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This study concerns the role of human capital, social capital, age, and gender in acquiring a job as an entry-level barista. Have successful applicants acquired greater human and/or social capital than unsuccessful ones? Is there a relationship between human capital and social capital? Are these processes impacted by one's age and/or gender? Employment applications and employer records from branches of a global coffeehouse chain were coded and analyzed in order to identify the key factors differentiating this applicant pool. Descriptive statistics indicate that these employees are predominantly young, highly-educated, and female. The results from multivariate models produce fewer positive associations between human capital and social capital indicators than the literature suggests. Those with greater educational attainment are found to be more likely to have high-status references on their applications. Gender was not a statistically significant predictor of social capital levels nor job outcomes. The fact that female applicants face no social capital disadvantage here is noteworthy. The age of those hired is representative of the applicant pool. As previously found, the social capital of applicants is not very relevant in acquiring this entry-level job. Overall, educational attainment, the key indicator of human capital, was most salient in increasing the odds of being interviewed and hired. The managers responsible for these decisions appear to favor formal higher education over work experience or references. The findings are discussed vis-à-vis women's gains in higher education, the growth of the service sector, and the aging of the U.S. population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local currency systems seek to build economic and social capital in their communities. This comprehensive, quantitative case study explores the motivations, trading patterns, and outcomes of participation in a "Time Bank." Membership survey data and organizational records are employed in social network and multiple regression analyses. Members are largely female, low-income, and highly educated. There is consistency in the types of people joining this Time Bank for social and economic reasons. Those who are motivated by their needs and those seeking more social ties are more likely to spend greater time participating. Overall, this Time Bank has been more successful in generating cultural and economic capital rather than social capital. Lower-income and unemployed participants are more likely to gain social capital outcomes however. Those located in denser trading networks report that they are more likely to get the services that they need and want. Those who joined for social reasons and those who are engaged more in this system are more likely to gain a variety of outcomes. The continuing growth of Time Banks and the findings here suggest that this movement is efficacious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community currency is an understudied, alternative social movement. These local networks are grassroots, collective efforts to form an alternative market with the hopes of empowering the economically marginalized and building social capital. Original data from a local currency system are employed to investigate the relations among the inputs (motivations), processes (commitment and differential participation), and outputs (civic engagement spillover) of movement involvement. Having social movement values is found to be a primary motivating factor for joining. Those motivated by movement values are more committed to the organization and are more likely to experience increased levels of civic engagement outside of this network. Organizational commitment and degree of participation in the system are also positively associated. The evidence is used to draw implications for social movement theory and research. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community currencies attempt to empower the economically marginalized and build social capital. This research explores the role of the elderly in a local currency system. The elderly are potentially very important contributors, yet we know little about their participation in these local exchange networks. Seventy-five months worth of transaction data from a "time bank" which has had a total of 915 members is analyzed. Bivariate tests indicate that the elderly participate in more time bank transactions than the non-elderly. Length of membership time and number of transactions are found to have a strong positive association for the elderly. A social network analysis indicates that the ego networks of elderly participants are quite heterophilous. Only about 5% of elderly members' transactions are with other elders. It appears that a form of "bridging" social capital is being generated in this time bank. The evidence presented suggests that the participation of the elderly in local currencies is mutually beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates two major aspects of home schooling. Factors determining parental motivations to home school and the determinants of student achievement of home educated children are identified. Original survey data (N=235) from an organized group of Southern California homeschoolers is analyzed. OLS regression models are employed to predict parents? motivations and their students? standardized test achievement. Four sets of home schooling motivations are identified. Academic and pedagogical concerns are most important and it appears that the religious base of the movement is subsiding. Several major demographic variables have no impact upon parental motivations, indicating that this is a diverse group. Parents? educational attainment and political identification are consistent predictors of their students? achievement. Race and class?the two major divides in public education?are not significant determinants of standardized test achievement, suggesting that home schooling is efficacious. Homeschoolers are a heterogeneous population with varying and overlapping motivations. Alternatives to public schooling will continue and more research is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to identify the determinants of perceptions of social movement involvement among parents who home school their children. The impact of collective action frames, feelings of efficacy, social network ties, and home schooling motivations are considered. OLS regression models are employed in an analysis of original survey data from an organized group of Southern California homeschoolers. Home schooling motivations are most salient in determining whether one interprets their activities as part of a larger movement. Social network ties are largely irrelevant. The findings highlight the important role of organizational affiliation and integration. Homeschoolers without affiliations and those who are less integrated into their support organizations are not likely to feel as if they are part of a larger movement. Organizational integration--specifically attitudinal affinity--also appears to make home schooling parents become more narrowly focused upon their own children rather than the welfare of all children. Implications for future home schooling and social movement research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The local currency movement is as active as ever in the United States. Across the country, activists are forming service exchange networks to complement the formal cash economy. In this paper we investigate participation within two Time Banks. We find that a variety of goods and services are being exchanged. The accumulation of debt in these systems is relatively rare, freeriding does not appear to be a problem. We find that women are more likely to exchange more diverse services than men in one of our cases. In our other case, low-income members are found to be most active. Implications surrounding the potentiality of this movement are drawn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]