Influential Individuals Research Articles

How to engage small retail businesses in workplace violence prevention: Perspectives from small businesses and influential organizations.

Small retail businesses experience high robbery and violent crime rates leading to injury and death. Workplace violence prevention programs (WVPP) based on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design reduce this risk, but low small business participation limits their effectiveness. Recent dissemination models of occupational safety and health information recommend collaborating with an intermediary organization to engage small businesses. Qualitative interviews with 70 small business operators and 32 representatives of organizations with small business influence were conducted to identify factors and recommendations for improving dissemination of a WVPP. Both study groups recommended promoting WVPPs through personal contacts but differed on other promotion methods and the type of influential groups to target. Small business operators indicated few connections to formal business networks. Dissemination of WVPPs to small businesses may require models inclusive of influential individuals (e.g., respected business owners) as intermediaries to reach small businesses with few formal connections.

Measuring political polarization: Twitter shows the two sides of Venezuela.

We say that a population is perfectly polarized when divided in two groups of the same size and opposite opinions. In this paper, we propose a methodology to study and measure the emergence of polarization from social interactions. We begin by proposing a model to estimate opinions in which a minority of influential individuals propagate their opinions through a social network. The result of the model is an opinion probability density function. Next, we propose an index to quantify the extent to which the resulting distribution is polarized. Finally, we apply the proposed methodology to a Twitter conversation about the late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, finding a good agreement between our results and offline data. Hence, we show that our methodology can detect different degrees of polarization, depending on the structure of the network.

Examining Individual Differences in Interpersonal Influence: On the Psychometric Properties of the Generalized Opinion Leadership Scale (GOLS)

Opinion leadership describes an individual's tendency to informally influence others’ attitudes and overt behaviors. In contrast to contemporary views of opinion leadership as a highly domain-specific trait, this paper introduces a multi-faceted personality trait, generalized opinion leadership (GOL) that characterizes exceptionally influential individuals independent of a specific subject area. Two studies report on the psychometric properties of a scale to assess GOL. Study 1 is based on three independent samples (N = 1,575, N = 1,275, and N = 231) and demonstrates the factorial structure of the instrument and its measurement invariance across sex, age, and educational levels. Study 2 (N = 310) analyzes multitrait-multiinformant data to highlight the scale's discriminant validity with regard to innovativeness and trendsetting.

Diffusion of changes in organizations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the advisability of innovation diffusion theory for enhancing the adoption/execution success rate in leading organizational change. Design/methodology/approach – The study design involved an interpretive discussion of innovation diffusion theory and related research, followed by a review of influential models of organizational change management (CM). Through analysis and synthesis of the essential ideas and processes derived from both schools, this study conceptualized an integrated change diffusion model with practical and research implications. Findings – The study findings were presented via an organizational change diffusion model and its phases with major considerations. Leading change should be a systematic but responsive process as visualized by a sequential but recursive flow of the phases; change could sustain with the spontaneous function of organizational dynamics; before-during-after diagnosis and evaluation would be fundamental to the success of change efforts. Research limitations/implications – This study recommended that future research empirically test the validity of this study’s conceptual arguments and attempt to further integrate innovation diffusion and CM research in many areas, including the change leader’s competencies. Extended research opportunities were presented as well. Practical implications – This study suggested that change leaders concentrate resources on a few positively or negatively influential individuals and take advantage of communication networks to persuade and inform others to help with their change adoption. Change leaders were also advised to partner with formal/informal opinion leaders and facilitate each player’s proper role in the change diffusion efforts. An additional suggestion was that system-centric thinking should precede the individual-blame orientation in the root cause analysis of adoption/non-adoption (diffusion/non-diffusion) of a change. Originality/value – This study offers value by enriching CM approaches in consultation with the research asset on innovation diffusion, which has been less capitalized upon in the organizational CM arena. Specifically, value added includes an encompassing consideration of both normative-reeducative and empirical-rational perspectives on individuals’ behavior change, a research-based conceptual extension of CM models, and consummative strategies for effective and efficient change interventions.

