Network diversity,contact diversity,and status attainment

We propose that diversity in social relations measured by network diversity and cross-race/cross-gender contacts affords job seekers higher contact status that in turn brings better status attainment outcomes. Controlling for traditional strength of tie measures and other confounders, the empirical study confirms that (1) network diversity in race and gender are significantly associated with actual utilization of cross-race/cross-gender contacts in job search, (2) use of cross-race/cross-gender contacts is significantly related to higher contact status for nonwhite and female job seekers, but (3) contact status (activated social capital) partially provides jobs of higher SEI scores for white job seekers. Similarly, male job seekers obtain better jobs through female contacts, but the same does not apply to female job seekers. These findings show relative return deficits of social capital experienced by racial minorities and females even when they exert extra effort to obtain heterogeneous social relations and contacts.     

The complexity of influence maximization problem in the deterministic linear threshold model

The influence maximization is an important problem in the field of social network. Informally it is to select few people to be activated in a social network such that their aggregated influence can make as many as possible people active. Kempe et al. gave a $(1-{1 \over e})$ -approximation algorithm for this problem in the linear threshold model and the independent cascade model. In addition, Chen et al. proved that the exact computation of the influence given a seed set is #P-hard in the linear threshold model. Both of the two models are based on randomized propagation, however such information might be obtained by surveys and data mining techniques. This will make great difference on the complexity of the problem. In this note, we study the complexity of the influence maximization problem in deterministic linear threshold model. We show that in the deterministic linear threshold model, there is no n ^1??? -factor polynomial time approximation for the problem unless P=NP. We also show that the exact computation of the influence given a seed set can be solved in polynomial time.     

“Let’s talk about the real issue”: Localized perceptions of environment and implications for ecosocial work practice

ABSTRACT

This interpretive study investigated how residents from socioeconomically challenged communities in North St. Louis understand and make meaning of environmental change and its impact on their well-being. Based on these localized data, we argue that racial minorities facing socioeconomic challenges may experience some environmental issues as less of an immediate concern than violence and racism. However, race and racism shape both the realities of environmental threats as well as residents’ perceptions about environmental injustice in their communities. This study informs ecosocial work practices such as educating communities on local environmental issues and mobilizing community members toward environmental decision-making.     

The Psycho‐Social Processes Linking Income and Volunteering: Chronic Financial Strain and Well‐Being

The positive effect of income on volunteering found in many studies is conventionally explained in utilitarian terms: volunteer work is “costly” or demands “resources.” This explanation overlooks important sociopsychological processes. By situating the income‐volunteering relationship within the stress process framework, we develop a theory that traces the influence of income on chronic financial strain which in turn affects subjective well‐being, which functions as a psychological resource for volunteers. Data taken from two waves of the National Survey of Midlife in the United States confirm this theory: household income has no direct effect on volunteering once chronic financial strain and two measures of subjective well‐being—social and eudaimonic—are taken into account.     

Education,Perceived Control,and Volunteering

The consistent effect of education on volunteering has been explained in a number of ways. In this study we test the hypothesis that perceived control beliefs are partly responsible. Using two waves of panel data from National Survey of Midlife in the United States we estimated cross‐lagged structural equation models in which education is positioned as the exogenous variable and perceived control and volunteering are allowed to be reciprocally related across the two waves. We find that perceived control predicts volunteering, but there is no reciprocal effect: volunteering has no effect on sense of control. One reason, therefore, that educated people are more likely to volunteer is that they have stronger control beliefs. The findings enrich the theory of volunteering by introducing the idea of agency, showing one way in which resources influence the decision to volunteer.     

In Social Capital We Trust?

It has been widely postulated in the literature that social capital is positively related to or is the same as trust. The present study presents three theoretical perspectives regarding how individual and organizational social capital may be related to network trust and generalized trust: the compositional element (Putnam), functional equivalence (Fukuyama), and mutual independence (Lin). To each of these perspectives we allocated distinct measures of individual and organizational network mechanisms considering their operational definition of social capital. Using nationally representative data sets from the United States and China, we developed a comparative research design through which the three perspectives were put into an empirical test. In conclusion, we found that the compositional element perspective is most prone to cross-national contingencies, whereas the mutual independence perspective is freer from such contextual influences. In particular, the positive association between number of membership in voluntary associations (organizational social capital) and generalized trust exists only in the United States, whereas individual social capital based on network diversity and resources is unrelated to generalized trust in neither country. Lastly, the functional equivalence perspective does not get empirical support from the data, particularly with regard to the proposed negative relationship between network closure and generalized trust. These findings challenge the assumptions concerning the positive association or equivalence between social capital and trust in the literature.

     

Cross-national comparison of social support structures between Taiwan and the United States

The study compares the effects of structural bases and functional elements of social support on mental health in Taiwan and the United States, using the study conducted in the United States by Lin, Ye, and Ensel (1999) as a reference. Based on a nationally representative sample of Taiwanese adults (n = 2,835), a fundamental similarity in social support structure and function between the two countries was observed. First, the structural bases of social support had a hierarchical order in their effects on depression: Binding (presence of an intimate relationship) was the strongest in reducing depression, whereas belonging (community participation) was the weakest, with bonding (social networks) in between. Regarding the functional elements, perceived social support was a better protector of mental health than actual social support, a finding in line with previous research. On the other hand, several notable differences in the structural bases and functional elements of social support between the two societies were observed, possibly due to the differential cultural and historical characteristics.     

GENETIC VARIATION IN VOLUNTEERISM

Research has shown that prosocial behaviors of various kinds are passed from generation to generation, but the role played by genetics in the transmission of volunteerism has been unexplored. Data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Twins and Siblings samples are used to estimate genetic heritability of hours volunteered per month. Although unique environmental factors of the kind sociologists have traditionally focused upon account for most of the variance, women do owe some of their disposition to perform volunteer work to their genes. There is no genetic effect for men.