Local Social Networks Research Articles

Developing films to support vaccine-hesitant, ethnically diverse parents’ decision-making about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine: a codesign study

ObjectiveTo illustrate an evidence-, theory- and person-based approach to codesign the COMMUNICATE films that support parental decision-making about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for their teenagers.DesignCodesign study.SettingLocalities covered by two...

Social Innovation and Sustainable Development: An Approach in the Portuguese Municipal Context

With the aim of identifying the determinants and impacts of social innovation on local sustainable development, this article analyses a set of projects funded by the Portugal Social Innovation public initiative in 10 municipalities in the country where there was local authority investment. Using documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs and local authority investors, it concludes that the experience led to the promotion of new practices, new collaborative relationships and the empowerment of local social action networks. However, it is noted that sustainable development is not yet seen as an operative concept by the stakeholders involved.

농촌 방문객, 그들은 관계인구인가 관광객인가?: 농촌 관계인구 특성에 관한 탐색적 연구

Purpose: This study examines the value of ‘relational population’ as a way to counteract rural decline. Rural areas are spaces of diverse values, but due to population decline, rural areas are facing a weakening of the community base and the disappearance of localities. The concept of relational population is introduced in the process of shifting policy goals from quantitative to qualitative population expansion. Methods: This study surveyed 3,000 adults to estimate the size of the rural relational population, examine their activity behaviour and institutional support, and analyse the differences in activity behaviour between rural relational population and rural tourists. Results: As a result, four groups were identified: (1) the rural relational population, (2) rural tourists, (3) potential relational population, and (4) the unrelational population. Among them, the rural relational population was found to utilise local social ties to stay for a longer period of time compared to one-time tourists. On the other hand, tourists have superficial behaviour in terms of using local social networks and low intention to stay. On the other hand, the majority of people are unrelational and preliminary relational population, and it seems that institutional support such as environmental improvement and urban-rural exchange policies are needed to expand population. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the study explored ways to expand the relational population in terms of policy and institutions, and proposed various practical tasks to revitalize rural areas in various ways.

Influences of social networks, demographics, and evacuation duration on evacuation decisions: Insights from Ohio and Pennsylvania

Understanding post-hazard evacuation decisions poses challenges due to the complex interplay between individual behaviors and community influences. This study investigates the evacuation decisions made by residents from three counties of Ohio and Pennsylvania, correlating their choices with various sociodemographic and behavioral factors. By analyzing diverse evacuation durations—spanning a week, two months, and a permanent period—the research identifies patterns in distance preference, influenced by attributes such as gender, race, social networks, and travel habits. Evacuation duration emerged as a significant predictor of the distance traveled, with prolonged durations leading to farther evacuations. The research highlights the importance of leveraging local social networks for effective communication during hazards and informs policy recommendations for tailored evacuation advisories and inter-state evacuation collaborations.

The Development of Natural and Cultural Tourism in Buku Limau Island Based on Social Networking

The local authorities are promoting Buku Limau Island as an emerging tourist site. The island's distinguishing features include stunning coral reefs, picturesque white sandy beaches, and its role as a hub for the production of salted and fresh seafood. The objective of this study is to identify and describe the natural and cultural attractions on Buku Limau Island, particularly in the Manggar Subdistrict of East Belitung Regency. Additionally, the study seeks to examine social networks in order to facilitate the development and expansion of natural and cultural tourism destinations in the area. This research employs a mixed-method approach, utilizing data gathering approaches such as observation, focus group discussions (FGD), and surveys administered through questionnaires. UCINET program was used to conduct descriptive qualitative analysis and social network analysis to identify and reveal tourist characteristics. This is followed by the breakdown and study of social networks among stakeholders and interest groups. The findings of this study indicate that Buku Limau Island exhibits attributes of both natural and cultural tourism, with the predominant population of fishermen being of Bugis ethnicity. The identification and study of social networks demonstrate that stakeholders have formed networks to actively support and cultivate tourism attractions, encompassing both natural and cultural aspects. Nevertheless, there are still certain stakeholders who have not been engaged in the network throughout the process of developing and improving the tourism destination. The research limits are deliberately established to enhance the study's focus and depth. The information and data acquired are directly relevant to the fundamental issue of this investigation. The scope of this study is limited to the creation of natural and cultural tourism centered around social networks on Buku Limau Island. Theoretical implications shed light on the ideas of local government assistance, social networks, and tourist attractions. Meanwhile, the practical consequences surely affect the government, tourism stakeholders, and the community in their efforts to promote the growth of natural and cultural tourism through social networks on Buku Limau Island.

