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1st European Conference on Social Networks
Abstract book
1st-4th July
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Acedo Carmona, Cristina; Gomila Benejam, Antoni
How trust networks foster group cooperation
Cooperation at the social level is the outcome of patterns of interaction among the members
of the group. Social networks analysis offers a powerful methodology to better understand
central notions such as social cohesion and social capital, which aim at grasping how
cooperation is established and sustained. It also raises the question of whether the topology
of the networks themselves may have an effect on its own, in fostering cooperation, beyond
individual (such as general trust) and relational factors (such as personal trust).
We present an empirical study that tried to address this question. We studied two groups of
undergraduate students. After analyzing the role of general and personal trust in fostering
cooperation within the group, we focused on an in-depth analysis of trust networks within the
group, in order to consider whether the different networks involved had anything to do with
the differences in cooperation found (through an IPD).
The results suggest that trust networks have a differential impact on the levels of cooperation
achieved. Differences in network measures of the corresponding groups, such as clustering
coefficient, modularity, percentage of reciprocity, diameter, and average path length, which
can be shown to indicate the level of social cohesion, appear to be related to differences in
the level of cooperation found. Both groups' networks were compared to each other, and also
to corresponding random networks. It was also shown that social cohesion depends on a
more integrated network over a composition of cliques. This suggests the conclusion that
trust networks give rise to a greater level of cooperation at the group level when they do not
rely on reciprocal trust.
2
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Afzali, Mohammad Hassan; Bui, Eric; Birmes, Philippe
Network Analysis of Comorbid Symptoms in Individuals with posttraumatic stress
disorder
In psychopathology, comorbidity is characterized by co-occurrence of two or more
categories (i.e., diagnoses), each of which is reflected by a specific set of elements (i.e.
symptoms). Network analysis provides an alternative conceptualization of comorbidity
in terms of association between elements (i.e. symptoms), without necessity of
regrouping them in different categories (i.e. diagnoses). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that may develop after exposure to a traumatic event.
The diagnosis requires the presence of symptoms of intrusion, avoidance and numbing,
and hyperarousal. PTSD is reported to be comorbid with other disorders including mood
and anxiety disorders. Individuals with PTSD may present various profiles of
comorbidity. The present study aims to examine the network constellation of comorbid
symptoms and their clustering in individuals with PTSD. Moreover, highly central
symptoms, which may connect different comorbid clusters, have been identified. This
study used data from by 436 participants (age =43.01(16.5), 57% women) of a French
nationally representative survey with a potential PTSD. The occurrence of 24 symptoms
of 10 psychiatric diagnoses was evaluated in this sample. The odds ratios between all of
possible pairs of 24 symptoms were computed in a 24*24 table, used as the adjacency
matrix to produce the network of comorbidity. In terms of symptom clusterisation and
comorbid profiles four communities were distinguished in the network (best split
modularity = 0.49), including: (a) PTSD-Suicidality, (b) Externalization-Irritability, (c)
Internalization-Depression, (d) Internalization-Anxiety. Centrality indexes revealed that
five mood disorder symptoms presented the highest centrality in the network (Evcent
Centrality, 0.6-1.00). The network analysis is found to be a promising approach to inform
features of PTSD comorbidities that cannot be evaluated with current methodologies.
3
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Agneessens, Filip; Borgatti, Steve; Halgin, Daniel
Centrality for different types of valued networks
Social network relations are often valued by nature. For example network theory often talks
about weak and strong ties (Granovetter). Yet most social network analysis methods/measures
are developed specifically for binary data, and cannot easily be generalized to valued networks
without specific assumptions. One reason for this is that valued ties can conceptually have
different meanings. They can refer to capacities (e.g. the strength of a tie), but also to
probabilities (e.g. the probability of transmitting information or a virus) or costs (e.g. the
distance or difficulty to reach someone). We propose measures of centrality that take into
account these differences, especially when considering indirect paths. For instance, when
considering ties as costs, we might evaluate the attractiveness of paths by summing the values
of each tie in the path; or when considering ties as probabilities, we might use the product of
the probabilities associated with each tie in the path. We also discuss ways of aggregating
multiple valued paths between a source node and a target node.
4
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Agneessens, Filip; Zenk, Lukas
Dynamic ego behavior. A typology how participants at events interact over time
As the contemporary business environment grows more global, competitive, and increasingly
complex, organizations are being forced to innovate faster in order to survive. Increasing
complexity has placed a premium on individuals located in different knowledge pools, such as
departments in an organization, to collaborate across these boundaries in order to drive
better innovation (Cross, Parker & Borgatti, 2002; Burt, 2004).
However, while there is a strong need for this cross-boundary collaboration, there are strong
pressures that keep individuals from reaching out to interact with new partners: there are
organizational reasons that reinforce the creation and maintenance of boundaries for the sake
of organizational consistency and reproducibility (Perrow, 1986), and there are interpersonal
pressures to maintain contact with homophilous others (McPherson, Smith-Lovin, & Cook,
2001). These pressures are so pervasive that even in the absence of any formal boundaries,
such as would occur in a mixer specifically oriented to helping people meet new partners from
different knowledge pools, individuals tend to revert to maintaining homophilous ties rather
than crossing boundaries (e.g. Ingram & Morris, 2007).
To better understand the complex dynamic behavior of actors during such events, we
collected longitudinal data at a conference. During five days, we asked every day around 200
participants with whom they communicated to explore different types of dynamic ego
behavior. We will present our used methods and propose a typology of different network
behaviors.
5
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Alexandrov, Daniel; Ivaniushina, Valeria; Titkova, Vera
Bullying and School Attitudes in Non-Academic Environment
Our focus is on bullying in vocational schools. Vocational schools (VS) in Russia are similar to
British working class schools described by Paul Willis in 1979 - see qualitative studies of
Russian VS by Charles Walker (2011). Comparing to comprehensive schools, students in VS
usually are of lower social-economic status and have lower academic motivation as they focus
on vocational skills, and they are more prone to risk behavior (drinking, smoking).
Bullying leads to serious consequences for victimized children: depression, decrease of
academic outcomes, low self-esteem (see recently Cook et.al., 2010; Reijntjes et.al., 2010,
Schotte et al, 2010; ; Jansen et.al., 2012; Sentse et.al.,2013). Bullying takes different forms –
physical (hitting, kicking, fighting), verbal (calling names, gossiping), and “hidden bullying”
(exclusion from friendship networks).
We assume that students who deviate from groups’ norms are being bullied more often. Our
hypotheses are as follows: (H1) the more a student deviates from groups’ norms the stronger
is bullying; (H2) bullying is gender specific; (3) bullying is not ethnic specific.
We use data on 511 students from three Russian VS containing information on school-related
attitudes (motivation, sense of belonging), psychological characteristics (aggression, social
anxiety, depression), and also data on three “bullying relations” (name-calling, gossiping,
fighting). p2 is used for statistical modeling.
Our preliminary results show that (1) physical bullying is more prevalent among boys, while
verbal bullying among girls, and hidden bullying is not related to gender; (2) students with
higher learning motivation and professional involvement tend to be physically bullied more
often; (3) students with lower social-economic status of family tend to be verbally bullied more
often; (4) ethnicity is not related to bullying and/or victimization.
6
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Alfonso Haya, Pablo; Jusdado, Ana; Moro, Esteban; Ehrlich, Kate; Vidal, Mercedes
Discovery and analysis of intra-organizational networks from social media data
Social software platforms foster the creation of non formal connections among employees in
a company by which they share information and knowledge, or workflows take place. The
ultimate goal is to create a collaboration network structure more conducive to innovation and
to overcome the face-to-face communication hurdles within an organization, thus enhancing
organization performance. Qualitative and quantitative understanding of the organization
depends on being able to transform online data into valuable and accurate information. Here
we present our ONA (organizational network analysis) methodology in which we analyze real
data from an electronic collaboration platform within our business sponsor (IBM) to unveil the
collaboration network in a subset of the organization. We show how to overcome different
problems regarding the large amount of data, its multivariate nature and the potential
statistical issues due to its noisy and coarse nature. Our methodology is complemented with a
direct comparison between the detected collaborative network to the formal structure
(hierarchical reporting structure) of the company to detect and monitor the gaps and overlaps
between them.
7
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Alonso Alsina, Oriol
Involved ties, the main reason of the hiring in social networks
From the beginning of the studies that try to understand how individuals find their jobs, the
main focus has been on the strength of the tie, in particular: strong ties and weak ties. But
these years of research and theoretical debate have served to demonstrate that there is a
partly inconsistent and diffuse definition about the strength of the tie, because it has been
defined by many different approaches. Academic literature has not put attention to know
which is the main reason of the hiring via contacts. We have only the ‘commitment’ of the
strong ties, but it is a concept that is too much related to an emotional dimension, and the
reality has demonstrated that weak ties play an important role in the hiring via contacts. For
this reason I will use the concept of ‘involved ties’ that describe: Why a person provides
information to another about a vacancy? Without determine an emotional dimension or a
structural position in the social network (as weak ties). For this reason the research has
focused in answering the cases that there is a flow of information between individuals: if it is
for an emotional dimension, to do a favor to someone specific, for the professional skills
adequacy, for elimination, etc. In resume: why occurs this involvement of the relation.
8
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Alvarez-Galvez, Javier
Social networks and opinion spreading: studying possible scenarios through agent-based
modeling
Despite there are different models in literature that analyze the dynamic of opinion formation,
less attention has been paid to explain how the structure of social network and contextual
circumstances can influence the course of public opinions. This work is aimed to ask three basic
questions: (1) how can affect the structure of social networks to minority opinion spreading, (2)
how committed agents can influence in this process, and (3) how mass media action, as a
contextual factor, can vary different agents’ opinions and network composition. Agent-based
modeling (ABM) is used to perform a network model of preferential attachment that is used to
explore how phenomena of opinion spreading can evolve under different simulated scenarios.
This study shows that the success of minority opinions depends on the network structure and
composition, and thus external factors such as mass media action that can mediate the strength
of these determinants. In spite of people tend to remain silent when they feel that their opinions
are in the minority pole, our findings suggest that prevailing majority opinion may be replaced by
formerly minority opinion if core agents in the network structure support this view. These results
might be relevant to understand the communication process involved in formation of public
opinion and the emergence of collective behavior in complex social systems.
9
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Álvarez-Hernández , Gloria; Pérez-Zapata, Óscar
Knowledge management and creativity ideal types in a multinational virtual network
Organizational innovation and knowledge management are increasingly important to support key
competitive advantages. However there is a need for a better understanding of the processes
that drive innovation and knowledge sharing/creation behaviours in real organizational contexts,
more and more structured as virtual social networks.
This research uses empirical data from a multinational corporation to develop a theoretical
framework (Ideal Types) of knowledge management behaviours. We propose some key variables
that shape knowledge user profiles according to their interaction types and knowledge sharing
behaviours in the enterprise virtual social networks.
Data collection is achieved through two strategies: 1) a survey sent to 138 people and selfcompleted by 60 of them measuring individual and organizational factors related to creativity,
innovation and knowledge management; 2) the monitoring of 768 mails sent to a distribution list
by the same Community of Practice during 35 months. This second strategy is used to build the
ideal types framework.
Results suggest that some employees' profiles focus on knowledge transfer and others in new
knowledge creation or seeking, while others are mixed. More specifically six profiles emerge
depending on whether employees share work that they have themselves created or made
(egoboosters); whether they share work that others previously did (altruists); if they only ask
questions to the community (opportunists); if they only answer questions (experts); if they follow
more mixed behaviours (knowledge guardians/knowledge activists) or just receive knowledge
from the community but do not perform any action on the virtual social network (spectators).
We also found a link between the profiles and their social network position and parameters.
Finally our paper uses logistic regression to analyze the individual and organizational factors
influencing the proposed framework with a special attention for creativity and innovation
domains.
10
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Amati, Viviana; Meggiolaro, Silvia; Rivellini, Giulia; Zaccarin, Susanna
Support Network Typologies of Italian Couples: Common Findings from Alternative Clustering
Techniques
The need for support has become stronger in the current situation of pressure, uncertainty and
overload caused by the global economic crisis. Especially in countries - such as Italy - where an
adequate welfare system is lacking, the individual’s social space can represent a resilience (antifrailty) tool through the activation of a support network.
During the last decades, researchers have shown great interest in the topic of social support and
international literature has illustrated the importance of the network of relationships that bind
an individual to the people who are close to him in his everyday life.
While this literature has mainly analyzed the support that some vulnerable categories (e.g.,
elderly and youths) receive from their family, we focus on the group of couples living in Italy in
the first stages of their family formation, with the aim of describing their network of support
relationships. We construct the support ego-centered network of both partners using data from a
national survey (“Family e Social Subjects”) carried out in 2009 by the Italian National Statistical
Institute (Istat).
Furthermore, we compare the support network typologies detected using two alternative
clustering techniques (a sequential procedure based on correspondence analysis and Diday’s
algorithm and TwoStep cluster algorithm) with the objective of finding the partners’ network
types and verifying whether traditional strong support received by the family persists in Italy
and/or whether new kinds of support networks are emerging.
Several network typologies, ranging from Empty to Complete networks, were determined with a
fair match between the two procedures. Furthermore, the importance of friends and neighbours,
especially in the north of Italy, along with gender differences in the distribution of network
typologies were observed.
11
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Andreas Herz
How can we explain tensions with the ones we rely on? Constituents of conflicts in personal
networks
Networks are supposed to be supportive, however, tensions, constrains and conflicts are also
part of social life and arise among significant relationships. As network research long focused on
relations with a positive interpretation with respect to emotion or exchange, so far little is known
about constituents of conflicts. Conceptually reversing the homophily assumption would suggest,
that struggles are more present between people with different characteristics (heterophoby).
Differently Gould argues, that conflict occur more frequently in symmetrical than in asymmetrical
relationships, negotiating social order. Furthermore, constrains in dyads not only depend on
heterogenity or asymmetry of relationships, but also on their embeddedness in wider social
structures. E.g. Simmel assumes a conflict-moderating role of the presence of „third parties“. The
paper asks for explanations of conflicts in personal networks. It evaluates relational (e.g. contact
frequency, normative context, status difference), structural (e.g. size, density) and egoattributional characteristics (e.g. age, gender) as explanations of tensions in personal networks.
Data on n=2.462 ego-centric networks is used from the German General Social Survey 2010, a
representative cross section of the German population. Multilevel regression models are applied,
in which the unit of analysis is the tie between ego and the alter. Analysis shows that variance in
dyadic conflict results from both the relational aspects and the embeddedness of dyads in the
structure of personal networks. While conflicts seem to be more present for some normative
contexts (e.g. partner) and mixed gender relationships, networks with higher density reduce the
chance of pressure in relationships.
12
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Angelopoulos, Spyros; Merali, Yasmin
Beyond Reply and Quote Networks: Exploring the Evolution of Online Communities Through a
Longitudinal Two-Mode Network Approach
We present a method for analysing the evolution of communication networks among
participants of online communities, based on two-mode networks. Discussions on online
communities are social interactions, representing antecedents for the formation of network ties,
and literature to date has concentrated on reply-networks and quote-networks to study their
evolution. In these approaches, two participants are considered related to each other if they
have replied on the thread or quoted the posts of each other. These approaches however, inherit
the limitations imposed by the respective behaviours: spatial, temporal, and contextual proximity
factors increase the likelihood that two participants will reply to each other, while usability and
internet literacy factors increase the likelihood that some participants will use quotes more than
others. To overcome these limitations, we present a novel methodological approach for analysing
the evolution of networks among participants of online communities, based on two-mode
networks: the threads represent the network events and the participants the actors. This
approach provides a longitudinal lens to two-mode network analysis as actors of the network can
participate simultaneously to multiple events, remaining participants of the previous events
while they participate to new ones. By applying the proposed method in a dataset collected from
an invitation-only online community of cigar smokers for a period of 18 months, the study
identifies the strengths of the method in comparison to reply and quote network approaches.
Our findings demonstrate that this approach reveals significantly more information regarding the
evolution of the communication network among the participants of online communities, in both
temporal and spatial dimensions. The study, contributes to the stream of research on networks
on online communities, and to the overall network science literature, by providing a longitudinal
approach to two-mode network analysis.
13
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Armanious, Amir
Social Network Analysis of European Financial Crisis Interconnectedness
Network analysis is significantly recognized as a powerful methodological tool for modelling
interactions between economic agents and assessing the resilience of financial systems to
systemic risk (Allen and Babus 2009). Financial interconnectedness is an essential concern in
financial surveillance and prudential regulations especially with the emergence of concept
“Too Interconnected To Fail” (Haldane 2009). Network techniques are applied to describe the
global architecture of cross-border financial flows (Kubelec and Sa 2010), to analyze financial
contagion (Iori et al. 2008), and to examine the dynamics of payment systems and interbank
money markets (Gai and Kapadia 2010). The transformation of the 2008 global financial crisis
into European sovereign debt crisis in 2009 has renewed the interest in applying network
analysis tools to analyze economic interconnectedness and examine the evolution of financial
networks during times of stress. We explore the properties of the banking network using
board connections of top banks from 17 Eurozone members over 1999-2013. We apply the
network metrics to analyze financial interconnectedness in the banking network include
measures of country centrality (degree and strength) and network density (connectivity and
clustering). We hypothesize that these connections may facilitate valuable information flows,
but they may foster a “herd mentality” that could lead to instability in the banking sector. We
use the Boardex database that contains extensive information regarding the characteristics of
board members and top management such as board size and composition along with each
board member's complete history of other board memberships and socio-demographics such
as age, gender, education, and nationality. We also include the accounting information from
Bankscope and equity prices from Compustat.
14
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Assaad, Waad
Customer Relationship Management under using Social Software
In recent years, a change in the relationship between companies and customers has revealed.
The customer has received more and more control over and through the communication
regarding the company and its products. The core of any business is the customers, and social
networking represents an opportunity to build even closer and more profitable relationships
with customers. The expansion of Web 2.0, its tools and social software enable a variety of
applications in businesses, particularly in knowledge transfer, so the company with this
knowledge can know better the customers' needs and thus to deepen the relationship
between each other.
The evolution of social media is having an important effect on both how consumers interact
with companies and the level of control such companies have over the sales, marketing and
service of their products.This knowledge about the customers and their needs and wishes is a
critical factor in the long-term success of (CRM). In fact, companies can gain benefits from the
integration of social software in CRM .We can denominate social CRM, get a better
understanding of customer needs and build better relationships with customers and also to
earn more ability to know their wishes and needs.
The basic problem that we will answer in this paper is: What is the actual situation in the
companies in terms of the integration of CRM with Social Network? And what are the benefits
through Social CRM?
15
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Aytug, Nazli; Tinar, Mustafa Yasar
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Inter-organizational Collaboration Networks: A Comparative
Study of Nonprofit Business Federations in Turkey
Federations are multi-organizational forms, through which multiple entities collaborate to work
together toward a shared purpose. As an inter-organizational network, the effectiveness of
federations depends not only on achieving the individual goals of member associations, but also
the goals of the network as a whole. Achievement of those network goals, in turn, is determined
by various structural, functioning, and contextual factors. This paper analyzes those factors in
light of inter-organizational collaboration networks of 13 nonprofit business federations and their
72 member associations in Turkey. The effectiveness of these inter-organizational networks was
assessed using UCINET social networks analysis software based on survey data collected from
member associations and federations both at the organizational and network level. The results
show how structural, functioning and contextual factors affect the level of network effectiveness
in nonprofit business federations. Recommendations are made in regard to how to increase the
effectiveness of such collaboration networks in order to achieve desired goals in nonprofit
federations.
16
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Baptista, Roberto; Hummel, Anderson; Teixeira, Fabio; Pisa, Ivan
Scientific collaboration in Brazilian Health Informatics community
Introduction
Health Informatics (IS) is an interdisciplinary field that combines different science fields. In
Brazil the number of publications and events in IS has been growing and attracting more
researchers. But, it is not clear how each area contributes to the growth of IS in Brazil.
Objective
This study aimed to analyze the scientific collaboration between the different areas involved
in IS research in Brazil using social network analysis metrics.
Methods
A list of 889 names was prepared considering attendees of the last 4 Brazilian Congress of
Health Informatics and members of Brazilian Society of Health Informatics. Other names were
included by our group for its experience and knowledge in the IS area.
Lattes curricula were used as data source. ScriptLattes (scriptlattes.sourceforge.net) was used
to extract data (such as papers, co-authoring, student-advisor relationships) and to generate a
GraphML file. The file was imported into Gephi software (gephi.org).
A first network represents researchers as nodes and their relationships as undirected edges. A
second network was obtained considering the major areas as nodes and collaborations
between researchers as edges, thus representing the collaboration between major areas. For
each major area a subnet was extracted and overall metrics were calculated.
17
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Barbero Sierra.Celia; Marqués Pérez, María José; Ruiz Pérez, Manuel
Soil or land? The structure of desertification research network in Spain
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has recently approved the
creation of a Science-Policy Interface (SPI) panel. The scientific approach of such panel will be
determinant in achieving the desirable impact of science on policy making. In this sense there
are two main approaches: one focused on the biophysical characterization of soil ('soil
approach') and another also incorporating the socioeconomic impacts of land management
and land degradation ('land approach’).
Some members of Desertnet International, a global network of desertification researchers,
have conducted a bibliometric study to identify the focal nodes of scientists and their links
around these two approaches (Escadafal et al 2013). In that study Spain appears not only as
desertification affected, but also as one of the most productive desertification research
countries.
We present the state of soil science in Spain, based on the references compiled in the Web of
Science using the keywords desertification, drylands, land, soil, development, and Spain. We
have analyzed:
•The network of authors studying soil in Spain.
•The collaborations between different types of institutions involved in soil research.
•The relevance of 'soil’ versus 'land’ approaches.
•The regional research specialization.
The four regions most affected by desertification concentrate this research: South, EbroMonegros, Southwest and Southeast. The 'soil approach' is clearly predominant. The number
of authors driving soil scientific knowledge in Spain is wide but they shape a low connectivity
network. The collaboration between research centers or universities and other stakeholders
(government, civil society or private sector) is anecdotic, underscoring the split between
science, policy and implementation.
18
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Basov, Nikita; De Nooy, Wouter ; Nenko, Aleksandra
Struggle for Meanings in the Arts: Sociosemantic Network Analysis of St. Petersburg Artistic
Communities
The paper pictures meanings emerging in course of interaction within artistic communities as
their creative practices unfold. These practices develop in constant reinterpretation of the
essence of art, discussions on the themes and formats of artworks, collective creation and
representation of artworks. Throughout such processes, knowledge and communication
structures of the communities constantly co-evolve while artists attempt to influence each other.
Of a particular interest is how and to what extent individual artists occupying different positions
in the networks of interaction contribute to creation of meanings by the community, which
further become the basis for artworks. However, this struggle for meanings in the course of
interaction between the artists is vague and normally difficult to trace. Our aim is to make the
complex relations of individuals and concepts visible through sociosemantic network analysis. To
do this we undertake a comparative qualitative inspection of communication and knowledge
structures of four artistic communities located in St. Petersburg, Russia, and drill in with a
quantitative analysis. Specifically, we study two-mode sociosemantic relations between actors
and concepts as well as relations within and between the one-mode structures linking them.
Semantic networks are mapped using transcripts of dialogues between the artists, semistructured interviews with them, as well as their textual works, and posts in social media.
Communication networks were mapped using network surveys. The sociosemantic, social, and
semantic networks are visually, qualitatively and quantitatively analysed the way showing which
kinds of structures are generated under the influence of actors in different positions; how
successful in terms of generating shared meanings actors in different positions are; if they do
better in course of the struggle for meanings on their own or when teamed up; which teams are
more and less competitive within communities.
19
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Batagelj, Vladimir; Praprotnik, Selena
Closures in temporal networks with zero latency
This talk is a continuation of the talk Operations in temporal networks with zero latency. Using
the multiplication of networks we can obtain different derived networks. For example from
the temporal WA (works x authors) network we get the collaboration network Co = WA^T x
WA between authors. In the case when the network semiring is absorptive the closure of the
network (over it) can be determined using the Fletcher's algorithm. This enables us to
determine the temporal Pathfinder networks. To illustrate the use of derived temporal
networks and the temporal network closure we present some results of analyses of
bibliographic temporal networks obtained from Web of Science.
20
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Batorski, Dominik; Bolikowski, Lukasz
The structure of online social networks and media consumption
The structures of online social networks have long been studied. Also, there have been
numerous studies and analyzes about what users are viewing online. However, there are only
few studies that combine this two aspects of online behaviour. Here we show the
interdependence between relationship structure and patterns of content consumption on
large social networking site. We analyze the network of relationships between users of social
networking site, which has over 8 million active users. Their interests and the content they
consume are measured using hyperlinks shared. We argue that online social networks are
exposed to discourse fragmentation. Despite the enormous diversity of views appearing
online, users generally seek out information and interaction that reinforces their private
positions, avoiding engagement with difference.
21
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Beauguitte, Laurent; Severo, Marta; Pécout, Hugues
Do International News Reflect World Hierarchy? A Network Approach
International news flows have been studied for decades and generally allow to highlight world
political structures (Galtung and Ruge, 1965). Our approach, based on a RSS corpus collected
by research program Corpus Geomedia, aims to reveal hierarchical patterns by mixing
network and textual analysis.
In each item from RSS flows, we take into account citations and co-citations of States, the
place of State's citations in the sentence and the category of verb used. Raw number of States
citations can be considered as a proxy of power. Each co-citation creates a link between two
States, the place in the sentence (subject or not) and the type of verb create a direction.
Then we aggregate our data per journal in order to create a directed graph. By comparing
distribution of centrality measures and global indicators of network analysis, our study is
meant to compare world hierarchy generated by newspapers of different type, language and
country.
In this first study, our corpus is composed of 4 RSS flows regarding international news: 2
French newspapers and 2 from Australia. In both countries, we selected a reference journal
and a more popular one in order to reveal similarities and differences according to the
location and the audience. We examined all international items from Jan 1st until Feb 28th
2014.
Preliminary results seem to indicate that the national attribute is the strongest factor: for both
number of quotations and networks of co-citations, newspapers from the same country
present a rather similar picture. However, popular newspapers tend to present an information
more stato-centered than reference journals.
If the category of actor investigated here is the State, other choices would be possible (NGOs,
companies, international organizations etc.). And it would be interesting to investigate nonoccidental newspapers in order to see if a different hierarchy emerges.
Galtung, Ruge, 1965, The Structure of Foreign News, Journal of Peace Research, 2(1): 64-91.
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1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Bellotti, Elisa ; Koskinen, Johan; Boudourides, Moses; Lenis, Sergios; Gao, Ning
The hidden rules and open secrets of corporate governance. Longitudinal analysis of “old boys
networks” and interlocking directorates.
The paper discusses the theoretical background, the research hypothesis, and some preliminary
results of a research project on the network dynamics of European interlocking directorates. The
main objectives of the project are to investigate the relationship between the “old boys’
network” and the system of peer referral in the boards of directors of European firms listed on
the stock exchange; and to develop innovative methods for the study of large, multiple and
longitudinal two mode networks. To address these objectives, we want to focus on individual
actors i.e. directors by looking at their position in overall structure of the interlocking network. In
particular, we want to see if it is possible to identify some meaningful clusters, and if these
clusters represent significant subgroups. Once we have assessed the general structure of the
network of interlocking directorates, we want to verify if a peer referral system is in place, and if
it is has been increasing or declining through the years. We do so by looking at how previous
affiliations to the same board of directors influence subsequent appointments, controlling for
relevant attributes like gender, nationality, and age. If we find indications of a peer referral
system, we want to investigate if there is a relationship between the various informal networks
that emerge over time by virtue of being affiliated in various types of networks (education,
leisure, voluntary activities, and the like) and the subsequent peer referral mechanisms. We want
to see if, over time, some “old boys” informal networks have more influence over the peer
referral mechanisms than others. It could be the case, for example, that early in the career of a
director, or of a senior manager, a common educational affiliation is important, while later in the
career other types of affiliations (political groups, leisure clubs, and the like) emerge as more
influential.
23
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Beltran Gil, Isabel; Esparcia, Javier
Rural development and social networks in the autonomous community of Valencia
This study investigates the impact that social networks of political, economic and social actors
have on processes or policies of rural development in the territory RURALTER-LEADER. In this
regard, social networks represent the links between a set of actors and the analysis of these
relationships can provide relevant data to interpret the failure or success of rural
development policies. Based on this situation, this research is based on an analysis of social
networks among a specific group of municipalities belonging to the RURALTER-LEADER
programme of the autonomous community of Valencia, intending to find out the power
structures linked to the processes of rural development.
The objective is to determine the influence that social networks have on the development of
rural territories, through a comparison of the LEADER II (1994-1999), LEADER+ (2000-2006)
where GAL (Local action groups) are introduced, and RURALTER-LEADER (2007-2013)
programmes where the use of GAL has disappeared. In terms of methodology, the first phase
of the research is based on a qualitative analysis of the literature. The second phase of the
research corresponds to a quantitative analysis about the social network of each interviewee.
This questionnaire will be accompanied by an open question so that stakeholders can give
their opinions confidentially.
24
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Bès, Marie-Pierre
Relational chains in student world
In this paper, we would like to address the question regarding relational chains analysis in the
case of relations between students. For this, we've developed two complementary aspects :
how the sociologist can observe the "reality" of these channels and collect enough relevant
data to interpret their performance, and how to get an understanding of the social logic from
simple relational data.
To this end, we first present a select group of previous studies focussing on diffusion process
in a social network (Doods, Muhamad & Watts, 2002, Irribaren & Moro, 2011) and on the
"small world" approaches (Milgram, 1967; Lin, Dayton & Greenwald, 1978), we then underline
the results and limitations of these two approaches.
To illustrate this, we take two recently conducted case studies : one on the diffusion of an email within a community of an engineering School (Bès, 2011), the other on a social
connection experiment between two groups of students (Bès, Letarouilly & Pulido, 2014). This
latter part will be the crux of the presentation. In the first case, we attest how the diffusion of
the message within engineers is supported by collegiality and friendship or the both and how
we can prove these proprieties. In the second case, the focus will be centered on the low rate
of dissemination between students, that illustrates rather the education system stratification.
In both cases, we suggest that the analytical solution consists of simultaneous consideration
of the relational logic of "threesomes" and social circles in which individuals are involved.
Embeddedness and decoupling processes are here used to explain stop-and-go of a relational
chain. So, is it possible to understand an individuals' capacity to mobilize a social network by
activating an appropriate relational chain.
25
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Bidart, Claire
What makes ties persist over time and distance ? A longitudinal study of personal
networks
Networks are made of ties which have different characteristics. Changes in personal
networks, concerning their size, composition and structure, are related to the stories and
of Ego, of Alter, and of their ties. As time goes by, ties become more or less important,
share more or less contexts, and have to adapt to somes changes in Ego and Alter lives, or
disappear. One of these relational proof is geographical mobility. Which kind of ties resist
more than others ? What are the more relevant characteristics explaining the persistence
of ties with time and distance ? A longitudinal study of personal networks of 75 young
people originally living in Caen (Normandy, France) during 9 years with 4 survey waves,
allows to answer these questions. Data analysis combines statistic measures (with 10410
ties computed), qualitative methods (long interviews) and structural analysis (275
network graphs). We can investigate the relation between distance and strength of ties.
We can also explore the links between their persistence and homophily, network
structure, life events and the relational story.
26
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Block, Per
The Remarkable Differences Between Creating and Maintaining Friendships
The key mechanisms that predict the presence of a friendship in a directed network of
adolescents within a school are reciprocity, transitivity, and homophily along the lines of sex
and often further demographic and attitudinal dimensions. Although the empirical analyses
that are used to establish this mainly focus on the existence of a tie, it is known that there are
different stages in the evolution of a friendship. The simplest distinction in this process is
between the creation of a new friendship and the maintenance of an existing one. However,
in the statistical analysis of friendship networks, these two processes are rarely distinguished.
However, new developments in statistical, longitudinal network analysis allow differentiating
between creation and maintenance of friendships. Especially Stochastic Actor Oriented
Models (SAOMs aka Siena models) can be used to find out which network mechanisms
support the creation of a friendship and which mechanisms foster the cultivation of a
friendship.
The aim of this presentation is two-fold: First, I develop a conceptual framework that explains
which network evolution mechanisms are connected to creation and maintenance of
friendships. This approach departs from the assumption that different network mechanisms
can be connected to different social situations in which ties are formed and maintained.
Second, I employ SAOMs to test the developed hypotheses on a series of well-known
adolescent friendship networks.
27
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Boda, Zsófia
Social influence on ethnic perception - The co-evolution of perceived Roma ethnicity and
friendship in Hungarian secondary school clases
Empirical studies investigating research questions related to minority groups often have to face
with stern identification problems. Results suggest that in certain cases, ethnic identity is
situation dependent, and shifts in ethnic identification can be observed (Harris and Sim, 2002;
Hitlin et al., 2006; Ladányi and Szelényi, 2006). Brubaker and Rogers (2004) also pointed out that
identity is ambiguous and suggested to define ethnicity in terms of beliefs, perceptions and
understandings.
Following these findings, we measure two different concepts of ethnicity, self-declared ethnicity
and ethnicity based on peers' perception, in Hungarian secondary-school classrooms. Our study
focuses on the two most prevalent ethnic groups in the context: the Roma and the non-Roma
Hungarian. In a cross-sectional analysis, this conceptual distinction has revealed that indeed,
there might be differences between someone's self-declared and peer-perceived ethnicity and
this has a strong effect on friendships and negative ties between students (Boda and Néray,
2013).
The current study examines the dynamic processes related to ethnic perception and friendship,
with particular focus on different social influence effects. We examine how the perception of
certain influential individuals and groups (the majority of students, popular students, friends),as
well as others' self-identification, influences students’ ethnic perception about their classmates.
For this, the co-evolution of friendship and ethnic perception networks is modelled, using the
Stochastic Actor-Oriented Model (SIENA) (Snijders et al., 2010).
28
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Bodlaj, Jernej; Batagelj, Vladimir
Hierarchical link clustering of networks
A hierarchical clustering is an approach to find tightly interconnected groups - communities of
nodes in a network. The idea of clustering may be generalized to network links. Instead of
groups of nodes we can look for groups of links. This way the sets of nodes belonging to
groups of links overlap. While overlapping communities are not always expected, they are
natural in many network analysis applications. Existing hierarchical clustering algorithms used
to find overlapping communities in networks are based on simple similarity measures that
exploit only structural properties of networks. Our algorithms consider also node and link data
(descriptions). In the talk we extend the definition of the community, propose two new
hierarchical algorithms to detect them based on appropriate similarity measures. We illustrate
the algorithms by applying them on real-life networks.
29
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Bojanowski, Michal
Collaboration reels: evolution of university collaboration network
We present an animation showing 12 years of evolution of collaboration network of University
of Warsaw employees. The data include about 10'000 employees authoring about 100'000
works. The animation also shows the evolution of selected network characterstics. We will
also provide some technical details of how the visualization was produced.
30
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Bolibar, Mireia
The impact of the structural properties and the cognitive content of personal networks on
migrants’ social and political participation
The objective of this paper is to study the role of personal networks in migrant’s social and
political participation. It draws on contributions from social capital, policy studies and mainly
social movements’ literature to develop a model of relational mechanisms through which social
networks are expected to have an impact on participation. In line with the cultural approach to
networks rooted in relational sociology, it considers social networks to be relevant both as
structures and cultural device.
The analysis is based on a mixed methods research design that uses a personal networks survey
and biographical interviews applied to a sample of Ecuadorian and Moroccan immigrants living in
Catalonia (Spain). The paper combines the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data in a
sequential and integrated manner to study both personal and organizational networks’
structures, and the role of the content of the relationships in supporting symbolic incentives for
participation.
The results show the type of motivations, identities and frames as well as the resources and
opportunities stemming from different types of networks that encourage different kinds of social
and political involvement. The multi-local nature of migrants’ personal networks, on the interplay
between the country of origin, the local ethnic enclave and the broader host society also
introduces a novel transnational dimension in the analysis able to further advance the discussion
on the structural and cultural effects of networks on collective action.
31
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Borrero, Juan D; Estrella, Gualda; José, Carpio
Hyperlink Formation in Social Bookmarking Systems: Who is Who Online?
Social bookmarking systems attract researchers in information systems and social sciences
because they offer an enormous quantity of user-generated annotations that reveal the
interests of millions of people. In this paper, we explore a different viewpoint to gain an
understanding of the social bookmarking systems.
Using data crawled from a large social tagging system we argue that the prominence of a
website, as measured by its status or public recognition, also determines its centrality.
To test this hypothesis we predict the indexes of authority and other measures of centrality
via Social Network Analysis. We also use Gephi to visualize the networks, and analyze the
structure.
The results discussed in the paper come from a sample of 61,043 taggings that involved 3,668
users and 4,913 bookmarked websites from a specific Social Network Sites, Delicious, on the
subject of globalization of agriculture.
We find that mass media companies have a competitive advantage in attracting links and user
attention.
32
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Borucki, Isabelle
Data Collection and Analysis with “VennMaker” - Poverty-political Networks of Local Politicians
in Two German Cities
Two trends have currently become evident in network data collection. First, social scientists
increasingly combine quantitative with qualitative methods and utilize the advantages of both
approaches. Secondly, digital instruments are used more often for data collection. Here, network
interface cards appear to be especially suitable. An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages
of data collection with network interface cards is lacking. This paper is meant to accomplish this
and show how both method orientations can be combined. Thus, the presentation of political
poverty networks of local politicians in Trier and Jena serve as an example. The case study utilizes
a triangulated research design containing network analysis. Therefore, the new Software
“VennMaker” generates both qualitative and quantitative data with interactive network maps.
First, “VennMaker” enables to perform participatory, process-oriented interviews, where the
interviewee and researcher develop the network-map together, or standardized interviews.
Second, the features of “VennMaker” and the possibility of user defined amplification of
graphical illustrations can be used as a drawing instrument to visualize network data that has
been surveyed with other tools. In the case of the political poverty ego-networks the specific
relational cooperation is registered and visualized in a digital network interface card. Due to the
limited size of the field and its sensitivity, an ego-centric approach was preferred. With
“VennMaker”, this is exemplified by inquiring the poverty policies in two German cities. Parallel
to this, selected primary sources were analyzed. Thus, data collection happens simultaneously
which is addressed by the paper. Additionally, the presentation will show how “VennMaker” can
connect quantitative as well as qualitative research approaches in a triangulation. In order to
discuss advantages and disadvantages, the process will be illustrated by various examples.
33
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Boudourides, Moses; Lenis, Sergios
Egocentric Decompositions of Social Network Graphs Using Dominating Sets
Our aim here is to study decompositions of a social network into egocentric sub-networks. As
it is well known, an egocentric (sub)graph of a given graph is a (vertex-)induced subgraph
formed by a graph vertex v (ego) together with the set of all v’s neighbors (alters). Thus, by an
egocentric decomposition of a given graph we mean a collection of egocentric subgraphs
(called ego-blocks) such that their union is a spanning subgraph of the graph (covering all
vertices but possibly missing edges, which happen to be bridging ego-blocks). Having recourse
to the theory of dominating sets may give a solution to this problem. In graph theory, a
dominating set of a graph is a set of vertices such that any other vertex is adjacent to at least
one vertex of this set. Hence, any dominating set generates an egocentric graph
decomposition, in which egos are the elements of the dominating set (thus, called dominating
egos). Here, we are computing (through Python) egocentric graph decompositions driven by
the detection of minimal independent dominating sets in various examples, ranging from
small to either large empirical social networks or simulations of artificial (synthetic) large
graphs. In each case, after plotting the ego-block model graph (which is a compressed
representation of the underlying graph), we are computing a number of structural measures
for the dominating egos such as redundancy, degree, betweenness, closeness, eigenvector
centrality and page-rank. Furthermore, we are comparing egocentric decompositions with
community partitions. It turns out that typically an ego-block is included inside a community,
although there exist communities not covering any ego-block. For this purpose, we are
studying how the covariance between the membership of egocentric decomposition and
community partition depends on the topology of the ego-block model graph and the
computed structural measures of the detected dominating egos.
34
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Boumans, Dorine
Policy Networks and Performance: The effect of implementation agencies’ position in policy
networks on performance
This paper refines and tests a key proposition from network theory: that the location of
implementation agencies within collaborative networks affects their performance in terms of
the quality of policy outcomes they achieve. To refine this proposition, I draw on social
network theory to formulate specific and testable hypotheses regarding the effects of
multiple ties, indirect ties and cohesive subgroups among implementation agencies on their
performance.
To test these hypotheses, I construct a unique dataset on the implementation of EU cohesion
policy projects in Scotland from a government information system. The dataset covers the
implementation of 746 projects in the period 2007-13. The organisations that lead and
participate in these projects are considered implementation agencies. Since many of these
organisations are involved in the delivery of several projects, I am able to formulate indicators
of the network relations among them. The dataset also contains a range of indicators of the
quality of performance of each of these projects.
35
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Breznik, Kristijan
Erasmus student mobility
The Erasmus programme is the largest programme in Europe for promotion of student
mobility and has made a significant contribution to student mobility in European higher
education. Over the last mobility phase between 2007/08 and 2010/11 almost a million
Erasmus students were mobile between 32 European countries. In the paper, several
networks generated by the Erasmus student mobility are proposed and studied
on different levels. Actors in the networks are universities and/or countries from which
Erasmus students are coming from. Links between actors are representing the number of
mobile students among them. Therefore, analyzed networks are directed and weighted. Some
general properties of networks are presented in the paper. Advanced network analytic
techniques revealed countries which are good exporters and countries which are good
importers of Erasmus students. Furthermore, the cohesive (sub)groups of universities were
identified and extracted on the organizational level. The statistical programme R was used for
writing the algorithms to arrange the data into the appropriate form. R was also used for
statistical analysis. Pajek programme was applied for analysis of networks.
36
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Broccatelli , Chiara
Cohesion under covertness: a preliminary description
The contexts where covert networks operate are varied wherefore individuals can be involved
in several kinds of activities such as drug-trafficking, the Mafia, terrorism and various covert
social movements. The lack of explanations concerning the nature of covert ties in the
literature is probably due to the difficulty in collecting covert network data, something which
restricts the possibility of testing hypotheses empirically. My research starts from two notions.
The first is referred to the presence of pre-existing ties which bring people in common covert
activities. The second considers the idea that covert networks emerge from functional aims
and, by performing covert activities, individuals strengthen the cohesiveness of the network.
Nevertheless, every covert group is influenced by a general main purpose. By interacting
regularly and cooperatively around some common foci of activities, individuals tend to
become similar in terms of attitudes and to develop shared trust. If individuals’ activities are
organised around the same focus, people involved will presumably be more connected to
each other. Therefore, we should expect networks of this type to be highly cohesive. But are
covert networks really cohesive? So as to act secretly, these networks tend to minimise their
connections. As covert network actors need to limit communications, and trust each other,
the level of cohesion within these groups may vary. This variation is probably due to different
kinds of values and trust shared between people. This research will involve a preliminary
descriptive analysis of several available data sets to identify causes for these differences. By
utilising some techniques of randomization tests, the research attempts to verify some
features of the structures of these networks. Finally, so as to understand some characteristics
of the nature of covert ties, a strategy of paired comparison will be used to compare covert
network configurations.
37
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Broux, Yanne; Vanbeselaere, Silke
Networks and Identification in Trismegistos
Trismegistos collects information about all textual documentary material from Egypt between
800 BC and AD 800. It consists of several interrelated databases, including one collecting all
references to individuals attested in the aforementioned texts (REF), and another in which the
references to a single person are grouped under a unique "person number" (PER). Since these
references were extracted from our sources automatically and the computer cannot identify
individuals, people who appear in multiple texts still need to be identified: so someone who is
mentioned in three different texts now still has three records in the person database and
these need to be merged. When genealogical information, titles or ethnics are added to a
person’s identification, this is fairly easy. When dealing with individuals for whom no
information whatsoever is added, however, identification is not so straightforward. In these
cases, the context, i.e. the other people who are mentioned in the same texts, can help. By
recreating the networks of people in specific archives or time periods and looking for
recurring clusters of names, we can identify people much faster, since the alternative is going
over more than 100,000 texts manually.
38
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Buch-Hansen, Hubert
Interlocking directorates and collusion in the European chemical industry, 1960-2000
According to a number of studies, interlocking directorates have the potential to facilitate collusive
activities. Few studies have, however, investigated the matter empirically. To contribute to remedy
this lacunathe present paper presents the initial findings of an analysis that draws on two original
datasets.The first of these is a dataset based on all EU cartel case decisions involving the European
chemical industry. The dataset contains pairs of chemical companies that were found guilty of
collusion (collusive ties) and information about the duration of the tie. The second dataset records
all interlocking directorates for the 1960-2000 period between approximately 30 of the companies
that were most strongly present in the first dataset. These data were for the most part collected by
using information from the companies' annual reports. Using network analysis methods the paper
combines the two datasets to investigate the extent to which interlocking directorate ties between
pairs of chemical companies were succeeded by collusive ties. A dynamic visualization of the two
type of ties and their overlaps over the four decades covered here will be provided.
39
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Burge Elvan Erginli; Gauci, Jean-Pierre
Personal networks of migrants: the forms of local and nonlocal ties in a metropolitan city
The aim of this study is to explore the the interplay between personal networks and residential
locations of the migrants/immigrants in the metropolitan city of Istanbul. Recently, while some
studies about neighborhood and social networks highlight the existence and importance of dense
and weak social ties within neighborhoods, some argue that community is liberated from these
units. In spite of changes in the structure of the networks in metropolitan areas, residential
segregation is still a very important factor in the formation of socio-demographic patterns of
cities and social networks survive in certain type of neighborhoods. New migrants contribute to
these segregation patterns since they settle in the areas where their counterparts live. Therefore,
it is crucial to understand the mechanisms behind the recurrent patterns of segregation. This
study will focus on a neighborhood in Istanbul where the local community culture is expected to
be relatively high, in which a relatively homogenous group, in terms of city of origin, is settled.
This area has been selected in accordance with the results of Correspondence Analysis which
helps to find out the over-represented migrant/immigrant settlements. Although, the
relationship between residential location of migrants and their social networks has been
investigated by many scholars from a wide range of perspectives, a few number of them focus on
the content of the ties that form the networks of migrants. Based on a survey concerning
personal networks of a sample of people living in Yildirim Neighborhood, the study will explore
the structure of the personal networks of migrants that belong to different socio-economic
backgrounds and the content of social ties which are neighborhood based and which are not. The
personal networks of migrants and immigrants in the neighborhood will be explored by Social
Network Analysis, which helps to map out entire personal networks.
40
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Cabanelas, Pablo; Cabanelas Omil, José; Somorrostro López, Patricia
The influence of governance on research network performance: a combined analysis
The analysis dealing with performance and governance of research networks is scarce.
Through the combination of social networks concepts and metrics, and logistic regression
modelization, this work studies the effect of different factors related to governance on
scientific performance. The sample is composed by 11 research networks composed by 83
research groups in Galicia. Results show a strong relationship among type of tie, position in
the network, and defined structures with performance. The high-performance networks are
dominated by strong ties, possess formalized structures, and its groups have high power but
low centrality. These findings suggest the strengthening of networks and the establishment of
structures to improve collective action.
41
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Caimo, Alberto
Efficient estimation algorithms for Bayesian exponential random graph models
Powerful ideas recently appeared in the literature are adjusted and combined to design
improved samplers for Bayesian exponential random graph models. Different forms of
adaptive Metropolis-Hastings proposals (vertical, horizontal and rectangular) are tested and
combined with the Delayed rejection (DR) strategy with the aim of reducing the variance of the
resulting Markov chain Monte Carlo estimators for a given computational time.
