Social Network Resources Research Articles

Social network characteristics and resource access among formerly displaced households in Lira, Uganda.

In rural African communities, the support of extended family, friends, and neighbours is essential in borrowing or leveraging land, labour, food, and money, especially at times of social and financial turmoil. Little is known, though, about the nature of the networks and the conditions under which they may generate greater support in post-conflict communities. This study, conducted in the Lira district of northern Uganda, examined the composition, proximity, and size of the networks that households utilise to gain access to resources during and after resettlement. Network structures with more kin and co-resident ties were found to offer greater resource access to households in post-conflict settings. Furthermore, there was a lack of meaningful linkages outside of a person's own village, especially with regard to households whose head has no or a low level of education. These findings enhance understanding of the specific role of relationships in social support for resource access among households in post-conflict communities.

Who in the World Cares? Gender Gaps in Attitudes toward Support for Older Adults in 20 Nations

Previous cross-national research suggests that women may be less likely to prefer family-based support to older adults and more likely to prefer government-based support compared to men. Guided by theories of gendered paid and unpaid labor, social network resources and strain, and global inequality, this paper investigates whether a gender gap in attitudes exists and, if so, whether it can be explained by characteristics of family, work, social networks and roles, and national context. Analyzing data from two cross-sectional International Social Survey Programme samples (2001, N = 23,360; 2012, N = 16,558) and aggregate nation-level data sources across 20 nations, the authors use multilevel modeling to predict four measures of attitudes toward family-based and/or government-based support. We find evidence of a small gender gap in attitudes. Overall, women are less likely to agree that children have a duty, more likely to say the government should definitely be responsible, and more likely to prefer that the government pay for care instead of the family/individual compared to men. Family resources, social support, occupational insecurity, and role strain are each associated with attitudes in the theorized directions, but only partially explain the gender gap in attitudes. Finally, attitudes toward older adult support vary predictably by national cultural, political, and economic measures, but the gender gap in attitudes varies cross-nationally and is likely limited to specific contexts. We discuss these findings in light of measurement options, gendered patterns of care cross-nationally, and global disparities in formal resources for caregiving.

An Access Control Model for Online Social Networks Using User-to-User Relationships

Users and resources in online social networks (OSNs) are interconnected via various types of relationships. In particular, user-to-user relationships form the basis of the OSN structure, and play a significant role in specifying and enforcing access control. Individual users and the OSN provider should be enabled to specify which access can be granted in terms of existing relationships. In this paper, we propose a novel user-to-user relationship-based access control (UURAC) model for OSN systems that utilizes regular expression notation for such policy specification. Access control policies on users and resources are composed in terms of requested action, multiple relationship types, the starting point of the evaluation, and the number of hops on the path. We present two path checking algorithms to determine whether the required relationship path between users for a given access request exists. We validate the feasibility of our approach by implementing a prototype system and evaluating the performance of these two algorithms.

Esfera pública y redes sociales en Internet: ¿Qué es lo nuevo en Facebook?

Habitamos en sociedades altamente mediatizadas ya no sólo completamente atravesadas por la acción de los medios masivos de comunicación sino, también, por las nuevas tensiones que asume el proceso de mediatización a partir del desarrollo de las redes sociales en Internet. Al reconocer la naturaleza ambiental y constructiva de los medios masivos de comunicación es posible, también, considerar a la mediatización como modalidad nuclear de construcción de la esfera pública. En dicho contexto, este escrito inquiere sobre los modos en que el funcionamiento de Facebook y los discursos allí expuestos participan en la configuración de la esfera pública contemporánea, así como, además, sobre el grado de novedad que presenta dicha intervención respecto de la ejercida por los tradicionales medios masivos de comunicación. En función de articular las reflexiones expuestas con algunos de los ejes que ha asumido el debate teórico suscitado por el análisis que realizó Habermas sobre la génesis y las transformaciones estructurales de la vida pública, este texto se concentra en los siguientes tres aspectos: la gestión de la visibilidad, de la puesta en público o publicación; el lugar que ocupan el diálogo, la deliberación y el disenso; la condición múltiple y móvil de la esfera pública actual.