Foreign trade and domestic networks — A few remarks on the organisation of tributary embassies to China in the Muromachi period

The aim of this article is to rethink the connection between foreign trade and domestic economy in late medieval Japan.The article takes a look at the financial side of the tributary missions to Ming China, investigating how commodities for tribute and for trade were organised. In the 1970s, Sasaki Gin’ya was the first to criticise that research on foreign trade and research on the domestic economy were being conducted separately. He emphasised the importance of complex interdisciplinary research in order to reveal the connection between foreign trade and the domestic economy. Even though this issue had been previously raised, no research had been conducted with the explicit purpose of connecting foreign trade and the domestic economy during the Muromachi period until the past two decades. Contributions that have been made in recent years have aimed at revealing the connections between domestic commercial or religious networks with foreign relations, mainly focusing on the role of Zen monks in diplomacy and trade and on the import and distribution of commodities from China. In Western scholarship, this topic is still under-researched and provides potential for further investigations. Thus, the paper tries to provide an inventory of case studies that help us imagine and understand what kinds of connections existed between domestic networks and foreign trade in medieval Japan that made the procuring of tribute items and commercial products for official trade in China possible. Being aware of networks in medieval society, such as the religious network—and also closely connected to that the commercial network—of Honganji or Tenryūji, can help us connect the scattered and loose information in the sources, in order to explain what contributed to the development of foreign trade. The paper argues that despite the weakening of shogunal power, tributary trade continued because the structure of ship management transformed. Tribute ships became part of commercial ventures backed by the flourishing late medieval Japanese economy, and the increase of capital led to an increase in investors who were ready to participate in trade with China. The way that products were procured shows different patterns that provide good examples to help us understand how local commercial, social, and religious networks were utilised for procuring Japanese commodities.

Le stress parental chez des familles migrantes : le rôle des réseaux transnationaux

Parenthood can be a source of stress, especially for parents with young children. For migrants, the task is made more complex by cultural differences and the child's integration into a psychic filiation. Traditionally, parents rely on a social group to help them cope with the demands of parenthood. However, this support may be lacking in migratory situations. The literature in psychology has little data available on the composition of social support networks, particularly for transnational networks. The aim of this study is therefore to explore both the local and transnational support networks for migrant parents with respect to a sense of stress for parents. The sample consisted of 62 migrant parents living in Switzerland, and a quantitative and qualitative methodology was used to analyze the data. The results revealed that migrant parents maintain both local and transnational social networks to cope with the challenges of parenting. First-time arrivals have a less well-developed local support network and a corresponding higher level of parental stress. The density of the local support network increases with the duration of residency in Switzerland.

Re-imagining African millennials’ brand buying and distribution channel selection behaviour in a technologically disrupted world

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the factors that influence millennial purchase behaviour, brand choice and distribution channel selection in an evolving technology-driven environment. Design/methodology/approach The study was exploratory, using qualitative methods of personal interviews and some ethnographic observations to collect data from 585 millennials from ten cities in nine African countries. Findings Findings from the study confirm and support the critical role of e-commerce in facilitating millennials engagement with brands, highlighting how brand purchases are integral to their lifestyle choices. There is an overwhelming confirmation of the importance of influencer marketing and social media in shaping purchase decisions, with new insights into the role of local micro-influencers and social networks. The findings from the study highlight the pivotal role of a brand’s country of origin in influencing millennials’ brand preferences. The study supports and advances insights into the importance of online shopping and diverse factors influencing millennials’ selection of distribution channels. Practical implications There is an opportunity to leverage the growing mobile telephone penetration and social media usage to develop innovative integrated marketing communications strategies. There are opportunities for co-creating marketing communication campaigns with millennials in different settings. These are outlined in the practical implications section. Originality/value The paper is based on original empirical data collected from ten countries and explores the behaviour of a growing but under-researched segment of millennials in Africa.

Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Melalui Program Kuliah Kerja Nyata Di Dusun Gamelan, Desa Sendangtirto, Kapanewon Berbah, Sleman

Community empowerment is important to improve the quality of life and active community participation in local regional development. One way can be implemented is through the Community Service Program (KKN). This program is implemented in Gamelan Hamlet, Sendangtirto Village, Kapanewon Berbah, Sleman, which has large natural and human resources and can be improved. The research method used involves active community participation and observation of needs in the community. Furthermore, the programs provided include live pharmacy and the formation of study groups. The research results show that the KKN Program is able to make a significant contribution to empowering the Gamelan Hamlet community. Through collaboration between students, lecturers and the local community, this program has succeeded in providing skills training, increasing awareness of local potential and building strong social networks. In this process, it was identified that there was an increase in active community participation in decision-making for managing the living environment through the living pharmacy program and an increase in children's interest in learning through study groups.

Fisheries local action groups, small‐scale fisheries and territorial development

AbstractIn comparison to the wealth of critical evaluation of LEADER (i.e., Liaison entre actions de développement de l'économie rurale), there has been no consolidated attempt to reflect on the contribution of Fisheries Local Action Groups (FLAGs), now entering their third EU programming period. Set up in the image of LEADER, and a novel governance instrument within the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), FLAGs aim to activate local responses that build resilience and adaptability within the fisheries sector and wider communities. In addition to introducing the accompanying articles that make up this special issue of Sociologia Ruralis, our article gives an account of the emergence of community‐led local development (CLLD) in fisheries and the attributes that have characterised the application of the LEADER approach within a fisheries‐territorial development context. In many cases, FLAGs have led to improved relationships between the small‐scale fishing sector and wider local social and economic networks, helping the sector reimagine its role within local economies. Yet outcomes vary as the FLAG approach has been applied across different cultural and institutional settings. There are indications that the system is becoming enveloped by wider priorities of coastal development and blue growth. Yet FLAGs may well provide a successful test case for widening participation in the CFP and upscaling integration of the fishing industry within local and regional economies. For CLLD in general, they are a reminder of the value of a differentiated CLLD approach tailored to different sectoral‐territorial contexts.

Cosmetic Medical Tourists' Use of Online Support Communities: Sharing Information, Reciprocity, and Enduring Relationships.

Cosmetic procedures are amongst the most popular procedures sought after by medical tourists. Cosmetic medical tourists utilise numerous sources of information when planning their trips including, where available, discussing their decision with previous medical tourists. Current research on online support communities has investigated the interactions of patients with various health conditions with online support; however, limited research exists on cosmetic medical tourists' participation in online support communities. Here we report findings from our qualitative interview study of Australian cosmetic medical tourists. We found that many of our participants experienced stigma regarding their intention to receive cosmetic procedures and to travel overseas from within their local social networks. Participating in online communities (Facebook groups) enabled them to access information and support from other cosmetic medical tourists. Through using public posting and messaging functionality of the communities, they performed two distinct roles in the groups that parallel the temporal transitions of their journeys: they were information and support seekers pre-surgery and information and support providers post-surgery. The reciprocity they practiced in the provider role occurred due to their desire to 'pay forward' the support they had received from others pre-surgery. This role was performed as a collective, community-based reciprocity rather than a direct mutual exchange. Some participants also transitioned their online relationships into enduing offline friendships demonstrating how online interactions may become enmeshed with broader social networks.

ІСТОРІЯ РОЗВИТКУ УКРАЇНСЬКИХ СОЦІАЛЬНИХ МЕРЕЖ І МЕСЕНДЖЕРІВ ТА ЇХ ЗНАЧЕННЯ ДЛЯ ЖУРНАЛІСТІВ

Social networks and messengers have become an integral part of our lives. In the work of journalists, they play a significant role, because with their help, they not only search for information, communicate with the heroes of the materials, but also become an opportunity to promote media production and build an image. Journalists are constantly looking for promising social platforms to inform the audience. In Ukraine, as in the world, popular social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, X, TikTok, Youtube) are mostly used, but each country has its own local social networks and messengers that are aimed at the local population. And in Ukraine, there are also social platforms that were created by Ukrainians and for Ukrainians in order to unite them on one resource. Ukrainian social networks and messengers emerged in the early 2000s and have their own development history. In this study, we analyzed and showed how social platforms for Ukrainians emerged and developed, what contributed to their emergence. Formed a list of Ukrainian social networks and messengers in a table. Three periods of the emergence of Ukrainian social networks were also proposed: 2005–2013, 2014–2021 and 2022 and until today. Each period of emergence is associated with important periods in our history. We consider 1ua.com.ua, which appeared in 2005, to be the first Ukrainian social network. The study showed that there were significantly more social networks than messengers. We also considered whether Ukrainian social platforms have prospects for development. During the research, it was possible to learn about the functioning of 71 Ukrainian social networks and 6 messengers that were created and launched during the years 2005–2023. By Ukrainian social networks and messengers we mean those platforms that were created by Ukrainians and, for the most part, for Ukrainians.

