Social capital or non-human sources? A cross-context study on information source selection of migrant farmer workers

Abstract

Insufficient examination of social factors obscures the reason why non-human information sources are under-utilised by social groups with lower information literacy. This study explores the mechanism of information source selection (ISS) of Chinese migrant farmer workers (MFWs) in different industries by conducting a cross-context analysis. After iterative analyses of multiple cases, a theoretical model of information source selection within an individual’s information world is constructed. It explains why MFWs make more use of social capitals than non-human information sources in information seeking. Besides, the information needs are examined form both the needed information and the need itself. A classification of social capital as human information source is created and the roles that social capitals and non-human information sources play in ISS are identified. This study provides novel theoretical insights into the ‘old’ issue of ISS, and thus has practical implications for public information service providers and MFW-related policy makers.

Impact of Social Capital on Chinese Migrant Workers' Poverty during COVID-19: The Mediation of Social Protection

“…Our study demonstrates that social protection can weaken the relationship between social capital and poverty level. Consistent with the previous studies (Beenstock et al, 2015;Chan and Wong, 2020;Wang, 2021), this result highlights the importance of public policy in reducing inequality. For migrant workers in China, the household registration system, informal work, and prejudice from local people limit their children's rights in education, social security and medical services (Wang, 2021).…”

“…Public or formal social protection can empower people to reduce vulnerability, risk, and economic shocks at the macro level (Devereux and Getu, 2016). Previous studies have found that individuals have the higher social capital to get out of poverty if they can access social protection, such as education (or professional training) (Pillai et al, 2021;Rea et al, 2013), health and safety protection (Moyce and Schenker, 2018) and unemployment bene ts (Beenstock et al, 2015;Wang, 2021). For example, Osabohien et al (2020) found that social protection, such as building human resources and equality of public resources, is a vital strategy to reduce poverty and inequality in Africa.…”

“…For migrant workers in China, the household registration system, informal work, and prejudice from local people limit their children's rights in education, social security and medical services (Wang, 2021). Legal public social protection can mitigate this situation by empowering migrant workers to enjoy social bene ts (Beenstock et al, 2015;Wang, 2021). These ndings illustrate that if the government provides migrant workers with access to more social protection services, the "elite capture" phenomenon can be relieved.…”

“…However, access to social protection could be in uenced by the level of migrant workers' social capital. For migrant workers, a lack of political commitment by the destination government excludes them from accessing legal institutions and social and economic bene ts, such as unemployment security (Morales, 2016), the urban security system, and the urban education system because of their rural identity (Singh, 2019;Wang, 2021), causing them to spiral into poverty (Sabates-Wheeler and Waite, 2003). In addition, social capital's "dark side" could reinforce inequalities because of existing power asymmetry.…”

Влияние Цифровой Грамотности На Трудовые Доходы «молодых» Пожилых Людей: Опыт Китая

“…Social capital theory believes that the use of the Internet enables the elderly to carry out more extensive, efficient and frequent social interaction with the help of Internet instant messaging software [40]. The elderly can not only maintain their original social capital, but also integrate into online social groups to form new social capital, thereby reducing the cost of their employment activities [41].…”