The contagion effects of repeated activation in social networks

Demonstrations, protests, riots, and shifts in public opinion respond to the coordinating potential of communication networks. Digital technologies have turned interpersonal networks into massive, pervasive structures that constantly pulsate with information. Here, we propose a model that aims to analyze the contagion dynamics that emerge in networks when repeated activation is allowed, that is, when actors can engage recurrently in a collective effort. We analyze how the structure of communication networks impacts on the ability to coordinate actors, and we identify the conditions under which large-scale coordination is more likely to emerge.     

Learning in social networks: Selecting profitable choices among alternatives of uncertain profitability in various networks

Social capital theory assumes that information is valuable. However, only rarely is this value explicitly modeled, and there are few examples of empirical tests of mechanisms that connect social network structure to valuable information. We model an individual decision problem in which individuals make choices that yield uncertain outcomes. The individuals can learn about the profitability of options from their own choices and from the network. We generate computer-simulated data to derive hypotheses about the effect of network characteristics on making profitable choices. We conduct a laboratory experiment to empirically test these hypotheses and find that, at the individual level, degree centrality has a positive effect on making profitable choices whereas betweenness centrality has no effect. At the network level, density has a positive effect on making profitable choices, whereas centralization does not have an effect.     

The role of the partner in social support networks in Spain

Social support influences the subject’s well-being through various mechanisms. Literature shows that the partner is one of the main sources of social support. Nevertheless, sometimes people do not ask their partners first for help. Our aim is to determine what factors (values related to the family, personal characteristics and availability of resources) influence this decision. We use Spanish representative samples from International Social Survey Programme (2001) and Spain’s Center for Sociological Research (2010). Data show that family solidarity is widespread in Spanish society. The determinants for not turning first to the partner are the availability and frequent contact with immediate kin, whereas family values and personal characteristics are less relevant.     

The role of social networks in the care of young children

SUMMARY. From birth, children develop, play and work within extensive social networks; yet little systematic research has been carried out to examine these relationships. This article summarises findings about the network relationships of young children from a study undertaken to explore the diverse ways in which their parents made childcare and babysitting arrangements. The different experiences of the children were found to be closely linked to parental beliefs and values, as well as the nature of the local neighbourhoods and network patterns. They were also associated with varied evolutionary sequences in the social relationships of both adults and children     

Young people,social workers and social work education: the role of digital skills

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses a key issue in the development of youth-focused social work: the role of digital skills in the relationship between young people and social workers who work with these native digital users. To this end, we analysed data from the International Digital Economy and Society Index 2019 and Eurostat. Information from the sixth European Working Conditions Survey and a survey conducted by the Social Care Institute for Excellence and the British Association of Social Workers supported the empirical analysis. The main findings reveal a gap between the level of digital skills required in the labour market and the actual level of digital skills in both young people and social workers, despite efforts by both groups to improve their skills. Initiatives to foster digital skills are therefore recommended to bridge this digital divide. Lastly, it was concluded that both groups could act as mutual drivers of digital transformation.     

The role of Landcare group networks in rural Australia: exploring the contribution of social capital

In this paper, the authors report their qualitative research examining the origins, modus operandi and outcomes of two networks. The concept of social capital explains, at least in part, the apparent success of these networks. The two networks attracted substantial funding, created opportunities for participation and shared learning, carried out extensive on-ground works, improved communication structures, adopted more professional management practices and increased the knowledge of members. The key elements of social capital that were important in achieving these outcomes were trust, norms, expectations of reciprocity and linkages. Empowerment acted as a bridge that linked social capital with other factors contributing to network outcomes. The success of these Landcare networks suggests that top-down government stimulus can be a catalyst for bottom-up community development.     

Developing people in a network of relational practices: reflections on the role of social work education

The mission of social work education in Flanders is threefold: to deliver education, to conduct research and to provide services to society. In our opinion social work education has a critical and liberating function towards society and it must stimulate and develop a critical attitude amongst students. In this article we first focus on the educational dimension of social work education as we practise this in one institute. Next we describe how we realise our objectives as a social work education institute in relation to the professional field. The central concept of our vision is social work as a relational practice.     

Lay people in court: the experience of defendants,eyewitnesses and victims

The article considers the effect of criminal trial procedures on the experience at court of victims, witnesses and defendants. Trials for offences involving physical violence were observed, and interviews conducted with those involved. The article highlights communication problems lay people encountered relating to courtroom conventions, discusses alternative procedures granting more room for narrative testimony, and draws parallels between such an approach and principles of research methods directed to securing valid, reliable data.     

