode zaključku da je potrebna alternativna konceptualizacija koja bi odrazila društveno-kulturne specifičnosti regiona.The paper deals with transition to adulthood of young people in Serbia through analysis of findings of the two surveys from 2003 and 2011. The aims are to explore the changes in pace, as well as in transitional trajectories that could indicate their destandardisation and individualisation. Some of the debatable issues related to the transition to adulthood approach are presented in the framework and discussed further in relation to the results of the analysis in the concluding section. The findings indicate that there exists some acceleration in the pace of transition, mainly due to increased financial independence of young people. The trajectories, however, are still standardised, while transition is postponed and prolonged. The comparative analyses of some features of young people’s transitions to adulthood in the Balkans led to the conclusion that an alternative conceptualization is needed

Social Capital and Space

Rad razmatra prostorne aspekte socijalnog kapitala. U prvom delu rada razmatramo kako se prostor shvata u ključnim teorijama socijalnog kapitala. Uključene su tri grupe teorija o socijalnom kapitalu: ključni autori (Bourdieu, Coleman, Putnam), ekonomske/razvojne teorije i mrežne teorije. Analiza pokazuje da autori u različitoj meri shvataju prostor u zavisnosti od svojih teorijskih pristupa socijalnom kapitalu. Drugi deo rada je produbljena komparativna analiza dinamike socijalnog kapitala u teoriji, istraživanjima i javnoj politici. Glavni cilj ovog dela rada je da razumevanje tri prostorne dimenzije socijalnog kapitala: prostorni okvir, prostorna distanca i mobilnost aktera. Istraživanja pokazuju da prostorne determinante ne utiču isto na sve socijalne aktere i da su neki tipovi socijalnog kapitala više podložni efektima prostornih dimenzija. Posebno poglavlje je posvećeno socijalnom kapitalu i prostoru u javnoj politici. Programi javne politike su manifestacija dugotrajne političke tendencije stvaranja željenih formi društvenosti preinačavanjem prostornih determinanti. U javnopolitičkim programima socijalnog urbanizma dominira model lokalne zajednice koja predstavlja optimalni okvir za razvoj socijalnog kapitala.The paper explores the spatial aspects of social capital. In the first part of the paper we provide an overview of the space dimension in relevant theories of social capital. Three approaches to social capital are included: key theories (Bourdieu, Coleman, Putnam), economic/ development theories and network theories. Differences among the authors with regard to spatial dimensions are based on different conceptualizations of social capital. The second part of the paper is an in-depth comparative analysis of spatial dynamics of social capital in theory, research and public policy. The main goal of this part of the paper is to examine three spatial dimensions of social capital: spatial framework, space distance and mobility of social agents. The research-based results indicate that space does not have the same effect on different social agents and that some types of social capital are more determined by space dimensions. The last chapter focuses on the public policy conceptualizion of social capital and space. The space-based manipulation of social capital in public policy reflects the long-lasting political tendency to modify sociability through the manipulation of spatial factors. The programs of social urbanism are based on the local community as the optimal spatial framework for social capital development

What We Talk about When We Talk about Family? Concept in Context

The aim of the paper is to point at the sources of ideologization of concept of family through presenting its definition and use in modern social, mainly sociological, thought in XIX and XX century. The analysis has been done through contextualization - interpretation of family concept definition within frameworks of various sociological theories that are embedded within socio-historical contexts of their emergence. The first part of the paper deals with main obstacles for conceptualization and exploration of family life. Analysis of sociological theories showed that both definition of family and the attitude towards modern family are in function of central theoretical proposition of the approach, whether it is set as social system integration or emancipation of an individual. Sociological studies are also burdened with normativism, since scholars view modern family as an ideological construct of, success story", both from the standpoint of its apology or criticism, therefore neglecting reality of family life in its variety. In the concluding part, I raise the questions of possibility and a mode of comprehending and exploring particularly contemporary family without a burden of its ideologization

Longitudinal Qualitative Research in Practice: Advantages, Problems and Solutions

The paper deals with several most significant issues concerning advantages and problems of applying longitudinal qualitative research in practice. Following the introductory part that presents basic features and particularities of longitudinal qualitative research, there are three sections presenting research dilemmas and solutions related to research design, research implementation, and analysis and interpretation of findings. Discussion refers to recent methodological literature, as well as the author's own research practice of doing longitudinal qualitative research in four waves from 1993 to 2014. The topics that are highlighted include: flexibility of research design, adaptation of concepts and interpretation to changes during the research, research ethics and respondents' and researcher's reflexivity, analyzing and interpreting change within social biography approach. The concluding discussion summarizes heuristic and methodological advantages of longitudinal qualitative research for social biography approach, such as contextualization and biographization of findings, but also its limits and possibilities of overcoming them based on the author's research experience

Resursi i strategije mladih roditelja u Srbiji

The paper deals with resources available to young parents and the strategies they deploy as a response to various domain-related demands (housing, finance, work, family). First, the structural and cultural features of the social context in Serbia are discussed as the framework for the study. Secondly, the paper analyses young parents’ differences, by socioeconomic status (SES) and gender, regarding their resources, such as housing, finances, and employment, as well as their strategies. The analysis is based on a mixed-methods approach, which brings together the survey results of a sub-sample of 435 parents from a nationally representative survey of young adults aged 18 to 35, and a qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews with 24 young mothers and fathers. The analyses indicate significant SES and gender differences in young parents’ resources and strategies, which are shaped by the structures and cultures of parenthood specific to the contemporary social context in Serbia.Predmet ovog članka su resursi i strategije koje mladi roditelji koriste kao odgovore na zahtjeve koji dolaze iz različitih domena (stanovanja, financija, rada i obitelji). Strukturne i kulturne karakteristike društvenog konteksta Srbije čine okvir unutar kojega je smješten predmet istraživanja. Zatim su analizirane razlike među mladim roditeljima koje se tiču resursa poput stanovanja, zaposlenja kao i njihove strategije, imajući u vidu njihov socioekonomski status (SES) i rod. Analiza je temeljena na kombiniranim metodama koje uključuju rezultate anketnog istraživanja mladih u dobi od 18 do 35 godina, kao i kvalitativnu analizu polustrukturiranih intervjua provedenih s 24 mladih očeva i majki. Analize upućuju na značajne SES i rodne razlike mladih roditelja u pogledu resursa kojima raspolažu i strategija kojima se koriste, a koje su oblikovane društvenim strukturama i kulturom roditeljstva specifičnom za suvremeno društvo Srbije