In the examples treated in this paper the best combination, namely horizontal adaptation with
delayed rejection, leads to a variance reduction relative to the adaptive direction sampling
approximate exchange algorithm of Caimo and Friel (2011).
42
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Cajkovac, Vladimir
AIDS as a Global Media Event. An intercultural comparison of posters and their imagery
This paper presents an application of network analysis to research in the field of art history
and visual studies. We analyzed AIDS poster collection of the German Hygiene Museum
(Dresden, Germany), one of the world's largest collections, consisting of more than 9000
posters from over 100 countries. PEPFAR Program (the President's Emergency Plan For AIDS
Relief, 2003-2008) served as a framework for selection of 1305 posters from USA and 12 subSaharan African countries. Iconclass, hierarchically ordered classification system for art and
iconography was used as a backbone to create a keyword catalog of the themes, symbols and
motives used in posters. We used the network analysis to perform a descriptive analysis of the
keyword catalog. The network analysis was used to situate the messages, narratives and visual
language of the exemplary PEPFAR funded posters within the global network of PEPFAR’s
funding allocations and financial flows across different countries. Our main contribution is
showing that keyword catalog combined with a network analysis can be a powerful tool to
further improve research of poster collections. Moreover, we bring a new perspective into
cultural and media-historical aspects of the AIDS research.
43
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Calvet-Mir, Laura; Maestre-Andrés, Sara; van den Bergh, Jeroen
Social network analysis to select stakeholders: A study of the natural park Sant Llorenç del
Munt (Catalonia, Spain)
Many past conservation initiatives have failed because they pay inadequate attention to the
interests and characteristics of stakeholders. Recently, stakeholder analysis had increasing
attention. This refers to the process of identifying individuals or groups that are likely to affect or
be affected conservation efforts, such as in a natural area or park. Such an analysis is now
integral part of many participatory initiatives for natural resource management. Social network
analysis can help to select relevant stakeholders by providing insight into their communication
networks. We apply social network analysis in a study of a natural park, namely Sant Llorenç del
Munt in Catalonia, Spain, with the aim to select stakeholders for participatory workshops. The
workshops are intended to assess stakeholder perceptions of ecosystem services and biodiversity
policies considered to be implemented in the park. Data was collected via semi-structured
interviews (n=25) and an on-line survey (n=124). This allows us to assess how stakeholders are
connected and communicating. We identify central stakeholders in the diffusion of natural park
information, those who “broker” between different stakeholders categories and connect
individuals who are disconnected, and others. Our findings are relevant to the design of the
mentioned participatory workshops as well as to inform the participatory bodies of the natural
park.
44
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Camacho, Francisca ; Esparcia, Javier
From social networks to discourse analysis in rural local development processes. A case
study from NO of Murcia (Spain)
When the European Commission designed and launched the LEADER rural development
programme the objective was that rural areas were able to put in place mechanisms and
processes of local development, based on diversification of productive activities but also, as
important the this aspect, more and better networking of the local society.
It has been shown that one of the bases in these processes of local development is a
substantial stock of social capital. This paper is about the relational social capital in a rural
area and the discourse of those actors who have more prestige and better positions in the
social network in a LEADER rural area, NW of Murcia (Spain). First we analyze the relational
social capital from a sample of relevant –mainly- local actors, through personal interviews to
those more linked to development processes in the area. Using the SNA approach they have
been analyzed the structural characteristics of the social network in the area as well as the
position of the different actors. Those most central positions are close to the concept of
leadership (for which it has also analyzed the positions of prestige and / or power in the
network,
through
the
indegree
indicator
for
each
actor).
The second aspect we have analyzed is the discourse that such actors. The information come
from qualitative interviews, systematized from the transcription through Maxqda software,
which allow us to codify discourse or pieces of discourses in relation to a set of key elements
in local development processes. The results highlight the extent to which actors with leading
positions maintain a homogeneous discourse, and to what extent differences in discourse may
also hinder local development processes.
45
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Cano Hila, Ana Belén; Sánchez Martí, Angelina; Sandín Esteban, María Paz
Using narratives to study the impact of social networks on the educational paths of immigrant
students
In this paper we present the qualitative data collection process followed to study the impact of
social relations and networks on the educational paths of immigrant students. Within the
framework of an R & D longitudinal study funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation
(2012-2014), we started following the paths of 87 immigrant students, from whom only 17
successfully achieved the transition through the first and second year of Post-16 Education.
Much literature notes that relationships are an important part of analysis of the migration
process and social integration, as well as school history in terms of success or failure. And that is
why we collected the personal networks of all immigrant students from 3 high schools who were
at that time attending the last course of compulsory school. The network structure influences the
social capital resulting from the network, and therefore determines the resources, goods and
types of support that the individual can access. And all these aspects are influential elements in
the configuration and development of the academic trajectories of immigrant students.
At the end of the second year of Post-16 Education (two years later), we decided to capture the
personal networks of these students again, and study and discuss their evolution and influence
on their paths through qualitative interviews. Such interviews facilitated the discussion of their
relationships while providing interesting narratives we would like to present. In order to do so,
we followed the practice and use of biographical interpretive narrative method of interviewing
and analysis.
46
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Cardenas, Julian; Rodríguez, José A
Comparing power systems: Latin America and Europe
Are Latin American corporate elite networks similar to European ones? Are European and
Latin American corporate elites interconnected transregionally? How are directorship and
ownership network structures configured in Europe and Latin America? The present project
explores networks of interlocking directorates and interlocking ownership –comparison
between countries and transnational interlocks– to better understand power systems in
Europe and Latin America. Existing research have concentrated to study interlocking
directorates and ownership within the regions and separately. A trans-regional and
comparative study between Europe and Latin America is appealing due to the emergence of
multilatinas (multinational corporations from Latin America), the asymmetric relations
between both regions, the dominance and resilience of business groups in most Latin
American economies and, above all, the high trade and investment flows between Europe and
Latin America. Making corporate elite networks visible is essential to comprehend the future
relations and arrangements between Europe and Latin America, and how regions are ruled.
47
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Carpio, Jose; Gualda, Estrella; Borrero, Juan D
An Algorithm for automatically coding Big Data extracted from Twitter: getting ready for the
analysis of more than one million tweets concerning a competition on TV
The way towards Fame is today full of tweets. TV programmes have easily incorporated the
process of calling for tweets tagged and classified under a tag (#) proposed to the audience in
order to get comments, points of view and so on from the spectators. This particularly has
happened in Spain with the case of the competition ‘La Voz’ (2013) where communication
between competitors and audience was encouraged. Our dataset of tweets for this paper was
extracted during one week, coinciding with the semi-final and final of this competition. Our
extraction, consisting of more than one million tweets could be framed in the area of ‘Big Data’.
Before any analysis, a previous task would be filter and code part of the automatically crawled
data, in order to reduce and prepare the information.
Our research objectives at this step were: 1) to test a methodology to automatically filtering,
coding and reducing the huge amount of data retrieved from Twitter, as a previous task to be
done before the sociological analysis of Big Data, 2) to determine the reliability of the
methodology after being applied to the dataset concerning the tweets produced by audience and
competitors/ famous. In this paper we explain the methodologic process followed to achieve
these tasks. Basically, we extracted a random sample of tweets based in our big dataset.
Hashtags on this sample were automatically filtered, codified and reduced according to the
Levenshtein distance metric. Different automatic algorithms were applied to the 100,000 sample
of tweets for filtering, coding and reducing the number of hashtags. After this operation, a new
statistically representative sample of hashtags was selected in order to determine the reliability
of the automatic algorithm created. In this last step two researchers manually checked case by
case if the hashtags were correctly clustered. Results present all the process and the evaluation
of the best algorithm for reducing twitter data.
48
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Carrel, Noemi
Recruiting procedures in local politics and the participation of the migrant population. First
results of a Process Net-Map analysis
To maintain the political system of Swiss municipalities as well as in terms of an inclusive
democracy, the political participation of the migrant population is important for local politics. But
which mechanisms foster or hinder their political participation? The survey of MigrantinnenRaum
Aargau (2006), which analyses political parties in the canton Aargau (Switzerland), indicates that
the migrant population is considerably underrepresented among the active members and no
activities are aimed at promoting their participation. Some investigated parties even expect
foreign persons to be proactive and to contact the party on their own initiative, which does not
correspond with the usual practice at all. To get a better understanding of such mechanisms, the
analysis of local recruiting procedures is needed. The importance of grass-roots investigations in
this field is further stressed by Norris and Lovenduski (1995) in their survey on British parties.
Following these conclusions and considering the remaining research gaps in regard of the
influence of contextual factors on the individual political participation of the migrant population
(cf. Cinalli and Giugni 2011; Norris 2007; Rosenstone and Hansen 2003), an in-depth analysis of
the recruiting procedures in four Swiss municipalities will be realized within my dissertation
project. The field research started within one municipality in autumn 2013 with an inquiry based
on a written questionnaire. To capture the different recruiting procedures in detail and to discuss
the mechanisms hindering or fostering the consideration of candidates with a migration
background, the field research will be continued with a “Process Net-Map analysis” according to
the method developed by E. Schiffer and R. Birner. In this paper, the first findings of this analysis
will be presented.
49
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Carvajal, David
Financial networks and money-changers in early Modern Castile
During the last decades of the 15th century, Castilians knew well the role played by moneychangers providing capital to the real economy. The new economic conditions boosted the
presence of numerous financial agents who cooperated between them in order to maintain
their business. The co-working in fairs and urban markets were crucial to understand the
origins of the local banking system and the expansion of credit during the 16th century.
50
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Chauvac, Nathalie; Grossetti, Michel
How do employers recruit? A study on innovative entrepreneurship with a mixed method
How do recruiters recruit ? Since Rees (Rees 1966), few researches have been conducted on
this topic. In France, Bessy, Marchal has studied the recruitment's critters, and also the means
of recruitment (Bessy et Marchal 2009). A research driven for 10 years regarding innovating
entrepreneurship and recruitment allows some answers. Getting new employees is important
for all the companies, but particularly for the recent ones.
The research is based on a mixed method, the quantified narrations method (Grossetti,
Barthe, Chauvac 2011). We try to understand how founders reach some resources and
particularly new staff members.
One of the interests of this research is to be a longitudinal one. A part of the companies's
founders were met several times by the authors since the beginning of their stories. Using this
data, we can understand how recruitment's practices change, and how the embeddedness in
professional relationship permit access to new circles of qualified people, and how founders
become recruiters.
The other point is that the results should be compared to another one, which deals with the
way for people to get a job. And in this presentation, we'll show that relational chains
mobilized for recruitment by employers are longer than the employees's ones. This is due to
the fact that both are at the two ends of a same chain (Chauvac 2014). Besides, we will
develop another point. The enterprises studied are innovative, meaning that several
institutions recognized them, and also their colleagues as innovative. Is there something
specific in the recruitment of innovative enterprises ? We will show that the innovation
process is partly based on the recruitment of PhD and researchers by using professional
relationship of founders, and in a second time, of others staff members, thanks to academic
institutions.
51
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Christopoulos, Dimitrios
The Impact of Social Networks on Leadership Behaviour
Dominant streams in leadership literature conceptualise it either as a role within sociopolitical structure or as a behavioural predisposition of agents. Leadership roles are
determined by decisional power, most typically related to hierarchical position of an agent as
well as their structural position within socio-political networks. Limitations in attaining
meaningful predictions of leader potential can be related to the separation of leadership as
agency from leaders as structurally embedded agents. Social network analysis allows for the
contingent examination of both.
In this paper a number of hypotheses are tested via an empirical case study where interaction
and affiliation networks across multiple decision experiments are coupled with attribute and
psychometric data of the actors. In this quasi-experimental setting leadership emergence is
studied among four groups of undergraduate students faced with a decision choice in an
iterative political simulation game. Findings suggest that in egalitarian political systems
centrality in social networks is directly associated to political success, while in political systems
imbued with power inequalities successful actors are idiocentric brokers.
52
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Chrol,Bartek; Bojanowski, Michal
Link prediction methods and ERGMs: a comparison
We formulate a link prediction problem as identifying pairs of disconnected actors that are
likely to form a link in the future. We compare two approaches to link prediction in social
networks: (1) several proximity-based link prediction methods, overlapping neighborhoods,
and methods based on random walks; (2) Exponential Random Graph Models that allow to
calculate model-based conditional probability of tie existence given the rest of the graph,
which can be thought of as a method of link prediction. The two approaches are tested and
compared using co-authorship networks of employees of University of Warsaw.
53
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Cobo Martín, Manuel Jesus; Gutiérrez Salcedo, María; Martínez, M.A;
Antonio ; Herrera-Viedma, Enrique
López-Herrera,
Advance use of SciMAT through its API
Nowadays, there are a variety of software tools to extract the hidden knowledge under the
scientific research output, that is, there is a variety of software tools to carry out a science
mapping analysis. Some software tools come from the social network research field and
others are specifically developed to perform a science mapping. Particularly, SciMAT
(http://sci2s.ugr.es/scimat) is an open-source science mapping software tool which
incorporates methods, algorithms, and measures for all the steps in the general science
mapping workflow, from preprocessing to the visualization of the results.
Although an analyst could perform the different steps of the science mapping analysis using
the SciMAT GUI, some tasks are repetitive and tedious. Particularly, the analyst has to tune
some of the configuration parameters in order to obtain adequate maps. This process could
be speed up by developing a script which performs the science mapping analysis within a
particular ad-hoc configuration, giving as input arguments the parameters to tune.
In this sense, in this contribution we show how to develop a script to carry out a conceptual
science mapping analysis with an ad-hoc configuration, using the API of SciMAT. We explain
the different steps that an analyst must follow in order to develop his or her own script with
his or her particular parameters configuration. To do that, we describe the SciMAT API and
show how to execute, configure the different methods and algorithms provided by the API,
and use them in a correct workflow.
As example, we show how to develop a science mapping analysis using a co-word network.
Furthermore, the results are enriched with bibliometric measures (h-index) and the maps are
printed out in image files. The source of this example can be downloaded from
http://sci2s.ugr.es/scimat/scripts/SciMATCustomAnalysis.zip
54
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Comas, Jordi; Milofsky, Carl; Green, Brandn
A theoretical and methodological blueprint for studying community social capital as the
intersection of personal and organizational networks
Using stylized examples informed by social and network theory, as well as qualitative illustrations
based on studies of small towns, we will explore four ideal types of community derived from two
levels of networks: the interpersonal and the organizational. This develops the methods and
substance to research community as the result of dynamics in tow levels. We start with the
realization that community and social capital have several meanings. In general, community as
social capital is either about the nature of interpersonal networks or organizational networks. For
some social science, following Coleman’s work, community is synonymous with dense
interpersonal networks which then, in turn, enable a reinforcement of norms that is the essence
of community. Meanwhile, other social scientists have understood community as the result of
the number, type, or interactions among organizations that work for community. In both, the
difference between more or less community or social capital is due to density of ties. We
propose treating the interpersonal and organizational as orthogonal dimensions in which one
dimension is density of egocentric, interpersonal networks and the other is density of comembership among organizations. We focus on relationships of mutual support or reciprocity for
the interpersonal and relationships of co-membership for the organizational. The resulting 2x2
matrix yields four ideal types that combine high or low interpersonal and high or low
interorganizational density. The four results are “strong community” (high interpersonal and
interorganizational), “tribes and organizations” (high interpersonal [tribes] and low
organizational), “brokers’ world” (low interpersonal with higher interorganizational), and
“anomie” (low in both).
55
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Comet, Catherine
The mobilisation of business leaders in the policy-planning network in France
This paper examines the position of business leaders in the policy-planning network in France,
focusing on the directors of the main large corporations. Policy-planning agencies, and think
tanks in particular, have experienced a significant development in France for 20 years. How do
business leaders interrelate with other elites in this network? What is their structural position?
May this political activity reinforce the cohesion or the divisions within the business
community?
This paper presents a network analysis of the governing boards of 70 leading policy-planning
organizations. From the composition of the boards of directors and boards of trustees in 2008,
I apply a hierarchical clustering to investigate this interlock structure of the policy-planning
network. Then I focus on the position of business leaders in this network and on the role of
executive and non-executive directors of the 100 main large companies in France. Eventually, I
analyze the 3-mode network formed by the intersection between the policy-planning network
and the corporate network.
Despite their heterogeneity, most policy-planning organizations are rather well integrated
thanks to interlocks. And business leaders play a major role in this cohesion. Their centrality is
the highest compared to the other categories of board members (political leaders, scholars,
journalists, bureaucrats…). Furthermore the interlinkages among them are more cohesive and
centralized. These results illustrate the relational closeness of the business community with
political and intellectual elites. Moreover the hierarchical clustering shows a clique of very
influential economists in the network, partly connected to the business elite. Lastly, this noncorporate network contributes to the social cohesion of the business community and impacts
the formation of corporate interlocks.
56
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Contreras-Ibáñez, Carlos C; Ramos-Vidal, Ignacio
Modeling peer group support and criticism, self-esteem and subjective well-being, on Body
Image Disturbances
School contexts are privileged environments to evaluate group processes of influence during
adolescence, where young people adapt theirs behavior to peers. Several studies describe
adolescents adjusting their consumption of alcohol and tobacco to the level of their classmates,
and in other risk health behaviors as adoption of aggressive strategies of weight loss, anorexia
and bulimia, often associated with depression and low school achievement or even dropout. A
proximal factor of this includes Body Image Disturbances (BID), on which positive relationships
can act as a protective factor while those negative increase risk, but also individual differences
such as self-esteem and subjective well-being play a role. However, no previous study has
statistically modeled both effects. So, the aim of this research is to assess the relative effect of
both types of relationships in the school context on the development of BID, considering selfesteem and subjective well-being as mediating variables. Social network, psychometric scales and
own silhouette perception were measured in 11 classrooms at a public high school in Mexico
City. Social network measures were calculated among both sexes (Men, n= 139; Girls, n = 274),
but effects on BID were modeled only for the female population. We use structural equation
modeling to gauge direct effects of positive (centrality in the network of classroom popularity),
and negative (centrality in a network of teasing or criticism) relationships on BID, and also the
mediating power of self-esteem and subjective well-being. Best adjusting model suggest that
higher self-esteem and subjective well-being directly reduce the likelihood to suffer BID, and that
only position in negative networks directly impact on it, while positive relations effect vanishes if
one has high individual resources. Finally we discuss the results to improve the social climate and
promote prosocial behaviors in the classroom.
57
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Cristofoli, Pascal; Cristofoli, Pascal; Prieur, Christophe
Ego centered networks and community dynamics in Buenos Aires, 1620-1840: Building a large
database
We will present a multidisciplinary project for the study of the dynamics of a large city from its
foundation.
Gathering researchers from history, natural language processing and computer science, this
project aims at building a large network database of all the (14,000) wedding certificates
recorded in Buenos Aires from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Besides filiation and wedding links,
testimonies provide data for network analysis at an unprecedented scale for this context, with
ego and family-centered networks spreading over generations. More than a large database, we
intend to design a framework that will allow further inclusion of other sources (correspondence,
notarial acts, etc.).
The ego centered approach brings insight on social spaces structured by multiplex links of
individuals evolving in many normative contexts. This borrows from historians who have applied,
in the 1990's, ego centered network analysis to study social stratification (Gribaudi & Blum 1990,
Moutoukias 1992, Gribaudi 1998). But with the contribution of computer science, our project
greatly renews these methods with algorithmic tools to manage the size of the data, enabling to
follow social dynamics, economic and political structuration, and the reproduction of these social
spaces along generations.
Buenos Aires is particularly interesting regarding network dynamics because it is a community
which has been built from scratch, so that one can follow its evolution nearly from its beginning.
Moreover, its size is likely to allow generalization of observed mechanisms of aggregation and
social segmentation.
58
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Cristofoli, Pascal; Hamberger, Klaus
Kinsources & Puck – Open data and open tools for kinship network analysis
Kinsources (www.kinsources.net) is an open and interactive platform to archive, share,
analyze and compare kinship data used in scientific research. Kinsources is designed for
comparative and collaborative research. It aims to provide kinship studies with a large and
solid empirical basis.
Kinsources combines the functionality of a shared data repository with a toolbox providing
researchers with advanced software for analyzing kinship data. The software Puck (Program
for the Use and Computation of Kinship data), available at kintip.net, is integrated in the
statistical package and the search engine of the Kinsources website. Puck constitutes a
general tool for the management, treatment and exploratory analysis of genealogical
datasets, including non-genealogical relations. Its core feature consists in the census and
analysis of relational circuit structures. Puck is fully compatible with the social network
analysis software Pajek and the most current genealogical programs based on gedcom format.
The poster will demonstrate the main functionalities of the website Kinsources and the
software Puck, inviting researchers to share and analyze their kinship network data.
59
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Cruz, Irene
The embeddedness and support of homophilous ties: a review
Status homophily has frequently been considered as a proxy to the position of a contact in a
personal network, and by extension, to the types of support exchanged (see for example Lin,
2001). Such an idea works on the hypothesis that the contacts who are socio-demographically
similar have similar resources and thus tend to occupy structurally equivalent positions. For
these reasons, they have more chances of being embedded in the network of contacts than
heterogeneous relationships. Drawing from intimate personal network data from the 1985
GSS, Louch (2000) observed that homophilous ties are in fact more transitive. However,
Ferrand (1990) points out that transitivity patterns within intimate circles are not necessarily
extensible to a larger subset of contacts. Therefore, Louch's results might be limited to a
handful of intimate relationships, and the implications of status homophily on structural
positions
and
support
exchange
need
to
be
reviewed.
In this presentation, the effect of status homophily over the embeddedness of contacts is
analyzed in networks including 30 relationships of different tie strength. A multilevel model is
used to control the effects of network structure and type of relationship between Ego and
Alter. Expressive support exchange is compared among the two types of ties. Results suggest
that status homophily is not informative of the position of a contact when a larger subset of
relationships is considered.
60
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Czarna, Anna Z; Dufner, Michael; Clifton, Allan D.
The Effects of Vulnerable and Grandiose Narcissism on Liking-based and Disliking-based
Centrality in Social Networks
The objective of this study was to test the effects of two types of narcissism on popularity in
peer networks. Using data from four groups of well-acquainted students (N=122), we
investigated differential relations of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism with network
centrality indicators of liking and disliking. Grandiose narcissists received a larger number of
disliking nominations, indicating that they were actively disliked by their peers. In contrast,
vulnerable narcissists were not actively disliked, but instead received fewer liking nominations.
Both grandiose and vulnerable narcissists had a central position in terms of disliking, as they
were disliked by otherwise unconnected network members. In all, these findings indicate that
both forms of narcissism are unique predictors of unpopularity in peer-networks.
61
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Czerniawska, Dominika; Szejda, Jacek
The Dynamics of Stack Overflow Tags Network
The main aim of this paper is to present the knowledge network related to R programming
language as it evolves on StackOverflow Q&A platform. We operationalize 'knowledge
network' as co-occurrence of tags used to describe the site's content. The analysis is
conducted on questions tagged with 'r' and 'rstats' that were posted between 2008 and 2013.
Although the gross majority of tags form one principal component, the thematic subgroups
(e.g. 'statistics', 'graphics', 'data processing') can be observed. The data contains additional
information about the engagement of community members, like the number of answers to
each question, number of comments to both answers and questions and their quality ratings
(up- and down-votes on each type of user input) as well as 'general public" attention
measures (i.e. number of pageviews generated by wider, non-community audience). We put
our observations in the context of other tags and their platform-wide dynamics. The data
were obtained using the service's API in February 2014.
62
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Dahinden, Janine; Schaer, Martine
Transnational Mobility of Early-Career Academics: Transformation or Reproduction of Gender
Regimes? A Network Perspective
Recently, scholars have observed an increase in the transnational mobility of early-career
researchers. Mobility and (multiple) stays abroad are often presented as an indispensable
element in career trajectories, in Switzerland and beyond. At the same time, a set of studies
brought to light that despite significant improvement towards the equality of men and women in
academic life over the last decades, women are still having difficulties getting ahead in research
careers. Some scholars linked up this ‘academic mortality of females’ (Krais 2002) to the new
normative of mobility for young researchers. Indeed, women academics have been shown to be
less geographically mobile than their male counterparts, in particular when they are living in a
couple or have children (Moguérou 2004, Ackers 2003) However, little is known to this day of
how we can fully understand the mechanisms by which these gender regimes are (re)produced,
contested or transformed. We argue that research designs often render family, social networks
and biographical experiences invisible (problem of ‘methodological individualism’). However,
these have the potential to show in which ways gender is impacting on mobility and career
patterns of young academics and conversely, how mobility transforms or reinforces gender
regimes.
This paper will discuss preliminary results of an ongoing study conducted at three universities:
Zurich (CH), Cambridge (UK), and UCLA (USA). This research combines a life-story, a social
network, and a ‘social field’ approach to academia and focuses on the gendered dynamics and
mechanisms of the transnational mobility and career experiences of young academics.
We will present the name-generator and the biographical interviews, and then discuss one case
study to show how we proceed methodologically and how ‘mobility networks’ of young scientists
evolve, in which ways these may sustain or prevent mobility and academic career, and in which
ways gender intervenes.
63
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
D'Ambrosio, Daniela; De Stefano, Domenico; Ragozini, Giancarlo
Correspondence Analysis with Doubling for Two-Mode Valued Networks
Two-mode networks are data structure in which relations are collected on two different sets
of actors (dyadic), or one set of actors and one set of events (affiliation). In some cases, the
level/strength of ties can be discrete, continuous or coded by a set of ordered categories.
Many analytical tools used to analyze one-mode network must have been adapted in order to
deal with such networks. Usually, when relationships are valued, the data are dichotomized
(often by adopting an arbitrary level of dichotomization) resulting in information loss. When
the interest consists in visualizing and graphically analyzing the relational structures, it is
possible to use weighted bipartite graphs, spring embedding and correspondence analysis
(CA).
In this work we will discuss how CA with doubling coding can be useful to analyze and
graphically represent valued two-mode networks. Doubling has been originally designed to
handle bipolar variables –ordinal variables or ratings– like those resulting from the detection
of level/strength of ties with rating scale.
In particular we will discuss how the proposed approach: i) takes into account the nature of
relational data and the asymmetry of the two sets of entities in two-mode networks; ii)
permits to directly analyze valued relational data, avoiding loss of information; iii) deals with
the nature of the ratings and their bipolar character; v) improves visualization readability and
results interpretation.
In a nutshell, the proposed method allows to suitably represent the underlying weighted
relational distance among actors and events. Moreover, the positions of actors and events in
their respective factorial spaces have a nice relational interpretation, depending on the
level/strength of the observed ties.
We present the proposed approach by analyzing a subset of the relational data on the 1980
monetary donations from corporations to non-profit organizations in the Minneapolis-St.Paul
area.
64
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Davide Beraldo
The Anonymous brand and the “Million Mask March” network
The diffusion of digital media is reshaping contentious dynamics and spurring scholarly
debate. The aim of the present research is to provide empirical evidences for a theoretical
argument: that the sociological understanding of “brands” may be fruitfully translated to
grasp a part of recent distinctive trends in contentious politics. The empirical case chosen is
the nebulous collective of Anonymous. This entity is characterized by explicitly rhizomatic
birth and growth, which renders its status controversial and its evolution unpredictable. The
focus of the analysis will be on the worldwide mobilization in which Anonymous has been
partially (how much?) involved on November 5th, named “the Million Mask March”. The
research question which drives the research is: shall we conceive this episode as an off-line
manifestation of the (mainly) online Anonymous social movement? or, alternatively, should
we better frame this event as a specific, independent, instance of a more abstract Anonymous
brand? The goal of the paper is to provide empirically grounded evidences for the latter
hypothesis. In order to cope with this question, Twitter network analysis, visualization and
exploration will be exploited. The aim is to answer empirical questions like: to which extent do
the generic Anonymous network and the specific Million Mask March network overlap? are
there substantial differences between these two networks? how is this overlap characterized
in structural and semantic terms? which effects does the global day of direct action have on
the whole Anonymous network? Accordingly with the underlying theoretical assumption, we
can expect a relatively low level of overlap and significant differences in the composition of
the two networks. This result would confirm that Anonymous in its entirety cannot be
understood as a social movement, rather could be better treated as a brand, appropriated by
different movements.
65
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
De Benedictis, Luca; Nenci, Silvia
The Cobden-Chevalier effect: Evaluating the causal effect of the Most Favoured Nation clause
in presence of Network Interferences
The purpose of this work is to evaluate the causal effect of the Network of the Cobden-Chevalier
Treaties including the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) clause on trade flows of countries in the
second half of the 19th century. This paper contributes to the literature on the topic in several
ways. First, it applies up-to-date quantitative methods (i.e., nonparametric matching technique)
to the study of historical phenomena. These methods permit to estimate the average MFN effect
(the ``treatment") on the treated group of countries in terms of bilateral trade flows (the
``outcome"), rebalancing the control group without imposing any functional relationship
between covariates and the probability (propensity score) of signing a PTA including a MFN
clause. Second, it describes Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) and their evolution through
the lens of Network Analysis. Third, it addresses selection bias on unobservables by including
fixed effectsin the matching procedure. Lastly, it deals with the violation of the Stable Unit
Treatment Value Assumption (SUTVA) controlling for network interferences in trade agreements
in order to account for trade interdependence and trade policy externalities. The outcomes of
our preliminary estimates show that the Network of the Cobden-Chevalier Treaties with MFN
clause had an impact on trade flows of countries in the second half of the 19th century. The
effect of MFN on trade flows is positive when all observations are taking into account (27 per
cent more than the average trade flows of 1865, on average). Last but not least, the empirical
results show that the network structure of PTAs matters and should be taken into consideration
in evaluation exercises.
66
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
De Miguel-Luken, Verónica; Lubbers, Miranda J; Rodríguez-García, Dan; Rodríguez-García, Dan;
Solana-Solana, Miguel
Relationships with Spaniards in the personal networks of immigrants in endogamous and
exogamous couples: The extent of relational integration
Preliminary findings from two research projects show that immigrants in mixed couples, versus
those in endogamous unions, have more Spaniards in their personal networks. It, therefore,
might be concluded that in terms of relational integration, this population seems to be better
integrated. However, to explore this issue at a deeper level, it is useful to assess whether and in
which ways the presence of Spaniards has an effect on the personal network structure of ego, or
the immigrant being studied. Are relationships between non-Spanish and Spanish alters in the
personal networks of immigrants in exogamous couples more likely to form than they are in the
personal networks of endogamous immigrants, even if we control for family ties and other
characteristics of the similarity alter-alter?
In this presentation, we seek to analyse which factors can help to explain the different (or nondifferent) roles of Spaniards in the networks of both endogamous and exogamous egos. We test
the hypothesis that being in a mixed couple would not only lead ego to “better” relational
integration but also that this improved integration would extend to the other members of ego’s
personal network. If this hypothesis holds true, then exogamous egos are more related to
Spaniards who are also more related to other immigrants, in this way showing that the effects of
exogamy on relational integration would not just be limited to ego. For the purpose of this
analysis, we will set an ERG model that we will test on some personal networks (considering
personal networks of 30 alters as complete networks). In near future, we will carry out some
multilevel analysis of the total sample of 94 personal networks to search for generality of the
results.
67
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
De Stefano, Domenico; Fuccella, Vittorio; Prosperina Vitale, Maria; Zaccarin, Susanna
Analysis of scientific collaboration and academic performance. Evidence from the coauthorship network of the Italian statisticians
The present paper deals with network analysis of collaboration patterns in Statistics focusing on
co-authorship relations. Attention to this discipline derives from several motivations. Unlike
other fields, co-authorship behavior in Statistics has not yet been investigated. This discipline
presents some characteristics common to natural sciences as well as social sciences, and it plays
a central role in addressing problems in everyday applications. Therefore, it is of interest to
examine what are the network properties and the emerging patterns characterizing this
discipline as well as the effects collaboration has on individual performance.
To this purpose, we collected co-authorship data on the 792 academic statisticians in Italy as
recorded in the Italian Ministry of University and Research database in March 2010. We used
three bibliographic archives including both top-international as well as nationally oriented
publications: ISI-WoS, Current Index to Statistics, and bibliographic information related to
nationally funded research projects.
Given that each data source showed peculiar characteristics affecting network results (as
reported in De Stefano et al. 2013), in this paper we aim at merging the three databases to
obtain an unified archive and to use it as a new basis for network analysis. Specifically, two main
challenges are managed to obtain the unified co-authorship network: how to combine
information from heterogeneous sources by identifying duplicate records, and how to deal with
issues related to authors synonyms and homonymies (i.e. name disambiguation) to guarantee
the data quality. The merged co-authorship network will be used to describe collaborative
behaviour among Italian statisticians in a comparative way with respect to the previous findings
based on network analysis of each data sources.
68
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
De Vita. Riccardo
Anti-trafficking efforts in EU: A network perspective
Anti-trafficking is now a policy priority for the European Union and its Member States. This
political and policy priority has been translated both in legislative action on the part of the
Union and in the availability of funding sources aimed at supporting initiatives aimed towards
the prevention of trafficking, the prosecution of traffickers, the protection of trafficked
persons and a better understanding of the phenomenon.
At a time when funding sources are diminishing and private funding is difficult to secure, EU
funding becomes particularly important. And organizations involved in anti-trafficking are
encouraged to leverage existing, and build new, interorganizational networks to access them.
The resulting networks are particularly complex, due to the heterogeneous nature of the
organizations involved. Moreover, EU funding sources for counter-trafficking actions include
both targeted and more general calls: the nature of the call clearly impacts the nature and
structure of the beneficiaries’ networks. The growing importance and complexity of these
networks, together with the relative paucity of studies in this area, call for further research.
Building on existing literature and through the application of Social Network Analysis, this
paper contributes to a better understanding of the structure and mechanisms characterising
the collaborative interorganizational networks in the context of anti-trafficking efforts across
the European Union. Data about collaboration in EU funded projects have been collected and
integrated with information about projects and the different organizations involved. In the
first phase of the analysis, main network measures are calculated for both the 2-mode
organizations/projects network as well as the resulting 1-mode projections.
A similar study is likely to provide interesting results for practitioners in the field of antitrafficking and to contribute to the growing academic debate in this area.
69
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Dehdarirad, Tahereh; Yter, Mireia; Rodríguez, José Antonio
Authorship networks in Happiness Research: A Bibliometric Study
In this paper, we study the structure of co-authorship networks in the field of happiness by
analyzing the papers published during the period 2010-2013. These papers will be extracted
from the ISI Web of Science database.
This study has two objectives. The first is to find the author groups or communities that
contributed to the field of happiness. The second is to see how each author group/community
is specialized in the studied field.
To study and represent the structure of authorship networks and the level of specialization of
each group, we will use: (1) bibliometrics to determine output volume and degree of
collaboration; (2) standard centralization and cohesion network measures; and (3)
blockmodeling using the CONCOR algorithm to identify social positions and roles.
UCINET will be used to obtain centralization and cohesion indicators and to run the
blockmodeling analysis.
70
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Del Castillo, Florencia; Barceló, Joan Anton; Capuzzo, Giacomo
Exploring a Regional Scale Network of interactions during the Bronze Age
This work presents a network of cultural interaction during a wide chronological range of
almost 1000 years, a period between the Early Bronze Age and the first Iron Age (1800750BC). As dataset we recorded more than 1500 georeferenced and radiocarbon dated from
archaeological contexts from an area including the North-East of Iberian Peninsula, Southern
France, Northern Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Southern Germany. This Age is characterized
by important technological transformations and flows of information that influenced
economical exchange and social interaction.
Using the archaeological empirical information as geographical distances-cost weighted and
radiocarbon dates we design a network to measure cultural proximity and to track changes in
network topology through time. Our aim was analyze and explore demic processes and
cultural transmission mechanisms to understand the birth-growth-death of dynamic links
between the nodes of the network in a one millennium trajectory. This study also shows how
formal social network analysis can be applied to large-scale databases being an excellent tool
to detect patterns of historical changes.
71
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Delgado-Márquez , Luisa; Belitski, Maksim; Delgado-Márquez, Blanca L.
Relying on networks to improve innovative outcomes: A longitudinal analysis applied to UK
Innovation, knowledge and networks are three topics more and more interrelated which are
acquiring an increasing attention between scholars. This paper investigates and quantifies the
impact of internal and external networks on innovation performance of the UK innovative
firms utilizing micro-level data. Data are available from the Virtual Microdata laboratory,
Office of National Statistics, UK. The analysis period is 2004-2010 We focus on UK innovative
firms given their significant impact for the European and global economy. The main message
is that internal networks had a significant and negative influence on innovation during the
whole period 2004-2010 being weaker during economic crisis. However, market external
network had a positive impact on innovation but institutional external networks just had a
positive impact during the whole period disappearing during economic crisis.
72
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Diani, Mario; Ernstson, Henrik; Jasny, Lorien
Civic networks in Cape Town
The urban environment of Cape Town is contested along various dimensions of race, class and
geography and presents an important case study to (i) learn about collective action processes
in newly developing democracies, and (ii) how legacies of apartheid shape the structuring of
civic networks. Drawing on a structural and relational network approach, we interviewed 120
civic associations mobilizing on a range of issues, including conservation of animals and
habitat, the promotion of urban agriculture, and access to housing, water and sanitation.
Groups came from white affluent areas, to black informal settlements (slums). Co-authored
with Henrik Ernstson and Lorien Jasny, the paper compares preliminary findings across
networks of multiple types of ties: sharing information, sharing resources, working together
on events, and sharing membership.
73
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Díaz Reviriego, Isabel; Fernández-Llamazares Onrubia, Álvaro; Molina, José Luis; Reyes
García, Victoria
“Big fish in a small pond?” Fishing networks in an indigenous society
Only recently have researchers started to analyze the role of social networks (SN) in shaping
the distribution of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). We investigate the links between
the TEK of a person and the structure of her SN from a gender perspective. We analyze fishing
knowledge and fishing networks. We use data collected from a foraging-horticulturalist
society in the Bolivian Amazon, the Tsimane’. We constructed fishing networks and analyzed
the structural characteristics of these networks (i.e., density, components per network,
degree, and reciprocity). The analysis of the relations between the fishing knowledge of a
person and her position in the fishing network suggest a positive association between
knowledge and two structural measures of position in the network, indegree (i.e. mentioned
more often) and betweenness (i.e. more intermediation in the network). We test the same
associations but using multivariate regression analysis. Overall, we found (1) a positive
association of variables that measure the position of a person in the social network (i.e.
indegree and betweenness) with our individual measure of TEK, (2) a positive association
between being a man and TEK, and, (3) more interesting, a significant interaction effect
between the sex of a person and her position in the social network.
Findings from this work help to reveal previously unstudied patterns affecting intra-cultural
variation in TEK. These results highlight the importance of social and gender relations in the
construction of such knowledge.
74
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Diesner, Jana; Kim, Jinseok; Higgins, Andrew
Socio-Semantic Network Analysis for Impact Assessment
Besides telling a story, the goal with social justice documentaries and media campaigns is to
motivate change in people’s knowledge and/ or behavior. We present our work on
developing, applying and evaluating a theoretically-grounded, computational solution to
answer the following question in an empirical, scalable and comprehensive fashion: How can
we know if a production has achieved these goals? The need for reliable, efficient and
systematic ways to evaluate the impact of media has been repeatedly pointed out by funders,
practitioners and researchers. We base our solution on the assumption that documentaries
are produced and watched as part of larger and continuously changing ecosystems that
involve multiple stakeholders and the flow of information between them. Starting from that,
we map, monitor and analyze social and semantic networks that represent these types of
entities and changes in the networks. We combine techniques from natural language
processing, network analysis and machine learning for this purpose. Our methodology or
scientific logic involves the construction of a baseline model, a ground truth model, and a
model of change. In this talk, we present on a) our theoretical framework and methodology,
b) insights gained from assessing a set of different productions, and c) evaluating the usability
of our solution based on close collaborations with film makers, producers and funders. Finally,
we briefly introduce ConText, a publicly available tool that we have designed and built for this
project and beyond. ConText is meant to be of general use for scholars who want to extract
network data from text data and jointly consider text data and network data for analysis.
75
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Dodoiu, Gabriela
A study on advice network activity at the work place
Advice seeking is an action that can improve individual performance by allowing access to
information spread across employees. While outcomes of network activity have been
extensively analyzed, its antecedents were approached less frequently. It was proposed that
one’s psychological traits as measured by the Big five model (Costa and McCrae, 1985).
Particularly high agreeableness and low neuroticism are relevant for one’s centrality in
friendship networks (Kline et al, 2004). This paper models the advice network activity of a
product development firm’s employees. It is hypothesized that one’s activity in the work-place
network depends not only on individual characteristics, but also on how one perceives its
environment and its team. Tests of these hypothesis were based on scrutinizing a full network
of 316 employees from which individual level information was also obtained. The results do
not support the expectation that differences in psychological attributes influence differences
in network activity. However, positive perceptions on own team and team characteristics are
making employees more willing to ask for advice as well as more attractive as advice givers.
The study provides evidence for the relevance of transactive memory systems for employees’
activity while suggesting that previous findings on antecedents of network activity (e.g., Klein
et al., 2004) could be context bounded. Although a strong point of this study is its naturalistic
sample, the cross-sectional data permits just correlational methods. Research should further
look into what generates connections between co-workers. Understanding who is requesting
information as well as who are the employees that are more likely to provide advice can help
improve the information flow and build towards an increased knowledge sharing.
76
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Dominguez Alvarez , Linda
The Team’s Influence on Sharing Data: A Study on Willingness to (Not) Comply With Norms
Regarding Data Sharing
Currently there is a growing discussion on Open Data: the practice of making data used for
scholarly research freely available (online) for re-use. Among others, funding agencies and
journals provide the norm in favor of data sharing. However, research shows that some
researchers reject these norms and are reluctant to share data. Previous research shows the
importance of individual’s social environment in understanding individuals’ decision making.
Given that individuals are embedded in multiple social systems, I consider the importance of
how individual and team processes at different levels are influencing each other in
understanding the individuals’ willingness to (not) comply with these norms. Focusing on PhD
students I study to what extent the research group influences the degree to which the PhD
students reinforce university (macro) level normative framework regarding data sharing. In my
analyses I will be focusing on the normative framework of the research group and the need of
identification (with the research group) of the student. Assuming individuals self-identify more
with the closest social groups they are embedded in, I hypothesize that the higher the
individual’s need for identification, the greater the likelihood individuals will comply with the
norm of the research group, regardless of the macro level normative framework. Furthermore,
I study whether the characteristics of the requester of the data, such as tenure and status,
matter for the choice to (not) comply with the macro level normative framework concerning
data sharing. I hypothesize here that individuals will be more willing to share data when the
requester is a full professor from their own discipline, preferably from the same department.
Currently, the research is in process. Data is collected from a Dutch university where 255 PhD
students of different disciplines have received the questionnaire. The data will be analyzed
using repeated measures ANOVA.
77
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Dunkake, Dr. Imke
Social Status in Class and Delinquency: The Impact of Sociometric Position on Truancy and
Violence
Influential studies like the “High School and Beyond Study” have shown that aspects of social
capital are important predictors of dissocial behavior and delinquency. Focusing on social capital,
one important socialization agent transferring social capital is the school class. Considering that
classes are social systems (Parsons 1968) where students take different sociometric positions – as
for example “rejected” or “popular” - it is obvious to ask which factors have an impact on these
different sociometric positions and how these positions may affect delinquency. Based on a
theoretical model combining assumptions of educational research (Baumert et al. 2001) and
criminology - especially the General Theory of Crime by Sampson and Laub (1993) - the current
study analyses the direct and indirect effects of socio-demographic variables (e.g. social status,
broken home, ethnic background) via cultural and social capital in family and via sociometric
status in class on truancy and violence.
The sample for the present study is 250 adolescents (10 classes) in grade 9 from secondary
schools in Germany. Measuring the sociometric status, we used peer nomination from all
classmates and transferred these nominations referring to the typology of social peer status by
Coie, Dodge and Coppotelli (1982). This typology enfolds five categories of social status: popular,
rejected, neglected, controversial and average status. To proof the theoretical assumptions, a
structural equitation model was used (Mplus). The sociometric position is measured and
visualized by analytic network tools (UCINET). Results suggest that next to socio-demographic
variables (especially broken home) and family characteristics like parental control, rejected
students truant more often and controversial students seem to act more violent.
78
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Edge, Rhiannon
What influences seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in medical students?: a pilot using social
network analysis
Influenza is one of the leading causes of respiratory infection worldwide. Vaccination is the most
effective measure in preventing influenza: it decreases healthcare workers’ (HCW) risk, reduces
staff absenteeism, and in hospitals where vaccine uptake is high, illness and mortality in patients
is lower. Only 54.8% of HCW choose to be immunised against seasonal influenza, despite the
benefits to both patients and the individual.
This study looks at the potential influence of medical students on their peers’ vaccination
decision, using a social network analysis perspective. Medical students have been studied as a
proxy to HCWs, they have been asked to answer a questionnaire giving details of their
vaccination status and who they have consulted in making this decision. Using these data medical
students’ social network was then constructed and analysed, the results from the initial
investigation are presented here.
Notably, we found that the medical students do not show signs of assortative mixing according to
their vaccination status. Also we found that there appears to be a connection between the
individuals’ choice to vaccinate and the perceived vaccination proportion in the network.
However, when perceived vaccination coverage was compared with the vaccination proportion
in individuals’ immediate neighbours we found that mostly the students did not predict coverage
well. In future we intend to extend this pilot study to look at HCWs in a hospital setting and the
impacts of their social network and vaccination structure on influenza transmission dynamics.
79
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Eggert, Nina; Pilati, Katia
Collective action in the field of immigration
The objective of this paper is to analyze the formation and structure of organizational
networks in the field of immigration in a comparative perspective. More specifically, we will
test hypotheses of the impact of specific opportunities in the field of immigration on migrants’
organizational networks by analyzing collaborations of migrant organizations with other
migrant and native organizations and the prevailing logics of interaction. Our main argument
is that the political context of migrants’ city of residence affects the way migrant organizations
send ties to other migrant and non-migrant organizations active in the field. To test our
hypotheses we will use a unique data set of an organizational survey of migrant organizations
in five European cities: Budapest, Lyon, Madrid, Milan and Zurich and analyze the networks of
the total population of migrant organizations in each city.
80
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ellis, Cali
Trust and Communication in Cross-Border Counter-Terrorism Networks
What is the influence of interpersonal trust on information sharing in the high-stakes
environment of international counter-terrorism? Social network analysis provides insights into
how even infrequent interaction can facilitate information sharing, but the secretive domain
of individuals working in international border security has been largely overlooked. In studying
the structure of international homeland security communities at the U.S.-Canada border, my
research provides a novel empirical contribution to the political science literature on
bureaucratic politics and a theoretical contribution to the larger social science literature on
trust, bridging the two by focusing on the overlap of social norms. It develops a new data set
with rarely collected network variables based on survey research that can serve as a baseline
for understanding interactions between agents working in complex security bureaucracies,
providing a natural stepping stone to further homeland security organizational studies. Based
on a social network survey of American and Canadian professionals from multiple levels of
government and the private sector, representing a wide variety of policy disciplines, I find that
interpersonal trust plays an important role in facilitating social network development across
international borders, as well as bureaucratic obstacles.