From Universal to Regional: Theoretical Perspectives on Regeneration and Heritage

Regeneration comprises a set of processes designed to take a specific place from obsolescence to a projected future. It embraces the past, the present and the future. Inevitably, for some place is the principal focus while for others people come to the fore. Central to any discussion about regeneration is the concept of heritage, including both its tangible and intangible components. Influential individuals, groups and communities often bring divergent views to any plans for environmental and social preservation, conservation, construction and regeneration. An analysis of values lies at the heart of this and this analysis requires a multi-disciplinary approach in which specialists from many disciplines have a part to play. To focus our discussion we examine heritage as a social construction highlighting the importance of defining cultural benefits in any regeneration strategy. Referring to UNESCO Conventions we discuss tangible and intangible cultural heritage with particular reference to universality and individuality. Within this there is a concern to confront issues related to geographical marginalisation, language conservation, political devolution and decentralisation and the continuities in cultural expressions in music, text and the creative arts. The significance of these is evident in debates about the criteria used for the designation of UNESCO World Heritage sites and European Cities of Culture. We conclude with a discussion about the nation-state and cultural identity. It is essential in debates about the intrinsic and instrumental values of heritage to recognise the fundamental importance of national identity constructed from, or alongside, a multiplicity of cultural identities and heritages.

Czech Insolvency Proceedings Data: Social Network Analysis

Abstract In 2008, the Czech government launched an information system called Insolvency Register of the Czech Republic. Already within the first year of its operation, about 5200 insolvencies were commenced. This number rose, however, immensely in the following years as the impact of the Global Financial Crisis became evident also in the Czech Republic - industrial production fell by 13.4% and many areas witnessed massive layoffs. Meanwhile, the Czech Insolvency Register contains publicly available data concerning approximately 160 000 insolvency proceedings. The subjects participating in insolvency proceedings include debtors, creditors, senates deciding in the respective insolvency matter and insolvency administrators who handle debtor's assets during the proceedings. Often, the involved subjects participate in several insolvency proceedings thus forming a complex social network that evolves over time. In order to better understand emerging trends in such a type of networks, we orient our research towards the identification of influential individuals. Association rules used to predict future behavior of the network reveal several interesting patterns present across the entire country as well as locally in specific regions only.

Identifying Super-Spreader Nodes in Complex Networks

Identifying the most influential individuals spreading information or infectious diseases can assist or hinder information dissemination, product exposure, and contagious disease detection. Hub nodes, high betweenness nodes, high closeness nodes, and highk-shell nodes have been identified as good initial spreaders, but efforts to use node diversity within network structures to measure spreading ability are few. Here we describe a two-step framework that combines global diversity and local features to identify the most influential network nodes. Results from susceptible-infected-recovered epidemic simulations indicate that our proposed method performs well and stably in single initial spreader scenarios associated with various complex network datasets.

Falling off the Map: South Africa, Antarctica and Empire, c. 1919–59

During the first half of the twentieth century, despatches about the coldest corner of the British Empire were circulated to three, sometimes four, of its southern neighbours under the British crown: Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the Falklands. Of these four, South Africa seemed the least interested in Antarctica, despite the keen interest of some influential individuals and a strategy of bringing Antarctica into the imperial fold through British dominions that were proximate to Antarctica. In this context, we ask how South Africa viewed itself in relation to the Antarctic to the south and the British metropole to the north. We discuss the key activities that connected South Africa to Antarctica—whaling and weather forecasting. Moreover, we consider some of the enterprising plans for a South African National Antarctic expedition, and what these plans reveal of South Africa's perception of itself as a southern country. This article interlinks with a growing scholarship that is critical of treating Antarctic history as politically and culturally isolated, including showing how the relatively simple natural and political ecology of the Antarctic can throw into relief multiple national and international concerns.