Effect of behavioural sampling methods on local and global social network metrics: a case-study of three macaque species.

Social network analysis (SNA) is a powerful, quantitative tool to measure animals' direct and indirect social connectedness in the context of social groups. However, the extent to which behavioural sampling methods influence SNA metrics remains unclear. To fill this gap, here we compare network indices of grooming, huddling, and aggression calculated from data collected from three macaque species through two sampling methods: focal animal sampling (FAS) and all-occurrences behaviour sampling (ABS). We found that measures of direct connectedness (degree centrality, and network density) were correlated between FAS and ABS for all social behaviours. Eigenvector and betweenness centralities were correlated for grooming and aggression networks across all species. By contrast, for huddling, we found a correlation only for betweenness centrality while eigenvector centralities were correlated only for the tolerant bonnet macaque but not so for the despotic rhesus macaque. Grooming and huddling network modularity and centralization were correlated between FAS and ABS for all but three of the eight groups. By contrast, for aggression network, we found a correlation for network centralization but not modularity between the sampling methodologies. We discuss how our findings provide researchers with new guidelines regarding choosing the appropriate sampling method to estimate social network metrics.

Digital resilience: A multiple case study of Taobao village in rural China

Digital resilience, the ability of a system to respond to external shocks, grow and survive in a changing environment, has become a topic of increasing interest in ICT4D literature. Through the Resilience Assessment Benchmarking and Impact Toolkit (RABIT), the purpose of this article is to conceptualize digital resilience and apply this framework to analyze the Taobao village cases, where some grassroots communities in remote counties leapfrog out of poverty and digital divide, becoming e-commerce entrepreneurs in the context of global Internet mobility. This study first evaluates the performance of foundational and enabling attributes in Southern Jiangxi, Caoxian and Suichang in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is found that the three cases performed well in terms of the foundational attributes, among which Suichang was better than Southern Jiangxi and Caoxian. At the same time, there was a notable difference in terms of enabling attributes. This is reflected in the three distinct grassroots action strategies employed: the “Migratory Bird” strategy, which is flexible but policy-dependent; the “Prism” strategy, which is built on local social networks and flow utilization; and the “Diamond” strategy, leverages high levels of industrial clustering to amplify advantages. Finally, this article offers insights and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners in developing countries and regions, to build a pathway towards digital resilience.

Bodies on the Move: Central Americans’ Strategies for Coping with the Marks of Irregularity

In the current migration system, mobility in an irregular context affects the migrant body physically and mentally. This article seeks to identify the ways irregular Central American migrants in transit through Mexico continue their journey northwards despite the physical demands of the route. Through the analysis of forty-two in-depth interviews with migrants, it shows how migrants respond to this experience through a repertoire of actions developed in a context of marginalization. Two practices illustrate the strategies and resources they use to resist. The first is the mobilization of a cultural capital of migration within both local and transnational social networks in their countries of origin, transit, and destination, through economic and technological resources. The second is physical and mental resistance based on optimism underpinned by values such as the family and faith.

Anomaly Detection in Social-Aware IoT Networks

Anomaly event coverage is usually related to several attributes, among which the primary attribute dominates at the time of improving detection efficiency. In the case of Internet of Things (IoT) devices with complex social-aware relationships, IoT nodes with primary attributes should cooperate with each other through their social-aware interactions, to detect potential event anomalies and further determine the coverage of such anomalies. Existing research has put a lot of effort into designing IoT detection frameworks to discover anomalous sensor data, rarely caring about the social-aware interactions. This paper targets this important efficiency problem, and develops a novel anomaly detection mechanism in collaborative social-edge-cloud architecture. The focus of it is to first construct a vector space based Aggregation Behavior Comparison Detection Model, and quantify the change of monitoring behavior by defining the clustering threshold of vector space. This can quickly judge whether a local social network is abnormal and speed up the abnormal detection rate. If it is, a Social Behavior Correlation Detection Model is further designed based on the correlation of primary attributes derived from the dominating social-aware interaction behavior captured by (primary) edge nodes. This strategy can help detect specific “abnormal" areas managed by one or more edge devices with higher accuracy. In the process of anomaly detection, we also propose a spatial index tree to store the information of IoT nodes, so as to effectively collect and route the perceived data of IoT nodes for anomaly analysis. Experimental results demonstrate that our anomaly detection method promotes the detection efficiency and accuracy in comparison with the state of art’s techniques.