Specifically, dyadic trust becomes one of the most important variables in explaining network
density, rivaling traditional in-group measures. My research provides new insight into an
infrequently studied community, with implications for other studies of inter-organizational
social network analysis of difficult-to-study populations.
81
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ellwardt, Lea; Van Tilburg, Theo; Aartsen, Marja; Wittek, Rafael; Steverink, Nardi
Characteristics in the personal network and mortality risk in older adults
Research on aging has consistently demonstrated increased chance of survival for older adults
who are integrated into rich networks of personal relationships. Theoretical explanations are
that personal relationships offer direct behavioral and physiological pathways to longevity, as
well as buffer stress and provide coping resources during critical life-events. These pathways
often operate independently from age, sex, lifestyle, mental health, chronic diseases and
functional limitations. Besides these insights, many studies fail to establish a strong link
between social integration into personal networks and risk of mortality. We suggest that the
life-prolonging effects may vary considerably across the different conceptualizations of
integration into personal networks. Furthermore, research designs need to account for
changes in the personal network during the aging process. The objective of this study is to
model mortality risk depending on a variety of personal network characteristics, including for
example network size, social support and diversity in relationships, e.g. with a variety of family
members. We expect most protective effects for complex and multifunctional personal
networks (e.g., diversity). Data are from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) and
include >2,000 Dutch participants aged 54 to 85 at baseline in 1992 and five follow-ups
covering a time span of twenty years. Personal networks, lifestyle and mental and physical
health (i.e., chronic diseases) were assessed at all follow-ups. Statistical analyses comprise of
Cox proportional hazard regression models. Preliminary findings suggest that the different
conceptualizations of integration into personal networks have differential effects on survival
of older adults.
82
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Elouaer-Mrizak, Sana
Small Worlds Characteristics in the interlocking directors networks
The paper examines the small world structure in networks of interlocking directors networks.
These networks can be represented by a two-mode network of directors and firms. The aim is
to find sub-groups within these networks. To do so, we consider the network of French firms
among the 40 companies listed in the French Financial Index CAC40 over three periods 1996,
2005 and 2010. The main results obtained suggest that the configuration of the networks of
relationships between directors and boards exhibit “small-world” effect. In the second part,
and using Robins and Alexander (2004), we compared main structural properties of French,
European, US and Australian interlocking company directors. We conclude that there are
differences between French, European and US, Australian networks. Especially, different
structures are likely to be influenced by the clustering of directors on boards, rather than the
number of positions by one director; that shared multiple board memberships (multiple
interlocks) are an important feature of both infrastructures, detracting from global
connectivity (but more so in the Australian case); and that company structural power may be
relatively more diffuse in the US structure than in Australia.
83
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Erickson, Bonnie
Access to Ethnic Social Capitals in Multicultural Toronto
Past work on social capital has focussed on occupations: people who have contacts in
occupations varying in prestige have potential access to a variety of resources that can
facilitate socioeconomic success and political activity. Contact resources also vary with contact
ethnicity. This paper develops measures of ethnic social capitals as the variety of high, and
low, status occupations in which a person knows someone of a particular ethnicity. The ethnic
groups examined are White, Chinese, and Black people in Toronto. Past research on ethnic
groups is largely limited to strong ties (marriage and close friendship) but such ties are largely
within groups and do not provide minority groups with much access to the resources of the
dominant White group. The weaker ties in the ethnic social capitals do cross ethnic
boundaries often, and provide access to resources within and between groups. Access to
ethnic social capitals varies with ethnicity (people have best access to a range of occupations
in their own group), with education (higher education develops diverse ties to high status but
not low status occupations), with occupational status (higher status people connect to a
smaller range of lower status occupations) and activity in a wide range of voluntary
associations (which increases every kind of ethnic social capital.) Minority groups can gain
access to white social capitals by more than one route: high levels of education, employment,
and occupational status for Chinese, and high levels of association activity for Blacks.
84
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Erin, Sakin
Personal Social Networks American Converts to Islam
This study is about the social network of converts to Islam in the United States of America.
The central argument of this research is that people who have social ties to other Muslims are
more likely to convert to Islam. And, those people who live in a place populated by more
Muslims are more likely to have ties to other Muslims. Also, I argue that there is no difference
between how people perceive the conversion of Caucasian Americans and African Americans.
This paper, ultimately, tests the hypothesis that if converts to Islam loose social capital from
their prior to conversion social network, they are more likely to revert to their prior belief.
Conversion to Islam in the United States can generate strong reactions from people. Although
Americans might have a limited understanding of the Muslim people and the Islamic world,
they often times have a strong perception about Islam, a perception that evolved in tandem
with the US foreign policy especially its recent involvement in the Middle East.
85
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Escobar, Modesto
Coincidence analysis to study networks in photographic collections
The aim of this paper is to introduce a new framework to study data structures, which is
founded on a combination of statistical and social network analysis, and is denominated
coincidence analysis. The purpose of this procedure is to ascertain the most frequent events
in a given set of scenarios, and to study the relationships between them. In accordance with
this procedure, the concurrence of persons, objects, attributes, characteristics, or events in
the same temporal or spatially limited set can be classified in the following manner:
a) simple, if both occur at least once in the same set;
b) likely, where the level of concurrence must be more than a single coincidence, and rather
more probable than a concurrence produced by mere chance, and
c) statistically probable, in cases where samples of events are the subject of analysis, a
confidence interval should be established in order to determine the statistical meaning of the
combination of events.
This mode of analysis can be applied to the exploratory analysis of questionnaires, the study
of textual networks, the review of the content of databases, and the comparison of different
statistical analysis of interdependence, insofar as the following techniques are used:
multidimensional scaling, principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, biplot
representations, agglomeration techniques, and network analysis algorithms.
The statistical bases of this analysis are described, as are the programs written in R and Stata
which allow the analysis to be executed. As an example of its use, the photograph albums of
the following people who were famous in the early twentieth century are described: Miguel
de Unamuno (1864-1936), Joaquín Turina (1882-1949) and Rafael Masó (1880-1935).
86
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Dominguez Alvarez , Linda
The Team’s Influence on Sharing Data: A Study on Willingness to (Not) Comply With Norms
Regarding Data Sharing
Currently there is a growing discussion on Open Data: the practice of making data used for
scholarly research freely available (online) for re-use. Among others, funding agencies and
journals provide the norm in favor of data sharing. However, research shows that some
researchers reject these norms and are reluctant to share data. Previous research shows the
importance of individual’s social environment in understanding individuals’ decision making.
Given that individuals are embedded in multiple social systems, I consider the importance of how
individual and team processes at different levels are influencing each other in understanding the
individuals’ willingness to (not) comply with these norms. Focusing on PhD students I study to
what extent the research group influences the degree to which the PhD students reinforce
university (macro) level normative framework regarding data sharing. In my analyses I will be
focusing on the normative framework of the research group and the need of identification (with
the research group) of the student. Assuming individuals self-identify more with the closest social
groups they are embedded in, I hypothesize that the higher the individual’s need for
identification, the greater the likelihood individuals will comply with the norm of the research
group, regardless of the macro level normative framework. Furthermore, I study whether the
characteristics of the requester of the data, such as tenure and status, matter for the choice to
(not) comply with the macro level normative framework concerning data sharing. I hypothesize
here that individuals will be more willing to share data when the requester is a full professor
from their own discipline, preferably from the same department. Currently, the research is in
process. Data is collected from a Dutch university where 255 PhD students of different disciplines
have received the questionnaire. The data will be analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA.
87
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Dunkake, Dr. Imke
Social Status in Class and Delinquency: The Impact of Sociometric Position on Truancy and
Violence
Influential studies like the “High School and Beyond Study” have shown that aspects of social
capital are important predictors of dissocial behavior and delinquency. Focusing on social capital,
one important socialization agent transferring social capital is the school class. Considering that
classes are social systems (Parsons 1968) where students take different sociometric positions – as
for example “rejected” or “popular” - it is obvious to ask which factors have an impact on these
different sociometric positions and how these positions may affect delinquency. Based on a
theoretical model combining assumptions of educational research (Baumert et al. 2001) and
criminology - especially the General Theory of Crime by Sampson and Laub (1993) - the current
study analyses the direct and indirect effects of socio-demographic variables (e.g. social status,
broken home, ethnic background) via cultural and social capital in family and via sociometric
status in class on truancy and violence.
The sample for the present study is 250 adolescents (10 classes) in grade 9 from secondary
schools in Germany. Measuring the sociometric status, we used peer nomination from all
classmates and transferred these nominations referring to the typology of social peer status by
Coie, Dodge and Coppotelli (1982). This typology enfolds five categories of social status: popular,
rejected, neglected, controversial and average status. To proof the theoretical assumptions, a
structural equitation model was used (Mplus). The sociometric position is measured and
visualized by analytic network tools (UCINET). Results suggest that next to socio-demographic
variables (especially broken home) and family characteristics like parental control, rejected
students truant more often and controversial students seem to act more violent.
88
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Edge, Rhiannon
What influences seasonal influenza vaccination uptake in medical students?: a pilot using social
network analysis
Influenza is one of the leading causes of respiratory infection worldwide. Vaccination is the most
effective measure in preventing influenza: it decreases healthcare workers’ (HCW) risk, reduces
staff absenteeism, and in hospitals where vaccine uptake is high, illness and mortality in patients
is lower. Only 54.8% of HCW choose to be immunised against seasonal influenza, despite the
benefits to both patients and the individual.
This study looks at the potential influence of medical students on their peers’ vaccination
decision, using a social network analysis perspective. Medical students have been studied as a
proxy to HCWs, they have been asked to answer a questionnaire giving details of their
vaccination status and who they have consulted in making this decision. Using these data medical
students’ social network was then constructed and analysed, the results from the initial
investigation are presented here.
Notably, we found that the medical students do not show signs of assortative mixing according to
their vaccination status. Also we found that there appears to be a connection between the
individuals’ choice to vaccinate and the perceived vaccination proportion in the network.
However, when perceived vaccination coverage was compared with the vaccination proportion
in individuals’ immediate neighbours we found that mostly the students did not predict coverage
well. In future we intend to extend this pilot study to look at HCWs in a hospital setting and the
impacts of their social network and vaccination structure on influenza transmission dynamics.
89
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Eggert, Nina; Pilati, Katia
Collective action in the field of immigration
The objective of this paper is to analyze the formation and structure of organizational
networks in the field of immigration in a comparative perspective. More specifically, we will
test hypotheses of the impact of specific opportunities in the field of immigration on migrants’
organizational networks by analyzing collaborations of migrant organizations with other
migrant and native organizations and the prevailing logics of interaction. Our main argument
is that the political context of migrants’ city of residence affects the way migrant organizations
send ties to other migrant and non-migrant organizations active in the field. To test our
hypotheses we will use a unique data set of an organizational survey of migrant organizations
in five European cities: Budapest, Lyon, Madrid, Milan and Zurich and analyze the networks of
the total population of migrant organizations in each city.
90
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ellis, Cali
Trust and Communication in Cross-Border Counter-Terrorism Networks
What is the influence of interpersonal trust on information sharing in the high-stakes
environment of international counter-terrorism? Social network analysis provides insights into
how even infrequent interaction can facilitate information sharing, but the secretive domain
of individuals working in international border security has been largely overlooked. In studying
the structure of international homeland security communities at the U.S.-Canada border, my
research provides a novel empirical contribution to the political science literature on
bureaucratic politics and a theoretical contribution to the larger social science literature on
trust, bridging the two by focusing on the overlap of social norms. It develops a new data set
with rarely collected network variables based on survey research that can serve as a baseline
for understanding interactions between agents working in complex security bureaucracies,
providing a natural stepping stone to further homeland security organizational studies. Based
on a social network survey of American and Canadian professionals from multiple levels of
government and the private sector, representing a wide variety of policy disciplines, I find that
interpersonal trust plays an important role in facilitating social network development across
international borders, as well as bureaucratic obstacles.
Specifically, dyadic trust becomes one of the most important variables in explaining network
density, rivaling traditional in-group measures. My research provides new insight into an
infrequently studied community, with implications for other studies of inter-organizational
social network analysis of difficult-to-study populations.
91
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ellwardt, Lea; Van Tilburg, Theo; Aartsen, Marja; Wittek, Rafael; Steverink, Nardi
Characteristics in the personal network and mortality risk in older adults
Research on aging has consistently demonstrated increased chance of survival for older adults
who are integrated into rich networks of personal relationships. Theoretical explanations are
that personal relationships offer direct behavioral and physiological pathways to longevity, as
well as buffer stress and provide coping resources during critical life-events. These pathways
often operate independently from age, sex, lifestyle, mental health, chronic diseases and
functional limitations. Besides these insights, many studies fail to establish a strong link
between social integration into personal networks and risk of mortality. We suggest that the
life-prolonging effects may vary considerably across the different conceptualizations of
integration into personal networks. Furthermore, research designs need to account for
changes in the personal network during the aging process. The objective of this study is to
model mortality risk depending on a variety of personal network characteristics, including for
example network size, social support and diversity in relationships, e.g. with a variety of family
members. We expect most protective effects for complex and multifunctional personal
networks (e.g., diversity). Data are from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA) and
include >2,000 Dutch participants aged 54 to 85 at baseline in 1992 and five follow-ups
covering a time span of twenty years. Personal networks, lifestyle and mental and physical
health (i.e., chronic diseases) were assessed at all follow-ups. Statistical analyses comprise of
Cox proportional hazard regression models. Preliminary findings suggest that the different
conceptualizations of integration into personal networks have differential effects on survival
of older adults.
92
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Elouaer-Mrizak, Sana
Small Worlds Characteristics in the interlocking directors networks
The paper examines the small world structure in networks of interlocking directors networks.
These networks can be represented by a two-mode network of directors and firms. The aim is
to find sub-groups within these networks. To do so, we consider the network of French firms
among the 40 companies listed in the French Financial Index CAC40 over three periods 1996,
2005 and 2010. The main results obtained suggest that the configuration of the networks of
relationships between directors and boards exhibit “small-world” effect. In the second part,
and using Robins and Alexander (2004), we compared main structural properties of French,
European, US and Australian interlocking company directors. We conclude that there are
differences between French, European and US, Australian networks. Especially, different
structures are likely to be influenced by the clustering of directors on boards, rather than the
number of positions by one director; that shared multiple board memberships (multiple
interlocks) are an important feature of both infrastructures, detracting from global
connectivity (but more so in the Australian case); and that company structural power may be
relatively more diffuse in the US structure than in Australia.
93
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Erickson, Bonnie
Access to Ethnic Social Capitals in Multicultural Toronto
Past work on social capital has focussed on occupations: people who have contacts in
occupations varying in prestige have potential access to a variety of resources that can
facilitate socioeconomic success and political activity. Contact resources also vary with contact
ethnicity. This paper develops measures of ethnic social capitals as the variety of high, and
low, status occupations in which a person knows someone of a particular ethnicity. The ethnic
groups examined are White, Chinese, and Black people in Toronto. Past research on ethnic
groups is largely limited to strong ties (marriage and close friendship) but such ties are largely
within groups and do not provide minority groups with much access to the resources of the
dominant White group. The weaker ties in the ethnic social capitals do cross ethnic
boundaries often, and provide access to resources within and between groups. Access to
ethnic social capitals varies with ethnicity (people have best access to a range of occupations
in their own group), with education (higher education develops diverse ties to high status but
not low status occupations), with occupational status (higher status people connect to a
smaller range of lower status occupations) and activity in a wide range of voluntary
associations (which increases every kind of ethnic social capital.) Minority groups can gain
access to white social capitals by more than one route: high levels of education, employment,
and occupational status for Chinese, and high levels of association activity for Blacks.
94
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Erin, Sakin
Personal Social Networks American Converts to Islam
This study is about the social network of converts to Islam in the United States of America.
The central argument of this research is that people who have social ties to other Muslims are
more likely to convert to Islam. And, those people who live in a place populated by more
Muslims are more likely to have ties to other Muslims. Also, I argue that there is no difference
between how people perceive the conversion of Caucasian Americans and African Americans.
This paper, ultimately, tests the hypothesis that if converts to Islam loose social capital from
their prior to conversion social network, they are more likely to revert to their prior belief.
Conversion to Islam in the United States can generate strong reactions from people. Although
Americans might have a limited understanding of the Muslim people and the Islamic world,
they often times have a strong perception about Islam, a perception that evolved in tandem
with the US foreign policy especially its recent involvement in the Middle East.
95
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Escobar, Modesto
Coincidence analysis to study networks in photographic collections
The aim of this paper is to introduce a new framework to study data structures, which is
founded on a combination of statistical and social network analysis, and is denominated
coincidence analysis. The purpose of this procedure is to ascertain the most frequent events
in a given set of scenarios, and to study the relationships between them. In accordance with
this procedure, the concurrence of persons, objects, attributes, characteristics, or events in
the same temporal or spatially limited set can be classified in the following manner:
a) simple, if both occur at least once in the same set;
b) likely, where the level of concurrence must be more than a single coincidence, and rather
more probable than a concurrence produced by mere chance, and
c) statistically probable, in cases where samples of events are the subject of analysis, a
confidence interval should be established in order to determine the statistical meaning of the
combination of events.
This mode of analysis can be applied to the exploratory analysis of questionnaires, the study
of textual networks, the review of the content of databases, and the comparison of different
statistical analysis of interdependence, insofar as the following techniques are used:
multidimensional scaling, principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, biplot
representations, agglomeration techniques, and network analysis algorithms.
The statistical bases of this analysis are described, as are the programs written in R and Stata
which allow the analysis to be executed. As an example of its use, the photograph albums of
the following people who were famous in the early twentieth century are described: Miguel
de Unamuno (1864-1936), Joaquín Turina (1882-1949) and Rafael Masó (1880-1935).
96
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Escribano, Jaime ; Sánchez Aguilera , Dolores ; Esparcia, Javier
Are social networks linked to local development in high rural developed areas? An analysis
from the LEADER area of Catalunya Central (Spain)
The LEADER rural development programme is designed to channel or contribute to the
implementation of development processes in disadvantaged rural areas in Europe. In the
European context in Catalonia there are many areas that meet the requirements set by Brussels.
However, there are many voices that indicate that some catalan rural areas implementing
LEADER programme also have a higher level of development and hence the local development
processes linked to the LEADER program have many peculiarities.
From those voices the initial working hypothesis that we may consider is that the social
dimension, which clearly seems to be critical in disadvantaged rural areas, do not have such
important role when it comes to areas with a comparatively higher level of development, as
could be the case of the LEADER area of Catalunya Central.
In this work we perform an analysis of the social network-s of stakeholders in the study area, and
from the results on structural characteristics and the role of different actors, we analyzed the
degree of cohesion of those social networks. From there we afford several questions. First, if we
have a strong social network, as initially expected to occur in the LEADER areas, or if on the
contrary we have different very cohesive subgroups of actors, but operating at subregional scale
(comarca), away from a global social network at LEADER scale. Second, if we find relatively weak
social networks in all cases and this should be linked with the highest level of comparative
development that these "rural" areas have, or whether, by contrast, we have strong social
networks at subregional scale but highly fragmented at LEADER one, and what relationships it
has
with
the
level
of
economic
development
of
different
territories.
The methodology is based on more than 50 personal interviews with relevant actors in the
Catalunya Central LEADER area.
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1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Escribano, Paula
A first approach to the analysis of social networks of intentional communities in
Catalonia
In the course of a doctoral research, we are studying the emergent phenomenon of
intentional communities in Catalonia, Spain, defining them as a group of people who
have chosen to live together with a common purpose, working cooperatively to create a
lifestyle that reflects their shared core values (Kozeny, 1995). Drawing on 20 exploratory
field visits (between 1 and 4 days long), we identified different types of communities
and illustrate them through a geographical visualization, showing size of the
community, age of creation, social composition, and other variables. In addition, we
used Egonet (http://sourceforge.net/projects/egonet/) for collecting personal network
data from community leaders of each typology.
The types identified were three: those mainly aimed to social and political
transformation, those communities looking for self-sufficiency, and those focused on
the individual wellbeing of their members. Variation in personal networks
characteristics poses interesting questions about the nature of these international
communities.
98
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Esparcia, Javier
Leadership and power: an approach from social networks in rural areas in
Spain
As it has been highlighted in the literature on local development processes in
rural areas, the dynamics of change associated with such processes have a
strong leadership component.
This work takes as its starting point the analysis of social networks of relevant
actors in a set of Spanish rural areas. To cope with, there were carried almost
450 personal interviews with an average of approximately 50-55 interviews in
each of the study areas.
The work presented focuses on a comparative study of the role that different
groups of actors (public, economic, social and from managerial side) have on
social networks. More specifically it is analysed the positions they have, using
the data about individual indegree, which allows us a first approach to
leadership (prestige, power) of different actors in the social network. It is
performed a comparative analysis of the level of concentration of prestige by
different groups of actors, with a comparative perspective. A discussion on
the use of these positions (as leadership versus power) is made.
99
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Evans, Daniel ; Boguchwal, Louis
Developing Network Models of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in Developing
Economies
Our team has developed a quantitatively-oriented network methodology that
accurately evaluates a local entrepreneurial ecosystem, which incorporates local
customs, norms, and differences, potentially resulting in more effective policy
recommendations than those seen in the past. Our methodology identifies the most
influential roles in the ecosystem, and allows us to compare and contrast different
local communities. Our current network models depict technology sector
entrepreneurial ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, we have developed
network models of the entrepreneurial ecosystems in Kampala, Uganda, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia, Lusaka, Zambia, and Monrovia, Liberia. Nodes represent roles in
the local entrepreneurial environment, and links illustrate how roles are connected
through individuals’ perceptions of where to find required resources.
100
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ezumezu, Peace; Lee, Mandy
A Mixed Method Study on Treatment Needs and Social Support Networks of Women with
Substance Misuse Problems
Substance and alcohol misuse is a major source of health and social issues facing women in
Ireland (Women’s Health Council, 2009). Literature has shown that women with these problems
have different needs from their male counterparts, who attend treatment programs through
different pathways and respond differently to interventions.
In this mixed methods study we explored the needs of women with substance and alcohol
misuse problems and the nature of their social support networks both within and outside an
acute in-patient private psychiatric hospital in Dublin. The quantitative phase comprised of a
questionnaire to identify their social support needs and their sources of formal and informal
support within and outside the facility. 34 in-patients (a census of two full rotations of the 19-bed
facility, excluding those deemed too ill to take part) participated in the researcher-administered
survey. Three focus group sessions with 25 women followed to gain more in-depth information
about their needs and the nature of support they receive from clinicians and from their family
and community.
Our findings showed that women with alcohol and substance misuse problems have complex
needs that go beyond clinical treatment. The women expressed fears about getting well,
concerned that getting sober might impact negatively on the relationships they have with family
members. Participants also raised concerns about living a life of a recovering addict in the
community. The roles of the nurses and addiction counsellors were identified as central in the
recovery process. Nurses provide the major source of emotional support, while addiction
counsellors are the first person they turned to for support on addiction, far more so than
consultants. Outside of spousal social contact, a close female relative, such as daughter or sister,
represents the key source of support in the informal networks for these women outside of the
facility.
101
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Faul, Moira
Brokering between policy makers and academics: a space between fields?
Discourses of ‘evidence-based policy’ in policy circles, and ‘impact’ among research funders
have incited increased engagement between policy makers and academics. Such engagement
requires a certain ‘transgression’ of boundaries between policy and academia. ‘Boundary
work’ research conventionally focuses on actors defining and defending boundaries; yet
boundaries may also be bridged or brokered between disciplines and fields. In this paper, I
present initial findings from an SNA study that is investigating (a) interdisciplinary academic
networks brought together to contribute new insights to policy makers; (b) networks among
policy makers and academics immediately before and after a brokered process of
engagement. Results show that networks between policy and academia can be initiated and
strengthened through a brokered process, with outcomes that fulfil both agendas. However,
participants tend to privilege the production of a singular knowledge output over the process
and the relationships brokered. Rather than conceptualising a new, stable, bounded field in
which policy and academic actors may engage, I will use Eyal’s theoretical lens of a ‘liminal
institutional setting’ shared and co-constructed by diverse actors to analyse the relational
processes through which knowledges may be relocated between policy and academic fields.
102
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Fernández, Rosario; Eva, Loureiro; Pilar, Marques
Satisfaction with social support perceived in chronic illness
BACKGROUND: Social support is a significant resource for social environment people, and it is
considered by WHO to be one of the main social determinants of health. In the context of
chronic illnesses, the quality of satisfaction with the social support perceived by the patient,
has been recognized as protective against stress, and associated with quality of life,
adherence to treatment, rehabilitation and positive adaptation to illness among others. In the
case of chronic pain, the social aspects have special interest due to its multidimensional
nature, as a result of interrelation among the psychological, physiological and social
components.
AIM: The goal of this study is analyze the factors that influence patient´s satisfaction with
social support perceived emerging from personal networks in the context of chronic illness.
METHODOLOGY: The study was conducted on persons with chronic pain, attending a public
hospital in Barcelona. We collected personal network data from 15 patients with Egonet
software obtaining results from 350 alteri, with the aim of exploring different variables
associated with social support perceived by ego, discussed in the literature.
We made a bivariate logistic regression analysis to study the relation between patient´s
satisfaction and social support provider's attributes and their relationships.
RESULTS:We found significant relationships between social support patient´s satisfaction and
emotional support, frequency of social support interactions lower than 15 days, close family
relationships, and female providers.
CONCLUSIONS: The study of social support from personal networks is a valuable and useful
research perspective because it allows monitoring of the different variables that influence
social support patient with satisfaction, and the complex process of give and get support in
the context of chronic illness.
103
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Figueiredo , Carlos; Azevedo, José
Avoiding the portfolio effect on recommender systems through surprise: A social network
approach
Although Recommender Systems have been comprehensively analyzed by scholars, the
emergence of online social networks and the access to its data sparked the rise of social-based
recommender systems. The latter use information based on users' behavior, their similarities and
social ties to present personalized recommendations and solve problems in these systems, e.g.,
missing values of the user-item matrix. This approach improves recommendation, but also
presents constrains given the familiarity of the recommendations provided.
In this work we consider 2 emotional states – surprise and no surprise – to analyse the
relationship between content selection with the network structure and specific personal
attributes, aiming to understand how to improve the result of a recommendation using data
from a social network.
104
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Flores, Ramón; Molina, Elisenda; Tejada, Juan
Centrality and Social Capital dependence on network functionality: a game theoretical
approach
In a Social Network, the interests that motivate the interactions among individuals are a
crucial matter which deserves a carefully analysis. Since the relative order of relevance among
the agents in a Social Network changes accordingly to its purpose (what they connect for), this
information makes a difference and it has to be considered aside from the structural
information given by the social network of relations (how do they connect). We consider a
cooperative game in characteristic function form to describe the purpose of the network, and
we rely on the Shapley value to measure the relevance of each agent in the Social Network.
This approach allows to isolate the power of each agent that arises from his social
relationships, i.e., his social capital. Moreover, we can differentiate between the power which
comes from his capacity to make contacts and the power which comes from his ability to
intermediate. We analyze some cases to show the importance of taking into account the
interests that motivate the interactions among individuals in order to achieve a better
understanding of the role played by each agent. The cases we deal with are: 1) a social
network of a criminal organization (with at least two different purposes or functionalities: to
spread information via bilateral or multilateral transmissions or to organize a joint activity); 2)
a voting body, or a compound system of voting bodies, where the functionality of the social
network --to take decisions according to the prearranged voting rules-- is a crucial facet of the
problem at hand; 3) a social network of informal relationships between the members of a
organization, where the purpose is to form collaborative working groups; and 4) a social
network of interaction among members of a given troop of animals, which has the main goal
of promoting their fitness.
105
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Fontes, Breno; Lins, José Alberto
Health, quality of life, and sociability: an analysis of users of mental health services in four
Brazilian cities
Health and well-being – topics that have been widely discussed – are the focus of attention,
based on an empirical study of people with mental disorders being served by the Brazilian public
health system for mental health care. This study aims to show that greater well-being is linked to
a series of factors which, taken together, indicate a more active social life. In other words,
maintaining social ties, and even creating new ones, is fundamental to any therapeutic project
for people with mental disorders. The empirical research was carried out with users of CAPS
(Psychosocial Attention Centres) in four Brazilian cities. 281 people were interviewed. The most
frequent disorders among the interviewees were schizophrenia (142), depression (60), and
bipolar disorder (45). The research hypothesis – that there is a relationship between quality of
life, well-being and sociability, was tested using the statistical technique of regression -OLS
(Ordinary Least Squares method). To construct the regression model, the index of well-being was
taken as the dependent variable, with the indexes of sociability, meaning in life and health as
independent variables. The research results show that people with a greater density of social ties
and a more active social life are more satisfied and they feel happier. They have more selfassurance when they need to make a decision, they present fewer health problems, and they are
even more sexually fulfilled. Their level of well-being varies; some manage to face their illness
with fewer ill effects, and as a result they are more resilient, as can be explained by a series of
factors: psychological factors, their physical condition, and above all their access to a comfortable
environment of sociability where they can receive support and comfort, and have space to
develop as a person
106
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Friant, Nathanael; Gagliolo, Matteo
School quasi-markets as social networks
Some educational systems are characterized by free school choice and a public funding of
schools according to the number of pupils enrolled. This is what we call a school quasi-market.
In these systems, schools are in competition with each other according to the number, and
the characteristics, of pupils they enrol. Schools are said to be interdependent. These
interdependencies can be revealed by comparing the actual distribution of pupils between
schools with what would happen if pupils simply attended the school closest to their home.
We can then analyse which schools attract pupils and which schools are avoided, thus
characterizing a competition space. The problems arise when we want to broaden the analysis
to a larger scale (e.g. the educational system as a whole). We need more advanced tools to
analyse such a large network of interdependencies. This paper addresses this problem by
applying social network analysis to better describe and analyse school quasi-markets. We use
the results of an agent-based simulation of school choice in French-speaking Belgium and
consider the data as a network of schools exchanging pupils with each other. The resulting
network is cyclic, directed, and weighted, with nodes representing schools, and edges weights
representing fluxes of pupils. Using such metrics as weighted in- and out-degrees, clustering,
betweenness centrality, and flows, we propose new ways of characterizing the position of
schools in a hierarchical competition space, and in the educational system as a whole.
107
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Friemel, Thomas
Homophily in TV related conversation networks
Everyday conversations include a multiplicity of references to mass media such as TV shows,
movies, music, and books. This holds especially true for adolescents for which music and TV
programs are the most frequent objects of references in everyday conversations. Among
other reasons these media references are used for social integration and distinction from
various social groups (peers, parents, etc.). Based on longitudinal social network analysis it has
recently been found that social selection processes are the primary reason for network
autocorrelation of TV genre preferences and interpersonal communication. This contrasts
long standing theories regarding social influence processes which are assumed to be the main
driver for homophilic structures. However, it is yet unanswered whether this dominance of
the selection process also holds true on the more specific level of TV programs. It can be
hypothesized (H1) that selection processes are primarily triggered by preferences for certain
genres (e.g. crime series) while influence processes occur on the level of specific programs
(e.g. CSI NY). Furthermore, it can be assumed (H2) that selection processes are of primary
importance at the beginning of a group formation process while influence process become of
higher relevance at a later stage. These two hypotheses are tested with a stochastic actor
oriented model (SAOM) as implemented in RSiena by contrasting the results of a one-mode
approach (based on genres) and a two-mode approach (based on specific programs). The
network consists of 895 students in 35 school classes, 46 TV programs, and four panel waves.
The findings show that selection processes are the driving force behind network
autocorrelation also on the level of TV programs. There is partial support for the second
hypothesis regarding time heterogeneity of this process but only with respect to a decreasing
importance of the selection process and not an increasing importance of the influence.
108
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Fuhse, Jan
Relational discourse analysis: interruptions and accounts of action in a political debate
Social networks should not be seen as patterns of apparently unproblematic ties. Instead they
are relational expectations about the communication between actors, dynamically
constructed in the course of communication. But how can we measure networks and relations
in communication? My quest is for methods detecting the relational underpinnings of
communication. For this endeavor, I combine the relational sociology of Harrison White with
various approaches of discourse analysis, including conversation analysis, interactional
sociolinguistics, and positioning theory.
Two main research strategies are pursued: (1) relational events are typified (e.g. attacks,
support etc.) with regard to their meaning implications for the actors involved, allowing for
the quantitative analysis of the distribution of relational events across relations, and of their
dynamics; (2) accounts of action (stories) about the actors involved in communication are
interpreted qualitatively with regard to the relational definitions of the situation offered.
I apply these methods to the case of the political debate in Germany, to analyze how political
constellations of alliances and rivalries are represented in the debate. In particular, I study the
pattern of interruptions (supportive and attacking) and the definitions of the identities
involved in accounts of action about political events and plans.
109
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Fylan Gwynn, Beth; Blenkinsopp, Alison; Armitage, Gerry; Naylor, Deirdre
"You have to be dying before you actually see a doctor..." Patients' medicines safety networks
at transfer of care
Background: This research explores the structure, function and content of cardiology patients'
medicines management networks when their care is transferred from hospital to primary care.
Medicines management is a system involving patients, carers and healthcare staff in different,
interdependent roles across different organisations and care settings aiming to optimise safe and
effective use of medicines.
Methods: Interviews with cardiology patients (n=30) six weeks after hospital discharge explored
the impact and value of different people who patients have contact with in managing their
medicines. Interview data were analysed thematically.
Results: Cardiology patients have a range of personal and professional contacts fulfilling different
roles in their medicines management. Patients’ network content includes sufficient and
insufficient information about medicines purpose and use; information that initiates medicines
processes, such as obtaining a prescription; attitudes towards medicines and beliefs about
medicines. Network functions include access to medicines; safe and optimal or suboptimal
medicines use, including a patient’s ability or wish to take medicines as instructed; perceived
mental and physical wellbeing and safety; practical, emotional and spiritual support; and the
management of health conditions. Different patients value the people in their networks
differently. Some place high value on health professionals, despite experiences of infrequent
contact and difficulty in accessing family doctor services. Others place high value on friends and
family because of their proximity and frequency of contact.
Conclusions: Examining medicines networks can help us to understand the impact which current
organisation of services at care transitions together with patients' personal networks have on
safe and optimal medicines use.
110
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Gagliolo, Matteo
The structure of ethnic social capital: two-mode analysis of interlocks among immigrant
organizations
The presence of a well connected civic elite, linking the different organizations expressed
by an ethnic community, is considered an important determinant of the political
participation and trust ofminority groups [Fennema & Tillie, 2008]. Previous quantitative
work on this topic has been limited to simple structural measures on one-mode
projections on the organization mode [Fennema & Tillie, 1999, 2001, 2008; Vermeulen &
Berger, 2008]. We remark that the projection introduces biases in some of the measures,
increasing the number of ties in a combinatorial fashion, and propose instead a structural
analysis of the unprocessed two-mode networks. Inspired by existing measures of
hierarchy in one-mode networks [Everett & Krackhardt, 2012], we consider different
measures of clustering and redundancy that have been developed for two-mode data
[Latapy et al, 2008; Opsahl, 2013]: additionally, we look for correlations among these
measures and node degrees, as in [Latapy et al, 2008]. Using data from [Vermeulen,
Berger, 2008], on Amsterdam and Berlin, and additional data on Brussels, we compare
the association networks developed by the Turkish and Moroccan communities in
different host countries, characterized by different political opportunity structures. We
further discuss how the proposed measures can be used to identify the different
structures described in previous work based on one-mode projections, such as umbrella
organizations and cliques.
111
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Galaso, Pablo; Kovarik, Jaromir
Collaboration Networks and Innovation Results in Spain
The present article analyses the cooperation networks of innovative companies in Spain,
describing their structural properties and exploring their influence on innovation results of
firms. We obtain our data from the Spanish Patent Office. In particular, we use all European
patents presented in the Spanish Office from 1978 to 2008. With these data, we reach to
trace the Spanish innovation networks, where nodes are applicants who register the patent
and hold the right to use it, while links reflect innovation relationships among nodes.
We break the Spanish national network –with 8,215 nodes and 5,475 links– into the three
largest regional networks: Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. We also use the application date
on each patent to observe the evolution of collaboration networks over time. To study how
these networks may affect the innovation production of Spanish firms, we firstly identify a set
of network properties associated with each node and then we model the relation between
those properties in every period (independent variables) and the number of patents each
company will register in the subsequent periods (dependent variable).
Our results reveal that certain network measures have a significant influence on innovation
outputs. Our main contribution may rely on the differences we find among network
properties that are crucial when nodes are considered at a national level (being in the giant
component and the size of this component) and the properties that are important only when
analysing the regional network (centralisation and the share of the giant component). This
may lead companies, public institutions and policy makers to consider which type of
innovation strategies may follow in order to improve their results according to their previous
situation and the spatial domain of their collaboration patterns.
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Gamper, Markus
Transnational Support of Ethnic Germans - A Visual Network Approach
In 1990s a huge number – more than 4 Million – of Ethnic Germans came “back home” to
Germany. In front of this background our study focuses on the transnational social support.
With the aid of a visual approach we were interested in stories behind the ties. Based on this,
we investigate different kinds of transnational networks with different kind of support.
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García-Faroldi, Livia
Social Support Networks: an International Comparison
The social support an individual receives influences his or her state of physical and mental
health. Intimate relationships (family and friends) are the greatest source of social support
and, among them, the partner plays a critical role in providing aid. The economic crisis we are
experiencing since 2008 has shown the relevance of personal networks to provide help and is
testing the extent of solidarity among families and friends. In Southern countries families are
playing an important role to assist their less fortunate members.
This paper focuses on people in couples and analyzes whether there are international
differences in the role of the partner and the parents as providers of support. The analysis
applies Esping-Andersen’s classification of welfare regimes to study to whom one turns when
one needs domestic, economic, or emotional help. The database used is the module on social
support, “Social Relations and Support Systems (Social Network II)” of the International Social
Survey Programme (ISSP), performed in 2001. Specifically, we have chosen national samples
(of individuals over 18 years of age) of people with a stable partner (married or living
together), from Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, East and West Germany, Great
Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and the United States. We confirm that people in
liberal and social democratic countries turn more to elective relationships such as partner and
friends, while people in conservative and Mediterranean countries seek support in parents.
114
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García-Macías, Alejandro; Lozares, Carlos
The Positional – Reticular Method: A Bridging Proposal between Relational Social Capital
Approaches
Two main approaches on the study of Relational Social Capital have been extensively developed
in recent years, i.e. “positional” and “reticular”. On one hand, the positional approach
emphasizes the actor’s access to resources embedded in social networks through ties to people
in differentiated social locations (normally occupations). On the other hand, the reticular
approach analyzes the network’s structure and the positions of the actors within the actual
personal network of individuals, as a proxy of Social Capital. Although both approaches share a
common network theory basis, they have developed specific and particular views to understand
and measure Social Capital.
In this paper we argue that, by being theoretically consistent and methodologically
complementary to each other, the positional and reticular approaches can be integrated into a
common set of procedures in order to estimate Individual Social Capital. We dubbed this
approach as Positional – Reticular Method (PORM).
Drawing from a personal network´s sample (N=75, fixed 30 Alter-size) of apparel industry’s
workers in Mexico (entrepreneurs, shop owners, sales employees, machinery operators and
craftsman) obtained through an occupational content-free Name Generator, we have developed
a set of indicators based on the Position Generator methodology in order to estimate both
reticular and positional Social Capital indicators. Finally, we discuss the main findings and the
methodological and theoretical implications of our proposal.
115
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Garzon Montenegro, Jose Benito; Saenz, Jose Dario
Political Integration Discourses and Power Networks in Southwestern Colombia: A Preliminary
Approach
Our main purpose is to identify how urban networks -and its characteristics- are shaped
throughout political and social linkages that diverse regional integration projects put into motion.
Our analysis covers what is known as the Southwestern Colombian Region throughout the period
of 1980-2010. It will track different projects and political discourses, as well as other political
dynamics of regional impact, reflected in development plans, project presentations, political,
technical and academic events and public meetings, and economical and infrastructural analysis,
in order to achieve the proposed objective of demonstrating the existence of integration
instances and regional mechanisms to articulate and mobilize -people and resources- for the
achieving of specific goals in a joint manner, that reveal power networks with significant
relevance on the configuration of key urban and regional ones.
116
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Gollini, Isabella
Applying latent variable methods to bipartite networks
Bipartite networks are particular networks in which the sender nodes and the receiver nodes
belong to two separates sets. The adjacency matrix of a bipartite network is an (N × M) matrix,
where N is the number of sender nodes and M the number of receiver nodes.
Bipartite networks are often analyzed using classical methods for network analysis
transforming the network into a (N × N) or (M × M) one-mode network. Projecting the
network from a bipartite network into a one-mode network often leads to a loss of
information and ad hoc methods to keep as much information as possible are in continuous
development.
Latent variable models for binary data can be applied directly to bipartite networks by setting
the sender nodes as observations and the receiver nodes as observed variables.
Latent class analysis and latent trait analysis that are two of the most common latent variable
models for binary data. The mixture of latent trait analyzers model is introduced as extension
of these models assuming that the response variables depend on both a categorical latent
class and a continuous latent trait, and it is particularly appropriate for large complex
relational datasets.
117
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1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Gomez, Daniel; Castro, Javier
Clustering networks based on game theory
In this work, we introduce a new hierarchical clustering algorithm in networks based on a new
shortest path betweenness measure in which for its calculation, the communication between
each pair of nodes is weighed by the importance of the nodes that make this communication.
The weights or importance associated to each pair of nodes is calculated as the Shapley value
of a game that we call the linear modularity game. This new measure, (the node-game
shortest path betweenness measure), is used to obtain an hierarchical partition of the
network by eliminating the link with the highest centrality value. Finally, we present a faster
algorithm based on a simplification of this measure, that has a quadratic order on sparse
networks. This fast version is competitive from a computational point of view with other
hierarchical faster algorithms and presents (in general) better results.
118
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1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Gómez-Mestres, Sílvia
Transnational networks and transnational practices: Bulgarian migrants in
Catalonia
Recent investigations have come to the conclusion that not necessarily all the
immigrants develop transnational networks (Freightages, 2007; Castles, 2007;
Landolt, 2008). Even, for those who develop transnational networks, these not
necessarily involve to the most central and significant areas of their lives (Faist,
2000). From the same perspective, one indicates that the existence of
transnational networks is a "necessary, but not enought" condition to speak about
transnationalism. Given the complexity of the debate and the uses of the
"transnational" concept, authors of the height of Vervotec (2003) and
Freightages, Guarnizo and Landolt (2003) suggest rethinking the unit of analysis in
the transnational studies, and they propose to focus on the individual and his
networks. Following this vein, I propose to approach the construction of the
Bulgarian migratory networks settled in Catalonia. I have focused on the practice
of the networks observed from the transnational perspective, and analyzed his
structure and composition on the basis of different variables. Although we bear
the attributive variables in mind in the interpretation of the results, these do not
mark the direction of the analysis of data. Moreover, specific aspects to precise
the description of the level of transnationality of the personal network has been
taken into account: the transnational economic practices (remittances and
investments in Bulgaria) and patterns of transnational mobility (visits to Bulgaria
and frequency, intention to return). The results show the lack of a clear
correspondence between the transnationality of the personal networks and the
transnational practices like sending remittances and mobility behaviour.
119
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Gorgoni, Sara; Amighini, Alessia
An analysis of high-tech and low-tech global production networks: What role for China and the
UK?
The paper explores the effects of changing global balances within global production networks by
particularly looking at the role of the UK and China in the manufacturing sector. Network analysis
is applied to international trade data to see how the structure of the international organisation of
production for high-tech and low-tech products has changed over the last decade, and to discuss
what options are open to policy-makers. The research questions we therefore seek to answer in
this paper are: (1) How different in structure are the high-tech and low-tech manufacturing
sectors? (2) How has the structure of the high-tech and low-tech manufacturing sectors changed
over the last decade? (3) How has the role of advanced countries - and specifically the UK - in
these two sectors changed over time, and vis-à-vis emerging economies?
Descriptive network metrics, such as centrality, core-periphery, brokerage and other structural
measures (see Butts, 2008 for definitions) will be computed to provide information about
important properties of the international trade networks, distinguishing between low- and hightech sectors, as the different technological content is likely to impact on the degree of
fragmentation of production. We use trade data from the UN Commodity and Trade Statistics
Database, classified using Lall’s classification of sectors by technological intensity based on the
Standard International Trade Classification (SITC, Rev. 3).
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Gray, Natallia
Social Interactions and Breast Cancer Prevention: Evidence From Surveys of Women Over Age
50 in the U.S.
This paper examines if social interactions play a significant role in breast cancer preventive
behavior. I focus on women over age 50 in the US and their decision to have a routine screening
mammography. Two age groups are analyzed: women 50-74 years old, to whom routine
screening recommendations directly apply; and women over age 75, for whom screening is
optional. I define the peer group as the people living in the same geographical area: county,
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), and state. Using Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System
surveys 1993-2008, I calculate a vector of social multipliers by taking the ratio of the aggregate
effects of exogenous variables on screening decision to individual level effects of the same
variables. Econometric model employs fixed effects and split sample instrumental variable
approach. My results support the hypothesis that social interactions impact the decision to have
a mammography. For women age 50-74, I find significant social multipliers associated with age
(2.184), marriage (1.180), education (2.505), and ethnicity: 1.456 (Hispanic) 1.334 (black), and
3.267 (other ethnicity); which means that the effects of these variables on groups’ screening
rates are much larger than their direct effect on an individual’s screening exam. Additionally, I
find similar but smaller effects among women over
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Grønmo, Sigmund; Løyning, Trond
The Decline of National Corporate Networks: The Case of Norway
National corporate networks are declining. This is the main finding in a number of longitudinal
studies of interlocking directorates in different countries. A common explanation of this trend
is the rise of transnational corporate networks, which is shown in several recent studies. In a
more and more globalized economy it seems reasonable that national networks are replaced
by transnational networks. This paper presents a longitudinal study of interlocking
directorates in Norway 1970-2010. The case of Norway is of particular interest with respect to
the development of corporate networks, due to two main differences between Norway and
other countries. Both differences emerged and increased in the period which is examined in
this study. First, in referendums in 1972 and 1994 Norway said no to join the European
Communities/European Union (EU) and still remains formally outside the increasing EU
integration process that involves most other European countries. Second, in the early 1970s
Norway started its expanding offshore oil production, which has provided a very solid basis for
Norwegian national economy and made Norway more economically independent than most
other countries. Based on the special emphasis on, and basis for, national independence, we
might expect less decline of the national corporate network in Norway than in other
countries. However, previous research indicates a substantial decline of the national
corporate network also in Norway, especially in the 1990s. In this paper the development of
the Norwegian corporate network is analyzed more thoroughly, with particular emphasis on
changes after 2000.
122
1st European Conference on Social Networks
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Grossetti, Michel; Laffont, Laurent; Azam, Martine
Relational chains and musical advices. A study in the region of Toulouse
What is the influence of social relationships on musical tastes? This influence does vary
depending on levels of education? Is it more important for certain types of music? Does
certain piece of music preferentially shared with parents (or more largely with family) while
others establish common directory with peers?
We will address these issues from a collaborative research conducted in the region of
Toulouse from 2500 people aged 15 to 25 years. Respondents were asked to list the songs
they have recently enjoyed (up to four). For each of these pieces, they were asked to say
whether they had been advised about this piece by someone they know or if themselves had
advised someone about it. This question was used as a name generator to obtain information
about people mentioned.