Golden Jubilee for Golden Gate - A Concise History of Golden Gate Highlands National Park, 1963 to 2013

The Golden Gate Highlands National Park has been the nucleus of tourism for the Free State Province and for the South African National Parks in this province for the last fifty years. Sadly very little has been written on the history and the development of this Park since its inception in 1963. APJ van Rensburg, amongst others, wrote a striking article on the history of the area before 1963, but the heritage and culture of Golden Gate Highlands National Park between 1963 and 2013 has been left virtually unexplored by historians. Various fragments of its history have been research, but the bigger picture was left largely untold. This article, as a concise account of the Park’s past, attempted to, through qualitative research, form the basis of a research project exploring the different components which integrated to form the collective history of Golden Gate Highlands National Park since 1963. This initial research focussed primarily on limited primary and secondary sources and relied strongly on Park reports to fill the gaps caused through the loss of valuable historical documents in the veld fire that destroyed the Administration and Information Centre at Gladstone in 1987. Planned future research on historical subsections of the culture and heritage of the Park will be supplemented through interviews with influential individuals, the van Reenen family, local inhabitants and farmers, as well as documentation from various archives and private collections. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p1169

Using Network Analysis to Understand Knowledge Mobilization in a Community-based Organization.

BackgroundKnowledge mobilization (KM) has been described as putting research in the hands of research users. Network analysis is an empirical approach that has potential for examining the complex process of knowledge mobilization within community-based organizations (CBOs). Yet, conducting a network analysis in a CBO presents challenges.PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value and feasibility of using network analysis as a method for understanding knowledge mobilization within a CBO by (1) presenting challenges and solutions to conducting a network analysis in a CBO, (2) examining the feasibility of our methodology, and (3) demonstrating the utility of this methodology through an example of a network analysis conducted in a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization activities.MethodThe final method used by the partnership team to conduct our network analysis of a CBO is described.ResultsAn example of network analysis results of a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization is presented. In total, 81 participants completed the network survey. All of the feasibility benchmarks set by the CBO were met. Results of the network analysis are highlighted and discussed as a means of identifying (1) prominent and influential individuals in the knowledge mobilization process and (2) areas for improvement in future knowledge mobilization initiatives.ConclusionFindings demonstrate that network analysis can be feasibly used to provide a rich description of a CBO engaging in knowledge mobilization activities.

When a Duck Initiates Movement, Do Others Follow? Testing Preference in Groups

AbstractChoice tests have been widely used to assess animal preferences. In the case of group‐living species, these tests are commonly presented to animals in groups, because isolation can have strong effects on behaviour and motivation. However, assessing preference at the group level could be misleading if strong control of movement, through influential individuals, and group cohesion were present. The needs of majority of the population might not be properly represented by the test results. The current study investigated whether or not groups of ducks (four ducklings per group) have individuals that consistently initiate movement and considered the implications for group cohesion, synchronisation and a measure of preference during a choice test. In all groups included in the analyses, there were ducks that initiated more movements than the rest, and this trend was stronger when leading towards areas providing resources such as pools. Also, more ducks preferentially followed the first initiator (birds initiating most movements within a group) into the bathing area. Group cohesion was higher in groups that frequently had the same individual initiating movement. The number of followers following the ducks that initiated most movements was associated with the measure of preference (time spent at preferred area, as a proportion of total time spent at any area) but the number of movements initiated by these individuals was not. These results highlight the need to consider the effects of initiators and group‐cohesive forces when conducting choice tests in groups of animals.

Social networks and health: A systematic review of sociocentric network studies in low- and middle-income countries

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), naturally occurring social networks may be particularly vital to health outcomes as extended webs of social ties often are the principal source of various resources. Understanding how social network structure, and influential individuals within the network, may amplify the effects of interventions in LMICs, by creating, for example, cascade effects to non-targeted participants, presents an opportunity to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public health interventions in such settings. We conducted a systematic review of PubMed, Econlit, Sociological Abstracts, and PsycINFO to identify a sample of 17 sociocentric network papers (arising from 10 studies) that specifically examined health issues in LMICs. We also separately selected to review 19 sociocentric network papers (arising from 10 other studies) on development topics related to wellbeing in LMICs. First, to provide a methodological resource, we discuss the sociocentric network study designs employed in the selected papers, and then provide a catalog of 105 name generator questions used to measure social ties across all the LMIC network papers (including both ego- and sociocentric network papers) cited in this review. Second, we show that network composition, individual network centrality, and network structure are associated with important health behaviors and health and development outcomes in different contexts across multiple levels of analysis and across distinct network types. Lastly, we highlight the opportunities for health researchers and practitioners in LMICs to 1) design effective studies and interventions in LMICs that account for the sociocentric network positions of certain individuals and overall network structure, 2) measure the spread of outcomes or intervention externalities, and 3) enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of aid based on knowledge of social structure. In summary, human health and wellbeing are connected through complex webs of dynamic social relationships. Harnessing such information may be especially important in contexts where resources are limited and people depend on their direct and indirect connections for support.