Social networking and Internet use among pelvic floor patients: a multicenter survey

Internet resources are becoming increasingly important for patients seeking medical knowledge. It is imperative to understand patient use and preferences for using the Internet and social networking websites to optimize patient education. The purpose of this study was to evaluate social networking and Internet use among women with pelvic floor complaints to seek information for their conditions as well as describe the likelihood, preferences, and predictors of website usage. This was a cross-sectional, multicenter study of women presenting to clinical practices of 10 female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery fellowship programs across the United States, affiliated with the Fellows' Pelvic Research Network. New female patients presenting with pelvic floor complaints, including urinary incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, and fecal incontinence were eligible. Participants completed a 24 item questionnaire designed by the authors to assess demographic information, general Internet use, preferences regarding social networking websites, referral patterns, and resources utilized to learn about their pelvic floor complaints. Internet use was quantified as high (≥4 times/wk), moderate (2-3 times/wk), or minimal (≤1 time/wk). Means were used for normally distributed data and medians for data not meeting this assumption. Fisher's exact and χ2 tests were used to evaluate the associations between variables and Internet use. A total of 282 surveys were analyzed. The majority of participants, 83.3%, were white. The mean age was 55.8 years old. Referrals to urogynecology practices were most frequently from obstetrician/gynecologists(39.9%) and primary care providers (27.8%). Subjects were well distributed geographically, with the largest representation from the South (38.0%). Almost one third (29.9%) were most bothered by prolapse complaints, 22.0% by urgency urinary incontinence, 20.9% by stress urinary incontinence, 14.9% by urgency/frequency symptoms, and 4.1% by fecal incontinence. The majority, 75.0%, described high Internet use, whereas 8.5% moderately and 4.8% minimally used the Internet. Women most often used the Internet for personal motivations including medical research (76.4%), and 42.6% reported Google to be their primary search engine. Despite this, only 4.9% primarily used the Internet to learn about their pelvic floor condition, more commonly consulting an obstetrician-gynecologist for this information (39.4%). The majority (74.1%) held a social networking account, and 45.9% visited these daily. Nearly half, 41.7%, expressed the desire to use social networking websites to learn about their condition. Women <65 years old were significantly more likely to have high Internet use (83.4% vs 68.8%, P= .018) and to desire using social networking websites to learn about their pelvic floor complaint (P=.008). The presenting complaint was not associated with Internet use (P= .905) or the desire to use social networking websites to learn about pelvic floor disorders (P= .201). Women presenting to urogynecology practices havehigh Internet use and a desire to learn about their conditionsviasocial networking websites. Despite this, obstetrician-gynecologists remain a common resource for information. Nonetheless, urogynecology practices and national organizations would likely benefit from increasing their Internet resources for patient education in pelvic floor disorders, though patients should be made aware of available resources.

How the unbanked cope with financial exclusion: Evidence from Pakistan

This article investigates both the coping strategies employed by low-income unbanked consumers in Pakistan and the consequences of those strategies. Qualitative data were gathered from low-income unbanked consumers through in-depth interviews. The findings suggest that unbanked consumers utilize their respective social networks and various market and personal resources to cope with financial exclusion. The utilization of social network resources to cope with financial exclusion typically enabled participants to fulfill their obligations in a positive manner and enhanced solidarity and trust among group members, whereas the use of market and personal resources tended to produce more negative consequences in the form of different types of risk. The article provides managerial implications for developing services that enhance the well-being of unbanked consumers.