123
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1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Guadalupi, Luigi; Bellotti, Elisa; Koskinen, Johan
Comparing fields of sciences: the network of collaborations to research projects in Italian
academia
Much of the work in the sociology of science observes scientific communities from a micro
perspective, focusing on interactions in laboratories in order to uncover the impact of social and
cultural norms in the everyday production of scientific results. Other studies approach the topic
from a macro perspective, analysing scientific organizations and the reciprocal influence they
have with wider society, or uncovering the invisible colleges that become apparent through the
analysis of co-authorship and citations’ patterns. Less attention has been paid to the meso level
of interactions within and between scientists and the institutions they work in. This paper
extends the structural approach of Lazega et al. (2008) and analyses the local system of public
funding to academic disciplines in Italy using multilevel networks.
Data cover 10 years (2001 – 2011) of Projects of National Interest (Prin) funding from the Italian
Ministry of University and Research, in all the disciplinary areas of academia. These areas are
institutionally identified in 14 macro areas, internally subdivided in intra-disciplinary sectors.
Projects are organised around a national coordination unit, which manages local units normally
based in different universities. The micro (collaborations between scientists), macro
(collaborations between institutions) and meso level (the combination of network measures at a
micro and macro level) of interactions are analysed.
We then regress the total amount of money that researchers have received over the 10 years
against the variables that meaningful describe the network structures of collaborations to
research projects. We control for structural dependency using a network disturbance models.
Results of the regression models are then compared across fields, to observe the individual and
structural characteristics that significantly correlate with success in obtaining funding.
124
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Gualda, Estrella; Borrero, Juan D; Carpio, Jose
The Spanish Revolution in Twitter (2): Networks of hashtags and individual/ collective actors in
the anti – Evictions social movement in Spain
The Web 2.0 based on the developing of Social Networks through the Internet introduced new
ways of announce or call any type of protest, meeting, etc. The diffusion through Twitter,
Facebook, etc became a new mean for calling collective mobilization. In this paper, we focus our
study on Twitter, as a product of the Web 2.0., a microblogging service where millions of tweets
are produced every day, some of them also including hashtags (“#”) that can work as calls for
action or slogans.
We pay attention to the topic “desahucios”, an important Spanish social problematic today that
has emerged with the economic crisis and propelled an intense ‘anti-evictions social movement’.
In particular we did a follow-up of all the tweets published in Twitter from 10 April 2013 to 28
May 2013 concerning ‘desahucios’. The data extraction produced a dataset of 499,420 tweets.
Our objectives in this work are:
-To analyze the use of the hashtag “SpanishRevolution” included in the cited dataset, and to
discover the connections between this and other hashtags included in the same tweets, looking
for
patterns
in
the
micro
discourses
produced
by
the
hashtags.
-To see who is behind this production of tweets and tags, that is, individual and collective actors
involved in the production of discourses, with especial attention to actors that produce the tag
‘SpanishRevolution’.
To answer our questions we did a mixed methods approximation, combining the use of the
Qualitative analysis (Atlas ti for codification, co-occurrences of codes, etc), quantitative analysis
(Spss), and an special focus on Social Networks Analysis in order to look for the connections
between actors and hashtags (Gephi and Pajek).
Apart from the significant connections between hashtags in order to understand some of the
patterns of diffusion of a movement, one of most impressive results show how few actors are
pushing a lot.
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Hammer, Ingmar
The Evolution of Knowledge Creation in Organized Business Groups
Business groups are environments of learning and knowledge creation, even if the main goal
of those business groups are others than knowledge creation and learning. I interpret this
innovativeness as the return on investment for the organizational costs. So the question is,
why are business groups such a successful milieu for learning, knowledge creation and
innovation. In the last decades, research has discovered and developed a huge variety of
different concepts and theories to explain the advantage of working together. Despite the
outstanding theoretical explanations of these approaches, I think they are of limited value in
explaining the innovativeness of business groups for the following reasons: they rely on an
ego perspective, networks are interpreted as an accumulation of dyadic relationships,
resources are modeled as flows or they focus on governance questions. I explain the success
of business groups from a relational perspective. I focus on the process of knowledge creation
and extend the classical network theories of flow and bond by a creation based perspective. I
investigate the evolution of knowledge creation in two business groups. My method of this
longitudinal study is a combination of multilevel network design and structural linked design.
126
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Hauck, Jennifer; Schmidt, Jenny
Using social network analysis to unravel complexity in agricultural biodiversity
governance
In 2013 the EU launched the new EU Green Infrastructure Strategy to make another
attempt to stop and possibly reverse the loss of biodiversity until 2020 (EC 2013), by
connecting habitats in the wider landscape. This means that conservation would go way
beyond current conservation practices to include landscapes that are dominated by
conventional agriculture, where biodiversity conservation plays a minor role at best.
Thus, for exploring the options of the green infrastructure implementation we consider it
important to identify, analyse and include a) actors at the implementation levels
(regional and local levels), b) other affected policy sectors and c) the vertical and
horizontal interplay, between actors at different levels and from different policy sectors.
We used the Net-Map tool for our analysis as it combines measures of attributes of
actors – especially concerning their perceived influence and their goals – with structural
measures. Further it provides vast information on institutional backgrounds and
governance settings in particular for agricultural policy. The investigation started with
interviews with key informants on the regional level in the German Bundesland SaxonyAnhalt such as regional planners, representatives of relevant federal ministries and
continued at the local level with farmers and other members of the community.
Concerning network concepts, multiplexity is considered important to uncover the divers
relations that connect actors and centrality and associated different roles provide
important insights in combination with the notion of agency. Last but not least, the
concept of cognitive social structure allows conclusions about diverging network
perspectives and resulting learning opportunities.
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Haunss, Sebastian
The changing legitimacy of economic orders. A discourse network analysis of evaluation of the
economy before and after the financial
The paper analyzes changes in the public discourse about the legitimacy of economic orders
before and after the financial crisis. It is based on the coding of evaluative statements about
economic regimes in quality newspapers in four countries (US, GB, Germany, Switzerland)
between 1998 and 2011. The aim is, to analyze how the financial crisis has affected public
discourse about economic regimes in terms of overall evaluation of economic regimes, changing
structure of legitimating and de-legitimating argumentations. Can we observe the emergence of
influential legitimizing and delegitimizing discourse coalitions?
To answer these questions the four national media discourses are conceptualized as (dynamic)
discourse networks. The paper shows that the financial crisis only had an impact on the intensity
of the debate, but did not produce powerful challenging discourse networks and thus did not
lead to a crisis of legitimacy of the economic order.
128
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1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Heath, Joseph; Isba, Rachel; Markham, Rachel
Support structures for undergraduate medical students – an approach using social network
analysis
Background and Purpose
Medical school is a difficult and stressful time for many medical students (1). During their
undergraduate years, medical students have been shown to draw upon many different sources of
social support in times of need (2). This study explores the social support structures of medical
students using a social network analysis (SNA) approach.
Methodology
Students of all year groups at Lancaster Medical School (LMS) were invited to participate in this
study (n = 253). The participants were asked to rate their relationship with each of their peers on
a six-point-scale. Additional data were collected from students in their third year of study. These
participants were asked to name five sources of social support in three different areas – moral
and ethical, technical, and emotional.
Results
The mean response rate of all year groups was 90%, with 100% of Year 3 students choosing to
participate. The data was dichotomised at a tie strength greater than or equal to four –
representing social contact of at least three times a week. The network was highly connected,
with densities maximal between students of the same year group. A variety of individuals within
and beyond the medical school were identified within the wider support networks.
Discussion and Conclusions
Students at LMS have close relationships with other medical students, especially within their year
groups – this may allow for social support to be drawn from their peers. Sources of support may
influence the skills a medical student acquires – such as professionalism. Ongoing analysis of
additional data may indicate if network position affects the students’ sources of social support.
129
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1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Held, Fabian; Daly, Michele; Roberts, Chris
Using qualitative research to understand complex social interactions – the case of student
learning in longitudinal integrated placements
Background: There is little theoretical interpretation of the social drivers associated with medical
students’ learning processes during longitudinal integrated placements (LIP). In previous
qualitative research we investigated medical students’ experiences in rural placements through
the lenses of preparedness for practice (P4P, Daly 2013a) and social learning system theory (Daly
2013b). This established that LIP contribute positively to students’ P4P and that this is driven by
geography of place, different communities of practice and the students’ transitions between
them. Aims: Develop a richer understanding of the complex networks of social interactions
underpinning student learning on LIP and the contributions of isolated dimensions to individual
aspects of students’ preparedness for practice. Method: We developed a combined theoretical
framework for interpersonal interactions and P4P and recoded a subset of the original interviews
(n=18). Cross-over analysis was used to assess the association between the frequency of coding
segments relating different types of interactions and P4P. Results: The relationship between
interactions and P4P was investigated using Pearson product moment correlation coefficient,
that revealed a strong positive association (r=.54, p<0.02). OLS model selection and correlation
analysis confirmed that individual aspects of students’ P4P are driven by distinct subsets of social
and professional interactions. Implications: The cross-over analysis has facilitated a more
nuanced exploration of themes and data from previous work by increasing the reliability, validity
and interpretability of previous findings. Our results suggest that enhanced connectedness in the
student, professional and wider community is associated with increased opportunities for
becoming better prepared for future practice. Based on these findings we are currently
developing a survey to capture the multiplex social networks that drive students’ learning.
130
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Hennig, Marina
The influence of social relations on parental, subjective well-being. A Comparison of Japanese
and German Ego-centric Networks
The presentation compares the influence of social relations on parental, subjective well-being in
Japan and Germany. According to Amartya Sen’s “capability approach”, people’s well-being
depends on their opportunities for self-realization. These, in turn, are closely related to the social
resources integrated into a network of social relations. In this context, the form taken by the
social resources (social capital) and their importance for well-being are closely related here to
culture and traditions in question and can, therefore, vary from one society to the next.
Although Japan and Germany present structural similarities, Japan’s historical, cultural and
religious heritage differs from those of the Western post-industrial societies like Germany. Hence
it is assumed that the influence of social capital on parental well-being differs due to the varying
cultural and historical significance of social relations in Germany and Japan. To investigate this
hypothesis, the egocentric networks of a total of 4186 mothers and fathers in both Japan and
Germany were surveyed.
The results of the analysis support the hypothesis as they indicate that differences exist between
the two countries in relation to the function of social resources and the strength of connections,
which play a crucial role in the subjective well-being of parents. Differences also exist within the
countries, in particular between men and women and in relation to the influence of social
resources and the strength of connection on parental well-being, which showing that in addition
to all country-specific differences also similarities in the importance of social relationships exist,
arising from the gender division of labor in the families of both countries.
131
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Henriksen, Lasse
Cooperative Interlocks: The Regulatory Outcomes of Multistakeholder Networks
This paper analyzes how the network position of Biofuel Multistakeholder Roundtables, a
form of nonstate governance that includes diverse forms of organizations in the standardsetting process, shapes regulatory outcomes. The paper builds on a dataset of the executive
board memberships of those Roundtables and the career sequences of the board members.
First, the paper finds that network centrality increases the scope and strictness of standards
due to their increased exposure to knowledge flows in a rapidly changing regulatory field.
Second, the paper finds that structurally equivalent Roundtables tend to produce similar
regulatory content. Lastly, board members with complex career backgrounds occupy more
central positions in the network, indicating that organizations allocate diversely experienced
individuals to positions that perform a coordinating function in a network in which situations
of value conflict occur often. The implications of these findings in terms of how to organize
regulatory standard-setting involving heterogenous actors is finally discussed.
132
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Herraiz, Cristina; Esparcia, Javier
Social networks and local development in rural areas: a comparative analysis from two study
areas (Serranía-Cuenca and Ports-Castellón, Spain)
Much has been written about the strategic importance that presence of social capital has in
development processes, especially in local development in rural areas. In this paper we focus on
relational component of social capital, in order to analyze the evolution of social networks
associated with a programme of territorial development, LEADER, in two study areas of
application, the Serrania de Cuenca (province of Cuenca) and Els Ports (province of Castellón), in
Spain. From its essence and philosophy the programme is designed to provie a framework for
building social capital in general, and especially relational social capital in these lagging rural
areas.
In the paper they are analysed the social networks that have been created, developed or
consolidated in parallel and in close connection with the development processes in these study
areas. The methodology in which this analysis is based include personal interviews with a large
sample of local actors. These actors come from public sphere (mainly local governments),
economic, social and those working on managerial or technical tasks in local development
agencies and Local Development Groups. In total we did about 65 interviews between both study
areas. Through the different indicators derived from the SNA we will assess, on the one hand, the
structural characteristic of the two social networks and, second, to analyze the position and roles
that different actors have in the structure of relations of each of the study areas.
133
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Herrero López, Reyes
The structure of political funding in Brazil: results from 2010 elections
The funding of political parties and candidates is a central issue in democracies. How parties
and candidates are funded –and by whom– is such an important issue because it could
presumably have an impact in the performance of political representatives in institutions. The
paper here presented aims to explore the basis of the influence of political funding in
politicians. In order to illustrate this point we examine the structure of political funding in
Brazil.
The data for this analysis is provided by the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (TSE). The TSE has
recently allowed open access to a database containing the contributions from different
sources to every single candidate competing at national, state and local elections since 2002.
These data, collected and organized for accountability purposes, have been used to build a
database which allows a longitudinal analysis of the structure of political funding in Brazil. The
results that will be presented come from the 2010 elections, when presidential elections at
national level and state elections were celebrated. The network of candidates and donors
linked by financing relations has been analyzed as a two-mode network. What appears in a
first analysis is an overall funding structure in which political party and territory do not seem
to play a significant part. A small, dense and very centralized network of contributors that
links a highly connected network of candidates shows up instead, pointing out to the
existence of a political-economic elite that could emerge in the longitudinal analysis.
134
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1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Herz, Andreas; Truschkat, Inga; Peters, Luisa
How to do Qualitative Structural Analysis: lessons learned from exploring the embeddedness
of organizations
Though qualitative approaches are discussed more and more frequently in social network
research (e.g. Diaz-Bone 2007; Hollstein & Straus 2006), a qualitative approach to the analysis of
social structures has not yet been established. Under the name of „Qualitative Structural
Analysis“ we propose a method which systematically translates concepts of structural analysis
(Wellman 1988) for the interpretation of qualitatively collected network and interview data,
allowing
the
consideration
of
standards
of
qualitative
research.
The paper introduces the Qualitative Structural Analysis along an analytic framework,
exemplified by a study on the embeddedness of organisations on the labour market. Data
consists of qualitative ego-centred network maps (“concentric circles”) combined with qualitative
interviews, conducted with directors of transfer organizations (“Transfergesellschaften”). We will
discuss how we use basic methodological principles of SNA as sensitizing concepts, techniques of
sequence analysis and the writing of memos for the qualitative analysis of the network maps. At
the same time, we will present how findings from the interpretation of the network maps guide
the analysis of interviews in terms of theoretical sensitizing and sampling. Furthermore, the joint
approach allows to introduce perspectives of structural analysis for the interpretation of
interviews. The surplus of Qualitative Structural Analysis (QSA) lies in the systematization of a
method which satisfies the standards of structural analysis of social network analysis on the one
hand and the standards of qualitative social research on the other.
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1st European Conference on Social Networks
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Hirschi, Christian
Issue framing, policy types and network dynamics in climate change policymaking
The paper investigates the interrelation between climate change policy processes and the
political discourse on climate change and available policy instruments by taking a network
analytical approach. The policy networks literature (based on Laumann/Knoke 1987; Knoke
1990) typically explains policy outputs in the form of policy instrument choice as a
combination of structural features of the policy network and individual characteristics of the
network actors (such as their policy preferences, interests, available resources, etc.). On the
other hand, we know from the literatures on political discourse (Fischer/Forester 1993) and
policy arenas (Lowi 1964/72) how issue framing, argumentation and deliberation may play an
important role in policymaking. As a case study, the paper analyzes Swiss climate change
policy as an illuminative case for investigating issue framing, policy types and network
dynamics. A typical environmental policy division between political left- and right-wing has
traditionally shaped climate change policymaking in Switzerland. However, with the
intensifying political discourse on a new orientation of Swiss energy policy as a consequence
of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, new dynamics in the Swiss climate change policy network
can be observed. Methodologically, changes in political discourse and the climate change
policy network are understood and analyzed as the co-evolution of two-mode (actors, issue
framing and policy type) and one-mode (actor interaction) networks. The ultimate goal of the
study is to shed light on whether policy ideas (framing and policy type) or politics
(interactions) have agency in Swiss climate change policymaking.
136
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Hofstra, Bas; Corten, Rense; Van Tubergen, Frank
Who is on Facebook? Determinants of Social Networking Site Membership
Activity on social networking sites (SNSs) has increased spectacularly in the last decade,
whereas still a substantial part of the population is no member. Surprisingly little research has
been done into determinants of membership of SNSs, which motivates the main question of
this study: what are individual characteristics that determine whether someone becomes a
SNS member? We contribute to earlier studies by directly studying actual membership of SNSs
instead of intention to use SNSs or how individuals use SNSs. We investigate what determines
which SNS between a subset of alternatives will be selected besides SNS membership in
general. Particularly given the fluctuations in popularity of SNSs it seems imperative to study
why adolescents become member of a certain SNS, such as Facebook, and not other SNSs. We
use large scale, nationally-representative survey data (N=4363) among 14-15 year olds,
instead of convenience samples that were mostly used in previous work, often based on very
specific populations such as college students. In addition, previous scholars suggested
studying if or at which SNSs one’s offline friends are active and its influence on SNS
membership. Accordingly, we study effects of SNS membership preferences of friends on
adolescents’ SNS membership with complete classroom data on reciprocal friendship ties.
Results show that adolescents with behavioral problems, girls, those with more modern
attitudes, those who pursue a broader range of activities, and those who have more digital
resources are more often SNS member. Furthermore, (specific) SNS membership occurs more
often when the fraction of friends in class who are member is larger. Finally, non-natives and
those with more non-native friends are less often SNS member, but conditional upon
membership are more often to Facebook member. Results are in line with expectations and
suggest that individual differences explain variation in both SNS membership in general as
specific SNS selection.
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1st European Conference on Social Networks
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Hollway, James
Blueprints: Inter-Institutional Policy Influence in the Global Fisheries Governance
Complex
Global fisheries, like many issue areas, is not governed by any one institution but by
more than a dozen Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs) that differ in
institutional design and policy output. To date, literatures on international institutions
have sought to explain policy output from institutional design. But RFMOs do not
regulate the species and areas they govern independently of the regulatory behaviour of
other RFMOs.
Taking a governance complexity approach, which conceptualises complex institutional
environments as (at least) a bipartite network of actors and institutions, means that we
can gain some leverage on questions concerning the diffusion of policy activity, strength,
and topics through the architectural network of countries’ membership in RFMOs. Do
RFMOs regulate more (or more strongly, or on particular topics) when they have many
members, have members that regulate their own maritime areas more, or linked
through shared members to other RFMOs that regulate more (or vice versa)? Variation in
institutional design therefore becomes a condition for policy diffusion, rather than a
explanation of policy correlation.
A novel adaptation to stochastic actor-oriented models is introduced that enables alter
behavioural (co)evolution with the network, allowing the questions above to be asked
and answered of a dataset combining over 1200 RFMO policy acts with a dynamic
network of countries membership in RFMOs. Using SAOMs in this way also allows the
contributions of selection and influence to be parsed out. Thus the last question this
paper asks is whether countries join RFMOs because they regulate on certain topics
(selection) or to change the RFMOs policy agenda (influence).
138
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Hosnedlova, Renata
The role of relational environment in the intentional process of ukrainian immigrants
The aim of this work has been to find out whether the relational environment can explain the
future place of residence intentions of immigrants. For the study we have taken the case of
Ukrainian immigrants residing in Madrid.
We have worked on the theoretical assumption of Granovetter (1985) about social action and
‘embeddedness’. We have started from a conviction that the return / settlement intentions could
be explained more rigorously by examining different dimensions and levels of ‘embeddedness’.
Therefore, we have decided to distinguish between structural and relational ‘embeddedness’. In
addition, we have distinguished two dimensions of the later one: 1) the degree of relational
‘embeddedness’ in the country of origin; and 2) the degree of relational ‘embeddedness’ in the
host country. Also, we have introduced the aspect of temporality in the analysis by observing the
intentions for different time horizons (5 and 15 years).
As for the analysis, we have looked for a statistical technique that would have allowed
overcoming the conceptual and methodological problems related to the concept of
‘embeddedness’. We have chosen one of the approaches of structural equation modelling, the
partial least squares PLS method. The analysis itself served for the operationalization of the
different
dimensions
of
the
concept
using
diverse
network
variables.
We have examined our own data collected in Madrid in 2009 (53 qualitative interviews and 53
questionnaires on personal networks).
The analysis has confirmed the existence of statistically significant relationships between the
relational environment of the Ukrainian immigrant and the intentional phase for both time
horizons. Also, we have found that the time horizon was very important in the formation of
intentions and that established differences. In addition, the analysis has informed of the exact
degree of the influence of each dimension observed.
139
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Houben, Daniel
University boards and strategic networks in higher education
Since the introduction of university boards to the German higher education system several
years ago there has been an ongoing debate about the possible merits and pitfalls of external
or even non-academic organizations engaging in university governance. Supporters welcome
the outside perspective of board members whereas opponents claim it to be a giant leap
towards a neoliberal commodification of research and education.
Only very little research on the structure and effects of those (German) corporate-universityties has been conducted so far. The talk will present the findings of a preliminary study on
German university boards and answer questions like: What kind of organizations and
professions are most likely to be found on university boards? Do certain industrial sectors tie
up with certain universities? What kind of networks can be identified?
The talk will close with a discussion of the benefits an challenges for research on interuniversity networks.
140
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Huang, Jia-Ping; Koster, Maurice; Lindner, Ines
Communication and Coordination in Social Networks: Action as Signaling Device
In this research we show how the structure of the underlying social network can affect the
way that people make decisions when actions are only observable to direct neighbors. We
consider an n-person repeated game with an underlying social network, where a directed link
expresses the observability of actions and payoff functions of the agent from whom the link
starts, by the agent at the end of the link. Each agent is supposed to choose one action from S
and R, i.e., the status quo and “revolution” respectively. The payoff function of each agent
depends on the threshold of the agent, where a threshold indicates the minimum number of
revolting agents that is needed for her to be satisfied by revolting herself. Heterogeneity is
considered by allowing different thresholds of different agents. Since it is a repeated game,
we are able to discuss the roll of acting at an early stage as a signaling device in achieving a
broader collective action. This signaling effect may encourage the emergence of coordination.
We also found that for some network structures, a lower threshold can be an obstacle of
coordination, and a restriction in observability, i.e., reducing links from the social network,
may help attain full collective action. These results are not able to be obtained by other
models which only consider a game with simultaneous move. The penalty of revolting without
enough coordinators is another important parameter of this game. It is also shown that, in
mixed strategies, an increase of penalty within a certain region can increase the likelihood of
coordination.
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Hummel.Anderson; Baptista, Roberto; Costa, Rodrigo; Rodrigues , Luciano; Santos, Wagner
Compleo Talent: linking social network profiles for job recruiting in information technology
field in Brazil
Introduction
Studies shows that analyze candidates' information on the Internet are efficient to select for
many kinds of job posts and bring benefits not achieved by other methods.
It is noteworthy that was not found in the scientific literature a tool for analyze candidate profiles
on social networks, forums, and code repositories for information technology (IT) professionals in
Brazil or for Portuguese speakers.
Objective
The aim of this project is to develop a tool and a metric for indexing Brazilian candidates to IT job
opportunities through analysis of social networks, discussion forums, and code repository.
Methods
Were developed crawlers to obtain source of data from Brazilian members in social network
(Facebook), discussion forums (GUJ, MSDN and TECHNET) and code repository (GITHUB). Profiles
from different source of data are interconnected by e-mail, full name, and professional
experience using a probabilistic algorithmic. Technical skills of each candidate were derived
through the information obtained by crawlers. Finally the profiles of candidates are categorized
in relation to information quality and indexing metric are calculated using Euclidian distance in
relation to technical skill, work experience, and physical distance between residence and job
position in real time.
Results
The total number of indexed profiles is 189541 (5105 Good, 15522 Medium, 21496 Poor, and
147418 Terrible). The number of technical skills derived from all source of data are 55228 for
27750 candidate profiles. Some results of the tool and metric are: 3052 professionals with
experience as Developer; 1519 professionals skilled with .Net; 408 professionals with experience
as Developer and skilled with .Net; and 92 professionals with experience as Developer and skilled
with .Net that lives near to 25 km from Paulista Avenue in São Paulo Brazil.
Conclusion
In tests the tool and metric has proven effective and the next step will be evaluate in real cases.
142
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Huszti, Éva; Dávid, Beáta
Two methods, one sample. Measuring egocentric networks using name generator and contact
diary methods
There are several methods to measure ego-centred network. All applied methods have
advantages and disadvantages, strong and weak points. In this study I deal with one of the most
often applied method, name generator and an alternative data collecting method that is used
rarely even internationally, contact diary.
Although the data based on name generators are pretty informative, and the techniques have
greatly developed in the past decades, the question still remains: what is a reliable estimate of
the respondent’s personal network size (Fu, 2005). Amongst others Fu also highlighted the
biggest disadvantage of the different generators: they yield information on network
characteristics but are less reliable estimators of one’s actual personal networks (Fu, 2007).
One alternative instrument is contact diary where researchers ask respondents to keep daily
records of all their interpersonal contacts during a given period of time. Although writing a diary
is a labour-intensive task, ‘the information valuably captures a whole range of strong, medium
and weak ties which may not appear in either a name generator or position generator’ (Chua &
Madej &Wellman, 2009:9).
In this paper we examine the network size and composition measured by name generator and
contact diary in the same sample.
Our data collection is based on a sample used in a panel survey to study quality of life in
Nyiregyháza . We carried out data collection in two phases: springtime of 2010 and autumn of
2011 in Nyiregyháza. During data collection we used both methods, and we have 142 cases
where data from diaries and name generators were also available. Using contact diary to collect
data on egocentric network one can acquire a wider and more complex personal network
structure: egos in name generators (in 8 situations) kept a record of 1315 alters while in diaries
they wrote 2580 alters during a week.
143
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Illia , Laura; Colleoni, Elanor; Rozza, Alessandro; Meggiorin, Katia
Reputation in social media: a semantic network analysis of hashtags
This paper investigates corporate reputation in social media and it debates the situational and
uncontrollable side of a corporate reputation as manifested in web 2.0 era. Social media
communications tend to be independent from corporations because judgments are
constructed by diffused online communities, i.e. publics (Arvidsson, 2013).
Three dynamics of publics mine traditional definition of corporate reputation: they hold a
temporary interest in a communication episode; they have refracted voices (Zappavigna 2011)
and they elaborate and propagate communication loosely. Consequently, we advance the
idea that not only corporations but also communication episodes in social media have a
reputation. We use semantic network analysis to investigate online dynamics of corporate
reputation. This technique will enable the identification of hashtags central to the evolution of
the communication episode because of their speechmaker (ability to gather users’ attention)
and speech-builder role(bridging role for the move from a topic to another). We implement a
2-mode network with hashtags and tweets as nodes, to move then to a 1-mode network with
tweets transformed into ties between hashtags. Doing so, the values associated to the tie will
indicate the number of co-occurrences of the two hashtags in the same tweet (de Nooy,
Mrvar and Batagelj, 2005). Moreover, we develop the analysis on one-year time data
regarding one single organization to account for ups and downs of the organization’s
reputation.
The paper is structure as follows. We first provide an overview of main stream approaches to
corporate reputation and they biases in a social media context. Then, we propose a
communication approach to reputation based on public’s dynamics and test it with a semantic
network analysis. We conclude stressing the necessity to further explore public’s dynamics
and their effect on corporate reputation.
144
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ingold, Karin; Christopoulos, Dimitris; Fischer, Manuel
Brokerage and Entrepreneurship in Policy Networks: A Longitudinal Analysis of Strategic
Behavior
Within policy processes, exceptional agents such policy brokers and political entrepreneurs can
shape political decision-making in a significant way, for example by promoting policy change.
Understanding the roles and motivations of the political actions of these exceptional agents is
thus crucial when studying the success and failure of policy processes. The policy process and
political network literatures claim that the position of actors within a political structure, i.e.
their potential roles of broker or entrepreneur and their capacity to take strategic action,
influence actors’ resources, power and behavior. In this paper we explicitly address the relation
between exceptional agency and actors’ motivation to occupy a role of exceptional agency.
Exceptional agents are expected to try to keep their role over time. On the one hand,
exceptional agents are able to build up reputation, and actors are usually keen to preserve their
power over time. On the other hand, exceptional roles are hard to keep for actors, as networks
are dynamic phenomena, and specific links to other actors are short-term phenomena. We
analyze a policy process over time to assess whether a) exceptional agents are able to keep
their specific role in the political structure over time, b) occupying a role of exceptional agent
pays off in terms of power in the present or in the future, and c) whether the relation between
exceptional agency and power depends on the specific stage of the policy process. We test our
hypotheses based on the case of Swiss Climate policy between 1998 and 2008. Such
longitudinal data sets are able to capture the behavior of special agents like brokers and
entrepreneurs across distinct stages of the policy cycle. We rely on descriptive statistics and
compare them over time, as well as on statistical models for network dynamics, i.e. Stochastic
Actor-Oriented Models (SAOM), to uncover their role over time.
145
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Iniesta-Arandia, Irene; Varanda, Marta; Montes, Carlos; Martín-López, Berta
The relevance of social networks for multi-level water governance: a case study from two
Mediterranean watersheds
Irrigation systems have been described as a particular type of social-ecological networks where
the management of ecological networks connects different stakeholders. Some traditional
irrigation systems in Spain are a good example of long persistence and successful selfmanagement regimes. These systems make use of water transport and storage infrastructures,
called acequias which depend on relations of trust and reciprocity, common rules and norms, and
connectedness in networks to function. However, Mediterranean traditional land-use systems
are currently undergoing intense changes that are leading to a polarization of land-use: the
abandonment of land-management practices in some areas and intense use in others severely
affecting the functioning and the viability of traditional irrigation systems.
In this work we apply social network analysis to analyze the structure of the water governance
networks of two semi-arid watersheds, the Adra and Nacimiento watersheds, located in SE Spain.
We conducted 45 face-to-face semi-structured interviews to different organizations that are
relevant to water governance in the areas from the local to the watershed scale in 25
municipalities. We draw on social and organizational data to (a) develop a typology of the
different irrigation organizations, (b) analyze the current and desired collaboration networks to
identify the main synergies and barriers for collective action in the area.
Our results show that irrigation communities in Adra and Nacimiento watersheds rarely form
networks among them but rather with their respective local municipalities, losing part of their
self-governance and their potential for joint collective action at watershed scale. Irrigation
communities only show dense networks and reciprocated ties are in the municipalities with
intensive agriculture and a high use of groundwater. We discuss the consequences that these
observed structures have for water sustainability in the area and for collective action.
146
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ivaniushina,Valeria; Titkova, Vera; Alexandrov, Daniel
Friendship and advice networks of minority students
Our paper is focused on ethnic and academic segregation of minority schoolchildren.
Integration and academic achievement of minority groups in different countries vary
significantly (Alba, 2012; Crul e.a. e.a., 2012). Kao and Tienda coined a term “migrant
optimism” describing a phenomenon when first-generation migrant children have higher
learning motivation and consequently better school performance than second- and thirdgeneration migrants (Kao & Tienda, 1995; Feliciano, 2005).
Our previous research show that 1st-generation migrant children in Russian schools have
higher learning motivation but lower grades that local children (Alexandrov e.a., 2012).
Studying friendship networks we didn’t find ethnic segregation, though minority students
have a slightly greater tendency to form friendships with other minority that with majority.
These results are similar to other research of minority students integration in Europe
(Baerveldt e.a., 2007; Vermeij e.a., 2009).
In this paper we discuss how minority children build their networks of academic help and
advice. Based on other scholars’ findings (Zander, 2010) we hypothesize that: (1) minority
students prefer to seek help from minority; (2) minority students underestimate their ability
when asking for help from majority.
We use p2 model on a dataset of 183 classroom networks (3400 students in total). Network
data consist of friendship relations and academic help/advice relations (help in Math and in
Humanities). We also collected information on academic achievement, academic self-concept,
and a number of socio-economic attributes.
Our main findings are as follows: most often help is asked from friends; girls are asked for help
more often; self-concept is positively related to academic status: students with higher selfconcept are more often asked for help (holding grades equal); minority children more often
seek help than majority children – both in mathematics and the humanities.
147
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Jackson, Cornell
Exploring the Relationships among the People of Medieval Scotland
Using a database of medieval Scottish legal documents, this exploratory research uses social
network analysis to reveal relationships in the elite parts of this society.
Using 2 mode network techniques, a lord with unusual prominence in charter witnessing was
identified. This is Duncan II, Earl of Fife. Historians knew he was a very prominent noble in
Scotland but social network analysis revealed a possible further role he played in Scotland.
Duncan has witnessed more than 20 charters with 27 people while William del Bois, the
chancellor whose role is to manage charters, has only done that with 15 other witnesses. Also,
Duncan has witnessed more than 40 charters with 7 people while William has done the same
with only 2 other witnesses. However, Duncan has witnessed charters with 630 other
witnesses while William, the chancellor, has witnessed charters with 479 other witnesses. The
historians are still working to understand why Duncan has so many more network
relationships.
Following Rogers (2003) and Valente (1995), showed the importance of the royal courts in
diffusing the innovation of using the term of “The Kingdom of Scotland” in legal documents
throughout the land. Using relationships defined in the database, the results show that three
kings were surrounded by adopters of this innovation and that around 35% of all the adopters
were directly or indirectly connected to kings. The results also show that this innovation must
have been communicated via relationships not captured in the database.
This and the diffusion of other charter innovations will continue to be explored and the latest
results will be reported at the conference.
148
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Jaime, Escribano ; Pascual, Rubio; Javier, Esparcia
Local development processes in rural development and the role of relational social capital. A
comparative analysis from Teruel (Spain)
The main objective of LEADER rural development programme is the development of the most
backward rural areas, through two major types of dimensions, the economic dimension (mainly
through the promotion of diversification of activities in rural areas), and the social revitalization
and social networking (ie the promotion of processes involving civil society in important decisions
for the development of the region, as could be the design and implementation of a development
strategy). In this social dimension of local development it emerges the relational social capital as
one of the key pillars which highly contributes to the development process.
From the methodological approach of the SNA, this work is based on the study of the relational
social capital in two rural areas in the province of Teruel (Spain). The information for the analysis
of social relations, the role and position of main actors involved in local development processes
was obtained from 110 personal interviews in two LEADER areas, ADIBAMA (comarcas of
Andorra and Bajo Martin) and OMEZYMA (comarcas of Bajo Aragón and Matarraña), both in the
province of Teruel (Spain). It is performed a comparative analysis of the structural characteristics
of both social networks, and the role and position in the network of the most prominent leaders,
taking into account the relevant actors’ attributes. In this sense, we work with four main
categories of actors considered relevant in relation to the local socio-economic processes of
development, those of public nature (linked to the local governments), social actors (linked to
NGO and other social organizations such as trade unions), economic actors (entrepreneurs and
those representatives of them) and finally those actors doing managerial tasks in local
development agencies and local action groups. The different socio-economic nature of both
study areas highly explains differences in the structure of social networks.
149
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Jasny, Lorien
Belief Networks in Interdisciplinary Scientific Teams
Beliefs are not held in a vacuum; individuals create mental models that structure their beliefs.
What do these structures look like, how much variance is there across scientific disciplines
working on the same inter-disciplinary project, and how flexible are individuals’ models? This
project quantifies and compares the belief networks among participants in the
interdisciplinary project teams hosted by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center
(SESYNC) and measures how these structures change over the period of collaboration. Using a
Bayesian formulation of the Informant Accuracy Model (Butts 2000; Weller and Romney 1988)
we are able to quantify the agreement between individuals’ responses. A second network is
made up of the comments individuals make either directed at another participant or to the
group at large during their discussion. This data is analyzed using the Relational Events Model
(Butts 2008). After the meeting concludes we re-issue the questions to observe how
individuals’ mental models change after the group discussion, and which positions in the
discussion network are correlated with significant belief change. This paper presents
preliminary findings from 6 different 3 day team meetings held at SESYNC in February, 2014.
150
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Jiménez Restrepo, Diana Marcela
Networks, communities and paths: transfer of job information
The matching between applicant and employer is more likely if they use their social networks
as well as it is successful. Transfer of job information begins with events premeditated like to
demonstrate the desire to get employed or an employee. The intermediaries are essential
because they transfer job information, which are also in the communities of other
intermediaries. Thus, transitivity of intermediaries, overlapping communities with high local
densities, particularly in the context of the theory of social networks, increase alternative
paths for the matching between candidate and an employer may be.
151
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Joel-Edgar, Sian
Online visual evaluation: the social network of design students viewing the work of their
peers
“Good artists copy, great artists steal” – Pablo Picasso
Summary
In this paper we present research into the visual evaluation process of undergraduate design
students completing their final year project. Using a mixed-method approach, we utilised
ethnographic observations with social network analysis of online viewing behaviour of
students. The contextual observations and interviews suggested that students were looking at
the visual work of their peers to get artistic inspiration, to discover technological innovations,
and to understand their own work in the context of others. The occurrence of this visual
evaluation was seen through tracking data in a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) used in an
undergraduate design course. The network analysis carried out showed a denser network of
visual observations than face to face feedback sharing in the studio, that students with higher
centrality measures in the visual evaluation network had higher grades (which was not seen
for the students who were sought for feedback in person), and there was a high degree of
self-loops with students viewing their own work. Although this research does not show the
impact of viewing the work of peers, it does begin to describe the patterns of accessing online
visual representations.
152
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Jose Teixeira
Open-coopetition in the Cloud computing Industry: the OpenStack NOVA case
In an era of software crisis, the move of firms towards distributed software development
teams is being challenged by emerging collaboration issues. On this matter, the open-source
phenomenon may shed some light, as successful cases of distributed collaboration in the
open-source community have been recurrently reported. In this paper, we explore the
collaboration networks in the OpenStack Nova open-source project, by data-mining its sourcecode version-control-system with Social Network Analysis (SNA). Simple network visualizations
and clustering allows us to observe how key events in the cloud-computing industry have
affected the collaboration network of the OpenStack Nova Community over time. With our
findings, we show: the explanation power from network visualizations capturing collaborative
dynamics; and the usefulness of network clustering for detecting sub-communities rivalry; with
a high-networked software project over time. We also reveal the OpenStack project as a
valuable research site manifesting the novel notion of open-coopetition, where rival firms
collaborate with competitors by open-source manners.
153
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Juste , Rubén
The political embeddedness of economic system: the effects of politics in the interlocking
directorates networks of Spain (1997, 2007, 2010)
The importance of interlocking directorates on enterprises or markets has been widely studied by
modern political economy and social network studies. Furthermore, there are several
implications of interlocking network properties such as size or composition that has been proven
to influence economic performance. Besides network properties other social and political
phenomena affects also the general economic structure, for instance the revolving door effect,
which appear to be frequent on the board room of different firms.
In this paper we will expose the relation between social or political variables and the structure
and evolution of interlocking networks. This is, on the one side we will explore the relation
between the position held by several enterprises in the network and the political connections of
its board; and on the other, the importance of social embedded enterprises in the evolution and
structure of the economic network. For this purpose we will use the information of the
enterprises that make up the Spanish benchmark stock exchange index, the IBEX 35, specifically
the board of director's data of these enterprises in 1997, 2007, and 2010. In addition to the the
stock exchange index enterprises, we will also include the data from the main saving banks of the
Spanish economic system.
Finally, we will pay special attention to the 2007 global crisis and how it influenced the
interlocking network of Spanish companies and its relation with the political system.
154
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
K T Benn, Emma; Southwick, Lauren; Carman, Heather; Weglinski, Michael; Boden-Albala,
Bernadette
Identifying the structure of the U.S. stroke clinical trials research collaboration network
Racial-ethnic minorities are approximately one-third of the United States population, yet
represent less than one-tenth of clinical trial participants. A NIH-funded grant is tasked to
develop and disseminate a toolkit to increase minority participation in stroke clinical trials. We
applied social network analysis to map and describe the structure of the stroke clinical trials
research collaboration network and propose mechanisms to better understand collaborations
and dissemination the toolkit. We undertook a systematic scoping review of Medline and
OvidSP to identify stroke clinical trials manuscripts published from 1995-2013. Second,
primary outcomes manuscripts were systematically evaluated and screened in Endnote X6 to
identify Phase III clinical trial interventions that recruited US participants to affect prevention,
treatment, or rehabilitation of adults at risk for, or with post-hemorrhagic/ischemic stroke. An
adaptive REDCap author-manuscript database was developed to inform the analysis. Lastly,
the author-manuscript affiliation and author-author adjacency structures were plotted and
summarized. Analyses were conducted in R 3.0.2. The scoping review yielded 3887 peerreviewed manuscripts, 192 met our inclusion criteria. Of these, 1596 distinct authors were
identified. Each author published 1.33 (range=1–12) manuscripts, on average. A mean of 11
(range=2–55) individuals authored each manuscript. The author-author adjacency structure
revealed
a
de-centralized
global
structure
(degree=0.091,
closeness=0.001,
betweenness=0.065, and eigenvector = 0.97). Each author was linked to 20 (range=1–166)
additional authors. Our multidisciplinary endeavor examines the impact of the stroke clinical
trial research collaboration structure on minority recruitment. Subsequent analyses will
identify collaboration clusters for which dissemination of a NIMICT toolkit might yield
increased inclusion of racial-ethnic minorities in stroke clinical trials.
155
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kalish, Yuval
Political skill, friendship and leadership network position and performance - a longitudinal
analysis
The relationship between individual psychological attributes, network position and performance
has gained increasing research attention over the past years. Results, however, have been
inconclusive. The paper focuses on political skill (PS) and its relationship to centrality in the
friendship and leadership network over time, as well as performance outcomes. PS is an
interpersonal style construct that combines social astuteness with the ability to relate well, and
otherwise demonstrate situationally appropriate behavior in a disarmingly charming and
engaging manner that inspires confidence, trust, sincerity, and genuineness. As such, it enables
actors to effectively understand others at work, and to use such knowledge to influence others
to act in ways that enhance one’s personal and/or organizational objectives. As a result, PS is a
potentially important antecedent to various outcomes - leadership and friendship network
prominence over time, and performance.
I examine the relationship between PS, network position and performance using a sample of a
65 M.A. students, 50 women (76.9%) and 15 men, enrolled in an Organizational Consulting
program in a large university. The students completed friendship and leadership-perception
network questionnaires three times during their first year as well as psychological
questionnaires
measuring
PS
and
“the
big
five”
personality
dimensions.
Data analyzed with Stochastic-Actor-Based models indicate that apparent sincerity,
interpersonal influence and social astuteness were related to prominence in the leadership
network over time. In addition, social astuteness and its interaction with extroversion were
related to prominence in the friendship network over time. My hypotheses regarding the
relationship between PS and performance were not supported. Findings and limitations, as well
as practical implications of the study will be presented.
156
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kammerer, Marlene ; Hirschi, Christian
The politics of market-based instruments: A case study of Swiss climate change policy
Pricing carbon emissions is widely seen as an efficient way to reduce harmful greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. Nevertheless, the introduction of market-based instruments (MBIs) is often
limited by political obstacles, as actors facing higher costs have an interest in preventing or
limiting the adoption of MBIs. The focus of this paper is to elaborate and analyse the politics
of MBIs in Swiss climate policymaking with a focus on the recent revision of the CO2-Act
(2009-2013), which provides the main legal framework for the national climate change
mitigation policy in Switzerland. In particular, we ask why and how the actor constellation in
the Swiss climate policy network – due to issue and instrument coupling – widely supports a
limited carbon tax but has prevented an extension of the tax so far. Our analysis shows how
network actors’ policy preferences underlying the politics of MBIs can be grouped into three
main categories of support for or opposition against MBIs based on different political
ideologies: ecological modernization, environmental idealism, and economic interest.
Methodically, the paper joins qualitative and quantitative data analysis using the ActorProcess-Event Scheme, an analytical tool that thoroughly analyses policy processes based on
detailed qualitative case study material. As a result, an in-depth case study of the CO2-Act
revision process and the respective climate policy network are developed. Both of them lay
the basis for a systematically testing of the effects of variances of policy ideas and ideology on
network structures using Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGM) for Social Network
Analysis.
157
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kanagavel, Rajalakshmi
Role of media in providing transnational social support
In the recent years, the research in the field of transnationalism has shown that national
borders only pose barriers to a limited extent for interpersonal relationships. With the
proliferation of technological advancements on an unprecedented scale, a new level of social
connectedness allows one to disseminate news and stay connected to a global audience.
Today with the help of communication media, people are informed that communities can
consist of an individual’s network of relationships, wherever such communities are located.
This on-going research project analyses the personal communities of International students
who are currently pursuing their studies abroad. This paper examines how different media
structures both online and offline helps in maintaining social relationships and providing social
support to the International students in their transnational networks using egocentric
network analysis. Based on the network analytical support research with the data collected on
the personal networks of International students who lead transnational lives abroad using a
quantitative online survey, transnational integration pattern as well as factors affecting
transnational social support in the context of mobility is analysed. Although transnationalism
studies have acknowledged the importance of globalization technologies, there is a lack of
research on how different media structures are used in maintaining of transnational ties. As a
small step towards fulfilling the gap, this paper examines how International students maintain
their transnational ties across borders when they are abroad and gain social support.
158
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kang, Yunjae; Kim, Dong-Kwang; Park, Jinseo
Risk communication, power relations, and politics of expertise in South Korea
We have an attention to the nuclear risk communication in South Korea after the Fukushima
nuclear disaster (2011/03/11). The importance of risk communication in the risk governance
appears to be increasingly pointed up; in the prescriptive level, instead of one-way or downstream risk communication, two-way and interactive one is recommended as a have-to-go
way. However, risk communication cannot be seen as a homogeneous, goal-oriented, or
neutral process, on the contrary, it seems to be a kind of mixed-up fight deployed in the risk
arena. We need to single out the topology or characteristics of risk communication firstly, if
we want to get a solution for achieving 'good' risk communication. Through analyzing the
networks and contents of risk communication over mass media(newspapers), we would like to
get a hint for our purpose. Firstly, we focus on the semantic networks by co-word analysis. We
search for the change of issue mapping before and after the Fukushima disaster, and try to
read the social power relations from the semantic networks in mass media. Especially, we
want to know the reason why government's voices were systematically amplified through
media, but anti-nuclear groups' voices attenuated, even in the urgent situation after
Fukushima disaster; it seems to imply the asymmetry of power relations in the environment of
mass media. Secondly, we investigate discourse networks by contents analysis. We can distill
the three governmen's nuclear risk communication strategies; "no problem", "not pure",
"economy first". Also, we can observe that experts and expertise could be mobilized as a
mighty tool by main actors, especially by government's side. We can draw some implications
from this analysis about roles of the politics of expertise in the nuclear risk communication.
However, the interrelationship between the asymmetry of mass media and the politics of
expertise in the nuclear risk communication cannot help being left for a further study.
159
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Keller, Franziska Barbara
Coalition formation along network ties – why and how centrality matters
This paper presents a theory of coalition formation in social networks. Political coalitions are
usually thought to form along common interests or shared political views. But there are
situations in which network links should play an equal, if not more important role.