Toward a Theory of Personalist Parties: Concept Formation and Theory Building

Personalistic leadership—the exercise of authority vested in influential individuals based on personal attributes rather than organizational role—is a political phenomenon not limited by time or space. But what do we mean when we say that a political leader or a party is “personalistic”? While the theme of personalist leadership is not absent from political analyses, there is a lack of scholarly consensus on core elements of the concept itself. The goal of this article is to define in clearer terms what personalism is and how it differs from concepts such as charisma, populism, and anti‐establishment politics. We introduce a parsimonious definition based on intra‐organizational power and identify a party as personalist if two conditions are met: a dominant leader and a weakly structured organization. Finally, we present a more comprehensive typology of parties based on those two criteria and briefly illustrate the utility of our approach for explaining personalist formations as a distinct organizational type.

Generating knowledge: a case study of the National Policing Improvement Agency program on systematic reviews in policing

Objectives To review what we have learned from the policing systematic reviews funded by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) and to examine the importance of funding and influential individuals in advancing scientific knowledge.

El converso sevillano Nicolás Martínez de Medina (o de Sevilla), contador mayor de Castilla. Apuntes para una biografía

A partir de la conquista de Sevilla, en 1248, fueron muchos los judíos, primero, y los conversos, después, que llegaron a ocupar una posición preeminente, tanto en la ciudad, como en la corte, desempeñando, casi siempre, importantes oficios, al servicio de la hacienda real castellana, en una secuencia prácticamente ininterrumpida que va desde Alfonso X (1252-1284) hasta la nueva dinastía Trastámara. Uno de estos importantes conversos fue Nicolás Martínez de Medina (o de Sevilla), cuya actuación pública se desarrolló durante los reinados y a la sombra de los primeros Trastámara, desde Enrique II (1369-1379) hasta Juan II (1406-1454) y que, tras una brillante carrera en Sevilla y en la corte, llegaría a ser contador mayor de Castilla y, por tanto, uno de los personajes más influyentes de su época.After the conquest of Seville in 1248, many Jews and later «Conversos» played a prominent role both in the city and in the Court. They occupied significant positions at the service of the Spanish royal treasury almost uninterruptedly from the reign of Alfonso X (1252-1284) to that of the new Trastámara dynasty. One of these important «Conversos» was Nicolás Martínez de Medina (or de Sevilla), who held public positions under the reigns of the first Trastámara kings, from Enrique II (1369-1379) to Juan II (1406-1454). After a brilliant career in Seville and in the Court, he would become chief accountant of Castile and, consequently, one of the most influential individuals of his time.

On influence, stable behavior, and the most influential individuals in networks: A game-theoretic approach

We introduce a new approach to the study of influence in strategic settings where the action of an individual depends on that of others in a network-structured way. We propose network influence games as a game-theoretic model of the behavior of a large but finite networked population. In particular, we study an instance we call linear-influence games that allows both positive and negative influence factors, permitting reversals in behavioral choices. We embrace pure-strategy Nash equilibrium, an important solution concept in non-cooperative game theory, to formally define the stable outcomes of a network influence game and to predict potential outcomes without explicitly considering intricate dynamics. We address an important problem in network influence, the identification of the most influential individuals, and approach it algorithmically using pure-strategy Nash-equilibria computation. Computationally, we provide (a) complexity characterizations of various problems on linear-influence games; (b) efficient algorithms for several special cases and heuristics for hard cases; and (c) approximation algorithms, with provable guarantees, for the problem of identifying the most influential individuals. Experimentally, we evaluate our approach using both synthetic network influence games and real-world settings of general interest, each corresponding to a separate branch of the U.S. Government. Mathematically, we connect linear-influence games to important models in game theory: potential and polymatrix games.

