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The paper argues that different, but mutually reinforcing, types of social capital coexist in society. Consequently, an integrating view is needed on the definition and measurement of social capital that bridges the distinctions in the literature between micro- and macroinstitutional social capital, formal and informal institutions, horizontal and vertical associations. The paper also argues that, for a given country at a given time, there exists an "appropriate" level and composition of social capital, based on complementarities with other forms of capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines engineering philosophy in relation to the renewal of aging or outdated infrastructure. The authors test hypotheses concerning standardisation, obsolescence and operational risk using option-pricing models. The results of our study indicates engineering for infrastructure renewal that: • is standardised, • remains relevant for the longest period and • has the lowest operational risk profile when implemented, has a higher inherent value than engineering that does not follow such principles when all other factors remain the same. We conclude that infrastructure renewal guided by the principles of standardisation, obsolescence reduction and operational risk mitigation has a higher value than that without such guidance. We also demonstrate evidence of synergy between the three guiding principles through some examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major infrastructure component required to develop an underground mine is a decline, which is a system of tunnels used for access and haulage. In this paper we study the problem of designing a decline of minimum cost where cost is a combination of development and haulage costs over the life of the mine. A key design consideration is that the decline must be navigable to trucks and mining equipment, hence must satisfy a gradient and turning circle constraint. The decline is modelled as a mathematical network that captures the operational constraints and costs of a real mine, and is optimised using geometric techniques for constrained path optimisation. This procedure to find the optimal decline has been automated in a new version of a software tool, Decline Optimisation Tool, DOT™. A case study is described comparing this version with the earlier one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Basically ethical conduct by a business contributes to profitability in several ways, namely, by reducing transaction costs the firm faces, solving agency problems with in the firm and establishing trust among stakeholders. Another benefit of ethical behavior is that such behavior provides an escape from so-called prisoner dilemma problems. Upon the examination of prisoner dilemmas and collective action problems, the final benefit of ethical corporate behavior is observed, that is, the preservation of social capital. Traditionally ethics is viewed as constraint on profits. It is argued in this paper that frequently ethics contributes to profits.

Although the concept of social capital has direct relevance to community practice, it is not widely known in social work. This paper defines the concept, traces the development of social capital theory, and examines ways in which community social workers can promote local economic development by enhancing social capital. It contends that community social workers can make a major contribution to local economic development by implementing projects that mobilize social capital and promote the material well-being of local people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chapter 5 of the book "Rural Investment Climate in Indonesia," edited by Neil McCulloch is presented. It explores the constraints linked with infrastructure that is faced by the non-farm enterprises (NFEs) in the country including roads, telecommunications and electric power. It highlights two surveys, the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) and the Rural Investment Climate Survey (RICS) which show the effect infrastructure has on non-farm employment in rural areas.

Chapter 9 of the book "A New Energy Frontier: The Bay of Bengal Region," edited by Sudhir T. Devare is presented. It describes the energy infrastructure in Bengal, India where its security system of energy transportation was exposed to terrorist attacks. It discusses the significant concept of the country's energy supply chains, as well as the energy-related infrastructure vulnerability.

Provides information on the qualitative research on social capital conducted by the ACNielsen company, as commissioned by the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, New South Wales. Research background and objectives; Social capital stories; Importance of trust as a component of social capital; Roles of friendship, families and the workplace in providing social capital; Perceived changes in the role of social capital in society.

A chapter of the book "Values & Public Policy," is presented. It discusses public spirit in public systems in the U.S. It explains that public spirit is the political form of altruism, and that it produces effective solutions to the problem of cooperation in collective action dilemmas. It also states that political systems are forms of social capital, which are networks of relations created by past effort that make present effort more productive.