Connections of mutual trust might be relevant in an environment where defection is common,
for instance in authoritarian regimes among ruling elites or activists trying to coordinate
opposition activities like a popular uprising. If the actors need to stay secret, communication
links are presumably of paramount importance in determining who would even hear about
and be invited to a coalition.
In situations where coalitions form along network ties, the political participation of an actor
depends on his or her network position: one would expect that more central individuals will
be better placed to initiate a coalition (closeness centrality), or more likely to be invited
because they are close to the most promising initiators (Bonacich centrality) or control access
to the rest of the network (betweenness centrality).
Based on these considerations, I construct two “coalition centrality” measures: one that
captures the ability of individuals to successfully initiate a majority coalition, another that
expresses their chance of ending up in the majority coalition. I then compare them to other
commonly used network centrality measures.
Using agent-based modeling and network simulations, I explore the “coalition centrality”
measure's robustness to changes in the network structure, and to the inclusion of alternative
criteria for why an individual would join a coalition, for example the individual's political
attitude or available resources.
I test those predictions using data from an informal network among Chinese political elites
and find that more central individuals are indeed more likely to enter the winning coalition of
the Chinese Communist Party (the Politburo).
160
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kerschbaumer, Florian
The Congress of Vienna 1814/15 and the Historical Network Research: Connecting empirical
and theoretical Perspectives
Although the Congress of Vienna 1814/15 is one of the best researched topics in modern history,
there are still many questions to be answered. Some of them concern the organization of the
congress and the daily life at this time in Vienna. It seems that the Historical Network Research
could make an important contribution to answer some of these open questions. In the past years
various network analysis – based on different sources – were made and they have made some
interesting facts visible. In a next step, the proposed paper will reflect on how far the
combination of these empirical results with different theoretical approaches is a useful thing. For
this purpose different theories from various disciplines will be check for their suitability.
161
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kisfalusi, Dorottya; Pál, Judit
Perception of Your Ethnicity Makes You Be More Bullied? Peer Perception and Self- Declaration
of Ethnicity in Bullying and Victimization Processes
Studying bullying and victimization processes from a network perspective represents a key
interest of adolescent research. Emphasizing the role of ethnicity, recent studies show that interethnic context matters in occurrence of these types of aggression; however these findings do not
elaborate the importance of peer perception about ethnicity. We argue that i’s perception about
j’s ethnicity could capture more profoundly different mechanisms such as prejudice or disdain in
explaining why ethnicity matters in peer aggression. Thus, we expect that bullying occurs more
often between than within ethnic groups, minority students are more often victimized than
majority ones, and these mechanisms are more pronounced when ethnicity is defined as peer
perception rather than as self-declaration.
Using exponential random graph models, we tested our assumptions on a sub-sample of 14
classes in Hungarian secondary schools (OTKA K/81336). As in Hungary Roma represent the
largest ethnic minority often target of discrimination, the data contain information about selfdeclaration and peer perception of Roma and non-Roma students. Bullying and victimization was
measured from the perspective of “who is bullying whom” and “who is bullied by whom”. These
measurements help us to create two different network measures which nicely capture how
students identify their peers as bullies or victims. After controlling for gender, socio-economic
status and structural characteristics of bullying networks, our results suggest that self-declared
ethnicity of the students does not have significant effect on the prevalence of bullying and
victimization. However, if peer classification is being considered, students perceived as Roma by
the peers are nominated as both bullies and victims more likely than non-Roma students. Our
results emphasize the necessity to pay attention on peer perception of ethnicity in studying
bullying.
162
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kiss, Károly Miklós; Bajnai, Blanka; Stenger, Zsolt
Role of Social Network in Market Mechanism under Asymmetric Information
One of the most relevant and exciting issues in the latest decades in economics had been the
asymmetric information and uncertainty, and their effects on market processes and efficiency.
Some studies show that markets where information problems or/and uncertainty arise tend
to be “networked”, and some studies propose that use of social networks can mitigate
adverse selection and moral hazard problems, but this area is still under-developed. There are
numerous market situation where asymmetric information vigorously appear (insurance or
lending markets, labor markets, price discrimination…). For example firms rarely have precise
information about the types of individual customers (their important features, preferences or
willingness-to-pay), but can use incentive tools and screening mechanisms. Use of signaling
and screening can reduce the cost of incentive under asymmetric information. We develop a
model to show that social embeddedness of market players and some relevant features of
their social network can be used for signaling and screening to mitigate the information
problem in these markets situations. Building upon the homophily emerging in certain market
players’ social ties we developed a principal-agent model based on Laffont and Martimort
(2002) to describe market players’ decisions under asymmetric information, where the social
structure will be grabbed by the probability distribution of ties. The conclusions we draw can
be generalized and can be applied to several situation where asymmetric information appears
and social network has important role such as price discrimination, job-seeking on labor
markets, micro-finance groups, online peer-to-peer lending and other online peer-to-peer
markets.
163
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kitti, Mitri
Axioms for Centrality Scoring with Principal Eigenvectors
Techniques based on using principal eigenvectors of matrices representing binary relations of
sets of alternatives are commonly used in social sciences, bibliometrics, and web search
engines. In most applications the binary relations can be represented by a directed graph and
the question of ranking or scoring the alternatives can be turned into the relevant question of
how to score the nodes of the graph. This paper characterizes the principal eigenvector as a
scoring function with a set of axioms. A zero-sum scoring function based on the difference of
principal right and left eigenvectors is introduced and axiomatized. Furthermore, a method of
assessing individual and group centralities simultaneously is characterized by a set of axioms.
The specific case of this method is the Hyperlink-Induced Topic Search (HITS) used in ranking
websites.
164
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Klaus Hamberger; Karin Sohler
Integrated kinship and mobility networks: a West African case study
Kinship and mobility are closely intertwined phenomena. On the one hand, kinship relations
shape the opportunity structures for mobility (e.g., close kin being preferred hosts or travel
companions), on the other hand, mobility creates relations that feed back into kinship, in
particular via marriage. Moreover, basic relations of kinship networks, such as marriage, often
imply a change of residence; conversely, residence changes often create kinship-like relations,
such as foster parenthood.
The model presented in this paper integrates kinship and mobility structures into one single
bipartite network, where individuals are linked to each other by both family and mobility
events. By embedding both types of relations into a common space shaped jointly by kinship
ties and migration trajectories, it becomes possible to analyze the impact of kinship on
mobility (and vice versa) by means of network analysis techniques. We use these techniques
to explore several dimensions:
- the morphologies of individual trajectories through geographical and social space, as well as
the importance of places and persons for mobility decisions, both on the individual and the
collective level - the self-organizing properties of the integrated network, that is, the way in
which mobility and kinship decisions – migrating to the city, leaving the spouse, sending a
child abroad, etc. – depend on previous mobility and kinship relations
- the impact of kinship or mobility relations between individuals – such as siblingship or
previous migration company – on the morphological similarity or difference of their
trajectories, in particular with respect to gender.
We have implemented these methods in the kinship network analysis software PUCK. We will
apply them to a dataset of genealogies and migration biographies of 400 individuals from
south-east Togo, a region characterized by both extended kinship networks and high,
especially female and juvenile mobility.
165
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kmetty, Zoltán
Polarization, discourse and cleavages in the political space
These processes indicate two directions. First, that political life became more and more
polarized. It happened not only on the level of the parties, but also on the level of the voters.
This polarization resulted that partisanship was strengthened, positions on the ideology scales
crystallized and political homogenization of social networks occurred. In parallel to these
processes, the lack of trust in parties increased and new, system-critic parties came into
existence.
In my presentation I examine how these processes were influenced by the role of political
discourses in interpersonal relationship networks, and through these discourses, how they
affected the level of political participation.
166
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Koltai, Julia; Albert, Fruzsina; Dávid, Beáta
The longitudinal change of core discussion networks
Core discussion networks show those people around us, who we feel the closest, so the
change of this intimate network segment is really important in our understanding of the social
structure as it reflects the changes of it. The GSS core discussion network name generator was
administered on nationwide representative samples of the adult Hungarian population in
1999, 2004 and 2011, so there is opportunity to examine the characteristics of these networks
at three time points. Significant changes can be observed over this time period: the ratio of
isolates decreased, the thus far dominant role of kin ties (partners, parents, children) is
replaced and/or supplemented by non-kin ties (especially friends). As earlier researches (ex.
Albert – Dávid 2012), showed, the pattern of change between men and women seems quite
different.
Based on this finding, we will present and compare the changes in six groups (separately for
men and women in every surveyed year). Our goal is to understand the effects that influenced
the different specifications of the core discussion network (for example the size of the
network, the ratio of men, the ratio of kin, the frequency of talks, etc.). Depending on the
measurement level of the network specification, we use linear-, binary logistic- or Poisson
regressions. In these models we use both socio-demographic and attitude-like explanatory
variables. The main part of the presentation focuses on the significant changes between
different groups in these explanatory models.
167
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Konrad, Claudia; Jacauna, Tiago
Collaborative Networks for the Governance of Protected Areas: Case Studies from the Amazon
of Brazil and Ecuador
The relational data presented in this paper refer to collaboration networks that extend across
different scales of society. We assume that the outcomes of national conservation programs that
involve multiple stakeholders depend essentially on the existence of self-organized entities that
interact and communicate across multiple sectors and scales, and therefore enable the flow of
resources, such as different types of knowledge, and mutual learning processes. Thus, we focus
on collaborative networks to analyze, how the social network structure affects governance
activities and the management of natural resources in different institutional settings (Ecuador
and Brazil).
168
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kónya, Hanna; Szontágh, Éva
An efficient organization for the help of children? The case of the “Give Kids a Chance” program
in Hungary
The ”Give Kids a Chance” project is an EU financed program seeking to build local development
networks in disadvantaged micro-regions in Hungary to improve life chances of the poor,
underprivileged and segregated children. These – ideally – sustainable and child-oriented local
networks create an innovative cooperation between academics, social workers, experts,
professionals, volunteers and NGO fellows. These projects’ elaboration, implementation and
monitoring is supported by a special consortium operating in the capital city Budapest. The
consortium is composed of a governmental, academic and NGO actor. In our research we focus
on 16 local development projects, mobilizing more than 800 professionals and 700 volunteers.
Our research questions are the following: How network relations and cooperation influence the
efficiency and sustainability of the local programs? What are the characteristics of a successful
key actor in the collaboration networks?
169
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kornienko, Olga; Weren, Serena; Yee, Claire; Hill, Gary; Schaefer, David; Granger, Douglas
Contributions of Salivary Hormones to Selection in Friendship and Conflict Networks
We explore how hormones contribute to selection dynamics in multiplex networks (conflict
and friendship) of young adults. Decades of biobehavioral research reveal that cortisol and
testosterone are associated with social behavior by increasing the probability that individuals
engage in behavior given the appropriate social context. However, these hormones may also
contribute to the creation of one’s social context. Cortisol is linked with stress and fear of
losing social status; testosterone is related to social dominance, competition, and risk-taking.
We advance this research by examining the role of hormones for the creation and
maintenance of friendship and conflict networks, which represent one’s social context. We
use a stochastic-actor based modeling approach to examine these processes and control for
network structural processes. Study participants were volunteers from the Arizona State
University marching band (n =193, 53% female, Mage = 19.4). Panel data on networks and
salivary hormones were collected at the beginning and end of a semester. Saliva was collected
simultaneously from all participants in a group setting before and after rehearsal and was
assayed for cortisol and testosterone. After rehearsal, participants also nominated friends and
individuals with whom they have conflict. Our results show that, net of univariate (within each
network) and multivariate (across the networks) structural processes, cortisol and
testosterone were associated with creation and maintenance of ties in friendship and conflict
networks. Our findings are noteworthy at a theoretical level because they suggest (for the first
time to our knowledge) that testosterone and cortisol are associated with selection processes
in friendship and conflict networks.
170
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Koskinen, Johan; Stevenson, Rachel; Edwards, Gemma; Oliver, Kathryn; Broccatelli, Chiara;
Robins, Garry
Using multilevel exponential random graph models to study the interdependence of the
covert and overt and the social and functional
We explore the potential of multilevel networks to capture and explain the complex interplay
of personal ties, foci and covert operations in the context of the suffragette movement in the
early 20th century in England. The totality of ties between actors reflect a mixture of overt
political activity, overt social ties, clandestine activities and outright covert militant action. By
conceiving of the covert network as a multilevel network we are able to specify explicit
dependencies between personal ties, social foci and co-participation in covert operations.
Examples include how recruitment is made though inter-personal ties; how interpersonal ties
lead to affiliations with key organisational events; and how planning meetings may be
associated with operations planned for through co-participation in both. The covert activities
and thereby the covert activities are embedded in an overt network and sometimes activities
with covert aims are deliberately disguised as something else. From the point of view of
measurement, observations on the network are only partial but a good understanding of the
dependencies between different types of ties assist us in establishing whether, for example,
co-participation indicates a functional planning-execution tie between events or not. We aim
to model these dependencies in the multilevel exponential random graph framework whilst
taking into account the imperfections of data.
171
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Koster, Maurice; Kurz, Sascha; Lindner, Ines; Napel, Stefan
The Prediction Value
We introduce the prediction value (PV) as a measure of players' informational importance in
probabilistic transferable utility games. The latter combine a standard transferable utility
game and a probability distribution over the set of coalitions. Player i's prediction value equals
the difference between the conditional expectations of the coalitional value v(S) when i
cooperates or not.
PV’s can be used for a posteriori analysis of power in situations where there are structural
behavioral interdependencies between actors.
Applications to social networks are immediate, as networks are a natural way of formalizing
correlations between actors. Prediction values can help identifying the most influential actors
on a social network, and serve as a network centrality measure – with a predestined choice of
probabilities. We show how the underlying probabilities can be derived from empirical data
which is relevant for an a posteriori analysis of voting power in a decision making body like the
US Congress, the EU Council of Ministers, etcetera. In particular we show the outcome of such
an analysis for the Dutch Parliament.
Finally, since there is no lack of methods to define power in networks or political bodies, we
provide an axiomatic characterization of our measure. We single-out the prediction value as a
special member of the class of (extended) values which satisfy anonymity, linearity and a
consistency property. Every n-player binomial semivalue coincides with the PV for a particular
family of probability distributions over coalitions. The PV can thus be regarded as a power
index in specific cases. Conversely, some semivalues - including the Banzhaf but not the
Shapley value - can be interpreted in terms of informational importance.
172
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kostiuchenko, Tetiana
Application of Social Network Analysis in Elite Studies: Comparison of Three Cases
The application of structural analysis in studying governing groups and the ruling class has a
long history. The first was the power circles study conducted by Right Mills (1956) and later
continued by Domhoff (1970). It attracted the followers who aimed to investigate corporate
community depicting ‘interlocking directorates’ among the business top-executives (Allen
1974; Mizruchi 1982; Useem1984; Davis 1996). The other range of literature suggests the
studies of political actors, specifically focusing on whether the elite networks of particular
type can provide an impact on political regime in the country (Higley 1991), what structures
party coalitions might have (Buck 2007), what kind of network is formed through the
donations to particular candidates or parties during the election campaigns
(Grossmann/Dominguez 2009), or what network is formed between the legislators through
joint draft laws submission (Fowler 2005).
The paper suggests the way of combining these traditions and incorporating the
methodological outcomes of the application of social network analysis as a structural
perspective in studying political elites in the states under transition. The data on elites for
three post socialist states - Georgia, Lithuania and Ukraine - is compared. Firstly, the positional
approach is applied for sampling and compiling the list of top-executives and legislators who
were in power during 2007/2008-2012 and current elite members. Then the affiliation
network approach is used for depicting common biographical experiences of the listed elite
members to receive three 2-mode datasets. Finally, various network measures are calculated
(i.e. density, distance, centralization, and egocentric network measures) with the analysis of
networks fragmentation. This allows for defining leaders and clusters and comparison of
actors on similar elite positions in all three countries. Several attributes are also included into
the analysis of network homophily.
173
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kozlov, Dmitri
The Social Networks in the Baikal Region: Changes and Continuities
The Baikal Region, which comprises three administrative units of Russia, namely, Irkutskaya
oblast, Zabaiaklskiy krai, and the Buryat Republic, is living through important transformations.
These changes have to do with several processes. On the one hand, they can be linked to the
changing patterns of the urban networks due to the decline of smaller urban settlements
throughout the region and outbound migration flows from the bigger urban areas towards the
European part of the Russian Federation. Besides, the region is witnessing the income flows of
the growing number of Chinese and Central Asian migrants. On the other hand, there is
increasing impact of the resource exporting-oriented Russian economy that demands each
time more from the region in terms of the natural resources. Existing infrastructure and
market-oriented networks are experiencing pressure to sustain and new networks appear. In
addition to networks that can be linked to migration, infrastructure, and market, the
transformations impact the social networks that are related to power networks at regional
and national level. The paper will trace the role of the existing as well as new social networks,
and, using the study of the networks in the Baikal Region, will show the appropriateness of
the chosen methodological approach that can be used for comparative studies in other
regions.
174
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kundolf, Stefan
Entrepreneurship in processes of civic engagement – the role of individual and collective
resources for local communities
In the last decades the endogenous development approach has increasingly gained relevance
specifically in rural development policies. This approach presupposes the existence of valuable
local resources and entrepreneurial civic actors and aims at their mobilisation. In the German
pilot program LandZukunft, innovative ways shall be developed and implemented that serve
the bottom-up development of rural areas. In this context, villages were asked to apply for
financial support for local development projects, while for every 500 Euro support, 1 citizen
was required to commit themselves to active participation by signature. Just a few villages
were able to complete their concept in the short phase of application. So our question is:
What kinds of resources enable a successful application and the successful coordination of
civic engagement and where do the resources stem from? More specifically, we ask what role
there is for civic entrepreneurs and their networks on the one hand and for existing structures
and collective social embedded experiences of engagement on the other hand in this context.
Our conceptual framework integrates ideas from entrepreneurship theory, from community
learning and from the institutional perspective. In our ego-centric network survey we analyzed
three different ego-networks of potential local civic entrepreneurs in order to understand the
relevance of social embeddedness for civic engagement. We differentiate private support
networks, networks of civic engagement and networks of collaboration within the actual
LandZukunft project. With complementary questions, we tried to find out what resources had
been requested and whether they could be used spontaneously or had been developed in the
past. Moreover, in a second qualitative part of our survey the analysis tries to identify
personal and collective mental, structural and institutional capacities that are needed in order
to mobilise these resources effectively for local development processes.
175
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kuskova , Valentina; Wasserman, Stanley; Volkova, Irina
Solving the problem of ineffective subsidiary: the impact of intraorganizational networks
The problem of effective management of company subsidiaries has been on the forefront of
strategic management research since the mid-1980s (Roth & Nigh, 1992; Gates & Egelhoff,
1986). Recently, special attention has focused on the effect of headquarters-subsidiary
conflicts on the company performance. Of primary interest has been subsidiaries’ resistance,
both active and passive, to following the directives of the headquarters (e.g., Schotter &
Beamish,
2011).
Many theories have been proposed to explain the existence of intraorganizational conflicts.
For example, Strutzenberger & Ambos (2013) examined many ways to conceptualize a
subsidiary, from an individual actor perspective up to a network view. The network
conceptualization, at present, is the only approach that could explain the dissimilarity of the
subsidiaries’ responses to headquarters’ directives, after controlling for the distribution of
financial and other resources, administrative support from the head office to subsidiaries, and
levels of subsidiary integration. Social relationships between different actors inside the
organization, the strength of ties and the size of networks, as well as other characteristics, as
modeled by the network paradigm, could indeed generate the most important and theoretical
plausible explanatory variables to model intraorganizational conflict. The quest to resolve
varying degrees of responsiveness of subsidiaries, and – in fact – headquarters’ approaches –
to working with subsidiaries may be ending via the adoption of the network paradigm.
The purpose of this study is to understand the networks formed between actors in
headquarters and subsidiaries, and their effects on the performance of subsidiaries and
subsidiary-headquarters conflicts. Data are being collected at a major Russian company with
over 200,000 employees and several subsidiaries throughout Russia.
176
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kuznetsova, Eugenia
Ethnographical approach to the research of community practices and behaviours in
motivational online communities
With the rise of online social networks, new and combined methods of the research of virtual
reality emerge. Online ethnography encompasses a number of research methods adapted to the
study of communities created through computer-mediated social interaction.
The present paper applies ethnographic methods to the online social network in order to reach
the qualitative understanding of a virtual community. The case study analysed in the paper is 43
Things online community, one of the most popular virtual communities that deals with goal
setting. The website allows users to share and track their goals with others. This particular social
network is interesting for the motivation schemes elaborated in the community, the set of
reactions
and
finally
behaviour
models
caused
by
online
activities.
The website is analysed according to the traditional ethnographic scheme: qualitative data
collection (document collection and observation), analysis and presentation of results. There will
be also discussed the ethical issues of the online ethnographic research.
The research opens a discussion about the tension between traditional ethnographic research
and online ethnography, adapted to the studies of online social networks.
177
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Kyoko, Tominaga
Social movements and the diffusion of tactics and repertoires: From the viewpoint of intra
organizational and individual networks in the protest event
This presentation shows the network among the social movement organizations (SMOs) and
individual protesters and analyzes the relationship between diffusion of tactics and
protesters’ network in the social movement industry. Previous researches have made clear
that the diffusion of tactics and repertoires depends on the social network among both
organizations and individuals. Researches in this area mainly explain that the difference of
regional characters and political opportunity structures effect to the diffusion of tactics
(e.g.Wood 2012). In this research, the author analyzes the two networks in same area: 273
SMOs’ organizational network and 37 activists’ personal network in Japan. With social
network analysis, the author reveals that what’s the essential factor effect to the diffusion of
repertoires and tactics in meso-level among organizations and micro-level among individuals.
The result is as a below: repertoires are successfully transmitted between veteran and
beginner actors. Moreover, tactics are also diffused among the beginner actors. However, in
the case of veteran activists and SMOs, they often failed to diffuse their repertories and
corporate with other actors. Veteran activists and NGOs avoid collaborating with other
participants because they have a conflict concerning to choose repertoires. They already have
their own tactics and do not accept repertoires from others. On the other hand, relatively
beginner activists and organizations succeed to cooperate with other participants including
the veteran activists. They learned new tactics and information from other protesters of their
own accord. Previous research argued that activists’ experience and network contributes to
participate into activism (McAdam 1986). This study shows that protesters’ experience and
career also effect to the diffusion of tactics in social movements.
178
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Labeyrie, Vanesse; Ireri Kamau, Joseph; Leclerc, Christian
The social diffusion pathways of sorghum varieties and associated knowledge in the Mount
Kenya región
Small-scale farming systems present a major interest for the conservation of crop diversity in
situ. In these systems, farmers act on crop diversity through their management practices,
mainly seed selection and exchange. Understanding the diffusion pathways of crop seeds and
associated indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) within and among farmers’ communities
would hence be usefull for designing conservation strategies for agrobiodiversity.
In smallholders’ communities, the relationship among farmers are largely determined by
social rules and customs, partly inherited from the pre-colonial period. It is notably the case
in the Mount Kenya region, which still shelters an impressive cultural diversity with more
than nine ethnolinguistic groups coexisiting on its Eastern slope. This study focused on three
of these ethnolinguistic groups: the Chuka and Tharaka groups, which had a long standing
alliance but have no alliance with a third group, the Mbeere, despite their spatial adjacency.
Does this social organization determine the diffusion pathways of the sorghum varieties and
that of the ITK associated? This study attempts to adress this question.
The sorghum seed exchange network was characterized using Social Network Analysis. The
dependance of seed exchanges regarding the social organization of farmers was tested based
on the interviews of 218 farmers in the three ethnolinguistic groups. We also measured the
consistency of 96 farmers belonging to the three ethnic groups in naming sorghum varieties,
in order to test whether both the material (seed) and the cultural (sorghum variety names)
diffusion pathways corresponded.
This study showed that the social organization of farmers in the Mount Kenya region still
shapes today not only the seed exchange network, but also the ITK diffusion pathways. This
study hence illustrates the relevance of considering the social organization of farmers'
communities for the conservation of agrobiodiversity in situ.
179
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Leal, Hugo
Revolution S.A: Telling stories from the Arab Street
In this paper, I intend to present and in-depth study of the Arab revolutionary process through
the actions of its unsung actors: the Anonymous Society of ordinary citizens that may have
paved the way for a series of extraordinary events.
During the course of my broader research on the Egyptian Uprisings, I came across what
appears to be an important but ignored phenomenon: the emergence of “submerged
networks” (Melucci, 1996, 115) amidst the ebb and flow of the local waves of contention.
My goal is to assess the statistical and relational dimension of the non-organised protesters
within the context of the organised protests. For this purpose I use a mixed method approach,
including Protest Event and Social Network Analysis, combining quantitative and qualitative
information retrieved during my fieldwork in North Africa. Having collected data for both the
pre and post-revolutionary period, I expect to present the first empirical account, backed by
data, of the inner workings of the communitarian mode of coordination (Diani, 2013) in the
MENA region.
180
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lee , Ju-Sung; Pfeffer, Juergen
Measurement Accuracy in Samples of Online Communication Networks
Sampling from networks is a necessary evil as either whole networks are not easily or cheaply
available (e.g., Twitter) or too cumbersome for computing resources. We examine the effects
of sampling on the stability of various network measures, particularly the centrality measures.
For our analyses, we examine artificial samples from two longitudinal online networks: a
professional email network collected over 3-months and chat messages transmitted within an
online social network site (similar to Facebook but smaller in scale) collected over a six-month
period. Our findings show that the accuracy of measures in subgraphs induced by randomly
sampled edges (i.e., communication events such as emails) and also sampled nodes are
subject to original network size and edge count effects (while controlling for the sample size)
as well as sampling strategies. For example, using sampling weights proportional to a
centrality measure's scores offer superior correlations between scores from the subgraph
induced by the sample and the scores of those same nodes in the original network. These
effects also hold when we consider accuracy in assessing top ranking nodes on individual
measures. However, when we consider comparing structural roles (i.e., an identification of
key nodes using a combination of measures), the association between sampling level and
accuracy of prominent actors is no longer strictly increasing as it is for the centrality measures.
These findings may offer guidance in determining appropriate levels of sampling and their
effects on network inference.
181
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lee, Mandy; Ribeiro, Filipa
Ethical issues in conducting social network analysis research in health and educational
settings – a survey of international researchers and REC/IRB members’ views and
experiences
As social network analysis becomes ever more sophisticated and increasingly adopted by the
mainstream, the time has come for a more general and informed debate about the ethical
issues associated with its use especially in fields with long-established research governance
frameworks, such as in health and education. Ethics is an issue receiving relatively scant
attention in the extant literature, with only a handful of experienced SNA researchers having
raised this issue in recent years (e.g. Borgatti and Molina, 2003 and 2005), and these are
disseminated mainly in specialist SNA journals, the readership of which are fellow SNA
researchers, rather than a wider methodological audience in major discipline-based journals,
whose audiences include those tasked with general research governance.
This study seeks to explore the views and experiences of both active SNA researchers and
members of research ethics committees (RECs) and institutional review boards (IRBs) of
ethical issues that arise in conducting SNA research in health and educational settings. We
aim to identify ethical issues in conducting SNA from researchers’ and REC/IRB perspectives,
and to find out their recommendations for dealing with such issues in health and educational
settings. The study will be carried out in two surveys, targeting international SNA researchers
and REC/IRB members in countries with active SNA researchers. The aim is to bridge any gaps
in understanding of ethical issues between the two groups and to generate evidence for
developing clearer guidelines and ethical frameworks for SNA research in the health and
education fields.
For this presentation, we will outline the ethical issues we have identified thus far for SNA
research within the health and educational fields, and to introduce our study protocols and
instruments. We would like to seek the kind participation of EUSN members in the first wave
of this survey given their role as active SNA researchers.
182
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lee, Zong-Rong; Chang, Ming-Yi
Keeping Up with the Family? A Longitudinal Analysis of Kinship Networks and Performance
of Intercorporate Alliances
Studies on strategic alliances have long documented the effects of network advantage upon
firm’s performance. In this line of research, scholars have generally agreed that focal firm is
able to derive embedded network resources from its alliance partners in a portfolio of
strategic coalitions. There are, however, two major omissions in the current literature. Firstly,
a possible endogenous sorting may confound the effects of social influence and social
selection on individual firm’s performance. Secondly, previous studies have only focused on
formal intercorporate relationships and overlooked the possible influence of informal ties that
are prevalent in diverse market environments around the world. In this study we aim to
address these two problems by utilizing a newly developed stochastic actor-based models and
investigating the effects of kinship networks upon performance of major listed companies in
Taiwan where family firms are dominant and kinship ties widespread. Our sample composes
of 715 listed firms in the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) market during 1988 to 2005, and with
this sample we compile the information on co-investments and performance measures for all
firms. Through a massive scale of historical data collection on the genealogy trees of major
business families in Taiwan, we are able to identify the types of kinship networks (i.e.,
paternal lineage and affinal relative) and the distances among connected business families.
Our empirical analysis then focuses on how focal firms assimilate the co-investment
performance of their family members, conditioned on the difference of kinship types and the
network distances. We expect to contribute to the emerging literature of dynamic network
analysis as well as the debate on the role that informal ties may play in the market.
183
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lee, Zong Rong; Tu, Hsin Fei
Geographic Distance and Structural Holes
The idea of the “structural hole” refers to the position in which an individual occupies as a
middleman between network members, and as the model suggests, this may bring out social
benefits thanks to such unique position. Although scholars tend to agree that space plays a
constraining role for social interaction-- individuals need to take more energy to interact with
people who live at a longer distance than with those who are readily available—studies
examining how the geographic distance may influence the formation of structural holes are
still rare. It is in this paper we hope to take on this task.
In this study we suggest that as geographic distance between the egos and alters increase, the
likelihood of forming or keeping ties may decrease. As a result, individuals who have wider
geographic expanse of their social relationships may be more likely to have structural holes.
Yet we further point out the fact that in modern societies in which long distance migration
and job mobility are prevalent, individuals may still carry on strong social relationships – such
as family ties—along their mobile life courses. In such a situation, the farthest social ties that
individuals carry are mostly ones that engender strongest constraints. This reasoning helps us
hypothesize a nonlinear inverted U relationship between geographic distance and structural
holes. We test this hypothesis with data drawn from 1997 Taiwan Social Change Survey (TSCS)
module on Social Networks and Communities that utilizes the name generator approach for
collecting network information. Statistical analyses are performed on both individual and
dyadic levels.
184
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lee, Zong-Rong
Families United: Kinship Ties and Similarity of Political Donation among Business Groups in
Taiwan
During past two decades or so, study on collective political behaviors among firms has
attracted enormous scholarly interests. Within such a dynamic academic research tradition is
one unique empirical approach of examining campaign contribution data of major businesses
and capitalists in order to trace the antecedents of collective action among corporations. The
current literature has, however, paid little attention to what primordial social relationships
may have the impact upon the initiation of collective action among firms. This study aims to
address this issue by examining the political collective action of family business in one East
Asia society. Specifically this study provides a network analysis on the similarity of campaign
contribution among major Taiwanese business groups, and investigates the extent to which
the collective action among groups is influenced by the extensive kinship ties among owning
families. One of the unique characteristics of this study is the identification of the complex
underlying kinship networks among major Taiwanese business families. With such
information this study is able to examine the impact of kinship network upon campaign
contribution activities among groups. Empirically, this study employs the skill of network
analysis to identify the determinants of business groups’ similar campaign contribution to the
same political candidate in the legislator election in the year of 2007. QAP regression analysis
shows that kinship ties among owning families is one important and significant determinant
of similarity of campaign contributions; both paternal lineage and affinal relatives are all
significant determinants, although slightly different in their effects. Moreover, kinship
delivers stronger power in unifying political donation for pair of groups that both occupy
monopolistic market position and maintain better political ties.
185
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Leifeld, Philip; Malang, Thomas
National Parliamentary Coordination after Lisbon: A Network Approach
The Treaty of Lisbon strengthens the role of national parliaments in the European Union by
providing the so-called Early Warning System on the basis of subsidiary concerns. To gain legal
influence on the EU's policy process, however, the national legislators have to reach a certain
threshold of chambers expressing subsidiary concerns. The paper analyzes the factors
influencing the coordination between national chambers. We hypothesize that properties of
the respective national parliamentary chamber (majority party, capacity, level of political
autonomy from the executive), of the proposed legislation (procedure, policy sector, salience,
volume of communication) and network properties (preferential attachment to bills,
parliamentary clustering on bills, and attribute homophily) have an effect on the likelihood of
legislative cooperation. Based on a newly coded dataset including all national parliamentary
action from 2010 to 2013, we estimate two-mode exponential random graph models to test
our claims on the emerging cooperation network.
186
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lengyel, Balazs
Spatial diffusion of an online social network
In this paper we analyse the spatial diffusion of iWiW, the largest Hungarian online social
network and major online innovation in the previous decade, over its full life cycle. It has been
shown previously that distance from Budapest –the geographical origin of iWiW– affected
spatial distribution of the service among the total population negatively (Lengyel and Jakobi,
2012) and distance also reduces the probability that two users from distinct settlements are
connected (Lengyel et al, 2013).
Two questions are raised here:
1. How does the impact of geographical distance and urban hierarchy on the OSN diffusion
evolve over time?
2.
How
do
individual
similarities
affect
OSN
diffusion
over
space?
Innovation diffusion is defined by the act of registering a profile. Almost 3 million users (out of
4 million) have registered to the system after an invitation sent by an already registered
member. We look at invitations and analyse data of the sender and receiver of the invitation.
Geographical distance is measured between the self-reported residence of invitation sender
and receiver. The urban network of iWiW is used to capture social space of the country. Four
phases of the iWiW life-cycle are identified in order to capture dynamics: early adopters, early
majority, late majority, laggards.
First findings suggest that the decay effect of geographical distance reduces over time. The
visualization of invitations in an urban network format suggests that urban hierarchy plays a
major role in diffusion. However, new subcentres emerge over the life-cycle and transmit the
innovation to remote places. Second, logit regressions imply that user level similarities (Sex,
Age, Registration Time Lag, Time Spent in the OSN etc.) help the innovation to get to new
areas. However, these similarities have only marginal effect compared to urban hierarchy.
187
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lengyel, Balazs; Lorincz, Laszlo; Kiss, Karoly Miklos; Bajnai, Blanka
Ownership-effect on the dynamics of industry space over the financial crisis in
Hungary
Economic development of countries and regions is conditioned by the capacities they
possess because these economic systems may diversify into new activities that are
related to the ones that already exist in the system. Network representation of
product space is used to depict relatedness, and illustrate the paths countries and
regions follow in developing the export and production portfolio (Hidalgo et al,
2007). Industry space is used explain that related industries foster economic
development and entering industries relate to existing ones in regions (Neffke et al,
2011). A unique access to Hungarian firm-level data enables us to analyze how the
network evolves over crisis times and what effect company ownership has on
dynamics.
We identify firm product portfolio at 4-digit level PRODCOM codes of the Hungarian
Statistical Office for the 2008-2012 period. Next, company ownership is detected by
using registered capital from the balance sheet database of Hungarian Tax Office.
Nodes in our industry space are NACE2-level industries and edges between them
represent the frequency that firms from the two industries produce the same
product. Industry space is created on a yearly basis.
Block-modeling exercises will be carried out in order to identify sub-cohesive graphs
and analyze if they are constituted by foreign-owned and domestic companies in a
significantly different share. Next, stability of the network is analyzed by comparing
separate years over the period. As a third step, the effect of company exits and
entries on network edges are analyzed.
188
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lindner , Ines
Diffusion of Behavior in Network Games Orchestrated by Social Learning
The novelty of our model is to combine models of collective action on networks with
models of social learning. Agents are connected according to an undirected graph, the social
network, and have the choice between two actions: either to adopt a new behavior or
technology or stay with the default behavior. The individual believed return depends on how
many neighbors an agent has, how many of those neighbors already adopted the new
behavior and some agent-specific cost-benefit parameter. There are four main insights of our
model: (1) A variety of collective adoption behaviors is determined by the network. (2)
Average inclination governs collective adoption behavior. (3) Initial inclinations determine the
critical mass of adoption which ensures the new behavior to prevail. (4) Equilibria and
dynamic behavior changes as we change the underlying network and other parameters. Given
the complexity of the system we use a standard technique for estimating the solution.
189
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lopaciuk-Gonczaryk, Beata
Co-authorship strategies and patterns in international and national journals
The objective of the paper is to investigate and compare co-authorship strategies and
patterns in international and national journals. The study focuses on the case of Polish
scientists in economics. There are two co-authorship networks taken into consideration, one
corresponding to collaboration connected with publishing in international journals and the
other regarding national journals. The first involves authors of articles in English, which have
at least one Polish affiliation and are obtained from SCOPUS and Web of Science. The second
covers authors of papers in the most recognized Polish economic journals.
In opposition to the trends in world literature, in this study the average number of authors per
article and the share of articles written in collaboration do not increase between 1999 and
2012. What is more, a law rate of co-authorship in international journals is followed by an
even lower rate of co-authorship in national journals. Several interesting phenomena are here
to be explored. First of all, the differences in collaboration strategies in both networks under
study are identified. Secondly, the overall collaboration patterns in the both networks are
compared. Furthermore, the focus is on different attributes of co-authors as determinants of
the both analysed types of ties. Next the correlations between co-authorship in international
and national journals are investigated. Last but not least it is checked if individuals central in
international-journal network are also central in national-journal network. Multilevel
modelling and permutation tests are applied.
The findings support the thesis, that in different institutional surroundings different
collaboration patterns emerge and different strategies are applied. Additionally, the fact that
different scholars are central in case of national and international journals may be a
consequence of their strategies, but at the same time it harms the transfer of expertise and
knowledge in Polish economics.
190
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Løyning, Trond
Interlocking directorates and the law on gender quotas in Norway, 2008-2013
In 2008 an amendment to the companies act in Norway was implemented, requiring that each
gender should be represented by at least 40 % on boards of public limited companies. This
implied a radical change in board composition; the proportion of women had to be
substantially increased in a relatively short period of time. Not surprisingly, this change
affected the network of interlocking directorates among these companies as well. Previous
research shows that women, from being peripheral in the network of interlocking
directorates, became central in the network after the law was implemented in 2008. An
explanation is that when such a dramatic change in the composition of boards had to take
place, a relatively small number of (experienced) women were in high demand, resulting in a
large number of board positions among a few women.
In this paper, the effects of the law in the first five years after it was implemented are
investigated. The first question to be examined is the extent to which women retain a central
position in the networks during this period. If the central positions of women initially was
caused by the adaptation process, as the situation normalizes the expectation is that their
centrality will decrease over time. However, the main finding is that women retain their
central position in the networks. The second question to be investigated is the possible effect
of the law of gender quotas on companies not regulated by the law of gender quotas. Do
companies not regulated mimic the changes in public limited companies? This is important
because the political goal of increased gender equality in management and on company
boards is not limited to this specific category of companies. Of particular importance are the
private limited companies. The main finding is that there seem to be little effect of the law
beyond the companies regulated by it.
191
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lozares, Carlos; Muntanyola, Dafne; Barranco, Oriol
Homophily and the heterophilic variety following the criteria of identification and
classification of different collectives
In this paper we focus on the relationships among different groups that do not follow the
same criteria for social differentiation. The analyses and writings on homophily are numerous
in sociology and social psychology. Homophily expresses the outcomes of social processes
that lead to the result that people of the same or similar groups tend to adopt similar
behaviors and diverse behaviors if they do not share this common background. The
sociological literature defines several types of homophily and offers ad hoc indicators that are
available for measurement. Heterophily is a phenomenon from which different people can
have different frequencies or intensities in superior relations to what their relative weight
among their collectives of belonging. The study of heterophily has not been overwhelmingly
treated in sociology. Homophily and heterophily, both type of analyses usually refer to
different collectives based in the same differential criterion: namely, in the attributes of a
social variable. There is homophilia among the members of the same social class and there is
heterophily among members of different class or age. I.e, do people doing housework have
heterophilic relationships with those with secondary studies? First, we analyze the three
levels of behavior, both homophilic and heterophilic, for a wide sample of social groups,
defined from the similar or different criteria of social differentiation. Second, we take
different collectives and group them following heterophilic relationships. The data comes
from a survey of personal networks with 441 cases. A non-proportional sampling with
autochthonous and immigrant population, balanced by age and gender quotas was
performed. The fieldwork was conducted in three cities of Catalonia (northeast of Spain:
Barcelona, Balaguer and Sant Feliu de Llobregat. The survey was conducted between 2010
and 2011. This research draws from the R+D Project financed by the Ministry of Education
and Science, 2008-2011.
192
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lubbers, Miranda Jessica
Time and temporalities in personal network dynamics
Personal network dynamics are complex. At the relational level, ties can be formed, they can
grow or decrease in strength or alter in their contents, they can gradually disappear or end
abruptly. Consequently, the personal network, defined as the entire set of personal
relationships an individual has, can change in size, composition, structure, and stability. These
changes are particularly hard to predict because unlike sociocentric networks, personal
networks extend over a variety of social spaces and typically only one person informs about
the network. A mixed-methods approach allows researchers to both explore the various
temporal dimensions of personal networks in depth, and then to use this information for
modelling dynamics statistically in order to isolate more general tendencies. In this paper, we
illustrate this approach with a study of the personal networks of 50 immigrants over a period
of eight years (three waves, 2004-2012). We pay specific attention to different concepts of
time and temporality.
193
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lukacs, Agnes; David, Beata; Huszti, Eva
Personal network composition of Roma university students – ‘bonding’ or ‘bridging’?
In 2011, four of the Hungarian churches founded five Christian Roma Colleges for Roma
university students. The research-team of the Institute of Mental Health (Semmelweis
University) designed a longitudinal research to follow up these Roma college students. The
research focuses on the changes on their identity, their personal network structure, norms
and mental health status.
The main purpose of personal network analysis is to measure how embedded Roma university
students are in their social environment, which relations are related to mobility and coping.
We consider personal network system not simply as form of social capital, but also as a crucial
factor, which has a considerable effect on identity-construction and integration, as well.
To map the students’ social network composition we use contact diary, whereby we observe
size, consistency and homogeneity of the networks, plus we also measure the tie strength.
From the second wave of the research we’ve been using Egocentric Network Study Software
to capture the structure of each egocentric network.
Based on the results of the first wave (59 personal networks), we identified three dominant
groups in the personal network of Roma college students, such as kin relations, Roma college
students or other Roma intelligentsia, and Non-Roma peers and intelligentsia. In our analysis
we map and cluster the networks based on network-size and the proportion of Roma alters,
and examine the significance of the ‘bonding’ and ‘bridging’ kind of relations.
194
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Lumino, Rosaria; Ragozini, Giancarlo; Van Duijn, Marijtje; Prosperina Vitale, Maria
Exploring structures in Social Support Networks of lone mothers
The present work aims at analyzing how social support networks of lone mothers is related to
their personal characteristics and the life context. There is indeed a strong research evidence
that social support is crucial for the well-being of lone mothers, showing that theirs survival
strategies are based on relationships of exchange based on reciprocity.
Many scholars investigated the role of social networks for lone mothers' survival strategies.
We note that the majority of these studies are often informed by the network's metaphor but
not by the use of social network analysis methods for the collection and analysis of network
data.
In this study, we adopt an ego-centered network approach, that is usually considered to
reconstruct social support networks. Starting from the scale of perceived social support and
the definition of received social support through ego-centered networks, our study describes
the different type of support and those on whom lone mothers rely for daily living in a
particular social and geographical Mediterranean area –Naples. This town is characterized by
a lack of social services for children and by a traditional family model of solidarity.
We conduct a pilot study on a set of low income single mothers living in different areas by
collecting data through personal interviews. Specifically, we look for the degree of
embeddedness of lone mothers in their supportive relationships, focusing on: types of
support, kind of alteri who provide support, and their association with leverage or coping
function.
Beyond the description of the characteristics of the ego-centered networks, a deeper
statistical analysis is performed using both an exploratory tool in the class of factorial
methods to discover type support patterns and regression-type models allowing to investigate
varying (tie) effects over individuals.
195
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Luthe, Tobias
Agent Based Mapping for assessing socio-economic networks of mountain tourism as a
coupled HES
It is common knowledge that important currency flows exist between economic sectors in a
local community. For example, even if neighbouring businesses do not directly exchange
money or goods, they do indirectly via people and social interactions. A tourist, for example,
staying some days in a hotel, will likely spend money at a local restaurant, a bar, and in winter
at the ski lifts. Thus, clear but indirect economic dependencies exist, but these critical local
economic interdependencies are impossible to characterize from publicly available data on
currency flows. Being able to draw a local socio-economic network though would allow for
better understanding, modeling or forecasting and managing transitions and sustainable
development in communities as socio-economic-ecological systems.
In this study we present a pioneering approach for developing a meaningful local socioeconomic influence map for a Swiss region’s implicit currency flows between all supply chain
sectors of the tourism industry. We map the indirect economic dependencies of key economic
actors with the help of tourists as agents. We refer to this approach as agent based mapping
(ABM).
We involve tourists spending an average one week holiday in this region as ‚agents’ to map
the indirect economic flows related to their activities. The 15 tourists connect the 33 actors
indirectly with 459 links. Centrality analysis in a two-mode network reveals the most central
actors and further network metrics. In the ABM network we find different centralities of
different actors that shed a new light on the dependencies in the region.
We conclude that ABM is one possible way to learn about the local indirect economic
dependencies in tourism dependent communities, and that ABM is one step towards
modeling a complete social-economic-ecological system (SEES).
196
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Luthe, Tobias; Wyss, Tobias
Agent Based Mapping for assessing socio-economic networks of mountain tourism as a
coupled HES
It is common knowledge that important currency flows exist between economic sectors in a
local community. For example, even if neighbouring businesses do not directly exchange
money or goods, they do indirectly via people and social interactions. A tourist, for example,
staying some days in a hotel, will likely spend money at a local restaurant, a bar, and in winter
at the ski lifts. Thus, clear but indirect economic dependencies exist, but these critical local
economic interdependencies are impossible to characterize from publicly available data on
currency flows. Being able to draw a local socio-economic network though would allow for
better understanding, modeling or forecasting and managing transitions and sustainable
development in communities as socio-economic-ecological systems.
In this study we present a pioneering approach for developing a meaningful local socioeconomic influence map for a Swiss region’s implicit currency flows between all supply chain
sectors of the tourism industry. We map the indirect economic dependencies of key economic
actors with the help of tourists as agents. We refer to this approach as agent based mapping
(ABM).
We involve tourists spending an average one week holiday in this region as ‚agents’ to map
the indirect economic flows related to their activities. The 15 tourists connect the 33 actors
indirectly with 459 links. Centrality analysis in a two-mode network reveals the most central
actors and further network metrics. In the ABM network we find different centralities of
different actors that shed a new light on the dependencies in the region.