Predictors of multiple concurrent and multiple sexual partnerships among male and female youth aged 18–24 in South Africa

This study aimed to determine predictors of multiple concurrent and multiple sexual partnerships among South African male and female youth. Data were from a cross-sectional population-based household survey of 3 123 youths aged 18 to 24 years from four South African provinces (males = 53.6%, blacks = 97.8%). Results from a sub-sample of being sexually active in the past 12 months (n = 1787) indicate that 5.3% (7.1% in males and 3.1% in females) youth participants had multiple concurrent sexual partners, and 38.8% (50.1% in males and 25.8% in females) had had two or more sexual partners in the past 12 months. Among females, multiple concurrent partnerships were only predicted by lower social network resources. Predictors of multiple sexual partnerships (two or more sexual partners in the past 12 months) among males included high HIV risk perception, never been tested for HIV and hazardous or harmful alcohol use. By contrast, among females, high peer pressure, lower education and ever having taken drugs predicted involvement with multiple sexual partners. Multi-level health promotion interventions are indicated for sexual behaviour change among South African youth.

Foundations of the cultural repertoire: Education and social network effects among expectant mothers

The challenges of operationalizing the cultural repertoire or “toolkit” have long hindered its empirical study. This has limited scholarly knowledge about the development and effects of cultural resources. This paper draws on original survey data to investigate the foundation of individual cultural repertoire diversity. Using a novel, empirically-grounded measure of the variety of interpretive frames known by expectant mothers, I ask (a) whether more privileged respondents “consume” a wider variety of cultural resources than do less privileged individuals, as has been the pattern for the consumption of cultural products like music; and (b) whether this consumption is related to respondents’ social network characteristics, as literature from select sociological subfields would suggest. I find that educational attainment and social network diversity independently predict repertoire diversity, and that these effects are each moderated by the respondent’s status as a new or experienced mother. These analyses reveal a new way in which human and social capital confer cultural resources, while also suggesting that institutional effects and social network resources may reduce such disparities. The survey instrument presented here overcomes a long-standing methodological barrier to studying individual cultural repertoires and can be modified to use in other empirical contexts.

Finding a Way to Get By: Latino Household Economic Strategies in a Time of Economic and Political Strain

Few studies have addressed how Latino families resident in the United States for many years have been impacted by the economic downturn of 2007–2009, the household economic strategies these families adopted to cope with financial distress, or if such efforts are affected by localized responses to immigration policy. Drawing on survey and matched qualitative interview data from a random sample of Latino households in Phoenix, Arizona, we examine the types and number of household economic strategies families deploy; whether social network composition and exchanges vary according to the level of financial strain experienced and the types of strategies used to ameliorate that strain; and how the local policy context affects the strategies. We find that households do not rely on just one strategy but deploy multiple strategies engaged in by different family members concurrently. There is little variation in household social network composition or resource exchange by strategy, but some variation in resource ex...

A Pesquisa como Prática Social: um Estudo sob a Perspectiva Bourdieusiana

Este trabalho buscou compreender a prática de pesquisa em ciências agrárias, realizada dentro de uma organização pública de pesquisa no Brasil, sob a perspectiva bourdieusiana. Neste sentido, resgatou-se a constituição histórica da prática, contemplando o contexto político e científico de sua criação. Em seguida, foram investigadas características distintivas entre seus agentes e manifestação de disputas com intuito de influenciar a pesquisa. A partir disso, identificaram-se os capitais em jogo e as estratégias de manutenção e subversão da ordem estabelecida no campo. Como estratégia metodológica utilizou-se duas leituras sobre o campo, a primeira privilegiou aspectos objetivos, como os dispostos em documentos, normas e estrutura. A segunda enfocou aspectos subjetivos, retirados das opiniões e visões dos agentes. A partir de uma abordagem circular de pesquisa, verificou-se a grande influência de outros campos no ordenamento da prática e uma hierarquia de capitais calcada principalmente no acúmulo de redes sociais, recursos burocráticos (cargos), financeiros e científicos.

