As examples of the first function, we find a series of studies that focus on
rule enforcement. The social capital created by tight community networks is
useful to parents, teachers, and police authorities as they seek to maintain discipline
and promote compliance among those under their charge. Sources of
this type of social capital are commonly found in bounded solidarity and enforceable
trust, and its main result is to render formal or overt controls unnecessary.
The process is exemplified by Zhou & Bankstons study of the tightly
knit Vietnamese community of New Orleans:
Both parents and children are constantly observed as under a Vietnamese
microscope. If a child flunks out or drops out of a school, or if a boy falls
into a gang or a girl becomes pregnant without getting married, he or she
brings shame not only to himself or herself but also to the family. (Zhou &
Bankston 1996, p. 207)