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Marques, Leonardo
The study of a business-to-business knowledge portal for sustainability best practices
development: a social network analysis approach
As companies are pressured to balance financial, environmental and social demands,
academia is increasingly interested in how firms address sustainability. Firms need to consider
their approach to supply chain management (SCM) since a company may be deemed to be no
more sustainable than the suppliers from which it sources (Krause et al., 2009) and exposure
of firms due to suppliers’ unsatisfactory sustainability performance has been largely
addressed (Svensson, 2009). Hence, a company’s sustainability profile is constituted not only
by its own practices, but also its extended supply network. SCM research, being inherently
concerned with inter-firm relationships has a natural orientation towards the network
perspective (Sloane & O’Reilly, 2013). Nevertheless, few studies are available (Miemczyk et
al., 2012). This paper applies social network analysis (SNA) to explore a business-to-business
knowledge portal established in 2012 by a major UK food retailer to foster knowledge
creation on sustainability best practices with its global supply network. This portal can be
characterised as an ‘electronic network of practice’, computer-based, self-organised, but
sponsored by a specific organisation as a tool for knowledge creation with a specific purpose
(Wasko & Faraj, 2005). According to the taxonomy suggested by Borgatti et al. (2013), this
dataset (230 members and 379 events) is a realist, emic, two-mode, valued, and non-directed
whole network. Data analysis, supported by UCINET 6 (Borgatti et al., 2002), uses the dualprojection approach, converting 2-mode data into two 1-mode projections (Everett &
Borgatti, 2013). This research offers three contributions. It analyses this innovative initiative of
a major player in the UK food retailing and a rare case of business-to-business social media. It
uses SNA, filling an important gap in SCM literature. It offers an investigation of sustainability
development within a complex and global supply network.
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Marques-Sanchez, Pilar; Fernandez-Martinez, Elena; Liebana-Presa, Cristina; AriasRamos, Natalia; Quiroga-Sanchez, Enedina; Quiroga-Sanchez, Enedina; Pinto-Carral,
Arrate
Cooperative learning focused to the cooperative network: A study with nursing
students
BACKGROUND.The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has brought a new
educational model focused on cooperative learning. This context has been the starting
point of this research, which aims to provide empirical evidence on how cooperative
networking increasing student engagement and achieving high academic performance.
The study was conducted at the Faculty of Health Sciences at University of Leon. The
social structure was analyzed with SNA.
METHODOLOGY. Students included in the study were 52. An educational intervention
was designed for motivating cooperative network, enhance their commitment and
improve their academic performance. It consisted of designing of a case study in video
format. The measure of the network, the student engagement and the academic
outcomes were performed with the following instruments: network questionnaire,
commitment with studies, and learning assessment by skills.
RESULTS
Before the intervention.The mean degree of connections per student was 1.8 (St.2.18).
The degree of external connections was 0.34 (St.0.28). Correlations were positive only
between external networks and dedication (engagement) with a 0.316 (0.05 for
statistical significance).
After the intervention.The average grade was 8.15 connections (St.4.71). The average
external connections were 0.48 (0.22 St.). The correlation was positive between the
three variables of engagement and the network variables. The evaluation of teachers
on academic performance was 4.5 (value between 1-5) to 96.2% of students. 82.7% of
students considered as positive methodology and coordination between subjects and
teachers.
CONCLUSION
Cooperative network is presented as a learning tool for new university requirements,
but should cover all the agents of the educational process, not just students.
Coordination between teachers and subjects should be a key step in building a new
model of learning that brings the EHEA.
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Martí, Joel; Albani, Eugenia; Cid, José
Personal networks and desistance in the transition to adulthood
This presentation describes the design and preliminary results of the first wave of a
longitudinal study of 107 young persons (ages 18 to 21) serving juvenile custody and
probation in Catalonia for offences committed while being minors. The project is being
developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers and its main aim is to identify cognitive
transformations and changes in personal networks that accompany the process of desistance
in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The analysis aims to explore the factors that
catalyse these changes.
A multi-method research design is applied to collect information about participants and their
personal networks. First, network data is gathered from a personal network questionnaire;
second, information on offences is collected from a self-reported questionnaire and from
official sources; and third, narrative information is obtained from a semi-structured interview
in which participants are asked about their trajectory, current situation and expectations.
Questionnaire of personal networks includes information on the socio-demographic
characteristics of the ego, of 25 alters (free-list name generator), the relationship between
ego and alter, and the relationships between each pair of alters. The questionnaire measures
key factors of main criminological theories (social support, social control, differential
association and cumulative disadvantage).
Through a longitudinal research (first wave while serving the sentence and the second two
years later) it will be possible to relate changes in the composition and structure of the
personal network and changes in offending. Context and social processes where these
changes occur will be traced through qualitative data from interviews.
Cross-sectional preliminary results of the first wave will be presented, describing the
composition and structural characteristics of personal networks and their relation with sociodemographic and criminological factors.
200
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Martí, Joel; Albani, Eugenia; Cid, José
Personal networks and desistance in the transition to adulthood
This presentation describes the design and preliminary results of the first wave of a
longitudinal study of 107 young persons (ages 18 to 21) serving juvenile custody and
probation in Catalonia for offences committed while being minors. The project is being
developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers and its main aim is to identify cognitive
transformations and changes in personal networks that accompany the process of desistance
in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The analysis aims to explore the factors that
catalyse these changes.
A multi-method research design is applied to collect information about participants and their
personal networks. First, network data is gathered from a personal network questionnaire;
second, information on offences is collected from a self-reported questionnaire and from
official sources; and third, narrative information is obtained from a semi-structured interview
in which participants are asked about their trajectory, current situation and expectations.
Questionnaire of personal networks includes information on the socio-demographic
characteristics of the ego, of 25 alters (free-list name generator), the relationship between
ego and alter, and the relationships between each pair of alters. The questionnaire measures
key factors of main criminological theories (social support, social control, differential
association and cumulative disadvantage).
Through a longitudinal research (first wave while serving the sentence and the second two
years later) it will be possible to relate changes in the composition and structure of the
personal network and changes in offending. Context and social processes where these
changes occur will be traced through qualitative data from interviews.
Cross-sectional preliminary results of the first wave will be presented, describing the
composition and structural characteristics of personal networks and their relation with sociodemographic and criminological factors.
201
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Martínez-Cháfer, Luis; Larrañeta Gómez-Caminero, Bárbara; Molina-Morales, Francesc
Xavier
Firm’s performance in the cluster: a question of balancing its role and intermediation in the
knowledge system
Recently, wide attention has been given to the development and existence of a “cluster
knowledge system” driven by networks of firms’ relations. Scholars have highlighted the
benefits that accrue to well-positioned organizations within these networks. However, while
firms vary remarkably on their contributions to the “cluster knowledge system” depending on
their role as sources, absorbers or mutual knowledge exchangers, their own benefit from
these roles in terms of individual performance remains unclear. This paper explores this
issue, taking into consideration (1) the performance implications of differing firms’ roles and
(2) the moderating effect of the firm’s intermediation in the “cluster knowledge system” on
the association between differing firms’ roles and its performance. The paper builds and
contributes to both the network and cluster literatures.
202
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1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Martsenyuk, Tamara; Kostiuchenko , Tetiana
Female Entrepreneurship during Social Transformations: Personal Networks As Business
Drivers
The role of women in economic development and their entrepreneurial activity has increased
significantly after the socio-economic transformations in post socialist countries and in
Ukraine in particular. However, there were only 26% of female entrepreneurs owning small
and 15% in medium enterprises in Ukraine in 2010. According to UNPD, only up to 10% of
economic resources in Ukraine are in women’s hands. In this situation, personal networks can
be the source of different resources and support in achieving business goals and higher
profits. According to previous studies of entrepreneurial networks conducted in developing
countries, personal networks of female entrepreneurs are unique in the sense that they
contain more strong ties with alters, and have less opportunities to gain from diverse
resources in ‘structural holes’.
The paper is based on the results of the in-depth interviews with women who own and
manage small enterprises in Ukraine. The main objectives are to compare the structure of
female entrepreneurs’ personal networks, to analyze the role of the strong and weak ties in
start-up and business growth, and to explore women’s network capital with regard to the
sector they work in and duration of entrepreneurial activity. The sample covers female
entrepreneurs in various sectors, with different number of employees, level of outcomes and
geographical location. Qualitative and quantitative network data was collected. The social
network approach is applied for the analysis of ego-networks. The strong-weak ties and
structural holes perspectives are used for the comparison of network profiles of female
entrepreneurs on the micro-level. Moreover, we trace opportunities for female
entrepreneurs on the meso-level modeling interorganizational networks in the regions and
different sectors for the legislative support, creation of lobbying groups, and improving social
solidarity among women engaged in small business during social transformations.
203
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Matveenko, Vladimir; Korolev, Alexei
Network Game with Intertemporal Choice and Knowledge Externalities
In the framework of networks games (see, e.g., Jackson and Zenou, 2013, Galeotti et al., 2010)
questions related to intertemporal choice did not receive enough attention. In the present
paper we consider a Nash equilibrium in a network model with knowledge externalities. In our
model there is a social network consisting of n individuals each of which is characterized by a
twice differentiable, increasing, strictly concave utility function which depends on her
consumptions at the first and second time periods. Each individual is endowed by initial stock
of good at period 1. Benefit at period 2 is described by a function F, which depends on the
state of knowledge by the individual as well as on the externality created by the sum of
knowledge in her neighborhood (including herself). The knowledge can be received one to
one from forgone consumption in period 1. The function F is assumed to be concave. Each
individual solves a maximization problem. To show that the equilibrium values depend on the
network structure, we introduce a notion of a type of node and show that, generally, the
equilibrium depends on the types of nodes; and networks of different size which are
characterized by the same types of nodes possess similar equilibria. For the one-type-of-nodes
networks we show that, with increase in degree of nodes, the utility of each individual first
increases and the then decreases; we find the optimal degree of the node. For particular types
of networks such as a star, a cycle, a chain and others we find explicitly equilibrium values for
individuals which have different position in the network. Also we consider changes in
knowledge under increase in the network size. We study consequences of appearance of a
new link in the network.
204
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1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Maya-Jariego, Isidro; Holgado, Daniel; Florido, David
From personal networks of fishermen and skippers in Andalusian fishing ports to the comanagement of natural resources
Co-management is a form of institutional organization that has gained recent attention in the
field of natural resource administration. It may play a significant role in sustainable
development, environment preservation, urban ecosystem services, fishery conservation and
other forms of natural resource management. In all this areas, informal social networks
impact the compliance with environmental regulations. The topology of networks and
structural differences in terms of cohesiveness, clustering and centralization can influence the
way actors participate. The personal networks of 57 fishermen, boat owners and other
workers of 19 Andalusian fisheries were analysed. In each case 45 alteri were obtained for
examining daily operations of the fishery. Clustered graphs were applied to obtain metarepresentations of the personal networks regarding fishery location (Mediterranean versus
Atlantic sea) and professional role. The analysis was useful for identifying key players in each
enclave. The implications for the management of natural resources and cultural heritage of
fisheries are discussed.
205
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Mazare, Dan
Framing the Intersections: Operational Intelligence, Law Enforcement and Network
Science
It is a subject of recent public revelations that particular dimensions of (social) network
analysis are covertly employed by some official intelligence/security agencies to fuse
meta-data (data) gathered across various online channels, in an attempt aimed at
supporting the monitoring of and scanning for potential deviance, through masssurveillance programs (e.g. The Guardian, 2013). While such news may stir public
imagination, as the power of agencies and the explanatory/predictive power of social
network analysis seem to be limitless, the academic literature relating social network
analysis and criminology continues to emphasize not only the benefits of such an
empowering symbiosis but also open problems (e.g. Morselli, 2009). Based on the
available literature and author’s findings, the paper defines the pillars of a framework
that uses the network science to join the interests of intelligence and law enforcement
professionals, taking into account their activity’s bureaucratic settings and the constraints
defined by an existing legal system. Out of these intersecting interests and constraints
emerges the need to identify an appropriate network representation and changes of
established analysis procedures, in order to effectively and efficiently deploy intelligence
means (minimizing resources allocation while maximizing operational benefits), in a
timely manner (as timing is defined by the legal system). Initiatives concerning potential
legislative changes and effects are, inevitably, most of the time, part of the debate
surrounding the issue, yet from a perspective as large as the ’human rights’ topic.
Nevertheless, the proposed conceptual framework is aimed at tackling potential
legislative changes and effects from the perspective of the individual warrant as it is
defined by the legal system and particularly by the criminal code.
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Merinero, Rafael; Esparcia, Javier; Molina, José Luis
Local Development and the networks of tourism agents: evidences from middle towns in
the Andalusian community (Spain)
Literature has posed the positive relationship between high levels of (local) development and
active networks of agents collaborating across private, public, and university sectors. In this
regard, evidences for the touristic sector have been based mainly on case studies. In this
communication we present data collected from 16 “medium” towns (10.000-50.000
inhabitants) in the Andalusian Community (Spain) during the period 2008-2011 (144
interviews, and secondary information). For each municipality we collected 4 networks of
collaboration, corresponding to the four stages of the touristic product: creation,
management, promotion, and commercialization, respectively.
The analysis shows the existence of a high correlation between average density of the
networks of touristic development , and the Index of Touristic development (ITD for 2008), a
measure collected regularly by Anuario Económico de España (La Caixa) at the municipality
level that have into account the number of touristic beds, and a proxy of their level of
occupation.
This association allows discussing the nature of the local dynamics that account for an
effective touristic development.
207
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Miele, Raffaele; Giordano, Giuseppe
Ego-centered association rules based on bipartite graph
The interest of enterprises towards the extraction of knowledge patterns out of big masses of
data has increased consistently during the last years. An even more interesting problem can
be transforming such knowledge in something that is actionable, meaning that business
decision must be self-contained into it. This represents the so-called “prescriptive analytics”.
In this work we start from a real world business problem and describe the way we model it
from a statistical and network analysis point of view, the algorithms we use and the obtained
results.
Businesses need to support marketing loyalty campaigns, based on discount programs, in
order to boost the customer engagement. More precisely the business’ goal is to get new
customers into the program (i.e. customers that were not taking advantage of past
campaigns) and increasing the program usage by customers that already used it.
The approach we propose is to use raw transactional data to develop rules to extract
recommendations. The recommendations are ego-centric and based on the idea to study the
similarity between customers in terms of purchasing behaviour. Profiling each customer with
the items that characterise the purchasing of tied customers then produces the
recommendations.
We model the raw transaction table as a bipartite graph and, by means of algebraic projection
operators and statistical similarity measures, we propose to measure the distance between
customers and grouping them into homogeneous clusters. Then, recommendations are
produced and ranked in order to extract, for each customer, the best "p" products to
recommend.
In order to describe and discuss the performance of the proposed approach on real data, an
experimental campaign was conducted on a customer sample. The results seem to be far
better than a previous campaign with different boosting criteria.
208
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Milard, Beatrice; Lucena, Delio
Analyzing the reference universes to understand overlap between knowledge networks and
social networks in science
The general objective of the RESOCIT research (ANR-11-BSH1-0013) is to analyse the links
between social networks (interpersonal networks) and knowledge networks (citations and cocitations networks) in science.
The methodology consists in doing an interview with the principal author of a scientific
publication to understand his/her relationship with all authors cited in the publication (about
100 names for one publication). Next, the references network of the publication is described:
which teams, what specialties, what countries, what sort of relationship? Then, using the Web
of Science of Thomson Reuters, we search for the presence of this network in scientific
literature (about 5000 publications for one publication), ie the reference universe of the
publication. How much references of the paper are linked by co-citations? Who are the
authors who cite the same references than the principal author of the publication (countries,
specialties, institutions), at the same moment? Does he know them? Do they have meet
before or have they only read their works?
The overall objective of this research is to better understand the globalization of scientific
knowledge by a detailed analysis of overlap between social networks and cognitive networks.
Are there different forms of globalization in research and what are their origins? Do
disciplinary traditions explain some of these differences or are they related to different ways
to organize science or to individual researchers with particular positions?
This research mobilizes publications and citations for understanding scientific activity at
several levels: from one publication to the overall structure of scientific literature; from
individual to institutional level; from social network to knowledge networks.
209
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Mólera Peris, Lourdes; López Serrano, Rafael; Noguera Méndez, Pedro;
Semitiel García, María
Influence of the dynamic formation of social networks on the diffusion
processes
Social networks, and their diverse structures, are key elements in diffusion
processes (Rogers, 2003). Knowing how social networks are created and evolve
is very useful in understanding how information, knowledge, innovations and
even particular behaviors are disseminated among the actors making up a
network.
The literature mainly addresses the theory of preferential attachment
(Barab si and Albert, 1999) when considering the incorporation of new nodes
in the creation and evolution of networks. There are, however, interesting
alternatives, like the hybrid model (Jackson and Rogers, 2007), that take in
preferential and random attachment at the same me, which re ects a more
realis c process of building a network. The hybrid model includes as par cular
cases preferen al a achment networks (with power law degree distribu on)
and Erd s-R nyi random networks (with Poisson degree distribution).
This study uses diverse hybrid networks in order to simulate the behavior of
some diffusion processes. The networks have nodes with different propensities
to innovation, and various options in the selection of nodes to initialize the
diffusion process are considered (randomly or through interventions that
choose those with specific characteristics).
210
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Molina, Jose Luis ; Valenzuela-García , Hugo; Lobato, Marta María; Escribano, Paula;
Lubbers, Miranda J.; Santana, María Eugenia
The social networks of social entrepreneurs
Drawing on the ongoing fieldwork carried out in Catalonia (research project ENCLAVE,
CSO2012-32635), we suggest the existence of at least three types of the so-called “social
entrepreneurs”: the self-occupied individuals displaced by the cuts on public spending in the
health, social and cooperation sectors; the traditional Coops and associations, re-labelled as
“social entrepreneurs” or “social enterprises”, and, finally, the ones that enjoyed institutional
support (mostly from private entrepreneurship programs) which fuelled their
(social/environmental) initiatives.
In order to test the networking hypothesis posed by the literature (i.e. social entrepreneurs
are distinguished by their capability for mobilizing local resources and involving a wide range
of actors for achieving their ends), we collected personal network data with the aid of EgoNet
(http://sourceforge.net/projects/egonet) using multiple name generators for eliciting alters
related with the initiative.
The personal networks of these three types are summarized using “clustered graphs”
(http://visone.info/wiki/index.php/Personal_networks_%28tutorial%29),
whom
exhibit
different features for each type in terms of the balance of weak/strong ties and support to the
social initiative.
We argue that this new arena in which new and old players struggle to present themselves
and survive can hardly be understood just in terms of social motivations, as the literature
suggests. Finally, a discussion about the conceptualization of “social entrepreneurship” will be
presented.
211
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Mollenhorst, Gerald; Edling, Christofer; Rydgren, Jens
Personal Networks and Victimization
Although most young native Swedes and 1st and 2nd generation immigrants from former
Yugoslavia and Iran (now living in Sweden) fortunately report not being victimized, still 13% in
our sample do report being subjected to some kind of (violent) crime during the past year,
while about 22% are afraid of crime.
We study how personal victimization and fear of crime are associated with the level of deviant
and risky behaviour, and the level of victimization among one’s network members. We pay
specific attention to respondents’ ethnic background to find out whether that mediates or
interacts with the effects of these conditions.
We combine theoretical insights and arguments from routine activity theory (e.g. Cohen &
Felson 1979), life style theory (e.g. Hindelang et al 1978), and social network research. We
hypothesize, e.g., that associations with non-victimized and/or non-delinquent network
members lead to lower risk of victimization, because of decreased proximity to motivated
offenders, and the presence of capable guardianship. At the same time, associations with
victimized and/or delinquent network members may lead to greater risk of victimization
through exposure to motivated offenders and absence of guardianship.
We use data from the 2nd wave of the survey Social Capital and Labor Market Integration: A
Cohort Study (Edling & Rydgren 2014), which includes information on young Swedes (born
1990): 497 with at least one parent born in Iran; 672 with at least one parent born in former
Yugoslavia; and 1075 native Swedes. They were asked for various sociodemographic
characteristics, behaviors and opinions, fear of crime, and actual victimization during the past
year. Their networks consist of those with whom they meet and hang around with most often
in their leisure time. Additional questions were asked about alters’ characteristics (including
victimization and deviant behaviors), relationship characteristics, and the extent to which
alters know each other.
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1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Montes Lihn, Jaime; Lazega, Emmanuel
Collective learning from a multi-level perspective: the case of the conversion of wine producers
to organic farming
This paper analyzes the advice network of the key representatives of over 50 vineyards from a
terroir in French Burgundy in order to understand – from a neo-structural perspective– the
learning mechanisms driving the conversion from non-organic to organic farming. The collective
learning process allows us to observe two parallel social mechanisms. Producers who made
environmentally friendly decisions for more than a decade in their vineyard tend to create social
niches based on this criterion. At the same time, newcomers rely intensively on the advice of
their peers – and especially on those with more experience in organic farming – to endorse the
technical and social appropriateness of organisation-related decisions. Representatives of
organisations who stopped using pesticides in their vineyards more than ten years ago tend to
select each another as advisors when technical problems arise. This can be interpreted using a
multi-level perspective: technical decisions applied at the organisational level have a normative
value for interactions between individuals. This homophilous effect shows that individuals use
organisational and technical characteristics related to long term ecological consistency as a
normative criterion to reinforce cohesive links among themselves. Individual interactions also
have an influence on the strategic decisions made within organisations, which leads to a
“ratchet” effect in the conversion process: Producers mention that they have taken into account
advice from other colleagues of the milieu when initiating a certification process for their
vineyards. This pre-existing “mentorship” relationship, in turn, drives the configuration of adviceseeking (multiplexity) once the newer organisation has undergone the certification process.
Mentees seek preferentially advice from their conversion mentors when technical problems with
organic farming
213
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Muller, Allan
Measuring policy controversy with Discourse Network Analysis: the abortion debates in
Belgium (1972-1990) revisited
This paper presents a method for the measurement of policy controversy based Discourse
Network Analysis. It is exemplified by an analysis of the historical debates in Belgian parliament
on the liberalization of abortion (1972-1990). It is found that the debate involved increasing
levels of controversy and antagonisms, backing claims of the protagonists that jumping the aisles
was the only escape from political deadlock. These findings are based on four criteria: firstly, the
cluster analysis of the actor co-occurrence network identifies two relatively compartimentalized
discourse coalitions. Secondly, the concept co-occurrence network identifies two separate
discursive clusters, indicating the existence of conflicting policy frames. Thirdly, the level of
discursive antagonisms rises over time. And finally, the discursive structures expand and
compartimentalize further over time. The final section of this paper reflects on how to take this
method further to use it as a tool for the prediction of political crisis and deadlock.
214
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Muntanyola-Saura, Dafne; Vacchiano, Mattia
The Inequality of Looking for (and Finding) a Job: Mixed methods in social networks of
Spanish young adults
This is a methodological presentation on mixed methods - or multi-method (Verd & López,
2008) - that spawns from a R+D Project for the Spanish Ministry of Economy. Drawing on
social capital theory and Life-course analysis, our objective is to describe different typologies
of labor market pathways, in order to evaluate the strategies of job seekers along their own
career paths and social contacts. How personal social networks build or disable the skill for
building a satisfactory life history at work? Turning-points and key social contacts in personal
and professional networks should be part of youth transitions. We present an exploratory
analysis of six interviews from an overall sample of 250 young adults aged 20 to 34 in
Catalonia. Our methodological stance is to make explicit the bidirectional transfers between
qualitative - the interview and the life grid of labor events - and quantitative data - the
personal networks generated with EGONET -. We claim that a multi-method design captures
the inequality of looking for and, most of all, finding, a job in the Spanish market. The
precarious nature of youth transitions, characterized by an increasing de-standardization and
biographization of pathways, allow us to consider the unanswered questions regarding the
function of labor agency, especially in terms of assumptions of risks and mobilization of social
capital. We analyze 6 interviews to young adults aged 30 -34 from Barcelona, considering
gender, educational level and occupation. Denser and stronger personal networks should
make for higher chances of finding the job you want. Still, inequality, as a product of
internalization and rutinization of class and gender divides, goes against the construction of
social capital. In addition, digital resources play an ambivalent role that ought to be clarified.
Our methods showcased here prove to be informative for studying the decision-making
process of those who work or are looking for a job in and through time.
215
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Muscillo, Alessio; Tejada, Juan
Influence Aggregation in Models of Information Diffusion
Recent works about viral marketing, epidemiology and adoption of technological innovations
have greatly stimulated the research about how ideas, diseases or products may spread in
social networks.
Contextually, models for these phenomena have been largely studied from different points of
view in computer science and mathematics. We consider network models where the relations
among the nodes represent the (weighted) influence between two of them, in respect to a
given piece of information. The succeeding in passing this information depends on the amount
of influence that the passing/active nodes have, and, in particular, how different nodes
contribute to this process may be modeled with accumulation of influences up to a given
threshold.
Given a diffusion model, one of the main problems is to choose the k initial nodes to trigger
the process of diffusion of information, in order to get the maximization of the spread (the
Top-k Set Selection Problem.) In this NP-hard optimization problem, it is desirable that the
objective function be submodular, meaning that the marginal gain from adding a single initial
node is less as the number of the initially activated nodes increases. The objective function
represents the global process of spread of information through the network and its properties
are fundamental to approximate effectively the optimal solution.
According to our approach, we show that these global properties follow naturally, providing
that in the local context we use a "reasonable" way of aggregating the influences. More
precisely, we require that the accumulation of influence of the neighbors of a given node have
some intuitive properties, then we translate them in a formal context using submodular tconorms, obtaining eventually a way of aggregating such influences with the needed
properties. Finally, we study and compare how the "local aggregation" of influences affects
the global spread of information.
216
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Neray, Balint; Boda, Zsófia
Inter-Ethnic Friendship and Negative Ties in Secondary School
This paper investigates several different aspects of inter-ethnic relationships. It focuses on
friendships and negative ties between secondary school students from different ethnic
backgrounds, using two different concepts for ethnicity: self-declared ethnicity, and ethnicity
based on peer perception. These concepts were first applied separately and then together on
a sample of secondary school students in Hungary consisting of two ethnic groups: Roma and
non-Roma Hungarian (N=420). Friendships and negative ties were modelled using crosssectional Exponential Random Graph Models for sixteen classrooms separately, and then
individual models were summarized using meta-analysis. Our results suggest that non-Roma
students tended to dislike those whom they perceived as Roma, regardless of their selfdeclared ethnicity. On the other hand, Roma students were likely to send friendship
nominations towards their perceived Roma classmates if these also declared themselves as
Roma, and negative nominations if these declared themselves as non-Roma. This supports our
idea that different ethnicity concepts might influence friendships and negative ties in different
ways, and that inconsistencies in someone's ethnic categorization might play an important
role in social rejection. Students perceived as Roma but declaring themselves as non-Roma
might seem to their Roma peers as 'traitors' of their 'original' ethnic group.
217
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Nerghes, Adina; Groenewegen, Peter; Hellsten, Iina
Shifting discourses of the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve System: Exploring
structural space in semantic networks
Using semantic network analysis, we explore a combination of structural measures, the structural
space method. This method proves valuable for a more comprehensive dynamic analysis of large
formal discourse corpora. Formal discourse is characterized by repetitive, and perhaps
uninformative top ranked concepts, which makes the more subtle dynamic discursive shifts
difficult to recognize. Combining popularity and connectivity potential of concepts in semantic
networks, we reveal important dynamic shifts in the discourses of the European Central Bank
(ECB) and the Federal Reserve System (FED). Structurally different, the roles of the ECB and the
FED and their main objectives are comparable. These organizations determine the monetary
policy for large currency areas and use communications as policy instruments to influence
financial market developments. Their roles and consequently their discourse become even more
important in times of crisis when financial market uncertainties intensify. This prompts a close
investigation of how the discursive practices of the ECB and the FED have been affected by the
financial crisis. The press releases issued by the ECB and the FED have been aggregated into four
sets of two years representing the pre-crisis period, the crisis period, the post-crisis period, and
the recovery period. Our analysis shows crisis-oriented terminology emerging since the pre-crisis
period in both discourses and that the post-crisis discourse of the ECB enters a ‘new’ state
containing characteristics of both the pre-crisis and the crisis period. This state appears to be a
transition in the ECB discourse towards a new state and not towards the status quo of the precrisis period. In the post-crisis period, the FED’s discourse exhibits a moderate reversion to the
pre-crisis period but also a significant reversal of emphasis from the crisis period. The recovery
period reveals both discourses departing further from the crisis discourse.
218
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Nerghes, Adina; Groenewegen, Peter; Hellsten, Iina
Shifting discourses of the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve System: Exploring
structural space in semantic networks
Using semantic network analysis, we explore a combination of structural measures, the structural
space method. This method proves valuable for a more comprehensive dynamic analysis of large
formal discourse corpora. Formal discourse is characterized by repetitive, and perhaps
uninformative top ranked concepts, which makes the more subtle dynamic discursive shifts
difficult to recognize. Combining popularity and connectivity potential of concepts in semantic
networks, we reveal important dynamic shifts in the discourses of the European Central Bank
(ECB) and the Federal Reserve System (FED). Structurally different, the roles of the ECB and the
FED and their main objectives are comparable. These organizations determine the monetary
policy for large currency areas and use communications as policy instruments to influence
financial market developments. Their roles and consequently their discourse become even more
important in times of crisis when financial market uncertainties intensify. This prompts a close
investigation of how the discursive practices of the ECB and the FED have been affected by the
financial crisis. The press releases issued by the ECB and the FED have been aggregated into four
sets of two years representing the pre-crisis period, the crisis period, the post-crisis period, and
the recovery period. Our analysis shows crisis-oriented terminology emerging since the pre-crisis
period in both discourses and that the post-crisis discourse of the ECB enters a ‘new’ state
containing characteristics of both the pre-crisis and the crisis period. This state appears to be a
transition in the ECB discourse towards a new state and not towards the status quo of the precrisis period. In the post-crisis period, the FED’s discourse exhibits a moderate reversion to the
pre-crisis period but also a significant reversal of emphasis from the crisis period. The recovery
period reveals both discourses departing further from the crisis discourse.
219
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Niezink, Nynke M.D; Snijders, Tom A. B
Continuously or discretely – how to analyze continuous dependent actor attributes in
stochastic actor-oriented models
The stochastic actor-oriented model has been widely applied to study the co-evolution of social
networks and the attributes and behaviors of the actors in these networks. Until recently, this
model was only available for dependent attributes and behaviors measured on an ordinal
categorical scale. Continuous variables, such as financial or health outcomes and many
performance measures, had to be discretized to be analyzed within the stochastic actor-oriented
modeling framework. To lift this restriction, we have integrated in the model a stochastic
differential equation (SDE) for the evolution of continuous dependent variables. SDE models are
a common tool in econometrics and financial mathematics and have also been applied to nonnetwork panel data in the social sciences generally. In the paper, we explore the differences
between analyzing continuous actor attribute data after discretization and analyzing them
directly through SDEs. As an illustration we consider the relationship between friendship and
obesity, focusing on BMI as the continuous co-evolving attribute.
220
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Nishimura, Megumi
Massacre network in the former Yugoslav conflicts
This paper analyzes the massacre networks of the former Yugoslav conflicts through the
datasets of the International Tribunal of the former Yugoslavia's indictees lists. It investigates
the dynamics and the factors which had driven the particular actors joined into the massacre
events. Thus, the network here is two-mode network.
It emphasizes that the local interdependent forces, such as star structores or four-cycles, had
significantly constributed to the formation of the dynamics of massacre network in an
irregular war, and demonstrates that the consideration of interdepndent forces are relevant
issue in the understanding of violence against civilians.
221
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Nuñez, Juan
The social mapping of the Urban Solid Waste
The quantitate of Urban Solid Waste (USW) generated by México City and Estado de México
(both have around 21% of México´s population), as well as the closure of the main landfill of
México City (which was receiving almost 12 thousands of tons by day of USW, until three
years ago) have generated new social dynamics in the solid waste disposal sites and the
management of the USW in the center of México. These changes have been expressed along
the USW´s streams between regions and communities. In that direction this allows
conceptualize the USW as residual elements of the social structure, so, is feasible map and
analyze the flows of these materials with Social Network Analysis (SNA). The most important
of this action is that the USW are one of the major environmental pollutants. In fact, these
materials stand out as being generators of greenhouse gases in the world, so, is very
important to build a collective and social memory about the origin and fate of these materials.
222
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Oubenal, Mohamed; Florido, David; Orsini, Amandine
Science policy interface and the biodiversity regime complex: what level of
representativeness for IPBES?
The biodiversity regime complex is composed of several inter-connected elemental issueareas: environmental (conservation, ecosystem services), agronomic (genetic diversity, ex situ
conservation), developmental (access rights, sustainable use), commercial (biotechnologies,
trade), and cultural (traditional ecological knowledge). Conflicting values, norms and practices
among these issue-areas occurred over time and still continue to affect global biodiversity
discussions. It is for example common to oppose scientific to traditional knowledge,
conservation to sustainable use, to name a few. All these divides relate to more fundamental
issues such as: what biodiversity should be primarily considered (genetic, species, ecosystem,
cultural)? Which are the primary objective(s) (conservation, sustainable use, fair and equitable
sharing of benefits)?
The paper aims to analyze to what extent the newly created biodiversity science-policy body,
the International Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), account in a fairly
balanced way for the various issue-areas that constitute the biodiversity complex. A formal
selection process took place for the establishment of the expert members of IPBES based on
criteria such as regional representation and academic field of expertise. This paper suggests
going one step further these formal criteria by using social network analysis to investigate the
level of representativeness of IPBES with regard to the different issues-areas. In particular, the
level of centrality and density of network relationships of the expert members is assessed
through parameters such as coauthorship, co-membership or co-participation. By paying
attention in particular to actors that are potential bridge builders between the different issue
areas, it is ultimately argued that such analysis could potentially offer much more precise
insights with regard to the capacity of IPBES to effectively address in a balanced way the
various controversies.
223
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Oubenal, Mohamed; Zeroual, Abdellatif
The economic elite and the control of public savings in Morocco
The emergence of the Moroccan economic elite is the result of different groups’ strategies.
First, the alliance of the traditional bourgeoisie with large foreign corporations which engaged
in “partnering” after the failure of direct colonialism (Benhaddou 1997). Second, the
domination of the monarchy on whole areas of the economy through its holding company
(Marais 1969, Clement 1986, Graciet and Laurent 2012). Third, some fractions of the
economic elite rely on the power of the state to consolidate or extend their control over
sectors of the economy be it with nationalizations in the seventies (El Aoufi 1990, Saadi 1989)
or privatizations in the eighties (Berrada and Saadi 1992, Catusse 1999).
The economic elite develop capacities to monopolize resources from public institutions
(Dudouet and Grémont 2007). In Morocco, Berrada and Saadi (1992) shed light on the high
proportion of public funding in private investments during the seventies and eighties but few
studies have focused on the control of public resources by capitalists in the new period. We
propose to further investigate the capture of public savings by the economic elite in Morocco
over the recent period. To do so, we analyze the structure of interlocking directorates
(Mizruchi 1996) between listed companies in Casablanca Stock Exchange in 2013. We also
examine the strategies of actors through a series of interviews and documentary research on
the most central directors. The results show the existence of a cohesive group of
administrators and a large periphery. The most central actor is the representative of a
Moroccan pension fund. Another small group of central actors are coming from a public
financial institution that manages a portion of public savings in Morocco. Some interviewees
explain that those central directors are courted by capitalists to fund their investment
projects.
224
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ozel, Bulent; Teglio, Andrea; Montagna, Mattea
Financial Networks and Real Economy: A Multi-agent Simulation Framework
Following the collapse of banking systems there has been a growing interest at studying
systemic risk in financial networks. A great number of those studies examine structural
properties of inter-bank networks, where ties represent loans. Nodes are financial institutes
and they may exhibit certain attributes such as asset size. Those studies have demonstrated
resilience of different topologies such as scale-free networks, or highly connected networks at
absorbing financial shocks. Majority of these studies develops upon a static network where
nodes are homogenous as of their attributes.
In this research, we provide a framework to study relationships between the financial
networks and the real economy. The framework incorporates multi-agent modeling of
economy and networks in financial markets. Agent based of the model highlights importance
of housing markets.
In this paper, we specifically analyze dynamic behaviors of inter-bank networks. The agent
based approach gives a dynamic perspective on financial networks. In majority of studies,
nodes, namely the banks, are static in the sense that they are not allowed to change their
behavior during the spread of the shock, they just passively absorb the propagation of the
losses. In agent based approach nodes may react to defaults. The banks are not static. Their
asset size and their financial links to other banks, to firms and to households in the economy
changes dynamically in a reaction to feedbacks received from real economy. The framework
further enables us to examine role of central bank and the government under certain
regularity and monetary interventions.
225
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Pallotti, Francesca; Tubaro, Paola; Lomi, Alessandro
Peer effects and performance similarity in inter-organizational networks
Interorganizational networks (IONs) are emergent systems of interdependent organizations
connected by decentralized collaborative relations. Membership in IONs provides important
learning opportunities and access to potentially valuable extramural knowledge. In this paper
we argue that membership in IONs also reduces interorganizational performance differentials
among participants through processes of vicarious learning and social influence. We examine
three alternative mechanisms capable of sustaining this prediction. The first (strength of ties)
operates at a strictly local level defined in terms of dyadic relations linking organizations. The
second mechanism (social proximity) operates at an intermediate level of interdependence
defined in terms of membership in overlapping cliques into which IONs are typically
organized. The third mechanism (structural equivalence) pertains to jointly occupied network
positions that can be identified within IONs. The objective of this paper is to examine at which
of these levels interorganizational peer effects operate to reduce performance differentials
among members of IONs. Using longitudinal data on patient exchanges between hospitals in a
regional community, our empirical analysis applies dynamic panel data models to assess the
scope of peer effects. Results suggest that dependency of interorganizational performance
differentials on the effects of interorganizational peers is sensitive to the specification of
network boundaries. These results provide empirical evidence on how far performance
spillover effects that operate through networks propagate throughout organizational fields
and communities.
226
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Pampalona-Tarrés, Judith
Context matters? The Influence of Microstates on the Entrepreneur’s Personal Networks. The
case of Andorra
Studies have repeatedly shown that personal support networks are crucial resources for running
a successful small or medium enterprise, for both native and immigrant entrepreneurs. In the
case of immigrant entrepreneurs, the theory of mixed embeddedness (Kloosterman et al., 1999)
further stresses the importance of having both local and transnational contacts. Of course, the
formation and functioning of support networks depend on local opportunity structures, such as
market conditions and legal frameworks, but network resources can also compensate for them.
In order to study how local opportunity structures interact with the formation and functioning of
support networks, it is interesting to focus on microstates. Studies on the support networks of
entrepreneurs have typically been carried out in large countries, but microstates have particular
socio-economic characteristics and legislations (e.g., Houbert, 1980; Baldaccino, 1993; Baker,
2002; Grydehoj, 2011) that can modify theoretical expectations (e.g. regarding the role of
network contacts or the ease of access to social capital).
Through a study of entrepreneurs in Andorra that combined personal network delineation and
semi-structured interviews, we found that the applied legislative restrictions in Andorra have
conditioned the structure of entrepreneurs’ support networks significantly. These restrictions
require individuals to be socially integrated within the host society before they can create an
enterprise, in order to have sufficient knowledge about opportunity structures in Andorra. On
the other side, these restrictions tend to complicate the formation of transnational collaboration
networks, leaving transnational ties exclusively into the sphere of emotional support. As a
consequence to these restrictions and to a particular entrepreneurial growth model observed in
this microstate context, Andorran entrepreneurs have larger transnational collaboration
networks than immigrant entrepreneurs have.
227
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Panzer, Gerhard
Constructing art worlds as spatial-temporal networks affiliated to exhibition events
Art worlds are constituted equally by persons, institutions and events. They are located in a
spatial environment. The institutions built a structure that framed the action of artists, art
scientists, collectors, visitors. Actors and institutions initiate exhibition events, where selected
artists could be displayed in the public. Art worlds could be analysed as affiliation network
between persons and institutions or persons and events. A typology of affiliations was
designed to differentiate logics of relationship like membership, initiation, selection,
presentation convincing developments of art worlds. The art world evolution has to be
primarily understood as a qualitative change in participation at institutions and time-events
which could only be analysed with the use of a dynamic concept of different affiliations.
The data has been collected from exhibition catalogue, literature and investigations in
archives. In the centre of the research stands a local art world with an art academy, artist
groups, an art society and some large-scale exhibitions in particular during the 20s to the
1930s. The main question is to integrate the individual actor’s level with the institutions as
well with the events.
228
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Park, Ji Young; Kim, Ji Young; Xu, Wayne Weiai; Park, Han Woo
A social network framework to analyze the cultural contents of Kpop across
countries
This paper focuses mainly on developing social network framework surrounding the
communication of the Korean wave, or hallyu, in the context of Kpop. Increasing
attention has been paid to the cultural phenomenon of the Korean wave for its
rapid dissemination beyond Asia. However, few studies have tried to identify the
massive patterns of online interactions between ordinary users on cyberspace. In
addition, studies of the Korean wave as well as popular music have not paid
sufficient attention to empirically explore the circulatory networks of cultural
contents including Kpop. This study outlines a social network analysis (SNA)
framework to decompose online cultural contents of Kpop such as (i) web
documents on Korean singers, (ii) visibility of Korean singers at popular social media
sites, (iii) communication patterns among international fans of Kpop across
countries. The procedure of the SNA framework starts with data preparation.
Various kinds of online data are used in current paper. In particular, the big databased analysis programs, including the Webometric Analyst 2.0 and the IMC’s SCRM
(http://www.thescrm.co.kr), are employed to retrieve and parse data from the
World Wide Web. Data collected are moved to SNA tools such as NodeXL, UciNet,
Pajek, and ConText for quantitative investigation. During this process, this study
focuses on a Korean rapper Psy’s Gangnam Style (GS) and Girls' Generation because
their global popularity. This study contributes to extending literature of cultural
contents research in terms of methodological advancements.
229
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Park, Jinseo; Kim, Dong-Kwang; Ko, Minsu
How can we detect changes in social issues of science and technology? Co-word mapping of
radioactivity and green algae in Korean newspapers
Many types of research are being carried out to make the best use of big data, especially
semi-structured data. The purpose of this study is to develop the process that provides a
methodology for detecting changes in social issues of science and technology with semistructured data and social network analysis. The semi-structured data based on text include
newspaper, webpage, blog, Twitter, Facebook, and more. This pilot study attempted to
analyze issue changes in Korean newspaper.
We selected two issues to compare different social issues, which are radioactivity and green
algae. We collected the data from the Naver, a representative news portal in Korea. We
gathered all news articles that included two keywords, radioactivity and green algae. The
number of news items was 33,581 for radioactivity and 6,712 for green algae. To detect
changes in social issues, the dataset was divided four time periods (1: 1995~1999, 2:
2000~2004, 3: 2005~2009, 4: 2010~2012).
For building the co-word map, we performed a morpheme analysis and selected important
keywords among only nouns within about 400 words in each dataset. We calculated the cooccurrence matrix of keyword. The criteria for co-occurrence are to appear in the same
sentence. We constructed the co-word map using VOSviewer. VOSviewer is based on cooccurrence matrix and the association strength as a measure of similarity.
We classified the character of issues in co-word map into two dimensions, one is the central
or peripheral issue and the other is the major or minor issue. The former is about the position
in co-word maps or among the related issues, and the latter have relevance to the strength or
frequency of issue appearance itself regardless of the position. With this framework, we will
interpret the changes of social issues and try to confirm the validity for co-word mapping.
230
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Park. Han Woo; Ozel, Bulent
Geometric Positions in Tweeterdom and Political Party Affiliations
In this paper, we discuss to what extend tweet activities can reveal political party affiliations.
The question is addressed using Twitter data from South Korean politics. Specifically, we ask,
in Korean case, would it possible to construct a party affiliation prediction model based on
'following-follower' virtual interaction patterns? We further examine to see to what extend
such a model can be enhanced by adding socio-demographic information of politicians.
Our findings show that graphical location of actors on the constructed 'follower-following'
social structures may help to discover new forms of political phenomena. It is seen that
structural positions of Korean politics on Twitterdom hints their party affiliations. It is further
observed that neither offline socio-demographic characters nor online tweet activities, such
as sending out tweets etc, alone help to observe regularities as of individual's party
affiliations.
231
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Pattiselanno, Kim; Dijkstra, Jan Kornelis; Steglich, Christian; Franken, Aart; Vollebergh,
Wilma; Veenstra, René
Cohesion in Perceived Friend Groups and Adolescents’ Involvement in Risk Behaviors
We test our hypotheses in a longitudinal sample of 344 adolescents in secondary education
(Mage = 12.91) using longitudinal social network modeling (SIENA) (Snijders et al., 2010). Peer
networks were derived from unlimited friendship nominations across grades. Self-reports
were used to assess delinquency and substance-use (smoking; drinking alcohol; using (soft)
drugs). For both measures items were categorized into no (0) and yes (1) and subsequently
summed, resulting in measures indicating involvement in delinquency and substance-use.
Friend groups were defined as the reference group of friends one nominated. Cohesion was
calculated as the clustering coefficient (friend group’s local density) indicating the degree to
which individuals nominated each other as friends, ranging from zero (loose-knit) to one
(cohesive friend groups). Inclusion of this measure in the SIENA model allows for testing
whether cohesion makes involvement in risk behaviors more or less likely, and strengthens
peer influence effects.
232
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Payne, Diane; Lucas, Pablo
Understanding the Network Structure of Irish Primary Care Teams
This paper analyses and discusses the nature of teamwork within the new healthcare
professional network of Primary Care Teams (henceforth PCTs) in Ireland. The introduction of
Primary Care Teams in Ireland is a major new policy innovation led by the public sector and is
intended to build new and formal interdisciplinary health team approach (PCTs) to provide
patients with primary care services at the community level. In this research we explore how
the PCT policy reform of organising formal interdisciplinary teams of health professionals at
the community level is impacting on the informal structure of communication within and
across these teams. We explore what kind of communication and collaboration patterns
within and across teams are emerging and whether these structures point to trust based
communication or simple information exchange. Our approach is to employ social network
analysis techniques to analyse and discuss the structure of these new forms of teamwork
organisation and collaboration emerging from PCTs in Ireland. This paper examines the data
collected across a small number of representative PCT teams in the south of Ireland. Our
network survey contained 3 sets of questions, namely: a) networks of referrals, contact
(weekly, monthly, bi-monthly), advice across 6 conditions (stroke, depression, diabetes,
memory loss, chronic lung disease and mobility), plus b) perceptions of learning: own
capability, team capability and appropriate referrals, plus c) a psychometrical test [Cott and
Ryan 2012]. The focus of this paper is the network of contact within and across teams in the
same area, The network structure of contact is discussed using an exponential random graph
approach and sheds new light on the actual (rather than only formal) inter- and intraorganisational structure of the professional healthcare network available to patients.
233
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Penalva, Elise; Lazega, Emmanuel
Patterns of embeddedness of PPPs in France
Public Private Partnerships PPPs (also known as Public Private Initiatives, PFIs) were
introduced in France during the year 2004 with the “Contrat de Partenariat”. At that time, it
was described as a major innovation (despite France has already practiced “Delegation de
Service Public”). As such, it was deeply encouraged by public authorities. This new type of
contract between public and private sectors creates very long term relationships (30 years)
between public authority and different types of private actors for the construction,
maintenance, running but also funding of public equipment. In this paper, we question the
scope of innovation of Public Private Partnerships. More than a technical innovation, it
advocates a new form of tie between private and public sectors, relative to public order’s
structures of embeddedness. Through the description of the network environment of PPPs in
France, we measure the relational embeddedness of PPPS and model its patterns. We
highlight these structures by performing an analysis of business and discussions networks.
Those two networks were collected through a face-to-face questionnaire survey of 88 keyplayers in this market during 2009 and 2010. We analyze multiplexity and overlapping in these
networks and also examine the embeddedness patterns thanks to a role partition of actors
involved in PPPs: Bank, public partners, private partners, consulting etc. The partition results
show that instead of simplifying public order, PPPs lead to the multiplication of relationships
and contracts in the business network, and paradoxically to the isolation of the public actor
and the eviction of some traditional actors of the field (architects) and too small actors
(SMEs). At last, the new PPP “contrat de partenariat” seems important from an institutional
point of view, as it creates new relational structures that lead to centrality of the bank in the
networks.