Fast and Accurate Influence Maximization on Large Networks with Pruned Monte-Carlo Simulations

Influence maximization is a problem to find small sets of highly influential individuals in a social network to maximize the spread of influence under stochastic cascade models of propagation. Although the problem has been well-studied, it is still highly challenging to find solutions of high quality in large-scale networks of the day. While Monte-Carlo-simulation-based methods produce near-optimal solutions with a theoretical guarantee, they are prohibitively slow for large graphs. As a result, many heuristic methods without any theoretical guarantee have been developed, but all of them substantially compromise solution quality. To address this issue, we propose a new method for the influence maximization problem. Unlike other recent heuristic methods, the proposed method is a Monte-Carlo-simulation-based method, and thus it consistently produces solutions of high quality with the theoretical guarantee. On the other hand, unlike other previous Monte-Carlo-simulation-based methods, it runs as fast as other state-of-the-art methods, and can be applied to large networks of the day. Through our extensive experiments, we demonstrate the scalability and the solution quality of the proposed method.

Influence analysis in quantitative trait loci detection.

This paper presents systematic methods for the detection of influential individuals that affect the log odds (LOD) score curve. We derive general formulas of influence functions for profile likelihoods and introduce them into two standard quantitative trait locus detection methods—the interval mapping method and single marker analysis. Besides influence analysis on specific LOD scores, we also develop influence analysis methods on the shape of the LOD score curves. A simulation-based method is proposed to assess the significance of the influence of the individuals. These methods are shown useful in the influence analysis of a real dataset of an experimental population from an F2 mouse cross. By receiver operating characteristic analysis, we confirm that the proposed methods show better performance than existing diagnostics.

President's Page:IADC Pride: Our Members

While it would be easy to identify numerous examples of IADC Pride among our membership, I believe IADC members' time and commitment to merits special attention and acknowledgment. No other group affected iCivics' success in the beginning more than the International Association of Defense Counsel. IADC members served, and continue to serve, as a foundation of support for our Chairs in the states. The IADC provides funding to train teachers, visit classrooms and gathers community leaders to talk about the importance of civic education. Lawyers, who are by definition of the courts, have a special responsibility to serve as guardians, caretakers, and advocates of and for the justice system. And people who have earned the respect and trust of their community must take special care to reach behind and train the next generation how to be engaged, effective citizens. The IADC embraced the opportunity with to help educate our children as true officers of the court. IADC members are role models for others in their Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Ret.) Justice O'Connor was certainly gracious in praising the LADC Foundation and IADC members for taking a leading role in making a positive impact on the civil justice system by volunteering their time to help educate the next generation about the three branches of government. All of us, as members of the IADC, should be proud of the accomplishments our organization has made to promote and serve the legal profession and the civil justice system. The successful partnership between the IADC Foundation and is an example of how IADC members are committed to giving back to our profession. During the 2009 Midyear Meeting, the IADC Foundation President, George Murphy, announced its partnership with what was then called Courts. At that time, the Our Courts program was a pilot program being used in only a handful of schools. It introduced lessons on the court system through interactive online games. The IADC Foundation provided some funding and worked closely with the leadership of Our Courts to create a paradigm by which we could most effectively use the IADC membership and associated resources to promote the use of Our Courts in schools throughout the country. As a testament to Justice O'Connor's vision and the clear need for education in this area, Our Courts quickly became iCivics and two online games turned into now 19 games plus an entire online library of resources and lesson plans for educators. IADC members helped solicit the support of each Chief Justice of the highest court in each state as well as other influential individuals by asking them to serve as the state Chair of the effort. Through the Justices' participation, endorsement and active support, many education leaders in different states started using these computer games in their civics and government class curriculum to teach students about our civil justice system. …

Social Networks and New Product Choice

AbstractTo successfully market new products in a social network it is essential to identify influential individuals whose product recommendations influence the consumption choices of their peers. In this study, we use spatial econometric methods to determine how individuals revise their preferences for product attributes when exposed to product recommendations from peers, and how different individuals who vary in their degree of network connectedness exert influence on the product choices of others. We find evidence that consumers look to others for guidance from peers in their preference for subjective, taste‐specific parameters, but tend not to respond to peer price choices. Our spatial methods allow us to empirically determine the influence exerted by individual members on the consumption choices of other members of the social network. We find that connected members of the social network are not always the most influential in revising the consumption choices of others. Our estimates reveal that network proximity explains only 8.8% of influence.