Social inequality and smoking in young Swiss men: intergenerational transmission of cultural capital and health orientation

OBJECTIVES Smoking is related to income and education and contributes to social inequality in morbidity and mortality. Socialisation theories focus on one's family of origin as regards acquisition of norms, attitudes and behaviours. Aim of this study is to assess associations of daily smoking with health orientation and academic track in young Swiss men. Further, to assess associations of health orientation and academic track with family healthy lifestyle, parents' cultural capital, and parents' economic capital. METHODS Cross-sectional data were collected during recruitment for compulsory military service in Switzerland during 2010 and 2011. A structural equation model was fitted to a sample of 18- to 25-year-old Swiss men (N = 10,546). RESULTS Smoking in young adults was negatively associated with academic track and health orientation. Smoking was negatively associated with parents' cultural capital through academic track. Smoking was negatively associated with health orientation which in turn was positively associated with a healthy lifestyle in the family of origin. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest two different mechanisms of intergenerational transmissions: first, the family transmission path of health-related dispositions, and secondly, the structural transmission path of educational inequality.

It’s all about networking! Empirical investigation of social capital formation on social network sites

As Social Network Sites (SNS) permeate our daily routines, the question whether participation results in value for SNS users becomes particularly acute. This study adopts a 'participation-source-outcome' perspective to explore how distinct uses of SNS generate various types of social capital benefits. Building on existing research, extensive qualitative findings and an empirical study with 253 Facebook users, we uncover the process of social capital formation on SNS. We find that even though active communication is an important prerequisite, it is the diversified network structure and the increased social connectedness that are responsible for the attainment of the four benefits of social capital on SNS: emotional support, networking value, horizon broadening and offline participation. Moreover, we propose and validate scales to measure social capital benefits in the novel context of SNS.

Capital interplays and the self-rated health of young men: results from a cross-sectional study in Switzerland.

INTRODUCTION We apply capital interplay theory to health inequalities in Switzerland by investigating the interconnected effects of parental cultural, economic and social capitals and personal educational stream on the self-rated health of young Swiss men who live with their parents. METHODS We apply logistic regression modelling to self-rated health in original cross-sectional survey data collected during mandatory conscription of Swiss male citizens in 2010 and 2011 (n = 23,975). RESULTS In comparison with sons whose parents completed mandatory schooling only, sons with parents who completed technical college or university were significantly more likely to report very good or excellent self-rated health. Parental economic capital was an important mediating factor in this regard. Number of books in the home (parental cultural capital), family economic circumstances (parental economic capital) and parental ties to influential people (parental social capital) were also independently associated with the self-rated health of the sons. Although sons in the highest educational stream tended to report better health than those in the lowest, we found little evidence for a health-producing intergenerational transmission of capitals via the education stream of the sons. Finally, the positive association between personal education and self-rated health was stronger among sons with relatively poorly educated parents and stronger among sons with parents who were relatively low in social capital. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides empirical support for the role of capital interplays, social processes in which capitals interpenetrate or co-constitute one another, in the intergenerational production of the health of young men in Switzerland.

Bern's positioning strategies: Escaping the fate of a secondary capital city?

Bern is a classic example of a so-called secondary capital city, which is defined as a capital city that is not the primary economic center of its nation. Such capital cities feature a specific political economy characterized by a strong government presence in its regional economy and its local governance arrangements. Bern has been losing importance in the Swiss urban system over the past decades due to a stagnating economy, population decline and missed opportunities for regional cooperation. To re-position itself in the Swiss urban hierarchy, political leaders and policymakers established a non-profit organization called “Capital Region Switzerland” in 2010 arguing that a capital city should not be measured by economic success only, but by its function as a political center where political decisions are negotiated and implemented. This city profile analyses Bern's strategy and discusses its ambitions and limitations in the context of the city's history, socio-economic and political conditions. We conclude that Bern's positioning strategy has so far been a political success, yet that there are severe limitations regarding advancing economic development. As a result, this re-positioning strategy is not able to address the fundamental economic development challenges that Bern faces as a secondary capital city.