234
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Pike, Susan
Detecting Social Influence in Ego-networks and Transportation Mode Choice
This research investigates social influence in transportation mode choice. Understanding the
role of social influence in travel behavior informs how social forces may improve
transportation policies and increase the use of alternative travel modes. Previous work has
shown correlations in travel behavior within social groups. That is, people tend to use the
same mode of transportation as those to whom they are socially connected, however
competing explanations for this result remain. When two friends or colleagues make the same
choice, it is difficult to distinguish between social influence, shared preferences and the
effects of the environment/circumstances. Further challenges arise because individuals selfselect into social groups and there likely exists reciprocal and affirming influence between
connected individuals. These confounding factors may be categorized as three sources of
endogeneity: Reflection (influence may be reciprocal), Self-Selection (into friendships and
social networks) and Shared Environment (similar circumstances).
There are multiple ways to address these sources of endogeneity, both through research
design and through statistical methods. This paper discusses the assumptions and underlying
structures for several means for addressing endogeneity. Through model estimations and
descriptive statistics, expected outcomes for various approaches are also compared. Although
all three sources of endogeneity outlined above are potential explanations for correlated
behaviors, since environment is thought to be a significant factor in transportation decision
making, addressing endogeneity related to shared environment is the focus of this paper.
Methods explored include instrumental variables, auto-correlation and multi-level models as
well as propensity score matching.
235
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Pirker, Heidemarie; Haselmair, Ruth; Kuhn, Elisabeth; Vogl, Christian R
Personal networks: a tool for gaining insight into the transmission of knowledge about food
and medicinal plants among Tyrolean (Austrian) migrants in Australia, Brazil and Peru
Background: Globalisation processes affect local resource use strategies, human
environmental relations and the transmission and acquisition of knowledge in profound ways.
This study analyses and compares the different dynamics in the transmission of knowledge
about food and medicinal plants among Tyrolean migrants in Australia, Brazil and Peru by
using a social network approach.
Methods: 56 (food: 30; medicinal plants: 26) personal networks of knowledge about food and
medicinal plants were collected among Tyroleans who have migrated to Australia, Brazil and
Peru and their descendants. Statistical analysis of the personal network maps and a
qualitative analysis of the narratives were combined to provide insight into the process of
transmitting knowledge about food and medicinal plants.
Results: Human sources, especially relatives, play an important role in the transmission
processes of local knowledge (food: 71%; medicinal plants: 68%). Reference was made to
other sources of knowledge as well, such as books, television, the internet, schools and
restaurants, showing that human environmental relations and related local knowledge are
increasingly shaped by those sources.
Conclusions: The analysis of network cards shows the transmission of knowledge about food
and medicinal plants on an individual level. The knowledge networks visualise sources of
knowledge that are important during a person’ s lifetime, with additional information about
sex, kinship and age. Its comparison allows patterns of knowledge transmission within a group
and a certain domain to be identified. Improved understanding of how people pass on
knowledge offers important pointers for future biodiversity management practices.
236
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Pizarro, Narciso
Theoretical and methodological foundations of research on power networks
Empirical research on power networks in economy and politics share theoretical and
methodological assumptions. We consider that an effort to explicit such assumptions should
be made.
On the one hand the neo-Machiavellian (Pareto, Mosca, Schumpeter and most cited Mills)
theories that underlie empirical research should be made explicit. The tautological nature of
these theories will be shown in this paper.
Also to be highlighted are the characteristics of the intrinsically theory-related methodologies,
as well as the preceding choice of power positions.
Thirdly, we will show how the theory and the method yield to the use of measures of network
centrality in the analysis of power networks.
Finally we will examine an alternative theoretical and methodological perspective regarding
power structures.
237
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Ploszaj, Adam; Celinska-Janowicz, Dorota
Trends in interregional scientific collaboration in Europe: Moving centers or fixed pattern?
Scientific collaboration is gaining more and more attention not only from academia, but also
policy makers and business. It is one of the important factors of innovativeness and, as a
consequence, competitiveness. This relation is visible not only at national, but also regional
(subnational) level. Furthermore, due to communication technologies development physical
distance is now less important as a barrier in co-operation. In this situation geography of
scientific collaboration in Europe is now being remodelled, with, on the one hand, new trends
and actors appearing on the stage, and, on the other hand, stable configurations determining
the most important nodes of the network.
The aim of the paper is to identify changes in spatial patterns of scientific collaboration
networks in Europe. The analysis, conducted on regional (NUTS2) level, was based on Web of
Science data for 30 European countries (co-authorships, citations). The data, describing
approximately 4 million articles, were analysed in breakdown into 5 broad scientific fields
(medical sciences, natural sciences, technical sciences, social sciences, humanities). The main
research method applied in the research was network analysis, complemented with spatial
dimension. Various centrality measures were used in order to identify main features of
international collaboration geography and its changes between 2000 and 2010. The study was
especially focused on comparison between interregional collaboration networks of
aforementioned scientific fields, as well as changes in this networks and their spatial
manifestation in the first decade of XXIst century. The analysis revealed major differences in
this respect, not only between countries and regions, but also temporal. At the same time
some patterns of European scientific network seem to be relatively stable.
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Poghosyan, Tatevik
How does the network structure affect firm performance and innovation incentives in
transition countries? The case of Armenia
The study examines the case of Armenia’s economic transformation during the process of
transition focusing on the changes in firm’s board member network and its impact on the
industrial output of the country. In this study, we plan to answer the following questions by
studying post-privatization Armenia: (1) Does corporate network affect industry output? (2)
How inter-firm collaboration enable the firm to innovate and to learn? (3) Does sharing board
member make collaboration more likely? Answering these questions will deepen our
understanding of the roles of non-market mechanisms in the economy where firms face
political, economic, institutional uncertainties, without much knowledge and experience of
market economy. In this study we look at the evolution of a firm’s network of interorganizational ownership and organizational performance and innovation. Post socialist
Armenia is an excellent case for analyzing how firms adapted and changed over the whole
transitional process and how they learn through network ties. With the collapse of the Soviet
Union, many firms faced the almost total collapse of their guaranteed markets. We already
conducted “Firms Innovation and Collaboration Survey in Armenia”, where the firms were
questioned about their Innovative and R&D activities, as well their collaboration with other
firms. It was first time that in Armenia was conducted Innovation survey. That is why this study
will be unique. The contribution of the study is to address the question related the factors that
can explain firm’s innovative incentives with consideration firm’s collaboration and personal
networks structures.
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Popov, V
Interlocks of Business and Politics and State Capitalism in contemporary Russia
The relationship between business and politics is very multi-dimensional. This study focuses
only on one aspect of this multi-dimensional relationship – it examines the embeddedness of
interlocking directorates into political networks. There is fairly established theory that firms in
transitional economies have more extensive networks with politicians to compensate for the
market and institutional uncertainties (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978). This study develops this
argument by showing that political bodies can be also interested in being involved in certain
business networks with some positive outcomes for both parties. The validity of this argument
is checked with regard to interlocking directorate between business and politics in
contemporary Russia.
Data for this study has been taken from the Orbis data base, one of the world most
comprehensive and accurate databases. The data of the Orbis database has been further
refined with the use of reports about political developments in present Russia. The data sets
are based on 2-mode data, consisting of directors associated with political bodies and
companies themselves. For the presentation of the results of the study, a variety of
visualisation techniques of social network analysis are used.
The findings of this research address the issue of the current mode of production in Russia.
They are consistent with the view, expressed by Steven Forbes, a leading business expert, who
noticed that the Russian government supports the largest corporations to a much greater
extent than the government of the United States and of many other countries. Although
Russian officials deny that the present mode of production in Russia is state capitalism, it
could be argued that it is close to it and can be described as managerially state controlled
capitalism, in which director interlocks with the government and surrounding political elites
play an important role.
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Praprotnik, Selena; Batagelj, Vladimir
Operations in temporal networks with zero latency
To describe temporal networks with zero latency we introduce the notion of temporal
quantities. We define the addition and multiplication of temporal quantities in a way that can
be used for the definition of addition and multiplication of temporal networks. The
corresponding algebraic structures are semirings. We developed fast algorithms for the
proposed operations. They are available as a Python library. To illustrate the developed tools
we present some results from the analysis of Franzosi's violence data.
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Prosperina Vitale, Maria; Porzio, Giovanni C; Doreian, Patrick
Assessing the effect of student networks on academic performance
This work aims at assessing the effect of interpersonal relations on university student
performance using a network autocorrelation model. Although a large literature exists
identifying determinants of student performance at all stages of education, very few
contributions have considered relations among students as a potential determinant of their
academic success at university. Our basic assumption is based on the following idea: student
performances are related to the performance of the other students belonging to the same
network. A social influence mechanism is indeed hypothesized, within which individuals adjust
their own attitudes and behaviors to those of others with whom they are connected.
In order to pursue this aim, a study on a cohort of students enrolled at a graduate two-year
track in an Italian University is conducted. Specifically, relations among students were
gathered using a whole network design to measure the network configuration of this bounded
students cohort. We collected one-mode network data for multiple types of ties asking
students to nominate their contacts for formal relations (exchange of learning information,
classmate, and belonging to a working group) as well as informal contacts (studying in groups
out of classes, friendship, support and advice, social companionship).
Performance was operationalized as a latent variable measured by combining an objective
indicator (average grade at exams) with a set of subjective student self-perception indicators
of their learning process (Dublin's Descriptors).
A network effects model was estimated including performance individual scores obtained
through confirmatory factor analysis. Our main results suggest that informal communications
are related with graduate student success at university, whereas exchanging information and
just working in groups seems not to have such an impact on performance.
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Prota, Laura; Doreian, Patrick
Finding roles in sparse economic hierarchies: going beyond regular
equivalence
Mapping latent roles to reveal a meaningful structure of social relations is a
foundational issue in social science. Since the 1970s, blockmodeling has been
used in SNA to cluster actors into positions using a conception of positional
equivalence on the presumption of equivalent actors sharing equivalent
social behaviours. Within blockmodeling, networks are mapped onto much
simpler graphs showing connections within and between positions.
However, the results of blockmodeling heavily depend on the definition of
equivalence used to cluster the data. We argue that the coherence of a
chosen equivalence definition with the characteristics of the networks
studied is essential for obtaining meaningful blockmodeling results. We show
that, for sparse economic hierarchies such as those elicited by commodity
chains, generalized equivalences can dramatically improve the results
obtained from using regular equivalence, by delineating meaningful
structural properties of the studied networks.
We use pre-specified blockmodeling to test different models of hierarchy on
rice trading data collected with an expanding selection procedure in two
communes of southern Vietnam. By comparing the results obtained with
regular and row regular equivalence, it emerges that inconsistencies,
particularly those related to null ties, are dramatically reduced when row
regular equivalence is used. By better modeling inconsistencies we are better
able to describe network structure that, otherwise, would appear to be
unpatterned. Moreover, these structures have substantively meaningful
interpretations. The comparative analysis of results shows that row regular
equivalence are to be preferred to regular equivalence for detecting roles in
sparse economic chain.
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Ragozini, Giancarlo; D'Esposito, Maria Rosaria
Prototyping networks through archetypes
In this paper we propose a method to analyze and synthesize a set of N networks, that refer
to a common scenario and that are comparable among each other. Examples of this type of
data are set of collaboration networks, each defined for a different scientific field, or set of
ego networks, where egos belong to a same category, set of governance networks, etc. For
this set of networks can be of interest to find a small number of representative networks that
can serve as a distillation or condensed view of the data set. In a statistical perspective this
goal amount to find a set of prototypes (where a prototype is thought an ideal exemplar that
summarize and represent a group of data, or a category, in terms of their most relevant
features and their specificity in contrast to other groups or categories). The prototypical
networks can serve as benchmarks for the other networks and are useful also to compare
networks among each other.
Given the set of N networks, we propose to find a set of prototypical networks by using the
tools proper of archetypal analysis. In details, the procedure we propose is as follows:
i) describe each network through a vector of p parameters characterizing the whole network
structure and topology;
ii) map each network in a multivariate Euclidean space Ep by using the vectors of parameters
in point i);
iii) find in Ep a set of archetypes of the N data points corresponding to the original N
networks;
iv) find the prototypical networks by using the tools proper of the archetypal analysis.
We exemplify the proposed procedure by analyzing a set of 48 governance networks of public
structures devoted to provide youth services and referring to 48 different territorial districts
in Campania region in Italy. Our results highlight the presence of different network structures
that can be interpreted in terms of the governance forms established in literature.
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Ragozini, Giancarlo; Serino, Marco
Social relations in spaces for performance: a comparative study using SNA and participant
observation
Theatres and spaces for performances in general are designed to allow people to meet each
other and have sociability time besides experiencing live shows. But do the spatial
organization of these places drive social interactions among attenders? And are social
relations formed differently according to the specific location of a given performance?
This paper aims at presenting a study which tries to answer these questions by means of both
social network analysis and ethnographic approach. We studied social relations occurring in
two different settings: a traditional Italian style theatre and a former factory rearranged to
function as a space for performances, both located in Campania region, Italy. The theoretical
background concerns space and place issues, considering both the spatial configurations of
theatre venues and the ways of experiencing them.
The main hypotheses are that, on the one hand, the physical settings of these two venues
provide specific equipments that will have different impact on interactions among spectators.
On the other hand, different types of theatres – including distinctions between larger and
smaller venues – might be related to dissimilar modes of participation and, thus, diversely
structured patterns of relations among attenders. Further, we hypothesize that these
relations can make theatre space a “place” – in sociological sense – due to reiterated social
encounters.
We illustrate results from a social network analysis carried out through ego-centric network
approach, within an ethnographic framework. A survey has been conducted in the two
settings via questionnaire-based interviews, in the course of two theatrical events. Spatial
arrangements and patterns of interactions have been examined by means of participant
observation during data collection.
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Reixach, Albert; Redondo, Esther
SNA applied to financial agents at the service of municipal and State taxation systems in
Late Medieval Catalonia
This paper aims to explore the employ of SNA in order to reconstruct and examine financial
networks involved in taxation in a specific scenario in Pre-modern Europe. As several scholars
highlight, in Late Medieval Crown of Aragon, in general, and in Catalonia, in particular, tax
pressure gave birth to complex finance systems arising from municipalities and a new
institution dependent to the Corts called the Diputació del General. In short, since both
entities restored to long-term debt to cope with the emergences linked to the demanding
king’s wars of the 1350s and the 1360s, the mechanisms employed to allocate their payment,
mainly based on indirect taxes, were extended in time. Thus both systems became
permanent. Nonetheless, it was only possible thanks to the active participation of several
agents lending the sums of money required as well as contributing to the collection of all
taxes under these treasuries’ control, generally leased to different groups of private investors.
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Rennie, Laura; Bazillier-Bruneau, Cécile
The relationship between popularity and health behaviours in French adolescents
Background: Past research (e.g., Valente, Unger & Johnson, 2005) has demonstrated that
adolescent popularity (defined as number of received friendship nominations) is related to
smoking, such that more popular adolescents are more likely to smoke. The present research
explored whether there was a relationship between popularity and smoking in a sample of
French adolescents, and in addition explored whether popularity was related to healthpromoting behaviours (physical activity and balanced diet).
Methods: Adolescent students (approximately 13 years old) at a secondary school in France
completed 2 questionnaires, one year apart, in which they nominated their 3 best friends in
the school and reported their smoking, eating and physical activity behaviour. The data were
analysed using hierarchical regression, with the health behaviour as reported in the final
questionnaire regressed on popularity as assessed by the first questionnaire.
Results: In this sample, we did not find support for the link between popularity and smoking
susceptibility or smoking behaviour. We did, however, find evidence for a link between
popularity and diet, such that the more popular students reported eating a more healthy diet.
For physical activity, popularity interacted with socio-economic status, with the popularityphysical activity relationship differing according to socio-economic status.
Conclusions: As far as we are aware, this is the first study to examine the relationship
between popularity and health as well as unhealthy behaviours in a French population. The
results suggest that popular students are not necessarily more likely to engage in risky health
behaviours (i.e., smoking), and indeed are more likely to be engaging in healthy behaviours
(eating a balanced diet).
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Repke, Lydia; Benet-Martinez, Veronica; Maciocco, Eva
The Company You Keep: Content and Structure of Immigrants’ Social Networks and PsychoSocial Adjustment
Social network research can inform the study of social identity and inter-group relations, and
illuminate acculturation and intercultural processes beyond self-reports. One the one hand,
subjective identities mirror objective relationship structures, so that an actor’s social
relationships convey an identity both to that actor and to external observers (Coleman, 1988).
Conversely, individuals often verify and negotiate their identities and psychological
dispositions through social relationships (Kalish and Robins, 2006; Swann, 1987). We
examined the personal social networks of an immigrant community sample composed of 216
Moroccan, Pakistani, Romanian, and Ecuadorian adults living in Barcelona. Participants were
prompted to list 25 persons (of any culture or ethnicity) with whom they had interacted
frequently in the past 2 years, either face-to face, by phone, mail or virtually. The structure
and content of the social network data indicated that, after controlling for length of residence
in Spain, having networks that are more diverse, both ethnically and linguistically, and with
cliques that are more culturally heterogeneous, is linked to higher psychological and
sociocultural adjustment, higher involvement with Catalan culture, and higher levels of
bicultural identity integration. Involvement with the larger Spanish cultural context was only
linked to degree of linguistic diversity in the network. While Catalan and Spanish cultural
involvement were linked to each other, only Catalan cultural involvement predicted
psychological and socio-cultural adjustment. Results highlight the link between meso- and
micro-level acculturation data, and the complexities of understanding acculturation and
identity dynamics in bilingual and bicultural national contexts such as Catalonia.
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Reyes Acosta, Cornelia
Unraveling the social networking mystery – What’s behind the social tie?
Online social networking platforms have introduced new dimensions to the manner in which
individuals seek access to resources based on social ties. Such "networking" may be
particularly useful with regard to those in the creative industries such as art, music and
photography where access to exclusive – typically offline – networks is limited. But what are
these relationships that sustain a social network? How do we interpret "being social" when
online meets the offline?
In this paper, I explore the suitability of two different strategies of social network mapping in
light of their potential to elicit data on how individuals give meaning to social relationships
particularly those maintained via online networking platforms. Using both a traditional name
generator technique and an alternative technique, which I call “free network drawing”, I aim
to break up the boundaries inherited by traditional network visualization methods that use
nodes and edges to epitomize the way we look at relationships as an irrevocable given.
Looking at the results that I have gathered so far, I argue that if we are to understand how
online and offline sociality are perceived as a meaningful entity by actual individuals, we need
to carefully revise traditional network mapping techniques in order to elicit meaningful data.
I thus suggest that my approach allows: a.) a richer understanding of how individuals actually
perceive the nature of a relationship maintained via digital networks, b.) a better
identification of how participants’ understanding of a social network resonates with
traditional ways of portraying a social network, and c.) more convincing evidence that informs
a new understanding of the nature of social resources.
In light of this I advance a novel conceptual framework that integrates online relations into
the complex processes that shape the action of and opportunities for individuals in fields of
cultural production.
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Rezk, Hanan
From Communication to International Cooperation: The Case of Inter-university Networks in
Egypt
Egypt’s involvement as a partner country in European Framework Programs for Research (FPs)
introduced a new shift in the role of participating universities. This paper aims to answer the
question about the impact of FPs virtual consortia on inter-university formation. From a social
network analysis perspective, Egyptian universities are portrayed as corporate actors
establishing new multifaceted ties with local and international organizations. The author used a
qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with local participants, and official
documents were used to detect the new linkages. Data analysis has led to the development of a
conceptual framework that identifies novel forms of collaboration. The paper assumes that
informal individual relationships on the micro level created formal organizational relationships
on the macro level that would have not been established otherwise. The paper is divided into
three parts: The first highlights the landscape of Egypt’s participation in FPs and the new
networks. The second sketches the implications of consortia projects on the organizational level.
The third is a conclusion and a speculation about the future of inter-university networks in Egypt.
Based on data analysis, the paper concludes that (i) social network structures of individual
participants determine the shape of the new networks. (ii) Inter-university networks proved not
only to have direct scientific and economic significance, but also a spillover effect on breaking
traditional organizational norms of cooperation. (iii) The networks were able to mobilize social
capital by acting as brokers of information among new organizations, thus providing access to
novel opportunities. Consequently, new regional and local clusters have emerged. This research
highlights the need for further studies to detect the factors that affect the sustainability of the
emerging networks and to address current organizational challenges.
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Ribeiro, Filipa M; Miranda Lubbers
Knowledge creation in higher education: beyond collaboration networks
Much of the research on knowledge and scientific networks lies on the dynamics of
collaborations and coauthorship in order to describe the network factors that play a role over
the production of science (i.e.: citation and publications rates). Some attention has also been
drawn to understand the optimal network structure for scientific collaboration, mostly using
citations databases, email contact and joint activities. It is also known that researchers engage
in several types of networks (collaboration, reciprocal, hierarchical, support, etc). Yet, with
regard to the processes of new knowledge creation, little is known about the weight that each
of these networks has and why. Even less is known about the content of the knowledge
networks where scholars are embedded.
In this presentation we explore our earlier finding that collaboration networks are less
important for new knowledge creation than reciprocal and advice networks. By means of a
mixed-methods approach, first, we compare different dimensions of collaboration networks
(number of collaborators, collaboration rate in articles etc, position of collaborators, etc.) and
reciprocal networks. Then, we test whether the greater importance of reciprocal networks is
explained by greater levels of bridging (structural and compositional) in the networks. We test
the relations between network factors and the creation of knowledge controlling for personal
attributes such as academic tenure, work styles and creativity.
Our study suggests the need to pay greater attention to reciprocal networks rather than
focusing solely on collaboration networks when studying knowledge creation. Finally, we hint
to some directions for future work. While our focus was on individual patterns, we suggest
investigating also differences in the importance of antecedents, i.e. including country effects
or additional variables characterizing groups of researchers and measuring goodness of fit at
departmental, regional and national levels.
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Rivero Ostoic, Antonio
Relational bundles in the analysis of multiple networks
We benefit from diverse types of relational bundles for the analysis of multiple social
networks. A relational bundle results from a mixture of the direction and the level of
interaction between a pair of members of the network, and it is possible to categorize the
different bundle patterns according to their structural characteristics. Hence each potential
bundle class is mathematically defined, and we explore theoretical consequences of the types
of class patterns in the interpretation of the network relational structure at the dyadic level.
Moreover, from the bundle patterns with a common character it is also possible to establish a
system of bonds inside the network that is based on correspondent classes, and which
involves higher-level structures than the dyad for the analysis of the structuring mechanisms
in the system.
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Rodriguez Caporalli, Enrique; Vargas, Leidy
The impact of the infrastructure-related social networks on regional dynamics in the
Southwestern Colombia
This paper shows the role played by the expansion of three types of infrastructure networks in
the consolidation of urban network in southwestern Colombia. The networks that can be
linked to roads, electricity, and telecommunications, traditionally seen as modernizing agents,
changing the daily lives of the people and increasing the productive capacity of the region, will
be discussed here as well as political mechanisms that enable certain rhetorical and
redundancy discourse, reinforcing the sense of integration and "natural dependence" between
some territories, since their presence "is a network." The authors argue that the analysis of the
evolution of these three infrastructure-related social networks in the past 25 years is one of
the ways to demonstrate the emergence of new links that help to constitute urban networks
and identify some of its impacts on the social dynamics of the inhabitants of these regions.
This also contributes in the designing of a model for comparative studies.
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Rodríguez Jaume, María José; Rodríguez Díaz, Josep Antoni; Jareño Ruiz, Diana
Virtual and Social Support Networks in Building the Spanish Adoptive Families
Despite the delay with respect to our neighboring European countries, the phenomenon of
international adoptions has emerged with unparalleled intensity in Spain. In fact, the 5,541
adoptions formalized abroad in 2004 made Spain rank as the world’s second country in
international adoptions after the USA (Selman, 2006). Adoptive families often live adoption as
a bureaucratic and dehumanizing experience which leads them to feel misunderstood and
alone. These perceptions are offset by networking the affective and emotional support, that
is, creating your private 'kinship networks' or 'extended family'.
In this paper we focus on analyzing the construction of adoptive families based on their social
networks and virtual support. Network analysis provides an original set of research tools to
apply to the studies of the family, opening a scene to new indicators and analysis fields. This
relationship highlights the building of 'maps' of family groups, to support and explain the
current complexity of families and the extent of support ties located outside the domestic
nucleus as sources of resources to meet their needs, both instrumental and expressive (De
Grande, 2007).
The results presented are based on the findings of the survey ‘Adoptive families and their
lifestyles’ inscribed in the research project ‘The (baby) boom of international adoptions in
Spain. A sociological research work on adoptive families and their lifestyles’ (R&D&i 20082011, Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness -CSO2009-14763-C03-03-). The research
involved 230 Spanish families who had adopted a child abroad. The survey included a section
whose questions sought, firstly, to identify the main actors involved in adoptive families and
describe the roles each one plays and, secondly, to know the different relationships
established through virtual networks propitiated to search for information about the adoption
process.
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Rodríguez, José A.
Mapping the social landscape: Roads to Happiness
This is an experimental paper mapping social landscapes and experimenting with a social
cartography and social geography not dependent on, nor limited by, the physical or
geographical space.
We use the systems of relations of institutional social spaces to draw social maps using social
networks tools.
The first institutional space is that of two Buddhist sanghas (communities) and here we
analyze the systems (or cosmologies) of meaning and of practices and the interrelation
structure between them shaping what we could define as their Buddhist “identity” map.
Mapping the Buddhist identity sets the landscape for the roads to happiness as well traveled
combinations of meaning and practices.
In the second one we view the scientific literature on happiness as a social space defined by
interactions between actors (scientist and their papers) and concepts (cultural, economic,
political) defining and measuring happiness and proposing actions to reach it.
In the third, social networks becomes a tool for an experimental non-lineal causal approach.
The network as a system of interrelations of causes, conditions and actions towards happiness
with no dependent or independent variables.
This will result in three types of maps. The first one depicting the roads towards happiness
Buddhist practitioners are taking. The second one represents the scientifically sanctioned
roads. And the third one focuses on the position societies are in their road towards happiness.
One goal of the paper is to map social landscapes created by social interaction and in so doing
advance in the design of social geographies and cartographies. The other goal is to advance in
discovering and mapping the roads to happiness.
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Roman, Sara
The focused organization of school ties: A case study of similarity and proximity as
determinants of friend choices
This paper investigates the relative importance of socio-demographic homophily and spatial
proximity as determinants of friend choices in a cohort of Swedish adolescents over the
course of their first year in upper secondary school. It contributes to existing research by
analyzing a unique whole network dataset, allowing precise examination of the effect of
homophily and proximity on friend choices. A latent space model is used to test the
hypotheses while accounting for unmeasured dependencies in the data. The results reveal a
strong effect of proximity on friend nominations throughout the year. Tendencies towards
gender and ethnic homophily are also consistently present, although mainly within close
proximity. The results underline the importance of the organization of the school environment
in determining who befriends whom.
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Ronzhyn, Alexander
Facebook communities, pages and groups in the Basque Country
Facebook groups and pages related to the Spanish Basque Country as well as groups and
pages of the main cities in the region are examined and described to find out common ideas,
evaluate content, popularity and audience of the pages. More than 200 total Facebook pages
and groups with at least 100 members connected to the Basque region exist in Facebook, all
of them were analysed for their place in what may be called the Basque segment of the
Facebook.
In the study the pages were classified into several groups, regarding their content and
message: community, cultural, touristic and political, with a number of subgroups each.
Facebook entities of different groups are characterised by different member composition
(number of likes or members from Basque country or outside), different statuses composition
(length, number of images) and originality of contents. For example groups created as a
representation of existing offline communities, social and political movements tend to have
more original content, lesser frequency of messages and fewer and more similar members.
Language appeared as an important factor showing the target audience of the pages: Basquespeaking pages are typically intended for the local use, while Spanish and even more often
English ones are used to appeal to national and international audiences.
For the open political groups additional social network analysis was conducted to visualize and
illustrate the connections between different groups and political communities within the
region. Resulting network interestingly shows both the geographical zoning of political
communities in Facebook and close connections between political pages and cultural ones. To
provide more depth to the picture, two measurements of the connectedness between
Facebook communities were conducted. Such approach provided more ties and added certain
longitudinal aspect to the study.
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Rouvinski, Vladimir; Mancera, Isabel
Internal migration networks and the regional formation in the Southwestern Colombia
Despite of the fact that the impact of internal migration networks on the region formation
and sustainability is widely acknowledged, there have been a few studies dealing specifically
with the subject. In part, this is due to the difficulties in choosing appropriate methodology
and the luck of reliable data since, in many places, population surveys are not frequent
enough for a thorough study of this nature. Besides, there are often difficulties with access to
data. Moreover, in the particular case of Colombia, in addition to the obstacles described
previously, it is an ongoing internal conflict and a vast number of internally displaced people
that shape the specific scenarios and social networks dynamics. Taking into account the
above, this paper proposed some ways to overcome the difficulties mentioned by using the
analysis of micro data available for two population surveys conducted in Colombia in 1993 and
2005, in addition to interviews with migrants. The paper will present an analytical model to
study internal migration, social networks, and region formation, which can be used for future
comparative studies.
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Rözer, Jesper; Mollenhorst, Gerald; Völker, Beate
Romantic relationships and changes in personal networks
According to the social withdrawal hypothesis, a personal network becomes smaller when a
person starts dating, cohabitates and marries. This phenomenon is widely established in the
literature. However, most studies were done with cross-sectional data and hence, the results
might suffer from selection bias. As a consequence, it is still unclear whether or how personal
networks actually change after the formation of a romantic relationship. It is also unclear how
long and to what extent social withdrawal continues. To overcome these shortcomings, we
employ a large scale panel dataset and examine how the size and composition (in terms of
age, gender and kin versus non-kin) of personal networks change after the formation of
romantic relationships and how these networks develop as romantic relationships continue.
We find that the association between romantic relationships and changes in personal
networks is more dynamic than previous studies suggested, in particular the composition of
the network. For example, after relationship formation people show an increase in personal
contacts with family members, and a decrease in contacts with friends, while a reversed
pattern is observed for relationship maintenance. As a consequence, network size remains
fairly equal from the moment people start a relationship. These results suggests that people
do not withdrawal from their networks after the formation of a relationship, but that they
adapt the composition of their social networks to the demands of each phase of a romantic
relationship.
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Rykov, Yuri; Meylakhs, Peter
Social Space of Online Networked Communities: Mapping AIDS-relevant Groups in «VK»
SNS
This work in progress implements the sociological approach and SNA methods to explore
social groups formed around the HIV/AIDS issue within the most popular Russian online social
networking site «VK». The goal is to get an initial view of internal social structure of online
groups and to find relation between community types and patterns of their social space
organization.
To study these online groups in terms of social space we have adopted this traditional notion
and developed the concept of virtual social space for online communities. The virtual social
space consists of three dimensions related to three unequally distributed virtual resources,
which we can find in «VK» SNS: social (or network) capital, communication success (attention)
and moderator power. We have collected data on “friendship” relations among group
members and their individual communicative indexes (number of posts, comments, likes,
received likes etc.) from group “walls”.
The sample includes 15 online groups selected from all groups containing reference to
HIV/AIDS subject in their titles on the basis of purposive sampling with maximum variation in
terms of population, communication subtopics, group's purposes and relation to offline
activity. We have identified five group types: HIV-activists, HIV-positive dating groups, AIDS
dissident movement, online projections of offline organizations and support groups. The
preliminary analysis shows different patterns of resource distribution among community
members and networked features of community structure related to different types of online
groups. Second we have found the significant positive correlation between personal indexes
of communicative activity and centrality of their position in the community “friendship”
network in some cases.
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1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sailer, Kerstin
Team Cohesion and Embedding – A Comparative Analysis of Spatial and Organisational
Parameters
Patterns of interaction within organisations are driven by job roles, reporting lines and
organisational culture. In addition to these organisational parameters, it has been shown that
the design and layout of workplaces plays an important role, too. For instance, spatial
proximity between colleagues has a measurable impact on the frequency of face-to-face
interaction. Thus both organisational dimensions as well as spatial configuration can be
argued to jointly shape the structure of intra-organisational networks.
Previous research on intra-organisational networks has mostly focused on investigating single
cases or small samples. A comparative analysis across cases is interesting, since it provides an
opportunity to understand how one case compares against others and whether results of one
case can be inferred to other cases. It also allows mapping top and bottom ranges of
phenomena, and understanding the strength and consistency of a relationship between a set
of variables across cases. However, this also presents a challenging methodological problem:
how is it possible to compare metrics between cases and how can these metrics be
normalised? For instance, the E-I index measures group embedding according to an attribute
of interest (e.g. team affiliation), yet the structure of an organisation (number and size of
teams) will have an influence on the outcomes, too.
Using a data set of 15 cases of different knowledge-based organisations (all studied separately
from 2007-2013 with the same methodology of investigating social networks of interaction
through self-reported surveys), this paper presents a larger scale cross-case analysis on the
relationship between spatial configuration of a workplace and the emerging network
structures of interaction. With a focus on team cohesion, clustering and embedding, it will
provide a first sketch of different metrics and parameters (both organisational and spatial) to
compare intra-organisational networks of interaction.
261
1st European Conference on Social Networks
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Salah, Zaher; Coenen, Frans; Grossi, Davide
Network Analysis of Parliamentary Debates: A Pilot Study on Two UK House of Commons
Debates
The paper describes a pilot study on the visualization of parliamentary debates as networks
and their analysis by means of standard network analysis techniques.
As a focus for the study two debates were chosen: the debate held on 18 March 2003, which
led to the parliamentary approval of the invasion in Iraq, and the debate held on 29 August
2013 which led to the parliamentary refusal of a military intervention in Syria. These have
been chosen because: (i) they were not fully determined by party doctrine; (ii) they had
opposite results, with the Government's motion being approved in the Iraq case, and rejected
in the Syria case.
For each debate two types of networks were built: the interruption network where two MPs
are linked whenever at least one of the two has spoken after (interrupted) the other; the
relevant interruption network where two MPs are linked whenever at least one of the two has
spoken after (interrupted) the other *and* the two speeches are `sufficiently similar', where
similarity is understood using standard data mining techniques (bags-of-word similarity).
We are interested in answering two research questions: (1) Do speeches by MPs normally
respond to speeches of MPs with different party affiliation and/or different voting behavior?
(2) Are standard community detection algorithm effective in singling out parties or sets of
MPs with similar voting behavior?
Question (1) is answered affirmatively. All networks exhibit high degrees of disassortativity
with respect to party affiliation and voting behavior, although with different values. MPs tend
to respond to speeches by members of other parties or by MPs with different voting
inclinations. Question (2) is answered negatively. None of the community detection
algorithms we considered (modularity maximization, hierarchical and spectral clustering, and
edge centrality) is able to detect communities of members of the same party or with the same
voting behavior.
262
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Salpeteur, Matthieu; Reyes-Garcia, Victoria; Molina, José Luis
Common life, common knowledge? Assessing the role of multiple collectives in shaping
variations in traditional ecological knowledge among a community of semi-nomadic
pastoralists of Gujarat (India)
A large body of literature aims at understanding how Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is
transmitted and distributed within local communities. Variations in knowledge have been
explored in multiple ways, at the individual-level (in relation with characteristics such as age,
gender), or at the group-level. But in this line few researches have attempted to compare the
role of different organisational levels and their potential role in shaping variations in TEK
distribution. The social organisation of local communities is indeed dynamic, and the constitution
of groups of individuals is grounded on multiple organisational structures and networks (kinship
and residency, occupation-related, political...), some of them with fluid adscription. In this paper,
we examine the role of different layers of social organisation in shaping variations of TEK. As a
case study, we focus on a community of semi-nomadic herders, the Rabari of the Kutch area
(Gujarat state, India).
We analyze data from three domains of knowledge collected through questionnaires; namely
knowledge related 1) to migration areas, 2) to herd management, and 3) to ethnoveterinary
practices. We documented adscription to different layers of social organisation through the
collection of two types of data: (a) a set of variables related to individual’s inclusion in static
social groups (extended families, lineages, neighbourhood groups), and (b) individual selfreported networks related to friendship and migration collectives. Data on adscription to
different social organizations were used to map and extract clusters of individuals, which were
then included in the analysis. Variations of TEK were assessed at the group-level for each layer of
social organisation we identified. In a second step, these two approaches are combined in order
to gain a deeper understanding of the ways social organization, in the case of semi-nomadic
shepherds, shape TEK distribution.
263
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Santos Castroviejo, Iago
Procedures to address the core of economic power in interlocking directorates Application
to the Spanish continuous market in 2013
The core of people selected by a core/periphery model in an interlocking directorate network
does not correlate well with central core nodes that have a significant concentration of
power. We have found at least seven good reasons why centrality and power may not align;
they have less powerful directors participate in the core as well as exclude others to whom we
ascribe more power: 1)People with strong economic power are not always in central
locations. 2) Some companies hold central places because of their vulnerability and not their
strength.3) There are central small companies with tiny importance in terms of control. 4)
Core-periphery models include directors in the core only because of their membership on very
central boards. 5) Profiles of very central board members with limited power are common in
networks. 6)Different strategies in terms of appointing proprietary board members can result
in strong differences in centrality.7)Investment funds hold many shares below 3% and they do
not appoint board members.
The identification of a core of power must follow a more appropriate method. We consider at
least three key sources of power: A) concentration of relations; B) share capital; C) control
over the network.
We propose the procedure: First, we have the networks of boards and of shareholders.
Second, we group all the executives of a team into a single node. Third, we apply a
core/periphery model to this grouped network. Fourth, we calculate the "board participation
quota" of each team by dividing the number of seats held by the team in each board. Fifth, we
multiply this quota by the value of the company. This gives greater weight to the larger
companies.
From these obtained control values we can select those teams from the previous core that go
beyond a certain control threshold.
We used this procedure in Spanish continuous market in 2013. These data justify the idea of a
concentration of control and power in that network within a small group.
264
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Santos, Martín
Ego network or connectivity set? structural cohesion and postsecondary educational
expectations
The purpose of this paper is to examine adolescent peer networks as a context that may help
understand postsecondary educational expectations. The overarching argument is that we
need to take into account both the pattern of social relationships within which students are
embedded (network structure) and the shared sentiments and behaviors activated through
the network (network content). Network structure is measured at two levels of analysis: a) Ego
network level, which consists of ego, the nodes ego is connected to, and the ties between
ego’s alters; b) Connectivity set level, which is a structure (component) exhibiting a k-level of
connectedness (or structural cohesion). That is to say, there exist no fewer than k nodes that,
if removed, would break the connectivity set into two or more pieces. Network content is
measured as peers’ postsecondary educational expectations. Postsecondary educational
expectations are measured in two ways: a) Whether a student expects to follow college or
technical education; b) Field of study. In this context, this study addresses and tests two
competing research questions:
1)Does the density of the ego friendship network act in combination with friends’
postsecondary educational expectations to influence ego’s own postsecondary educational
expectations?
2)Do the structural cohesion of the connectivity set ego belongs to and connectivity set-mates’
postsecondary educational expectations jointly affect ego’s own educational expectations?
The data for this study comes from a survey conducted in the year 2011 in five Peruvian high
schools. In-school questionnaires were administered to all 12th grade high school students in
the sampled schools. This unique design enables us to capture comprehensively the extended
friendship network in which each respondent is embedded. Binary and multinomial logistic
regression models will be fitted to study the above mentioned outcome variables.
265
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sarabi, Yasaman
Network Analysis of Private Water Companies: Collaboration and Competition
This work looks into debates about water privatisation from a new perspective, business
networks framework. From an inter-organisational viewpoint, each private water company
consists of a considerable network of subsidiaries scattered globally operating under the
parent company’s supervision. Two French private multi-national companies, Veolia
Environnement and Suez Environnement, which provide environmental services including
water and sanitary services, are the focus of this study. A large dataset has been compiled for
the purpose of this work using detailed information available on the structure and operation
of these two companies from various sources. With the help of network analysis tools, it has
been tried to identify the on-going collaboration and competition between these companies;
concentrating on their location decisions based on geographical positions of the subsidiaries
and similarities within their management configurations.
266
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Schoch, David; Brandes, Ulrik
Centrality Indices and a Class of Uniquely Ranked Graphs
Standard measures of centrality attain their maximum values for the center of a star-shaped
network. This property is widely considered a necessary condition for any centrality index. It is,
however, a very weak condition that does not exclude unintuitive and contrived indices. To
tighten this condition, we propose to extend the requirement for agreement from star
networks to a proper superclass known as threshold graphs. This is justified by proving that the
rankings of all common centralities actually do coincide on a threshold graph. We discuss
additional properties which stress the importance of threshold graphs for network centrality as
uniquely ranked graphs and show, for instance, that the distance of an arbitrary graph from its
nearest threshold graph serves as an indicator for the degree of interdependence among
distinct indices.
267
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Schubert, Iljana; De Groot, Judith; Newton, Adrian
If you tell me about your friends can I predict your food purchasing behaviour?
How to change people’s consumption patterns to be more sustainable is one of the major
issues society is tackling at the moment. Theories suggest social networks can be important
for one's sustainable food purchasing behaviour as indicated through the influence of social
norms on behaviour. However, social networks are presently never included in studies
examining processes underlying sustainable food purchasing behaviours. Present research
merges social network analysis with traditional models of sustainable consumption behaviour
change (Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), Norm Activation Model (NAM) and theories of
habit). The main aim of this research was to examine the relationship between social network
characteristics (degree, transitivity, closeness etc.) and sustainable food shopping behaviours.
More specifically, we examined the explanatory power of social network characteristics over
and above predictors used in traditional psychological theories explaining sustainable food
shopping behaviour. This questionnaire study collected ego network characteristics together
with variables from the TPB (attitudes, perceived behavioural control, social norms), NAM
(personal norms) and habits, has been developed. Data was collected online from 500
participants. Results showed that some social network characteristics significantly explain
sustainable food purchasing behaviour. However, these relationships are all mediated through
the psychological variables. At the conference findings and implications of the study will be
presented.
268
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Schutjens, Veronique; Mollenhorst, Gerald; Volker, Beate
Conditions for and consequences of entrepreneurs' social network change in Dutch
neighborhoods
The role of social networks in shaping, creating and stimulating entrepreneurship and business
success can hardly be overstated. But especially for small neighbourhood firms and their
entrepreneurs in new service and ICT sectors, having and building a network of (local) social
relations to share, learn and develop their business is crucial. This is key to a longitudinal Dutch
study, called the SSNE Survey of the Social Networks of Entrepreneurs, aiming at exploring
whether local business' success is the result of a combination of local socio-economic and
network conditions.
The paper describes the outline, methods and first results of this panel and the longitudinal data
on local entrepreneurs’ social networks in the Netherlands. We focus on the strong potential of
empirically measuring (local) network change and its effects on local firms. Two key
methodological aspects of the project are explicitly addressed: 1) the panel structure of the data
collection, enabling the measurement of change in both network nodes and social capital; and 2)
the methods chosen to measure (local) network members and the resources exchanged. First,
several established methods to collect of relational data are discussed. After highlighting earlier
empirical findings on neighbourhood and (local) network effects on firm success, we empirically
explore network change using recently collected data of over 200 entrepreneurs participating in
the panel in both 2008 and 2013. We find that over time, networks have increased with respect
to the number of different social capital positions to which entrepreneurs have access. Also,
locally an increasing variety of positions can be found, and this holds for both low and high
education groups. Regarding conditions for social network change, we look whether different
neighbourhood contexts are important. Finally, we explore the impact of changing local networks
on both neighbourhood entrepreneurs and their firms’ performance and strategy.
269
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sebestyén, Tamás; Varga, Attila
Measuring network position through node and structural characteristics - Ego network
Quality
In this paper we introduce the comprehensive index of Ego Network Quality (ENQ) which
measures network position encompassing information on node characteristics and network
structure. There are three intuitions behind the concept, directly influenced by the theory of
innovation. The first intuition is that the level of knowledge in an agent’s network is in a
positive relationship with the agents’ productivity in new knowledge generation. The second
intuition is that collaboration among the partners in the agent’s network is the source of
further growth of knowledge available from the network. Following the third intuition we
assume that partners in the ego network not only increase the amount of knowledge
accessible, but also contribute to its diversity through building connections to different
further groups not linked directly to the ego network.
With the developed index we perform two analyses. First, a simulation approach is used to
explore the effect of different weighting schemes (distance, structure) on the behavior of the
index and second, a short empirical application is presented on the field of interregional
knowledge networks.
We find that the developed index can be fruitfully used in analyses where the network
position is important in order to access knowledge (or resources in a wider sense) available in
other locations (nodes) and accessible through the network ties.
270
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Seferiadis, Anastasia; Zweekhorst, Marjolein
'Paying-it-Forward’: Mechanisms of Social Capital Development among Resource-Poor Women
in Rural Bangladesh
This study provides insights into how an NGO can strengthen resource-poor women’s social
capital in rural Bangladesh.
In the last two decades there has been a considerable enthusiasm of researchers and
development practitioners for the concept of social capital. If many studies have demonstrated
the benefits of having a strong social capital for the resource-poor, and if many initiatives have
been linked to increases in social capital, what remains underdeveloped is how development
strategies can foster social capital. This paper aims to contribute to such understanding.
This paper presents the case-study of a project aimed at uplifting rural poor’s livelihood and
conducted by an NGO based in Bangladesh. In the challenging context of rural Bangladesh, with
women particularly deprived of opportunities for development, this paper describes how one
local NGO project has resulted in the strengthening of social capital.
This exploratory study made use of a variety of qualitative and quantitative tools: FGDs & photovoice (23 participants), in-depth interviews (29 participants), and questionnaires (50
participants).
Empirical data show that social capital can be developed through the modification of exchanges,
modification initiated via a ‘paying-it-forward’ mechanism. By being provided a preliminary
strength, with knowledge, capacities and confidence, the women beneficiary of this NGO decided
to invest in their social fabric. Gifts are exchanged through a balanced and open reciprocity,
which strengthened women’s social capital.
This study shows how one NGO, by providing a ‘starting package’ of material and cognitive skills,
enables women to invest in their social network through the giving of gifts hereby it participates
in the understanding of how local development can promote social capital strengthening.
271
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Serrano Lara, Jose Javier
Social capital, social networks and rural development: rincón de ademuz (1994-2013):
In this work we intend to find out and analyze the evolution of social networks from 1994-2013,
linked to the European rural development programme Leader in the Rincón de Ademuz (region of
Valencia-Spain). Thus we intend to corroborate whether these networks are still strong and
persist, or if on the contrary they are weak or disappeared after the first periods of LEADER,
charaterised frequently by high involvement of civil society. The role of the different actors,
focusing on those playing leadership functions through different programmes, will be analysed.
In addition we will explore the relationships between that relational social capital and the
evolution of rural development policies from the 70s to the present.
We will explore the evolution of social networks in the light of changes in the implementation of
rural development programmes, and whether these links may explain the destruction or
weakening of social networking.
The analysis of social networks is based on SNA using as a main source of data more than 30
semi-structured interviews conducted in the study area. Those interviews were addressed to four
main groups of actors, public, economic, social and technical ones, having all of them an initial
well recognised relevance in the design, management or implementation of the rural
development policies. The obtained results will allow us to answer our initial objective as well as
to do an approach to the impact of rural policies in this particular territory.
