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Following work by James Coleman and Pierre Bourdieu in the 1980s, social scientists from different disciplinary backgrounds have engaged in a debate about the meaning and application of social capital. Questions arise about the coherence, novelty and analytical purchase of the term: there is a risk of overstretching the concept to include too much. Moreover, empirical measures and proxy variables are only very approximately matched to the underlying concept(s). Some applications of the concept lump together different strands of social behaviour and attitude and treats these as universally equivalent or ‘outside’ specific cultures, institutional settings, historical contexts and power structures. It is suggested that these problems cannot be entirely resolved and have parallel examples in all areas of empirical research in the social sciences. However, suggestions are made for greater trans-disciplinary research, dialogue and connection to policy and community practice in an Irish context. We can sum up our position as follows. Social capital has several adolescent characteristics: it is neither tidy nor mature; it can be abused, analytically and politically; its future is unpredictable; but it offers much promise.

IntroductionThere is increasing evidence that a socio-economic impact assessment (SEIA) is an essential step to identify and evaluate potential socio-economic impacts (SEI) of proposed economic developments, programs, and projects on the circumstances of how citizens, and or new migrant workers live, how it affects their health, and their community as a whole [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8] SEIA can be defined as a `tool` that uses both quantitative and qualitative measures to evaluate the potential impacts of proposed economic development on a community's social and economic well-being [8]. A comprehensive SEIA should consider an analysis of at least the following elements: local community demographics; cultural values; the way of living; current and future housing needs; preparation needed for municipalities and public services to accommodate future infrastructure changes; changes in employment rates and how these will affect the local economy and competition for skilled and unskilled workers; impact of a changing population on "old timers and new comers" as well as those who will be living in industrial camps close to local communities; an analysis of tax impacts and retail business; expected changes of quality of life and impact on citizen's short-and long-term health outcomes; effects on the local and broader environment with its local and migrant wild life and potential changes to a community's aesthetic values [9,10].Edwards (2000) proposed that citizen's early participation in the SEIA process, is imperative to assist and guide governments, project developers, and community leaders to identify potential social equity issues, evaluate the adequacy of social services, and determine whether the project may adversely affect overall social wellbeing [8]. Moreover, citizen participation plays an essential role in identifying common community priorities and avenues for mitigation of adverse socio-economic impacts. In this way, communities are engaged with how to heighten opportunities and benefits for the environment, community sustainability, and socio-economic wellbeing [9].Although there is overwhelming agreement of the importance of SEIAs to guide developers, governments, and community partners with proposed projects, there is no easy or standardized approach of how to perform a comprehensive and targeted SEIA. Focusing on both the positive and negative SEIs of any new economic development remains one of the best approaches to find "common ground" between key partners. Our experience showed AbstractSocio-economic impact assessments (SEIA) are an essential step in identifying and evaluating the potential direct or indirect impacts of proposed economic developments, programs, and projects on communities. A SEIA provides a framework to address the changing demographics and the impacts on services and infrastructure, economic structures including employment and business opportunities, quality of life, the overall health and well-being of the population, and the cultural values of the community. Communities that host rapid in...

This article focuses on these key themes: (1) the value of education as learning to be fully human, (2) the value of education as learning to be fully human with others and for others -inviting us to consider the concept of 'social capital' as a way of tapping into and releasing this value; and accordingly, (3) a number of practical considerations for how educational policy and practice can be influenced.The most important motive for work in school and in life is pleasure in work, pleasure in its result, and the knowledge of the value of the result to the community. (Albert Einstein)

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