The co-evolution of informal social status and gossip in workplace social networks

Objective To identify the characteristics of social network and the association between ego-centric network and HIV status among young MSM Chinese students. Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted in Chongqing, Tianjin, Harbin and Xi’an city from April to December 2017 and from March to May 2018. A mixed recruitment method of snowball sampling and RDS approach was used to recruit participants who reported information on social network and received HIV test. The Multiple Regression Analysis method was used to for the analysis of association between ego-centric social network and HIV status of men who have sex with men (MSM) among young students. Results The sample included 547 participants who nominated 1 088 social partners in total with average age of 13 to 60 years old. The MSM with different sexual orientation from their social members ( aOR = 0.38), embedded in a large network ( aOR = 0.63), with a high individual betweenness centrality ( aOR = 0.27) were at lower risk of HIV-positive status; while MSM who differed greatly in education level with their social members ( aOR = 1.60), existed in sexual networks aOR = 1.41), existed in the “risky networks” ( aOR = 1.88), with high network density ( aOR = 1.91) and a high individual degree ( aOR = 4.10) had higher risk of HIV-positive status ( P <0.05). Conclusion MSM with great difference in education level from social members, existed in sexual networks, with a large network density and a high degree were exposed to higher risk of HIV-positive status. 【摘要】 目的 分析青年学生男男同性性行为人群 (men who have sex with men, MSM)个体中心社会网络与HIV感染状 况的关系’为特殊人群HIV防控政策研究提供依据。 方法 于2017年4一12月及2018年3—5月, 采用滚雪球法和同伴 推动法, 对重庆市、天津市、哈尔滨市、西安市青年学生MSM进行社会网络问卷调查和HIV检测。采用多因素Logistic回 归模型分析个体中心社会网络特征与HIV感染状况的关联。 结果 共追踪到青年学生MSM有547名, 提名1 088名网络成员, 年龄分布在13~60岁。与社会网络成员性取向不同 ( aOR = 0.38)、所在网络规模较大 ( aOR = 0.63)、个体中间性中心 度较高 ( aOR = 0.27)的青年MSM的HIV感染状况为阳性的可能性更低；与社会网络成员受教育程度相差较大 ( aOR = 1.60)、存在于性伴网络 ( aOR =1.41)、存在于危险性行为社会网络 ( aOR =1.88)、所在网络密度较大 ( aOR =1.91)、个体联结 度数较高 ( aOR = 4.10) 的 MSM 的HIV感染状况为阳性的可能性较高 ( P 值均<0.05)。 结论 青年学生 MSM 及其社会网 络成员的HIV感染状况与其所在的社会网络特征有关, 与网络成员受教育程度差异较大、存在于性伴网络、所属网络密度 较大、个体联结度数高均是HIV感染状况为阳性的危险因素。

BackgroundPain and depression are known to be associated in later life, and both have a negative effect on physical performance both separately and in combination. The nature of the relationships between pain intensity and depression in elderly persons experiencing pain is less clear. The objectives of this study were to explore which factors are associated with depressed mood in older people experiencing pain, and to test the hypothesis that older people experiencing pain are at risk of depressed mood according to the severity or frequency of their pain. In addition we explored whether other potentially modifiable factors might increase the risk of depressed mood in these persons.MethodsThe study is a secondary analysis of baseline data for four hundred and six community-dwelling non-disabled people aged 65 and over registered with three group practices in suburban London who had experienced pain in the past 4 weeks. Intensity and frequency of pain was measured using 24 item Geriatric Pain Measure (GPM) and the presence of depressive symptoms using the 5 item Mental Health Inventory. Risk for social isolation was measured using the 6 item Lubben Social Network scale and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) were also measured.ResultsOverall 76 (19%) had depressed mood. Pain frequency and severity were not statistically significantly associated with depressed mood in this population. In multivariate analyses, significant predictors of the presence of depressive symptoms were difficulties with basic ADLs (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.1.7.8), risk for social isolation (OR 4.1, 95% CI 1.8–9.3), and basic education only (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1–4.4).ConclusionOlder people experiencing pain are also likely to experience depression. Among those experiencing pain, social network and functional status seem to be more important predictors of depressive symptoms than the severity of pain. Further studies should evaluate whether improvement of social network and functional status might reduce depressive symptoms in older patients.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to describe police officers’ workplace social networks and to examine how police officers’ social ties, in combination with organisational climate, affect their attitudes towards and willingness to report misconduct.Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered from a vignette survey of 86 response police officers in an English county police force. Officers’ attitudes towards misconduct and likelihood of reporting were analysed using multivariable regression models.Findings Descriptively, most officers have a small social network within the force, and police comprise about one-third of their total social networks. Officers were generally highly disapproving of misconduct and expressed they would challenge their peers in most scenarios, though reporting misconduct was somewhat less likely. Perceived peer disapproval of misconduct is a strong predictor of officers’ disapproval of misconduct and expressed likelihood of reporting misconduct. Organisational justice and social embeddedness were not usually associated with the challenging and reporting of misconduct.Originality/value This study is one of only a handful to report information on police officers’ friendship networks in the workplace, and these results show that peer influence remains an important vector for police management to use in promoting prosocial police culture and preventing misconduct.