Does Previous Experience of Floods Stimulate the Adoption of Coping Strategies? Evidence from Cross Sectional Surveys in Nigeria and Tanzania

In sub-Saharan Africa, hydro-meteorological related disasters, such as floods, account for the majority of the total number of natural disasters. Over the past century, floods have affected 38 million people, claimed several lives and caused substantial economic losses in the region. The goal of this paper is to examine how personality disposition, social network, and socio-demographic factors mitigate the complex relationship between stressful life experiences of floods and ocean surges and the adoption of coping strategies among coastal communities in Nigeria and Tanzania. Generalized linear models (GLM) were fitted to cross-sectional survey data on 1003 and 1253 individuals in three contiguous coastal areas in Nigeria and Tanzania, respectively. Marked differences in the type of coping strategies were observed across the two countries. In Tanzania, the zero-order relationships between adoption of coping strategies and age, employment and income disappeared at the multivariate level. Only experience of floods in the past year and social network resources were significant predictors of participants’ adoption of coping strategies, unlike in Nigeria, where a plethora of factors such as experience of ocean surges in the past one year, personality disposition, age, education, experience of flood in the past one year, ethnicity, income, housing quality and employment status were still statistically significant at the multivariate level. Our findings suggest that influence of previous experience on adoption of coping strategies is spatially ubiquitous. Consequently, context-specific policies aimed at encouraging the adoption of flood-related coping strategies in vulnerable locations should be designed based on local needs and orientation.

Harnessing Social Networks Resources to Bring Social Interactions into Web-based IDEs

In modern Web, where users log to social networks has become a daily activity, the success of these applications to attract more users is often justified by offering social presence to the user on these virtual spaces. Developing applications in software engineering domain is a collaborative task that requires implementing more sophisticated tools to support all suitable collaboration aspects. Web-based IDEs have experienced a series of changes compared to their desktop versions, tending therefore to become more able to implement new collaboration approaches and mechanisms. Within the lack of social aspect in web-based IDEs, collaboration between developers does not seem to be optimal. This article presents a study of social networks resources that can be operated through the use of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) thus providing a social aspect to web-based IDEs. It points how we can use these resources to create new collaborative experience in software engineering field.

Do the structure and functioning of the elderly's social network influence functional health: a preliminary study

We examined structural and functional characteristics of social networks related to health and well-being among community-dwelling older adults. A survey was performed in Brussels, using an original name-generating network inventory, to explore the structure and types of social ties (e.g. children, friends, neighbors) which forms the elderly's network. Different kinds of support (instrumental, emotional, social) were assessed due to the multiple contents of social exchanges between the elderly and their network's members. Our results highlighted some important social network resources. Especially, social participation, contacts with friends of the same age and reciprocity of social relationships are likely to promote functional health and well-being in later life. We discuss our findings in relation to major social network's typologies referring to older adults.

The Family Startup Program: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial of a universal group-based parenting support program.

BackgroundInadequate parenting is an important public health problem with possible severe and long-term consequences related to child development. We have solid theoretical and political arguments in favor of efforts enhancing the quality of the early family environment in the population at large. However, little is known about effect of universal approaches to parenting support during the transition to parenthood. This protocol describes an experimental evaluation of group based parenting support, the Family Startup Program (FSP), currently implemented large scale in Denmark.Methods/designParticipants will be approximately 2500 pregnant women and partners. Inclusion criteria are parental age above 18 and the mother expecting first child. Families are recruited when attending routine pregnancy scans provided as a part of the publicly available prenatal care program at Aarhus University Hospital, Skejby. Families are randomized within four geographically defined strata to one of two conditions a) participation in FSP or b) Treatment As Usual (TAU). FSP aims to prepare new families for their roles as parents and enhance parental access to informal sources of support, i.e. social network and community resources. The program consists of twelve group sessions, with nine families in each group, continuing from pregnancy until the child is 15 months old. TAU is the publicly available pre- and postnatal care available to families in both conditions. Analyses will employ survey data, administrative data from health visitors, and administrative register based data from Statistics Denmark. All data sources will be linked via the unique Danish Civil Registration Register (CPR) identifier. Data will be obtained at four time points, during pregnancy, when the child is nine months, 18 months and seven years. The primary study outcome is measured by the Parenting Sense of Competence scale (PSOC) J Clin Child Psychol 18:167-75, 1989. Other outcomes include parenting and couple relationship quality, utility of primary sector service and child physical health, socio-emotional and cognitive development.DiscussionThe protocol describes an ambitious experimental evaluation of a universal group-based parenting support program; an evaluation that has not yet been made either in Denmark or internationally.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02294968. Registered November 14 2014.