The disenchantment of Bitcoin: unveiling the myth of a digital currency

Bitcoin and its peculiar, decentralized transaction system, have already ignited interest by professional and retail traders in search for profits and by economists and legal experts, looking for possible regulation to contain illegal uses. We instead examine the unexpected and ongoing success of Bitcoin from a sociological perspective, first questioning its unusual legitimation system, backed by the so called ‘blockchain technology’, instead of by governmental authorities. Then we collect data and elements to reconstruct Bitcoin’s history as a cryptocurrency, starting from the mysterious story surrounding its birth. We then follow its spread and development through social networks and words of mouth, together with its sudden booms and bursts, finally to suggest that both users and institutional regulators should be aware of the risks of Bitcoin and of its alleged power to challenge our very notion of money.     

Individual social capital: Accessibility and mobilization of resources embedded in social networks

The objective of the present paper is to characterize the structure of individual social networks and to provide new insights into the underlying mechanism of individual social capitalization process. In particular, we put to the test three main assumptions underlying Lin’s seminal explanatory model of individual social capital determinants (Lin, 2001). We analyzed the results of an extensive and specifically designed survey on personal networks in Spanish society (OSIM, 2011). Our findings, based on the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), regression and structural methods allow us to complement Lin’s general model distinguishing accessibility and mobilization of social resources. Furthermore, the empirical evidence suggests the need for introducing a significant distinction between instrumental-expert and expressive mobilization. Finally, our analysis allows us to identify the main determining factors of both forms of capitalization of personal relations.     

The labeling paradox: stigma, the sick role, and social networks in mental illness

Although research supports the stigma and labeling perspective, empirical evidence also indicates that a social safety net remains intact for those with mental illness, recalling the classic "sick role" concept. Here, insights from social networks theory are offered as explanation for these discrepant findings. Using data from individuals experiencing their first contact with the mental health treatment system, the effects of diagnosis and symptoms on social networks and stigma experiences are examined. The findings suggest that relative to those with less severe affective disorders, individuals with severe diagnoses and more visible symptoms of mental illness have larger, more broadly functional networks, as well as more supporters who are aware of and sympathetic toward the illness situation. However, those with more severe diagnoses are also vulnerable to rejection and discrimination by acquaintances and strangers. These findings suggest that being formally labeled with a mental illness may present a paradox, simultaneously initiating beneficial social processes within core networks and detrimental ones among peripheral ties.     

Transforming the social order: The role of the university in social change

The contemporary multicultural and secular university in the United States is experiencing an array of value transitions as well as ideological contradictions. The present dilemmas and challenges confronting the academy appear to emanate from the preoccupation with new schools of explanation and interpretation and from arbitrarily defined appropriate speech. In the social sciences and in the humanities, value neutrality and traditional constructs are viewed as strategies for concealing and promoting anachronistic standards of conduct. Faculty interviewed express concern and skepticism about the direction and future of the American university in a postindustrial and a postmodernistic era. Many perceive the university as not assuming a leading role in constructive social change. This results from its absorption with political symbols and selectively perceived meanings of varied cultural interests. Some faculty sense a major transformation in the way the university and its culture are produced and arranged. The social sciences and humanities have the potential for coping with the current paradoxes.This paper is a revision of the presidential address delivered in Boston at the 1993 annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society.     

Dementia,disability rights and disablism: understanding the social position of people living with dementia

This article considers the recent history and consequences of positioning people living with dementia in the realms of disability, disablism and disability rights. The geo-political focus is the United Kingdom and neighbouring resource-rich nations in the Global North. The first section examines the growing trend of identifying ‘dementia’ with ‘disability’, a trend fuelled by the expansion of dementia-related activism and research. The second section focuses on how researchers who have published in Disability & Society and other journals have applied the social model of disability to individuals living with dementia. The third section discusses three conceptual challenges that lie ahead for those who choose to research and theorise the dementia/disability connection. These challenges concern: theorising dementia as disability; understanding intersectionality in dementia contexts; and understanding ‘abuse’ in dementia contexts.     

The relationship between mothers' social networks and severe domestic violence: a test of the social isolation hypothesis

To understand the relationship between characteristics of mothers' social networks and domestic violence, battered mothers who were severely assaulted were compared to battered mothers who were not severely assaulted and mothers who were not assaulted. The results showed that all three groups of mothers had several family members in their social networks with whom they had frequent contact during the past month. No differences were found between the groups on the number of family members who gave emotional support. However, the mothers who were severely assaulted had fewer friends, fewer contacts with their friends, fewer long-term friendships, and fewer friends who really listened to them than did the nonbattered mothers and the battered mothers who were not severely assaulted. Batterers may be more successful in disrupting friendship ties than family ties.     

Of pride and prejudice: the role of sociology and social networks in integrating the health sciences

Calls have been issued for understanding the "contexts" or "environment" shaping the causes and consequences of health and health care. Existing efforts raise concerns about how a panorama of influences can be considered simultaneously. Sociology's view of contexts as social network structures that shape and are shaped in social interaction offers one key to resolving this dilemma. Because social networks have become central in the social, natural, and physical sciences, this perspective provides a common platform for bringing in sociology's rich theoretical and methodological insights. Yet, to do this well, three conditions must shape our response. First, all levels relevant to health and health care must be considered, separated out, and linked by network mechanisms. The genetic-biological level, perhaps the most foreign level to sociologists, represents the greatest need and best prospect for advancing a sociologically based solution. Second, room must be made to tailor models to populations, whether defined socially or medically. Third, sociologists must find a voice within "big science " to address problems from social construction to social causation that contribute to basic social processes as well as health. I trace developments in the Network-Episode Model as one theoretical starting point.     

Latino families and the public child welfare system: Examining the role of social support networks

The number of Latino families involved with the public child welfare system has increased exponentially in the last decade. This qualitative study examined one of this population's inherent resources – their social network – and the role it plays when involved with the public child welfare system. Findings reveal that Latino families rely heavily on their network for emotional support, advice/information, and advocacy. Often parents received incorrect or conflicting information or advice grounded on experiences that were very different from the participant's case. In addition, their networks are homophilous; that is, limited to people who are in their same circumstances which limits their ability to access formal sources of advocacy and support. Many parents were also genuinely interested in helping other parents with open cases. Practice recommendations are made as it relates to actively engaging Latino families in their case process and supporting Latino families by incorporating their networks and genuine interest in helping others into child welfare service delivery.     

The use of sparsest cuts to reveal the hierarchical community structure of social networks

We show that good community structures can be obtained by partitioning a social network in a succession of divisive sparsest cuts. A network flow algorithm based on fundamental principles of graph theory is introduced to identify the sparsest cuts and an underlying hierarchical community structure of the network via maximum concurrent flow. Matula [Matula, David W., 1985. Concurrent flow and concurrent connectivity in graphs. In: Alavi, Y., et al. (Eds.), Graph Theory and its Applications to Algorithms and Computer Science. Wiley, New York, NY, pp. 543–559.] established the maximum concurrent flow problem (MCFP), and papers on divisive vs. agglomerative average-linkage hierarchical clustering [e.g., Matula, David W., 1983. Cluster validity by concurrent chaining. In: Felsenstein, J. (Ed.), Numerical Taxonomy: Proc. of the NATO Adv. Study Inst., vol. 1. Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 156–166 (Proceedings of NATO ASI Series G); Matula, David W., 1986. Divisive vs. agglomerative average linkage hierarchical clustering. In: Gaul, W., and Schader, M. (Eds.), Classification as a Tool of Research. Elsevier, North-Holland, Amsterdam, pp. 289–301; Thompson, Byron J., 1985. A flow rerouting algorithm for the maximum concurrent flow problem with variable capacities and demands, and its application to cluster analysis. Master Thesis. School of Engineering and Applied Science, Southern Methodist University] provide the basis for partitioning a social network by way of sparsest cuts and/or maximum concurrent flow.     

Oversight and accountability in the social auditing industry: The role of social compliance initiatives

The 2013 Rana Plaza collapse led to increased awareness of abusive working conditions in the garment industry. Much attention has since been paid to the role and responsibility of retailing companies. The responsibility of social auditing companies, however, has often been overlooked. The authors investigate the systems in place to detect and address substandard auditing that fails to detect violations of workers' rights. They find that, in practice, oversight of social auditors and sanctions for substandard audits are both limited. In this light, this article explores how social compliance initiatives can play a role in improving verification of audit quality and ensuring accountability.     

The role of social work in the field of mental health: dual diagnoses as a challenge for social workers

This paper provides a discussion about the relevance of medical terminology within the social work context. The authors use the example of dual diagnoses to argue for less stigmatised attitudes toward people who become, in the process of help, labelled as people with dual diagnoses. It sets out that using medical terminology in the field of social work is more often a strategy to exclude people from the system of help than as a moment of providing adequate help. It is concluded that social workers do not need the knowledge about diagnoses – knowing the diagnosis is important only as information that illustrates users’ specific experience and perception of reality, the available resources and obstacles that people face in their everyday life. The planning of a social work intervention should be based on an operational definition of everyday life, e.g. how people live through the day, what are the important and valued roles they play in life, what are their wishes and needs.