This article aims to analyze the relationship between user characteristics on social networks and influenza. Three specific research questions are investigated: (1) we classify Weibo updates to recognize influenza-related information based on machine learning algorithms and propose a quantitative model for influenza susceptibility in social networks; (2) we adopt in-degree indicator from complex networks theory as social media status to verify its coefficient correlation with influenza susceptibility; (3) we also apply the LDA topic model to explore users' physical condition from Weibo to further calculate its coefficient correlation with influenza susceptibility. From the perspective of social networking status, we analyze and extract influenza-related information from social media, with many advantages including efficiency, low cost, and real time. We find a moderate negative correlation between the susceptibility of users to influenza and social network status, while there is a significant positive correlation between physical condition and susceptibility to influenza. Our findings reveal the laws behind the phenomenon of online disease transmission, and providing important evidence for analyzing, predicting, and preventing disease transmission. Also, this study provides theoretical and methodological underpinnings for further exploration and measurement of more factors associated with infection control and public health from social networks.

This paper contributes to the telework literature by investigating empirically the impact of social influence on the decision to telework. An innovative web-based telework survey was developed and used to obtain data from a sample of employees of a large postsecondary institution in Ontario, Canada, between January and March 2009. A unique feature of the survey instrument is that it allowed employees to easily construct their workplace social networks. Using a univariate (binary) probit model, we identify three mutually exclusive sources of social influence on the decision to telework: friends who telework, neighbors who telework, and colleagues at the workplace. With respect to colleagues, we find that the net impact of social influence is governed by both the composition and the size of an employee's workplace social network. Composition is captured by interacting telework status with relationship strength.

The article considers the peculiarities of media behaviour of users in the social network. The topicality of the problem under consideration is connected with the fact that today social media sufficiently spread their functional abilities which led to the growth of the number of registered users, the increase of time amount spent online, and the status of social networks as the main source of information. In social networks all the norms are based on the special social responsibility of users, so one of the acute directions in the study of informational content of social networks is the study of opinion and peculiarities of media behaviour of the audience. To study the self-identity of media behaviour and media needs we conducted a sociological survey among the users of VKontakte (N=500). The results of the survey helped us draw the following conclusions: social networks are the true sources of information; a part of users, especially young people, do not count the time spent in social networks which often leads to negative effects on their activity and psychological state; the audience seldom makes a critical analyses of the information spread through social networks; users claim that they often meet unnecessary and spam information. Nevertheless, the audience starts obtaining the criteria in relation to the opinion leader which influence the degree of critical relation to the posted publications.

Social network and health status among Korean elders Social network and health status among Korean elders

The study examined the extent participation in non-formal education programmes improved social networking and empowerment of rural women in Nigeria. One research question and one hypothesis guided the study. Survey research design employing stratified random sampling was used to sample 1668 rural women from Enugu and Plateau States who participated in the Women for Women International’s Non-formal Education programme, out of which 1558 responded to the study. Questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire was face validated by experts in the field of education, a reliability co-efficient of 0.76 was obtained using cronbach alfa method of determining internal consistency of instrument. The research question was answered using mean and grandmean while the hypothesis was analysed using t-test statistics. The result revealed that participation in non-formal education programmes improved social network status and empowered rural women in Nigeria. Significant differences existed in the mean response of rural women in Enugu and Plateau states on the extent participation in non-formal education programme improved their social network status. It was recommended among other things that Renewing Women’s Lifeskill education prorgamme should be inculcated into women education programme of the National Policy on Women Education in Nigeria. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n5p35

Effects of risk preferences and social networks on adoption of genomics by Chinese hog farmers