Social Network, Activity Participation, and Cognition

This study examined how two domains of engagement-social network and activity participation-associate with objective and subjective cognitive function in later life. Specific consideration was given as to how these two spheres intersect in regard to recall and memory. The analytic sample included Europeans aged 60 and older drawn from the fourth wave of the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe in which a new name-generated social network inventory was implemented. Multivariate analyses revealed that activity participation yielded stronger positive associations with word recall and self-rated memory than social network alone. However, the interactions indicate that this association lessened in strength for both the objective and subjective cognitive outcome measures as social network resources increased. The findings suggest that the social component of activity participation may be partially contributing to the positive role that such engagement has on cognitive well-being in later life.

Examining Correlates of Civic Engagement Among Immigrant Adolescents in the United States

Using a diverse urban sample of immigrant adolescents in the United States (N = 345) followed from 10th grade (Mage = 15.69) to 12th grade, this study examined the extent to which ecological assets (i.e., community connections and social network resources) predicted civic commitments (i.e., community engagement, social responsibility) as potentially mediated by fair society beliefs. The authors also examined whether ethnicity and generation status moderated these associations. As hypothesized, fair society beliefs were higher and predicted greater civic commitments only among Asian youth. Ecological assets were associated with greater civic commitments for all participants; these links were primarily direct for Latino immigrants and indirect (via fair society beliefs) for Asian youth. First-generation immigrants had more ecological assets and were more civically committed, however social network resources predicted fair society beliefs and community engagement only for second-generation youth. These differences indicate that immigrant youth are best understood as a heterogeneous group and suggest the need for further investigation of cultural variations in civic developmental processes.

생활무용참가자의 사회연결망 구조와 자원교환

Based on social network theory, this study is to analyze the social network structure and resource exchange of dancing participants. Using purposive sampling method, 5 cutul re centers and 98 samples were drawn to achieve the purpose of study. For inspection method, a survey suing NGQ was selected. For data processing method, an analysis of social network using Net Miner4.2 was selected. The conclusions drawn from the study are following:BR First, the social network structure of life dance participantss howed star network which has many subgroup. The center of network had a tendency to be reliable, skillful or kind.BR Second, among social network structure of life dance participants, informative resource was the major exchange. Material resource and sociable resource were followed behind. Dance information and knowledge were the major exchanges for informative resource. Dance propsw ere the major exchange for material resource and leisure share for sociable resource.BR Third, the social network structure of life dance participants has a relation with resource exchange. Introversive degree centrality had higher correlations in order of material resource exchange, informative resource exchange and sociable resource exchange. Betweenness degree centrality had a high correlation with material resource exchange. Ego network size had higher correlations in order of informative resource exchange, material resource exchange and sociable resource exchange.