Contentious catalysts: beguines, place, and identity in late medieval Mainz

ABSTRACT The identities and roles of women known as beguines in late medieval Europe have long been the subject of scholarly debate. Classic studies argued that beguines troubled a binary of heretical and orthodox movements, and that they were the object of clerical and lay suspicion. Recent work on medieval religious women has done much to enrich understandings of how diverse their roles could be. The records for the beguines of the central Rhineland, however, have not been the focus of examination in some decades. This paper draws on unpublished and understudied documents to examine how beguines were agents and catalysts of regional movement, and how their symbolic and physical emplacement in urban environments was understood. In doing so, it employs mobility theory, a lens heretofore little used by premodernists. This paper argues that the beguines of Mainz were neither exceptional nor marginal. Rather, they cultivated a distinctive identity while remaining integrated in local social and religious networks.

Doing public health differently: How can public health departments engage with local communities through social media interventions?

ObjectivesThis paper evaluates a collaborative intervention between public health professionals and local social media administrators, in which the social media site Facebook was used with a view to strengthening engagement with and, dissemination of, core messages and building trust and resilience within local communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Study designA qualitative design was used, exploring the research question: how does collaboration between public health professionals and local social network group administrators create community engagement during a global crisis? MethodsFourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with public health staff and online group administrators. Data was analysed using framework analysis. ResultsCollaboration between public health professionals and local group administrators created both opportunities and challenges. Local group administrators had wide reach and trust within the local community, but message credibility was enhanced through local authority involvement. Such collaborations contain inherent tensions due to perceived risks to social capital and independence but can be successful if receiving strong risk-tolerant support from the local authority. Findings are discussed in the context of Bourdieu's theory of social capital to examine how public health information can be delivered by trusted social media actors in communication tailored to the local community. ConclusionsSocial media provides new channels of communication for delivery of public health messages, enabling new ways of working which create long-term engagement and community building. Although the intervention was developed quickly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, participants felt it could be mobilised to address a wider range of issues.

Detecting bots in social-networks using node and structural embeddings

Users on social networks such as Twitter interact with each other without much knowledge of the real-identity behind the accounts they interact with. This anonymity has created a perfect environment for bot accounts to influence the network by mimicking real-user behaviour. Although not all bot accounts have malicious intent, identifying bot accounts in general is an important and difficult task. In the literature there are three distinct types of feature sets one could use for building machine learning models for classifying bot accounts. These feature-sets are: user profile metadata, natural language features (NLP) extracted from user tweets and finally features extracted from the the underlying social network. Profile metadata and NLP features are typically explored in detail in the bot-detection literature. At the same time less attention has been given to the predictive power of features that can be extracted from the underlying network structure. To fill this gap we explore and compare two classes of embedding algorithms that can be used to take advantage of information that network structure provides. The first class are classical embedding techniques, which focus on learning proximity information. The second class are structural embedding algorithms, which capture the local structure of node neighbourhood. We show that features created using structural embeddings have higher predictive power when it comes to bot detection. This supports the hypothesis that the local social network formed around bot accounts on Twitter contains valuable information that can be used to identify bot accounts.

Social Relations, Cultural Networks and Land Transfer Market — An Investigation on a Border Village in Tengchong County, Southwest of Yunnan Province

Under the premise of establishing the system of “separation of rural land ownership rights, contract rights and management rights” , the volume of transactions in the domestic land transfer market in China is still limited. It is not because of the unclear land property rights or unsound transfer system, but because of the fact that the land is not simply an economic factor. Peasants allow for unforeseen circumstances for their family economies and decide their willingness of land transfer according to the local social habits. Instead of hindering land transfer, the local social relations and cultural networks are conducive to reducing transaction costs, resolving social conflicts, maintaining the dynamic stability of land management rights and promoting the smooth operation of land transfer market. The rational utilization of social culture can facilitate and stabilize land transfer, which will contribute to the implementation of the national goal of achieving a connection between smallholders and modern agriculture as well as accelerate the development of agricultural economy.