Modern linguistics is characterized by the establishment and formation of a new promising direction, based on anthropocentric theory of speech genres (TSG). The popularity of this direction lies in the interest of the scientists in the phenomenon of virtual communication, which has a certain structure and differs in mechanisms of influence on the social content. The multidimensionality and richness of genre forms determine the need for a diverse approach to the study of speech genres in modern genology. The aim of the article is to study and analyze the theory of speech genres in modern linguistics. The author presents the basic theoretical foundations of the study of the theory of speech genres. Taking into account the achievements of modern studies, the concept of speech genres is analyzed, features and functions of the visual elements of the speech genre are described. It is proved that the modern speech genre and its variety the virtual speech genre are an informational and communicative environment in which there is a certain styling, sphere of communication, speech behavior. The speech genre and the virtual speech genre belong to the written communication and rely on the fullest use of lexical, grammatical, graphic, and media means of speech, which foresees certain adjustments, as well as it differs by the form of dialogue and monologue.

Interaction is, intrinsically, a multi-thread process. Supported by our various senses, our ability to speak, and the structure of our body and mind we can get simultaneously involved in multiple interactions, using different resources for each of them. This paper analyses natural interactions and the impact of using parallel channels in peripheral interactions. Applying a similar approach to human-computer interaction, we present a Tangible User Interface proof of concept to analyze the advantages and weakness of parallel interaction in computer-based systems. To this end, two tangible applications -to control the profile status in social networks and to control an Intelligent Room- are compared to their usual graphical counterparts, presenting the results of a user study and analyzing the implications of its results.

The author considered the classification of accomplices' acts in obtaining by a person of the highest position within the criminal hierarchy (the thief-in-law status). The research took into account the causal connections between the elements of the co-enforcement system regarding such crime. The paper divided the objective aspect of obtaining the highest position within the criminal hierarchy (the status of a thief in the law) into stages depending on the content of the crime co-perpetrators actions. The author considered the situations with a voluntary refusal of a person from the obtained highest position within the criminal hierarchy (the status of a thief in the law) as well as the conditions for co-executors active repentance. The paper defines an applicant to obtain the highest position within the criminal hierarchy (the thief-in-law status) as a performer. The study established that the status leaders become the co-perpetrators of a crime participating in the decision to grant a person the highest position in the criminal hierarchy (the status of a thief in the law). The co-perpetrators of this crime also include persons who consciously and purposefully disseminate the information about the assignment of a person to the highest position in the criminal hierarchy (the status of a thief in the law). Personal voluntary renunciation of the acquired highest position in the criminal hierarchy (the status of a thief in the law) should be made openly, for example, using the status in social networks or a chat. Active repentance of the accomplices of the crime under consideration provides for the voluntary refusal of a person from the acquired highest position in the criminal hierarchy (the status of a thief in law).

We’ve long recognized that figurative language is social in multiple ways. But new developments in both socio-cognitive neuroscience and linguistic pragmatics suggests that the extent to which all language, figurative and everything else, might be considered social has been underestimated. This chapter first reviews the three main neurally-driven and evolutionarily-constructed powerful social drives in people, motivating us to form social connections, to maintain or improve our status in social networks and hierarchies, and to form a sense-of-self derived from social expectations. The chapter then covers the 9 or 10 different ways in which figurative language, non-figurative language, indirect language and a handful of other processes on the “other-side-of-meaning” (Colston, 2019), exist fundamentally to service those powerful social motivations, several of which are not usually considered in discussions of the sociality of figurative and other language.1

Cooperation, behavioural synchrony and status in social networks

The article reveals the author’s approach to the content of social leadership in the context of the development of a digital society at various levels – societal, institutional and concrete social. The author analyses the correlation between the concepts of “social leadership” and authority in the sphere of national and military security. Based on the author’s sociological research, the paper analyses the self-assessment of young people of their leadership qualities, authority and social influence on other people in accord- ance with their status in social networks. The study describes the social types based on the model of leadership and integration into the Russian civilizational space, the values of the Russian society. The paper substantiates the proposals to take into account the leadership qualities of social network administrators, moderators of information flows in the formation of the human potential of specialists in the development of digital platforms and global Internet content in the Russian segment of the virtual space, as well as the establishment of partnerships between national and military security actors and business structures of the digital economy, software developers, producers of Internet content. Separately, the author highlights the conditions for the formation of leadership positions of subjects of information and analytical work based on digital technologies to ensure national and military security. The study presents the author`s justification of the levels and content of digital information and analytical competencies of personnel in the system of ensuring national and military security, which will allow Russia to ensure technological social leadership in this area. The article reveals practical methods of organizing the educational process for training specialists in the field of digital information and analytical technologies, the possibility of using virtual educational means of training and control, Internet resources, and improving the security of the educational process in military educational organizations from negative hostile influences.