Using modern methods for missing data analysis with the social relations model: A bridge to social network analysis

Social network analysis identifies social ties, and perceptual measures identify peer norms. The social relations model (SRM) can decompose interval-level perceptual measures among all dyads in a network into multiple person- and dyad-level components. This study demonstrates how to accommodate missing round-robin data using Bayesian data augmentation, including how to incorporate partially observed covariates as auxiliary correlates or as substantive predictors. We discuss how data augmentation opens the possibility to fit SRM to network ties (potentially without boundaries) rather than round-robin data. An illustrative application explores the relationship between sorority members’ self-reported body comparisons and perceptions of friends’ body talk.     

A network approach to clinical social work

This article describes a technique that attempts to combine the best of the traditional clinical psychotherapeutic method with the advantages of a social systems approach. The technique is based on the assumption that the solution to a variety of human dilemmas lies within the collective resources of an individual's social network. The vehicle for accomplishing this is the Network Session in which professional, care-givers meet with a client and his natural social network to facilitate client growth, and to design and implement a strategy for more effective service delivery. Two case studies are included to demonstrate the method.The authors wish to acknowledge the helpful comments of Joseph Greaney and Ellen Galligan.     

Conditionally Independent Dyads (CID) network models: A latent variable approach to statistical social network analysis

Latent variable network models that accommodate edge correlations implicitly, by assuming an underlying latent factor, are increasing in popularity. Although, these models are examples of what is a growing body of research, much of the research is focused on proposing new models or extending others. There has been very little work on unifying the models in a single framework. In this paper, we present a complete framework that organizes existing latent variable network models within an integrative generalized additive model. Our framework is called Conditionally Independent Dyad (CID) models, and includes existing network models that assume dyad (or edge) independence conditional on latent variables and other components in the model. We further discuss practical aspects of model fitting such as posterior parameter estimation via MCMC, identifiability of parameters, approaches to handle missing data and model selection via cross-validation, for the proposed additive CID models. Finally, by presenting several data examples, we illustrate the utility of the proposed framework and provide advice on selecting components for building new CID models.     

A social network approach to estimating seroprevalence in the United States

Results from a representative survey of respondents in Florida are given, concerning their knowledge about members of their personal network, and specifically how many people respondents know in selected subpopulations. We employ a method known as a “network scale-up method”. By using a collection of subpopulations of known size, and also asking about one subpopulation (those who are seropositive) of unknown size, we make various estimates of personal network size and the size of the seropositive subpopulation. Our best (maximum likelihood, unbiased) estimates are 108 members of the network defined by “having been in contact with during the previous two years”, and (approximately unbiased) 1.6 million for the seropositive subpopulation. Because of the proportional over-representation of AIDS (and presumably, therefore, seropositive) in Florida, by a factor of about two, this latter estimate could be an overestimate.     

Leadership and contagion by COVID-19 among residence hall students: A social network analysis approach

University students have changed their behaviour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we describe the characteristics of PCR+ and PCR- nodes, analyse the structure, and relate the structure of student leaders to pandemic contagion as determined by PCR+ in 93 residential university students. Leadership comes from the male students of social science degrees who have PCR +, with an eigenvector centrality structure, β-centrality, and who are part of the bow-tie structure. There was a significant difference in β-centrality between leaders and non-leaders and in β-centrality between PCR+ and non-leaders. Leading nodes were part of the bow-tie structure. MR-QAP results show how residence and scientific branch were the most important factors in network formation. Therefore, university leaders should consider influential leaders, as they are vectors for disseminating both positive and negative outcomes.     

Who benefits from network analysis: ethics of social network research

The success of social network research (SNR) has led to expectations that in addition to academic research, SNR can introduce people to one another, solve organizational problems, map the epidemiology of AIDS, and catch criminals and terrorists. Since SNR requires that names of both respondents and their contacts be collected and used in most analyses, Institutional Review Boards become very concerned. Experiences of the author, participants in the 2003 Sun Belt Conference and the Social Network List Serve illustrate ethical issues. Proper handling of the data and the analysis, including complete control by the investigator can virtually eliminate harm to respondents and those they nominate, though perhaps not to the satisfaction of IRBs. On the benefit side, academic researchers always benefit, organizations, society and science may benefit, but individual respondents rarely do.     

An integrated and experience-based approach to social work education: The Newcastle model

This paper describes a unique social work education model developed by a group of social work practitioners, all but one of whom were new to academia. The University of Newcastle, in New South Wales, pioneered problem-based learning (PBL) in Australia. The social work programme adopted PBL and gave it a strengths focus, making experience and experiential learning central to its approach. Newcastle's model is based on the belief that learning to be good social workers is best achieved through learning by doing, working with students' experiences, integrating theory and practice, using a collaborative or small group approach, and locating these elements in a strong social justice context. The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree is relatively new. Introduced in 1991, its first graduates entered the workforce in 1995. The Newcastle model provides a unique example of experience-based learning and an integrated approach to social work education.     

Language variation on Internet Relay Chat: A social network approach

This paper examines linguistic variation on an Internet Relay Chat channel with respect to the hypothesis, based on the model of Milroy and Milroy (1992), that standard variants tend to be associated with weak social network ties, while vernacular variants are associated with strong network ties. An analysis of frequency of contact as a measure of tie strength reveals a structured relationship between tie strength and several linguistic variants. However, the variant features are associated with social positions in a way that does not correlate neatly with tie strength. An account of these results is proposed in terms of the social functions of the different variables and the larger social context of IRC affecting tie strength.     

A cosmopolitan approach to the explanation of social change: social mechanisms,processes, modernity

In recent years social science has been characterized by a cosmopolitan turn. Of the many questions that arise from this the most important are those that concern the implications for explaining social change. While cosmopolitanism is centrally about social change, much cosmopolitan theory due to its normative orientation lacks a capacity for explanation. The problem of explanation is also a problem that besets all ‘big question’ approaches in social science. In this paper a broad definition of cosmopolitanism is given and elucidated by an outline of its epistemological, ontological and methodological frameworks. Emphasizing the latter two, a relational conception of cosmopolitanism is developed as an alternative to dispositional/agency based and systemic accounts. First I argue that there are four main kinds of cosmopolitan relationships, which together constitute the social ontology of cosmopolitanism. These are the relativization of identity, the positive recognition of the other, the mutual evaluation of cultures, and the creation of a normative world culture. A methodological framework is advanced that distinguishes between the preconditions of cosmopolitanism, its social mechanisms and processes (of which three are specified: generative, transformational and institutionalizing) and trajectories of historical change. The argument is made that cosmopolitan phenomena can be accounted for in terms of this ontological and methodological framework. The advantage of this approach is that it offers cosmopolitan analysis a macro level account of social change that is broadly explanatory and which can also account for both the diachronic and synchronic levels of the emergence of cosmopolitanism as both a counter‐factual normative cultural model and as a part of social and political practices and institutional arrangements.     

National culture,migration & xenophobia: With particular reference to migration and regional development in central Europe

The present paper argues that the phenomenological problems associated with xenophobia stem from social conflict, processes of ethnification, and a misperception of the role of migration in development. It also argues that this misperception is not just something created and exaggerated by politicians and populist media, but stems from the current fixation with the nation‐state framework of policy makers, social groups, economists and other policy advisers. Within this context one should treat national culture as a debatable set of relationships which nevertheless has force at the national level and therefore forms the current focus of different brands of Xenophobic politics.     

A concluding comment: Toward a critical social network analysis

The authors of articles in this special issue on “Ethics in SNA” contribute to enriching the continuing discussion of major ethical dilemmas that social network analysts need to confront. These articles encourage us to replace silence with thoughtful consideration and innovative paths forward. I highlight three themes that emerged in my own reading of these contributions: moving beyond “ethics versus science,” deepening reflexivity, and possible approaches toward a critical SNA.     

The systems approach to international migration: an application of network analysis methods

"The objective of this article is to apply formal network analysis to the systems approach [to the study of international migration]. Network analysis will allow two of the four methodological issues to be considered. First, clique and centrality analysis methods will be used to examine the definition and development of ties within an international migration system over time. Second, quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) regression techniques will be used to address the influence of macro factors on international migration flows....[We use] the European Union as a network of migration interest...." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

A personal-communicative evaluation approach to CEO advocacy & employee relations

Acknowledging the importance of CEO advocacy in employee relations, this study proposed a personal-communicative evaluation model of CEO advocacy, which postulates that CEO advocacy creates (intended and unintended) organizational changes. Taking both employees’ personal domain (i.e., value congruence, legitimacy of leadership representation, and personal issue involvement) and communication domain (i.e., salience) considered, this study examined how both domains influence employees’ meaning reconstruction process, which drives employees’ sense of belonging. Conducting an online survey with 429 employees in the U.S., the study found that employee-CEO value congruence had a positive effect on employees’ sense of belonging, but violations of employees’ expectations of a CEO’s role in representing the entire company on the issue (either over-representing or under-representing) offset the positive effects of value fit on employees’ sense of belonging. Both theoretical and practical implications for effective CEO advocacy are discussed.     

Network centrality and social movement media coverage: A two-mode network analytic approach

This article examines the relationship between structural location (namely, degree centrality) and news media coverage. Our central hypothesis is that the network centrality of social movement actors is positively associated with the prevalence of actors being cited in the print news media. This paper uses two-mode data from a communication network of environmentalists in British Columbia, and examines the relationship between their structural location and the frequency by which they are cited in newsprint media with regard to particular frames (about forest conservation, environmental protest, and related issues). We asked a sample of social movement participants about their ties to a target list of relatively high profile actors (environmental activists). We turned the resulting network matrix into a bipartite graph that examined the relationships amongst the target actors vis a vis the respondents. Next we calculated point in-degree for the target actors. For the target actors we also have data from a representative sample of 957 print news articles about forestry and conservation of old growth forests in British Columbia. We compare the effects of network centrality of the target actor versus several attributes of the target actors (gender, level of radicalism, leadership status) on the amount of media coverage that each of the target actors receives. We find that network centrality is associated with media coverage controlling for actor attributes. We discuss theoretical implications of this research. Finally, we also discuss the methodological pros and cons of using a “target name roster” to construct two-mode data on social movement activists.     

Fashion as consumer entrepreneurship: Emergent risk culture,social network markets,and the launch of Vogue in China

China has a reputation as an economy based on utility: the large‐scale manufacture of low‐priced goods. But useful values like functionality, fitness for purpose and efficiency are only part of the story. More important are what Veblen called “honorific” values, arguably the driving force of development, change and value in any economy. To understand the Chinese economy therefore, it is not sufficient to point to its utilitarian aspect. Honorific status‐competition is a more fundamental driver than utilitarian cost‐competition. We argue that “social network markets” are the expression of these honorific values, relationships and connections that structure and coordinate individual choices. This paper explores how such markets are developing in China in the area of fashion and fashion media. These, we argue, are an expression of “risk culture” for high‐end entrepreneurial consumers and producers alike, providing a stimulus to dynamic innovation in the arena of personal taste and comportment, as part of an international cultural system based on constant change. We examine the launch of Vogue China in 2005, and China's reception as a fashion player among the international editions of Vogue, as an expression of a “decisive moment” in the integration of China into an international social network market based on honorific values.