Social Work Commons^™

Beyond Trust: Other Dimensions Of Social Capital, Roger A. Lohmann

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Many people in the mountain state are unaware that it was a West Virginian, Lyda Judson Hanifan, Superintendent of Rural Schools in the state department of education who introduced the concept of social capital to the world in 1916. Many of those discussing the concept of social capital today focus exclusively on the role of trust. A second important second dimension is networking, and an important third dimension can be called social skill repertories. This latter dimension can be illustrated with reference to the distinctive West Virginia activity of rafting and river craft. It is also evident that many people …