Black entrepreneurship: a case study on entrepreneurial activities and ambitions in a South African township

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate the current self-employment rate as well as entrepreneurial intentions of the township’s population on the basis of an empirical case study of a single township. It is often assumed that the black population of South Africa (mostly living in townships) has a low participation rate in entrepreneurial activities and a low level of entrepreneurial ambitions. Besides the level of entrepreneurship, personal and socio-economic factors affecting participation in entrepreneurship are explored. Design/methodology/approach – The article uses a face-to-face survey of about 350 adult residents of the township under investigation. Findings – Contrary to the common assumption, entrepreneurial activity, which also includes all kinds of informal business ventures, cannot be qualified as low in the township under investigation. The same holds true for entrepreneurial ambitions, that is, people’s intentions to start their own business in the near future. The factors influencing the probability of self-employment are similar to what we know from many other studies in the field of entrepreneurship. Socio-demographic attributes (gender, age), human capital factors (schooling, health) and social network resources (membership of organizations, self-employed friends) are significant predictors of entrepreneurial activity. It proves to be difficult, however, to explain who, in fact, articulates entrepreneurial ambitions. Practical implications – The findings show that the basic prerequisites for expanding black entrepreneurship in South Africa are in place. Politically, it seems appropriate to initiate more public support programs for black entrepreneurship, as such programs can help to translate entrepreneurial ambitions into action. However, to stay realistic, the contribution of entrepreneurship to overcome the structural problems of deprivation and poverty of the black population of South Africa should not be overestimated. Originality/value – The article is based on a careful survey in a township using a random sample. Given the rare access to a disadvantaged township community, the result that there is no evidence of “lack of entrepreneurial impetus” deserves scientific and political attention.

Translational Implications of Oxytocin-Mediated Social Buffering Following Immobilization Stress in Female Prairie Voles

The supportive interpersonal social network resources available to individuals to provide help and assistance in times of need are one of the most studied aspects of resilience and recuperation in trauma research (1). Both the perceived availability and the objective presence of social support moderate the relationship between stress, stress response, and stress-induced psychopathology (1). A more recent report indicated that unstable family and social relationships impair coping and rehabilitation after trauma (2). Two meta-analysis studies of the predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults likewise confirmed that the lack of social support is one of the most important risk factors for posttraumatic stress reactions (3,4). Social support protects against various adverse physical and mental disorders (e.g., cardiovascular reactivity, metabolic syndromes, and hypertension and depression and schizophrenia) (1). However, despite such accumulating evidence, the precise neurobiological mechanisms mediating the positive effects of social contact and social interactions on stress-responsive physiologic systems remain unknown. The neurohypophysial hormone oxytocin (OT) may offer an answer to this long-standing question because it is involved both in prosocial behavior and in the regulation of stress responses in mammals. In animals, OT has been implicated in a range of socially related behaviors, from sexual receptivity and grooming to territorial and protective maternal aggression. In humans, OT appears to have similarly variable effects, ranging from social receptiveness to suspiciousness and envy (5). After being synthesized in the magnocellular neurons of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and supraoptic nuclei OT is transported to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland for storage and release. In addition to its peripheral actions, OT acts as a neurotransmitter in regions integrally involved in the stress response, especially the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus, via projections from the PVN (5–7). Accumulating evidence indicates that OT is involved in modulating stress responses, and its potential beneficial effects in secondary prevention—and possibly treatment—of PTSD have been investigated (5). However, the exact neurobiological mechanisms mediating effects of positive social contact and social interactions on stress-responsive physiologic systems are unknown. The study by Smith and Wang (8) in this issue of Biological Psychiatry offers exciting new evidence that points to OT levels in the PVN in mediating the effects of social support on the

Poverty Reduction through Empowerment for Sustainable Development: A Proactive Strategy of Corporate Social Responsibility

AbstractTargeting the serious poverty problem of the world, this study proposes a proactive strategy for enterprises to fulfill their corporate social responsibility (CSR). The study interprets the cause of poverty from the perspectives of human capital theory and labor market theory, and examines the business functions that can be deployed in helping the poor from an empowerment theory perspective. The study includes the development of a model for enterprises to help poverty reduction and illustrates how this model has been implemented using the case study method. The results show that from an individual perspective, corporations can enhance the working abilities of the poor by sharing technologies and resources and providing skills training and education. From a social/structural perspective, corporations can establish poverty reduction businesses to provide poor people with job opportunities, or introduce social network resources to assist poor people in starting a business. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment