Assessing structural correlates to social capital in Facebook ego networks

Research in computer-mediated communication has consistently asserted that Facebook use is positively correlated with social capital. This research has drawn primarily on Williams’ (2006) bridging and bonding scales as well as behavioral attributes such as civic engagement. Yet, as social capital is inherently a structural construct, it is surprising that so little work has been done relating social capital to social structure as captured by social network site (SNS) Friendship networks. Facebook is particularly well-suited to support the examination of structure at the ego level since the networks articulated on Facebook tend to be large, dense, and indicative of many offline foci (e.g., coworkers, friends from high school). Assuming that each one of these foci only partially overlap, we initially present two hypotheses related to Facebook social networks and social capital: more foci are associated with perceptions of greater bridging social capital and more closure is associated with greater bonding social capital. Using a study of 235 employees at a Midwestern American university, we test these hypotheses alongside self-reported measures of activity on the site. Our results only partially confirm these hypotheses. In particular, using a widely used measure of closure (transitivity) we observe a strong and persistent negative relationship to bonding social capital. Although this finding is initially counter-intuitive it is easily explained by considering the topology of Facebook personal networks: networks with primarily closed triads tend to be networks with tightly bound foci (such as everyone from high school knowing each other) and few connections between foci. Networks with primarily open triads signify many crosscutting friendships across foci. Therefore, bonding social capital appears to be less tied to local clustering than to global cohesion.     

Socially Engaged Art and Social Work: Reflecting on an Interdisciplinary Course Development Journey

This article shares key questions guiding our process of building interdisciplinary bridges between social work and art to contribute to social justice-oriented education. Through a focus on socially engaged art, we discuss the purpose and forms that these practices take and the role of the audience/participants when working for social change with communities. We then present a proposed course outline that brings social work and socially engaged art together. Our hope is that this discussion will guide others interested in working through interdisciplinary collaborations, as can be seen by the growing interest in the mix of art and social work in practice and education.     

上海加快形成社区共治与居民自治有效机制研究

上海推进社区共治和居民自治,在创新社会管理、优化公共服务、激发社会活力、重构社会秩序等方面取得了明显成效。但从与上海转型发展和现阶段社会发育格局的适应性,与社会管理体制创新和基层民主政治建设的新要求相比,还存在着不少差距,一些瓶颈问题急需破解,一些影响社区共治和居民自治深入推进的体制性、机制性障碍尚需突破。     

Building School,Family, and Community Partnerships: Developing a Theoretical Framework

School, family, and community partnerships are among the suite of strategies advocated for improved school outcomes in which social workers can play a valuable role. Such partnerships are complex to implement in practice and there is little systematic research to guide the practitioner. This study evaluated an early intervention partnership program involving school, family, community, and philanthropic partners implemented in two primary schools in rural Victoria, Australia. The findings highlighted challenges in the process of evaluation and program implementation and in the opportunities this provided to identify key enabling factors. These involved having: a shared vision and aims; democratic governance; a supportive policy and organisational environment including external funding; workers with skills and clear roles; activities for project momentum; and ongoing review and evaluation. These factors can be used by social workers and others working with schools as a valuable conceptual framework to facilitate school, family, and community partnership processes.     

“自由”和“共同体”之间——从西方社会理论看社会建设的价值取向和实践层面

社会建设的目标是同时兼顾可欲和可行、也即具有现实可能性的“好社会”;“好社会”应兼顾、平衡、协调社会整合(共同体的追求)和个人的自由与尊严.要兼顾、平衡自由和共同体,第一,必须在理论上澄清自由和共同体这两种价值的关系,特别是要论证说明,自由和共同体是可以互相支持的力量,而不是纯粹对立的双方;第二,必须在实践上处理好三个相互联系、相互作用的层面的问题,即制度(体制)层面的问题、结构层面的问题和心理层面的问题.     

包头城市社区体育文化管理现状研究

社区体育文化建设是社区体育建设中不可缺少的一个环节,加强社区体育文化管理是推动社区体育发展的根基,本文试图在构建和谐社会的大视角下,对包头城市社区体育文化管理做一个研究,提出合理化建议,以推动包头社区体育更快更好的发展。     

从品牌社群认同到品牌忠诚的形成路径研究——中介与调节效应检验

现有文献已指出品牌社群认同会促进品牌忠诚,但二者之间的中介和调节机制尚未探讨。基于类别化和关系化理论,我们提出从品牌社群认同到品牌忠诚的两条间接路径,以及品牌认同和品牌社群承诺的中介作用;基于学习迁移理论,提出感知社群—品牌相似度的调节效应。偏最小二乘法(PLS)的实证结果表明:品牌社群承诺和品牌认同在品牌社群认同和品牌忠诚之间均起到完全中介作用,感知社群—品牌相似度在品牌社群认同与品牌认同之间起到调节作用,而在品牌社群承诺与品牌忠诚之间没有调节作用。研究结论完善了品牌社群理论,并对企业的品牌社群营销有指导意义。     

社区公益广告刍议

社区公益广告是我国新时期发展起来的一种公益广告形式,它除了具有一般公益广告的特征之外,还具有自己的特征,如区城性、贴近性、群众性、人性化等特征。社区公益广告的内容不但丰富,形式也多样。大力发展社区公益广告,对于加强我国精神文明建设具有十分重要的意义。     

关于社区林业可持续扶贫模式的探讨

社区林业作为新兴的参与式林业,改变了“刀耕火种”的传统林业与“规模开发”的政府林业的经营方式,对于农村扶贫起到了积极的引导和推动作用。中荷扶贫社区林业项目面对山区反贫困的各种挑战,积极探索和帮助山区贫困农民,建立起“农户林业+科技示范机制+农民专业协会”的可持续扶贫模式。以“开发式”生态扶贫方式,促进社区林业从生存角色向脱贫致富产业的方向转变。     

Examining the efficacy of an mHealth media literacy education program for sexual health promotion in older adolescents attending community college

Objective: To determine the feasibility of a mobile health (mHealth), media literacy education program, Media Aware, for improving sexual health outcomes in older adolescent community college students. Participants: 184 community college students (ages 18–19) participated in the study from April–December 2015. Methods: Eight community college campuses were randomly assigned to either the intervention or a wait-list control group. Student participants from each campus completed web-based pretest and posttest questionnaires. Intervention group students received Media Aware in between questionnaires. Results: Several intervention effects of the Media Aware program were significant, including reducing older adolescents' self-reported risky sexual behaviors; positively affecting knowledge, attitudes, normative beliefs, and intentions related to sexual health; and increasing media skepticism. Some gender differences in the findings were revealed. Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that Media Aware is a promising means of delivering comprehensive sexual health education to older adolescents attending community college.