272
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sheehan, Kathleen
What’s in a hub? A comparative case study of national and regional organisations
This mixed methods study unpacks the internal structures and experiences of hubs in the field
of nonprofit organisations that support Ireland’s asylum seekers. High degree centrality can
indicate a relatively large amounts social capital and influence in the field as well as greater
constraints emerging from the management of multiple relationships. In this study, two hubs
were identified through a whole network survey. Survey data raised questions about the
management of so many relationships and how the ties relate to relationships with
organisations and agencies in other fields. Consequently, the quantitative investigation was
followed up with a comparative case study of a two hub organisations – one regional and one
national. Members of each organisation created personal network maps in semi-structured
interviews, detailing the meaning and context of each relationship. In both cases, interviews
revealed an internal ‘department’ structure, allowing individual actors to focus on unique
relationships and to present specialised fronts to different alters. Drawing on theories of
social capital (e.g. Lin 2008 and Bourdieu 1986), this paper will explore the value of individuals
within the hub as well as the organisation itself as ‘resources’. Data reveal that it is not just
access to information and contacts that makes a hub important, but also the skilled
coordination and packaging of those resources.
273
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Simon de Blas, Clara; Simon Martin, Jose
A method based on social network analysis for DEA Benchmarking
We propose a new graphical procedure based on social networks to facilitate benchmark
efficiency interpretation on DEA analysis. We construct a valued directed net where nodes
represent the DMU’s in study and arcs represent peer relationships. DMU’s that are primarily
identified as efficient are submitted to a complementary analysis based on hubs and
authorities to establish the superiority of performance. Several classical application cases and
a case study on spanish university libraries are presented to exhibit the strength of the
methodology.
274
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sitch, Matthew, Lowry, Ruth
Social influence on students' experiences of the process of transition into postgraduate
study
Introduction
The period of transition from undergraduate into taught postgraduate study is an important
period in a student’s academic career. There are indications that social relationships play an
important role influencing student’s experiences of transition. For example some
researchers have reported that postgraduate students often felt a lack of support during the
transition which left some students feeling isolated and struggling to understand the
requirements to succeed in their studies (Tobell, O’Donnell & Zammit, 2010; West, 2012).
Objectives
Use personal network analysis to examine how student’s social relationships influence their
experiences of transition into taught postgraduate study.
Method
A mixed methods approach was adopted to explore personal network structure and function
of 4 female and 8 male postgraduate students (25.75 ±9.47 yrs). A personal network analysis
(Hogan, Carrasco & Wellman, 2007) was used to inform a semi-structured interview lasting
20-40 minutes. EgoNet personal network analysis software was used to generate individual
personal networks graphs and data whilst inductive thematic content analysis was used to
extract themes from the interview transcripts.
Results
A number of themes emerged from the personal network diagrams and interviews
representing the influence of the structure and function of participant’s personal network on
experiences of transition. Themes include “impact of managing substantial change” in
network structure and “adjusting to the loss of important alters”.
Discussion
The combination of both network structure and function makes a novel contribution to
literature by highlighting aspects of participants’ personal network in context to their
experiences of transition. The structural and functional utility of the personal network
mirrors Berkman and Glass’ (2000) conceptual representation of social influence.
275
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sliskovic, Tanja
Ties That Matter: Exploring the Characteristics and Meaning of Social Ties in Managerial Social
Networks
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the social networks that managers build in
their professional life. The emphasis of the study is placed on gender differences in the meaning
and career significance of managerial egocentric social networks. In order to better understand
the meaning of managerial social networks as a crucial resource for managerial successful
conduct of business, I first conducted an in-depth interview, qualitative study. Sequentially, I
conducted a quantitative, egocentric social network survey where I test the hypothesis that bring
characteristics of network ties in relation to managerial subjective and subjective measures of
success. The paper is built around three main findings. The first finding of the qualitative study
indicates differences of the role of the social network in career development for man and
women. Secondly, main findings of the quantitative study considering gender differences
reinforce the results of the qualitative study: there is a difference in how the network structure
and network qualities predict success for male and female managers. Third relevant finding is in
the comprehension that value homophily and the presence of cognitive based trust within the
social network matter significantly in predicting managerial success (where gender differences
are identified). Findings provide contributions for building the theory of professional social
networks further.
276
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Smith, Matthew
Application of Multilevel Network Analysis to International Trade and Ownership
The structure of international trade has changed in recent decades, products are no longer
produced from start to finish in one country. Production is geographically fragmented, with an
increased share of intermediate goods being traded internationally within firms. Whilst there
have been a number of studies examining the trade network, few have made use of advanced
models. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, all of these studies have analysed trade
networks in isolation of ownership networks. Such approach, however, doesn’t account for
the fact that are firms – and not countries - that actually trade, with an average of 30% of all
exports due to intra-firm trade. This paper applies multilevel exponential random graph
models (as developed by Wang et al, 2013) to investigate the international fragmentation of
production by combining both the country-level and the firm-level networks. The research
question the paper seeks to answer is: how do the ownership patterns at the firm level
contribute in explaining trade among countries?
The multilevel network is formed by the trade network at the macro-level, where the nodes
are countries and the ties are trade flows; the ownership network at the micro-level, where
the nodes are firms and the ties are ownership relationship; and finally the meso-level linking
the micro and the macro levels, where the ties reflect the locational choices of firms. In order
to model the flow of intermediate goods in the trade network, we use highly disaggregated
data from the manufacturing of optical and medical instruments; a sector as identified by BIS
(2010) as of particular importance for the U.K.
277
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Snijders, Tom; Koskinen, Johan
Hierarchical multilevel analysis of network dynamics: further developments
Multilevel longitudinal network data sets, by which we mean longitudinal network data sets
that were collected according to the same design in multiple, disconnected groups, are
starting to be available more and more. This offers new possibilities for generalization and
requires new methods of analysis. A multilevel version of the Stochastic Actor-Oriented Model
(SAOM) is presented.
In a hierarchical model for such data structures, there are two sets of parameters: parameters
at the highest level, the population of groups, which may be called the population
parameters; and parameters at the group (or network) level, determining the network
dynamics in each group, modelled by a SAOM. We specify a multivariate normal distribution
for the distribution of the group-level parameters conditional on the population parameters.
For the joint analysis of group- and population-level, we follow a fully Bayesian approach
whereby the latter are treated as parameters with a prior distribution and estimation is done
by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. To obtain good convergence of the MCMC
algorithm, it is necessary to let only some of the group-level parameters vary across groups
and keep the rest fixed, like in hierarchical linear models for regular multilevel analysis. This
method allows estimation of SAOMs for smaller data sets than is possible for single groups.
This method has been for some time experimentally available in the function sienaBayes() of
the RSienaTest package. We report on further experience with this new method and some
applications.
278
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sohn, Christophe; Christopoulos, Dimitrios; Koskinen, Johan
Political Networks and Cross-border Policy Governance: Agency, geography and policy
outcomes
The power and legitimacy of elected political actors is inextricably tied to their geographic
constituency. Yet the networks between policy actors often eschew such spatial constraints
and occur across political boundaries and jurisdictions. An interesting type of such policy ties
are across national frontiers and are broadly termed cross-border networks.
Their justification is often traced to a common interest in cooperative outcomes or the need
to share infrastructure. But since such interaction carries low electoral currency, but
potentially bears high political costs, it poses a conundrum on the motivation of political
agents. A formal study of the social networks between political actors in the Lille and Basel
metropolitan regions permits us to answer some questions on the motivation of actors
engaged in cross-border governance. Controlling for geographic distance, we find political
entrepreneurship, assortative homophily, local embeddedness and actor status to be
associated to the policy outcomes and network structure of cross-border policy networks.
279
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Solano, Giacomo
The use of social networks for the business: a comparison between transnational and local
immigrant entrepreneurs
This presentation addresses the use of (personal) social networks by self-employed
immigrants. I aim to underline what is the role of them in the immigrant entrepreneurial
activities.
The presentation also focuses on the differences between immigrant entrepreneurs with a
transnational business (TEs) and the ones with a more local one (LEs).
Concerning this, many studies show the role of social networks regarding immigrant
entrepreneurship in general and others underline the use of these by transnational
entrepreneurs. But the majority of this second corpus of studies doesn’t show if the findings
are peculiar of transnational entrepreneurs or they are common to all immigrant
entrepreneurs. This presentation aims also to fill this gap, trying to understand if TEs are
different
from
LEs
in
terms
of
the
use
social
networks.
In particular, I focus in particular on: network composition; if social networks are fundamental
for the business; which are the keys contacts; the role of the relatives and of the family; the
role of the co-nationals.
To achieve the above mentioned goals I present the preliminary findings of a recent research
carried out in Milan on about 40 Moroccan entrepreneurs (with a transnational business and
with a non-transnational one).
In particular my research focuses on the use of core (closest contacts) and business networks
in order to understand the role of these two kinds of network for the business and the
interconnection between these.
280
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sorolla, Natxo
Social networks and language choice: a blockmodeling analysis
Multilingual societies have a genuine interest in sociolinguistic research for their language
practices, ideologies and competences, and social network analysis (SNA) is an appropriate
methodology to deal with usual questions in sociolinguistics discipline, such as who speaks
with whom, what languages s/he uses, and why (Gal, 1979; Li, 1994; Milroy, 1987), but SNA
incorporates a methodological challenge into this area, because sociolinguistic relations have
attributes (valued networks): individuals may have (1) or may not have (0) relations, and these
relations may take place in language A (1) or B (2) (Bartoo, 2010; Gallagher, 2012). In our
proposal, inspired in the blockmodeling use for signed networks (Doreian & Mrvar, 2009) and
using data from 245 12-years old classmates in La Franja, different types of sociolinguistic
blocks are defined, namely language convergers and language maintainers, sociolinguistic
norms of the language choice are explored, and the concept of sociolinguistic roles developed
at length.
We have applied SNA to analyse language choices in the Catalan language area, a minoritized
language historically spoken in Eastern Spain and Southern France, and cities as Barcelona
(Strubell & Boix, 2011). During much of the 20th century, Catalan coexisted with Castilian
according a rule of behaviour dictating that Catalan speakers should switch to Spanish in
interactions with Spanish-speakers. Since the 1980’s decade, though, this rule has been
challenged: in areas Catalan is more often used with Castilian speakers; simultaneously, in
other Catalan-speaking areas such as La Franja (Aragon), some Catalan-speakers are using
Spanish for their intra-ethnic communications. In both cases, groups language maintenance is
not stable. And blockmodeling shows great powerful as a innovative technique in
sociolinguistics study of language choices. Our research takes into account a fieldwork with
245 early teenagers, 12 years old classmates in La Franja.
281
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Stark, Martin; Bixler, Matthias
Marriage Networks and the Development of Social Stratification in the 19th Century
The paper will examine the development of social stratification in a rural area in the 19th
Century by examining a kinship network.
Kinship is the most striking organizational feature of historical, rural communities. Historian
David Sabean examined in several qualitative oriented micro-historical studies beginning
processes of social stratification in a rural area of South-Western Germany. He argues that
local marriage patterns were changing as a result of economical and demographical crises in
the course of modernisation in this rural area. Local elites showed tendencies of social closure
against the less wealthy families in an attempt to obtain their social-economic status. A
number of similar studies report comparable results for Naples, Brittany and some rural
communities in France.
The paper will tackle this social-historical hypothesis with a social network approach by
analyzing the marriage network of the village of Ohmenhausen located close to the town of
Reutlingen in the Kingdom of Wuerttemberg. To (re-) construct the local kinship network a
comprehensive stock of sources like church books and administration records were stored in a
relational database. The data will be analyzed using a panel design with three time slices in
the second half of the 19th Century, the phase of industrialization in this area. By using
exponential random graph models the study will examine if measurable tendencies of social
closure can be shown and how these tendencies were orientated at certain features of social
status as occupation, property and municipal administrative functions. Afterwards the
empirical findings will be integrated back into the historical context.
282
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Steglich, Christian; Knecht, Andrea
Size, Structure and Stability of Cliques in Early Adolescence
In the literature on adolescents’ social development, cliques are defined as groups of 2-12
peers who spend time together and share common interests. As such, cliques are very
heterogeneous (Adler & Adler, 1996), and important peer processes, like the development of
pro- or anti-social behaviour, are clique-specific (Kreager et al., 2011). For studying these
processes, one needs to take an approach that is longitudinal and at the same time allows
taking into account clique structure. Such an approach is complicated by the fact that over
time, cliques can be quite unstable (Değirmencioğlu et al., 1998). In this paper, we investigate
compositional and network structural determinants of clique stability. Following Herbert
Simon (1996), we hypothesise that the larger a clique gets, the stronger the need for a
hierarchical structure if it wants to survive as a clique. Data were collected as part of the
Networks and Actor Attributes in Early Adolescence study (Knecht, 2006), which traces the
development of individual behaviour and classroom social structure in 126 school classes
(3332 students, 14 schools) during the first year at secondary school in the Netherlands.
Friendship networks were assessed 4 times in the study year, within the classroom boundary
as students’ self-reported friendships. A variety of subgroup detection algorithms is available
for identifying cliques in social network data. On the one hand, these algorithms can be
applied to per observation moment yielding a sequence of clique structures that can be
investigated in terms of stability over time. On the other hand, the algorithms can be applied
to spatio-temporal networks, in which repeated measures of a network are combined by
linking actors over time. The result is a clique structure with a natural time dimension to it.
Stability of cliques over time will be treated as outcome variable in a multilevel analysis of
cliques cross-nested in classrooms and observation moments.
283
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Šubelj, Lovro; Bajec, Marko
Network group discovery by hierarchical label propagation
Complex real-world networks often reveal characteristic groups of nodes with common linking
pattern. Besides densely linked groups known as communities, networks also consist of
groups of structurally equivalent nodes denoted modules, and different mixtures of these,
with core/periphery and hub & spokes structures as special cases. These are of value in
various applications, especially in large social and information networks. However, despite an
outburst of community detection algorithms in the last decade, approaches for other groups
of nodes are relatively rare and often limited. We present a hierarchical label propagation
algorithm proposed in (Šubelj & Bajec, Physica A 397, 2014) for general group detection. The
algorithm requires no apriori knowledge and has near ideal complexity, while the main
novelty is that groups are revealed through hierarchical refinement that enables
straightforward discovery of different types of groups.
The algorithm is validated on synthetic and real-world networks, and rigorously compared
against twelve state-of-the-art approaches on group detection, group hierarchy discovery and
link prediction tasks. For community detection, we adopt greedy optimization of modularity,
multi-stage modularity optimization or Louvain method, sequential clique percolation,
Markov clustering, structural compression or Infomod, random walk compression or Infomap
and label propagation algorithm. For general group detection, we adopt symmetric
nonnegative matrix factorization, k-means data clustering, (degree-corrected) mixture
models, model-based propagation algorithm, structural compression and the best community
detection approach. Analysis shows that the proposed algorithm is comparable to the stateof-the-art in community detection, while superior in general group detection and link
prediction. Moreover, while different approaches can accurately solve the community
detection problem, there is an absence of reliable approaches for general groups.
284
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Sulinska, Iwona
Networks of corporate directors as a mean to manage external dependencies of Chinese listed
firms
Literature on board of directors distinguishes two categories of board functions: internal
(monitoring and service) and external (resource dependence) (Finkelstein et al. 2009). Internal
function refers to provided service in the form of assistance in strategy development, like also
management monitoring and control. External function relates to access to resources,
information, and network of connections (e.g. by board interlocks) that appointed directors may
bring to a focal firm. In the context of emerging markets board functions seem to be similar
however, differences in execution have been noticed (Allen, 2000). In particular, Peng (2004)
stresses positive impact of resource-rich directors on firm performance in countries going
through institutional transition. Importance of the resource function in countries with distant
institutional setting, compared to the Western economies, has been stressed also in the previous
studies (e.g. Au et al., 2000; Peng et al., 2001; Young et al., 2001). In the context of China,
culturally determined extensive use of networking strategies (Peng, 2003) suggests resource
function to be more pronounced than in the Western economies. Thus, in this study I limit the
discussion to the external function of corporate boards. Drawing upon resource dependence
theory and social network perspective, I am addressing the issue of external function of boards in
Chinese MNEs. Data analysis aims to investigate intercorporate networks (board interlocks and
other affiliations) in Mainland China that have been created in light of ongoing regulatory
changes and attempts to improve corporate governance practices. Furthermore, relation
between network structures, strength of ties to external parties and firm ownership is analyzed
to uncover differences in created networks between privately-owned enterprises and stateowned enterprises. This is a quantitative study based on secondary data for listed companies in
China.
285
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Talpur, Bandeh Ali; Payne, Diane
Technology Transfer and Innovation Networks in Ireland
The process of innovation in engineering-intensive physical science sectors is characterized by
the continuous emergence and constant negotiation of role definitions between ‘users’,
‘suppliers’, and ‘innovators’, each of which may be locked-in within their own development
trajectories. In such an environment, the concept of ‘market’ loses much of its meaning, as
various roles partially merge in a shared value network. Because of the historical dominance
of market-based theoretical frameworks, the dynamics of innovation in value networks are
poorly understood.
The research will focus on the dynamics of innovation networks and their emergence by
examining how are actors identified and constructed for emerging technologies in supplypush (research push) situations and how is value constructed for emerging technologies in
research-push situations? Moreover, the research examines the scope of individual networks
in constructing technology and its dynamics. The research will be conducted using a series of
longitudinal case studies on research based spin out processes, with an emphasis on
understanding how innovation networks are constructed in health and technological spin outs
projects and how can technology be modelled as an institution by looking at what are the
network dynamics of technology spin-off processes in health and IT sector.
286
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Tenisheva, Ksenia; Alexandrov, Daniel
Academic self-concept in school peer networks
Our paper is concerned with the relations between academic self-concept (SC), academic
achievement and peer network effects at the beginning of high school.
The rise in individual academic achievement leads to increase of individual self-concept. At
the same time, peer group context may influence student’s SC in two opposite directions. On
the one hand, successful peers may enhance individual SC. On the other, there is so-called
“contrast effect” based on relative deprivation: academically superior classmates may
increase student’s achievement, but decrease his/her self-esteem, as demonstrated by
H.Marsh.
We intend to use our network data on friendships to test both models. We distinguish
between formally assigned reference group (classmates or schoolmates – as used by Marsh)
and personal reference group based on student’s friendship choice (ego network). We find it
self-evident that not all schoolmates are perceived by student as his/her reference group.
We analyze the survey of 50 schools of the Greater Moscow, both standard and gymnasiums.
It contains the data on 5000 students’ ego networks (nominated friendships in class),
attitudes, socio-demographic characteristics.
To analyze the peer effects of ego-networks on GPA and SC we use HLM. There are three
levels analyzed: (1) individual (GPA, SC, motivation, SES), (2) peer network (nominated friends’
average GPA, SC, motivation), and (3) school (school type, size, location).
We will discuss the following hypotheses: (1) if friends are more successful than the individual,
he/she may feel deprived, and her/his SC will fall (contrast effect), but (2) individual
achievement will increase, as peers motivate the student to do better. (3) The contrast effect
will be stronger in gymnasiums, as students are induced to get higher grades, and competence
is valued. Having smarter friends may be seen as an advantage in standard schools, but it may
deprive students in gymnasiums.
287
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Teves , Laura; Fischer, Eva
Ethnography and Social Network Research
According to the demands formulated by politicians, government institutions and NGOs,
among others, Social Network researchers should, more often than not, collect data in a very
short period of time. Besides, they are personally interested in optimizing their study results.
This setting requires two specific and effective actions: a rapid data collection and highly
qualified use of ethnographic techniques. Ethnography offers different methodological
approaches which can be combined and adapted to the specific object of research. The range
of these approaches covers different techniques such as interview methods, participant
observation, and transcripts of oral records and visual data.
But successfully conducted ethnographic methodology does not end with the completion of
the data collection process. It extends into the next phase which is the implementation of
data in the different stages of Social Network Research. The data collected by ethnographic
methods provide the background information that should be coded to be introduced in the
data base of SN studies.
Our paper aims to discuss the potential and also, to some extent, the limits of ethnography for
Social Network. We are especially interested in discussing the topic by focusing not only upon
the theoretical and methodological aspects but also upon the transdisciplinary perspectives.
We will attempt to start our discussion by analyzing empirical case studies and then
considering the heuristic value of the ethnographic approach.
288
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Thomas, Mathieu; Barbillon, Pierre; Caillon, Sophie
Interactions between human and plant properties in plant circulation networks. A case study
from Vanua Lava, Vanuatu (South Pacific)
Seed systems are complex adaptive systems that shape crop biodiversity. Seed circulation among
farmers, which is embedded in composite social networks, is one of the key dynamics of seed
systems. Social network analysis has recently been employed to assess the impact of social
organization on the distribution of crop diversity. Centrality measures of seed exchange networks
highlight the role of the social status of farmers. Correlations between farmers’ centrality and the
richness of agro-biodiversity maintained at the household level are reported in the literature. In
this paper, we investigate how certain socio-biological attributes of plants affect the way in
which they are exchanged. We hypothesize that farmers initiate their relational networks in
distinct ways, accordingly to specific plant properties.
Based on seven years of ethnobiological fieldwork, data on the most recent plant acquisitions
(733 events, 188 landraces and 36 species) were gathered among 15 households of first
generation migrants on the island of Vanua Lava (Vanuatu, South Pacific). Six sub-networks
sharing the same fifteen nodes (representing households) were extracted according to the three
plant characteristics, i.e., frequency: rare vs. frequent, use: starch vs. leaf, biology: annual vs.
perennial. Pairwise comparisons were carried out for each socio-biological attribute to
characterize the network’s properties at two levels: i) household level, using centrality measures,
ii) community level, using the Latent Block Model to cluster households sharing the same
connection profile.
Our results indicate that when considering rare or common landraces, farmers do not hold the
same position, nor do they belong to the same cluster in the seed network. As such, contrary to
our expectations, the use and biological properties assessed in this study do not appear to impact
network features. Additional biological plant properties may be related but remain to be
investigated.
289
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Tischer, Daniel
Network dynamics in the ethical banking sector: Understanding network change and continuity
in a developing industry sector
The project investigates the development of the international networks formed between ethical
banks with the aim to understand how and why they organise their activities in the international
banking sector. The case of ethical banks is particularly interesting because unlike global banking
conglomerates, their activities are generally confined to specific national settings; thus, there is a
question as to why ethical banks find it useful to connect internationally.
The paper focuses on the analysis of associational membership networks formed between ethical
banks over a period of 15 years starting in 1999 during which new associations catering for
ethical banks were established (in 2001, 2006 & 2009). It looks specifically at the changes of local
neighbourhoods over time, to draw out the dynamics of membership affiliations and of the
overall structure of the network.
Findings highlight that overall membership networks become more complex over time and there
appears to be some underlying logic of specialisation in the network; yet at the same time, there
is resilience to drop old membership ties. Moreover, results show that changes to the network
structures are linked not only to changes at firm and sector level, but also related to exogenous
shocks in the economy more generally.
290
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Titkova, Vera; Ivaniushina, Valeria; Alexandrov, Daniel
Coevolution of smoking and friendship in vocational schools
Our paper is focused on coevolution of individual smoking behavior and friendship in
vocational schools. In Russian educational systems students after 9th grade of comprehensive
schools (15 years old) can choose vocational education. Students coming from different
comprehensive schools form friendship relations de novo. Vocational schools mainly attract
students from low SES families; students generally have low academic motivation, and risk
behavior is highly prevalent among them.
Our project is longitudinal: data on 511 students from 3 vocational schools are to be collected
twice a year, during 3 academic years. We elicit information on academic and professional
attitudes (motivation, involvement), psychological characteristics (depression, aggression,
social anxiety), socio-demographic characteristics. Students are also asked about their
smoking behavior: whether they smoke or not; what age they started to smoke; how many
cigarettes they smoke per day.
Presuming that risk-behavior influence is different for smokers and non-smokers, we intend to
build two different models: one model for changing from non-smoking to initiation of
smoking, another model for changes in smoking behavior (increase in number of cigarettes
per day).
We expect that initiation of smoking is mostly happening in the first wave, while frequency of
smoking grows steadily from wave to wave. We also expect that students who used to smoke
before entering vocational schools make more friends and more easily integrate into
friendship networks, because smoking is known to facilitate communication.
We use SIENA for modeling co-evolution of friendship networks and smoking. All effects will
be controlled by students’ characteristics and basic network effects (indegree, reciprocity,
popularity, triadic closure).
291
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Tobias, Yvonne
How can we explore the coming into being of intra-organizational networks? A proposal based
on practice theory
As indicated in the call for papers on the session on intra-organizational networks and pointed
out by others (e.g. Whitbred et al., 2011), we lack understanding of how (intra-)organizational
networks emerge or are emerging. Starting from an ontology of becoming (e.g. Chia, 1999) which
accentuates the continuous creation of factors that are often taken to be preexistent by
established approaches, this paper proposes practice theory (e.g. Schatzki, 1996) as fruitful
theoretical background for exploring the coming into being of intra-organizational networks.
Seen from a practice-based perspective, people’s lives hang together and are ordered through
practices. This ‘hanging togetherness’ (Zusammenhang) between people’s lives is, to a large
extent, organized around the subject positions available in a given field of practices (Schatzki,
1996). In accordance with this approach, an interview technique designed for exploring the
coming into being of (intra-)organizational networks through the subject positions, practices and
their relations will be proposed and its applicability and scientific value assessed on the basis of
first results of an empirical case study.
This article makes three contributions to the study of the emergence of (intra-)organizational
networks. Introducing an ontology of becoming widens the scope and potential theoretical
impact of studies on the emergence of (intra-)organizational networks by conceptualizing
individuals, their relations, organizations, etc. as accomplishments rather than as preexistent
entities. Approaching the emergence of (intra-) organizational networks from a practice-based
perspective offers a sound theoretical basis for exploring the ‘hanging togetherness’ of people’s
lives. Based on these theoretical pillars, an interview technique will be proposed which offers a
promising route for empirically exploring the coming into being of intra-organizational networks.
292
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Toepfer, Tom; Hollstein, Betina
Challenges for Collecting Ego Network Data – A Comparison of Visual Tools
Data collection is a complex process both for interviewers and for interviewees. One of the
major challenges for collecting data on personal networks consists in reliability and validity of
the used instruments. In the last decades a variety of instruments using visualization to collect
ego networks emerged. Complementing verbal stimuli with a simultaneous representation of
network structures, network charts can function as cognitive support for data collection.
Comparing four different visualization instruments – concentric circles (e.g. Kahn/Antonucci
1980; Baltes/Mayer 1999), two modifications of the funnel tool (Hollstein et al. 2013) and a
free network drawing – we explore advantages and drawbacks of the selected tools
concerning a) the reactivity of instruments, b) the usability for interviewees and interviewers,
c) the validity of data, and d) instructions and stimuli. Targeting the potential of four different
visual tools, we perform a study using the Thinking Aloud Method (e.g. Ericsson/Simon 1993).
To get access to cognitive processes of the interviewees, participants are asked to verbalize
their associations and thoughts during and after the process of network data collection. We
conducted 72 guided interviews (18 each tool) using a purposeful sampling where we
systematically vary characteristics of the participants, like gender, age and socioeconomic
status. Based on these verbal data we explore cognitive schemes and associations during data
collection with visual tools. The presentation illustrates major results of the study and gives
insight into crucial methodological aspects of ego network data collection with visual tools.
293
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Tranmer, Mark; Pallotti, Francesca; Lomi, Alessandro
Organizations as network nodes: A new multilevel framework
This paper builds on, and extends, the Multiple Membership Multiple Classification Model
(MMMCM) recently applied to the analysis of single level networks, to the analysis of
multilevel networks. More specifically, we extend the model to cases in which dependencies
among the social units of interest (organizations, in the case we discuss) are generated by
network connections existing within and across population units defined at different levels of
action. The new model takes into account complex multilevel network dependencies, while at
the same time explaining variation in behaviour among the individual lower level units. To
illustrate the distinctive empirical value of this new analytical framework, we specify and
estimate the model on data that we have collected on multilevel network relations between
hospitals and their associated emergency departments located within a geographically
bounded regional community. The analysis focuses on variation in effectiveness of emergency
departments (the lower level units) contained within hospitals (the higher level units)
embedded in networks of patient transfer relations within and across-levels. We discuss both
possible implications of the results, as well as possible extensions of the model to more
general concerns in the study of interorganizational networks
294
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Tsuladze, Lia
How Authentic is Online Friendship? Georgians about Social Capital via Social
Networks
The paper discusses the Georgians’ perceptions about creating social capital via social
networks. It is based on the findings of both qualitative and quantitative researches
conducted in Georgia, particularly, in-depth interviews with the media experts and
structured interviews with the internet users nationwide. In contrast to the Western
researches illustrating that the social network users are characterized by abundance
of the bridging social capital, the qualitative and quantitative researches conducted in
Georgia reveal that the Georgian social network users’ social capital is mostly limited
to the bonding one. The length and strength of a real-life interaction and the
resulting social trust is believed to underlie the social capital creation in Georgia, and
the lack of social trust in social networks is considered to be the main obstacle
against creating social capital. Consequently, neither the inquired experts nor the
social network users believe in the authenticity of a brand new concept of “friend”
established by social networks, especially since its central feature is considered to be
the “impression management” (Goffman, 1955), perceived as a performance devoid
of authenticity. Therefore, despite the fact that the social network usage is quite high
among the Georgian internet users, the analysis of the respondents’ virtual social
capital illustrates that social networks are predominantly used to connect with a
narrow circle of people: mainly a real-life circle of friends is transferred to the virtual
space. Only 11% of the surveyed believe that a friend made online is as close as a
real-life friend, while 57% disagree with this idea; moreover, some 31% think that an
online friend is not a friend at all. No wonder, making new friends via social networks
is a quite small-scale activity in Georgia, amounting to only 7% with the respondents
and 10% with the youngster segment.
295
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Tubaro, Paola; Casilli, Antonio A.; Rouchier, Juliette
Not all those who wander are lost. Modeling support and conflict over medical mediation in
eating disorder online fórums
In this article, we use agent-based computer simulation of network
structures to model the effects of conflictive
and supportive
social
behaviors on the configuration of an online community and on the
orientations of its members. We focus on a self-moderated internet
forum about health, and look at the dynamics of social interaction and
social
influence
that
shape
orientations
over
time.
The
model
is
empirically
informed,
using
qualitative
data
from
a
study
investigating Internet use by teenagers and young adults living with
eating disorders in France
and UK. Eating disorders are an ideal
setting for this model to the extent that radical postures refusing
medical mediation ("pro-ana") have been documented on the web since
the early 2000s, often triggering opposed "pro-recovery" reactions and
public-health
interventions.
The outcomes of our model show that structure and composition of the
community,
turnover,
and
the
rate
of
active
participation
of
its
population
to
debates
are
the
main
factors
building
consensus
or
dissension
on
specific
orientations.
Participation
also
reveals
social
influence dynamics among forum members which would not be expressed
otherwise.
Such
elements
establish
that,
in
these
internet
forums,
moderate pro-recovery outcomes are in fact much more likely to emerge
over more radical postures refusing medical mediation. Moreover, they
can
be
interpreted
in
terms
of
policy
recommendations
to
design
successful
health
information
campaigns,
and
against
access
restriction or filtering of these online communities.
296
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
University of Osnabrück; University of Osnabrück
Investigating horizontal cooperation: network cohesion and heterogeneity in the Berg
catchment management network
The aim of this study was to analyze horizontal cooperation at the operational level in South
Africa’s water governance system through a network perspective. To achieve this aim the
study made use of a quantitative network analysis to characterize information flow and
collaboration in an inter-organizational network involved in water management at catchment
scale. The Berg River catchment serves as an example for a complex regional SES, with the
Berg management network exemplifying the operational level of South Africa’s governance
system. More specifically, horizontal cooperation was investigated based on the two network
characteristics cohesion and heterogeneity. Cohesion was assessed by examining the
interactions among core water management organizations. Additional information on the
cohesion in the network was gained through the inspection of the existence of cohesive subgroups. Heterogeneity, which refers here to the diversity of actors, was scrutinized through
the examination of the participation of major water users and of stakeholder groups highly
dependent on the Berg River in the management network. In addition, the embeddedness of
ecological knowledge in the network was assessed and cross-boundary linkages were explored
in view of sectors and modes of governance. The advantage of the network approach
employed in this study is that it was able to capture the multitude of actors and the
complexity of their interactions, leading to a more holistic understanding of water
management at the operational level. This enabled to identify constraints which have
significantly hampered learning and collective action within the Berg management network.
Reflecting on the findings plausible answers why existing collaborative efforts in the Berg
catchment have not resulted in management actions that address issues of degrading water
quality effectively are provided.
297
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vacca, Raffaele; McCarty, Christopher; Michael Conlon, Michael; Nelson, David
A network intervention on scientific networks: design and reactions
The scientific network at a university can be thought of as a collective brain: Just like new
connections between neurons develop learning and new ways of thinking in the brain, new
connections between scientists develop innovation and new ways of doing research at a
university. Creating such new connections means carrying out a network intervention, a
notion that has traditionally been studied in the health and organization sciences, but more
rarely on scientific networks. We draw on Thomas Valente’s distinction between network
induction and network alteration, and argue that the traditional ways of supporting and
coordinating scientific research, for example by offering new funding opportunities through
requests for applications published by national research agencies, fall in the category of
network induction: they stimulate interaction between actors who are already connected. By
contrast, we study here a form of alteration of scientific networks, whereby new
collaborations are strategically created between previously unconnected researchers.
We explored the idea of scientific network alteration on the university-wide network of
collaborations on grants and publications at the University of Florida (UF). This project was
supported by the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, a federally funded institute
whose mission is to promote and coordinate medical research at the University. We adopted
several structural criteria to select unconnected dyads and triads of UF researchers, whose
collaboration would potentially be successful and beneficial to the whole “brain” of the
university scientific network. We carried out an online survey with the selected researchers to
investigate their attitudes and views about actually collaborating. We discuss the results of
the online survey, and what they suggest about the nature of academic research networks
and the feasibility of scientific network alteration.
298
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vacca, Raffaele; Solano, Giacomo; Molina, José Luis; Lubbers, Miranda, J.
A social and spatial network approach to migrant mobility and transnationalism
This article introduces a social and spatial network approach to researching migrant mobility
and transnationalism. We discuss how social network analysis, enhanced with spatial data,
can help us simultaneously study migrants’ embeddedness in specific places, and their
transnational practices and mobility. We argue that personal networks are particularly
appropriate for this, because they are place-based, yet not place-bounded: they originate
from a place, but they are not constrained within a pre-determined geographical boundary.
Despite the increasing mobility and interconnectedness of people and places in our societies,
static and place-bounded models have traditionally prevailed in migration and mobility
studies. At the same time, research on migrant transnationalism has mostly focused on the
intensity and type of migrants’ transnational activities, with few studies tackling the core of
the issue, namely the existence of networks of social relations and interactions that cut across
national
borders
and
span
long
distances
around
the
world.
Our approach centers on such networks. We gather relational and spatial data on the
personal networks of transnational immigrants embedded in specific places. We then analyze
the three dimensions of composition, structure, and space of these networks. The
combination of these three dimensions allows us to answer questions such as: Are the most
central contacts of international migrants local or transnational? What is the spatial clustering
of migrants’ contacts? What kind of geographical span can migrants access through their
networks? We explore these questions using network and spatial data on around 500
international immigrants in Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands.
299
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vacca, Raffaele; Vitale, Tommaso
The network origin of plural identities: structural brokerage, diversity and cultural holes in
international immigrants’ networks
What creates closed identities? Is there a network effect to plural identities and cultural
adaptation? We explore these questions using personal network data on international migrants
in Barcelona, Spain, and Milan, Italy. We show that both compositional diversity and structural
brokerage in personal networks, and the interplay between them, matter to ethnic identity and
cultural adaptation among international immigrants.
Existing research suggests that multiple and fluid identities are facilitated by weak ties and
simplex, uni-dimensional relations within single spheres of sociability. We show that weak
simplex ties prevail in sparse personal networks, where Ego is a structural broker among multiple
and separate social circles. On the other hand, strong multiplex ties prevail in dense networks
centered on large tightly-knit cores. The former network structure fosters multiple, weak
identities and cultural adaptivity; the latter is associated to single, stronger or exclusive
identities.
However, in our data structural brokerage is only relevant to ethnic identity and adaptation when
Ego brokers between differences: that is, when the immigrant bridges groups that are internally
homogenous, and different from each other, with respect to culturally relevant attributes like
nationality and country of residence. In other words, for network diversity to stimulate plural
identity and cultural adaptation, attributes must be segregated, rather than mixed, in network
subgroups. We discuss this result using the notion of “cultural holes” recently discussed in the
sociological literature: networks where the migrant bridges culturally different and internally
homogeneous subgroups are more likely to imply cultural holes, weak identities and cultural
adaptation. We aim to provide a relational explanation of plural identities and cultural adaptivity,
moving beyond the simple traditional framework of process-based identities.
300
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vacca, Raffaele; Solano, Giacomo; Molina, José Luis; Lubbers, Miranda, J.
A social and spatial network approach to migrant mobility and transnationalism
This article introduces a social and spatial network approach to researching migrant mobility
and transnationalism. We discuss how social network analysis, enhanced with spatial data,
can help us simultaneously study migrants’ embeddedness in specific places, and their
transnational practices and mobility. We argue that personal networks are particularly
appropriate for this, because they are place-based, yet not place-bounded: they originate
from a place, but they are not constrained within a pre-determined geographical boundary.
Despite the increasing mobility and interconnectedness of people and places in our societies,
static and place-bounded models have traditionally prevailed in migration and mobility
studies. At the same time, research on migrant transnationalism has mostly focused on the
intensity and type of migrants’ transnational activities, with few studies tackling the core of
the issue, namely the existence of networks of social relations and interactions that cut across
national borders and span long distances around the world.
Our approach centers on such networks. We gather relational and spatial data on the
personal networks of transnational immigrants embedded in specific places. We then analyze
the three dimensions of composition, structure, and space of these networks. The
combination of these three dimensions allows us to answer questions such as: Are the most
central contacts of international migrants local or transnational? What is the spatial clustering
of migrants’ contacts? What kind of geographical span can migrants access through their
networks? We explore these questions using network and spatial data on around 500
international immigrants in Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands.
301
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vacca, Raffaele; Vitale, Tommaso
The network origin of plural identities: structural brokerage, diversity and cultural holes in
international immigrants’ networks
What creates closed identities? Is there a network effect to plural identities and cultural
adaptation? We explore these questions using personal network data on international migrants
in Barcelona, Spain, and Milan, Italy. We show that both compositional diversity and structural
brokerage in personal networks, and the interplay between them, matter to ethnic identity and
cultural adaptation among international immigrants.
Existing research suggests that multiple and fluid identities are facilitated by weak ties and
simplex, uni-dimensional relations within single spheres of sociability. We show that weak
simplex ties prevail in sparse personal networks, where Ego is a structural broker among multiple
and separate social circles. On the other hand, strong multiplex ties prevail in dense networks
centered on large tightly-knit cores. The former network structure fosters multiple, weak
identities and cultural adaptivity; the latter is associated to single, stronger or exclusive
identities.
However, in our data structural brokerage is only relevant to ethnic identity and adaptation when
Ego brokers between differences: that is, when the immigrant bridges groups that are internally
homogenous, and different from each other, with respect to culturally relevant attributes like
nationality and country of residence. In other words, for network diversity to stimulate plural
identity and cultural adaptation, attributes must be segregated, rather than mixed, in network
subgroups. We discuss this result using the notion of “cultural holes” recently discussed in the
sociological literature: networks where the migrant bridges culturally different and internally
homogeneous subgroups are more likely to imply cultural holes, weak identities and cultural
adaptation. We aim to provide a relational explanation of plural identities and cultural adaptivity,
moving beyond the simple traditional framework of process-based identities.
302
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vallet, Jason; Pinaud, Bruno; Melançon, Guy; Kirchner, Helene
Propagation dynamics in networks through rule-based modeling
Modeling propagation dynamics on networks is an amazingly fertile and active area of
research. Roughly speaking, network models aim at gaining a better understanding of how
actors influence the overall network behavior through their individual actions. Models
typically consist in specifying a finite number of algorithmic rules from which overall structural
trends can be derived.
One is entitled to think that moving beyond the state-of-the-art in network modeling requires
the ability to compare models, not only looking at their performance and suitability, but at a
fundamental level. This ambitious goal requires having a common language describing
models, allowing to objectively compare them and unfold their inherent properties and
complexity.
The results we present aim at providing a common framework turning network propagation
modeling into rule-based modeling (aka graph rewriting). That is, models are described as a
set of algorithmic rules acting locally. We show the validity of our approach by providing a
description of the well-known model proposed by Goyal et al. 2010 relying on probabilistic
rules, where nodes trigger actions depending on their neighbor’s influences.
Rule-based modeling not only provides a common language to define, describe and build
models. It also paves the road to a formal setting from which model simulations can be
steered. Because the application of rules is stochastic and non-deterministic, different
variations of a model can be defined and easily compared. Our approach is moreover
supported through the visual framework PORGY, turning model validation and comparison
into a game where one iterates transformation rules on an initial graph, until some condition
is met.
The results we have obtained using Goyal’s model confirm rule-based modeling as a promising
avenue. Extending its application to other models will show its use as a common, if not
universal, formal language to define and describe network propagation models.
303
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vandenbogaerde, Ellen
Personal networks and violence in Venezuela
This paper looks at the personal network characteristics of 45 respondents in Venezuela. It
aims to better understand how these networks might be more or less conducive to the spread
of violent interactions. Recent perspectives in criminology have started looking at the
‘contagion’ of violence, as an ‘adaptive innovation’ that spreads through dense (gang)
networks.
Data were collected between September and December 2012 in the barrios of the capital
Caracas and the coastal city of Cumana, using contextual name generators. Results show that
most people in the barrio have dense personal networks, mainly composed of people that
work in a highly insecure informal sector. The vast majority of deadly violence in Venezuela is
perpetrated by gangs. I will argue that deadly violence in these networks is an adaptive
‘innovation’ that serves several functions and has spread exponentially as it affects evermore
relationships.
304
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Veltri, Giuseppe A; Gagliolo, Matteo
Protest friends: shared cognition, networks and affordances of Facebook political groups
Studying the strategies adopted by political groups to create shared cognition and common
references is a challenging task, which has been considerably eased by the availability of
online data. Analyzing four large Italian political groups on Facebook, we provide an example
of how Facebook data can be employed to study the use of this platform for political aims,
and identify relevant similarities and differences across groups. Our research draws on theory
in social psychology, sociology, and organization behavior: In particular, two minority political
groups are contrasted with two majority ones, testing hypotheses about socially shared
cognition patterns in minority and majority groups, their interactions network structure and
its evolution. We also consider the platform constraints, the "affordances" of Facebook, on
groups' behavior and network structure. Methodologically, we represent user activity as a
multiplex two-mode network, where users and posts correspond to the two modes, and link
types represent user actions (like, comment, share). We study the degree distributions of
these three networks, identifying heavy tails and correlations among the layers, to better
characterize network structure, and user activity. Additionally, we measure the impact of reshares of shares. The results highlight the different behavior of users of the minority pages,
who make a more prominent use of the liking and sharing actions, in order to increase their
internal socially shared knowledge base and external visibility. At the same time, minority
groups utilize Facebook in a distinctive manner to re-define reality, using more visual rather
textual representations, and sharing more content from other Facebook pages, effectively
acting as repeaters of other alternative sources.
305
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Verd, Joan Miquel; Barranco, Oriol; Bolibar, Mireia; Martí, Joel
The use of qualitative tools nested in a personal network survey: advantages and
disadvantages
The qualitative-quantitative divide has been traditionally applied to the resulting data
obtained by means of data collection methods. However, data production devices have been
also classified as quantitative data collection devices (such as the survey questionnaire) or
qualitative data collection devices (such as open-ended interview). In this paper we will
compare two methodological designs that combine quantitative and qualitative methods at
different stages of the research. On the one hand, the more common and well-known
explanatory sequential design in which a biographical interview complements a previous
personal network questionnaire. On the other hand, a personal network questionnaire that
although having a mostly quantitative orientation has included at the same time the use of
qualitative life grids, a short open ended questionnaire and the visualization of ego networks.
Moreover the whole interviewer-interviewee interaction of the later was recorded, as it is
usual in qualitative interviews. These characteristics that approached the question-response
exchange very much to a qualitative (open-ended) interview make us to call into question the
very nature of the used device, to an extent that makes difficult to qualify the entire interview
as a classical survey interview.
The paper will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of thia mixed interview process in
the context of a research interested on the relation between the evolution of the personal
network along migrants’ settlement process in the host country, on the one hand, and the
labour trajectory of youngsters and their use of social networks as a job seeking mechanism,
on the other. This methodological reflection will be connected with the obtained results in
terms of data quality and the specific theoretical objectives of the research, making an
emphasis on what aspects of the networks’ dynamics can be captured with each design.
306
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Videira, Pedro
The importance of the international mobility of scientists in the creation of knowledge
networks
International mobility has become an intrinsic element of scientific careers and scientists
perceive mobility as critical for the construction of their human and social capital (Murray
2004; Bozeman et al. 2001).
European policies have fuelled this “mobility requirement” by linking it with excellence and
competitiveness (Ackers 2008). The relevance attributed to mobility is also visible at the
country level, particularly in the case of those countries with weaker scientific systems.
Policies which encouraged international researchers’ mobility were expected to enable access
to advanced knowledge in fields that were absent or underdeveloped in the home country by
providing scientists with opportunities to become part of international scientific networks
(Mahroum 2000; Jöns 2007) which could be mobilised upon their return.
The importance of social networks in the production and circulation of scientific knowledge
has been abundantly recognized in the literature (Jansen, 2004). Networks facilitate the flow
of information and the exchange of ideas (Burt, 1992) joining heterogeneous actors and
knowledge and thus becoming important for the production and recombination of innovative
knowledge and ideas (Heidenreich 2000 in Jansen et al., 2009).
Using a survey targeting an extensive sample of Portuguese doctorates currently working in
Portugal and through a methodology which draws on Social Network Analysis methods and
tools, the objective of this paper is to assess whether international scientific mobility has an
impact on knowledge network formation. Additionally, we analyse whether networks formed
through extended periods of co-location effectively play a relevant role in the subsequent
knowledge exchange activities of the scientists who engaged in such mobility. Hence, this
paper is expected to contribute to a better understanding of the role played by scientific
mobility in transnational knowledge exchange activities.
307
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Villena-Oliver, Andrés
Two faces of power. Cohesion and influential groups in government elites. A study of two
democratic executives in Spain (2004 and 2012)
This research studies the relational characteristics of two government elites in Spanish
democracy’s recent years: the executive group formed in 2004 by the Socialist Workers Party
(PSOE) and the government formed in 2012 by the Popular Party (PP). Our study analyzes the
kind of power resources each Government integrates with its constitution. To study this, we
ran different Social Network Analyses:
— First of all, we study how members of each government were related to each other via five
relational or institutional dimensions: high ranking official positions in later governments,
parliamentary responsibilities, relevant positions in political parties, executive positions in big
private enterprises and bureaucratic titles.
— As a second step, we consider that, since the members of a government have met before in
different power institutions, these personal relationships imply a network of relations
between the power institutions in which they had met. Thus, creating a government also
implies the generation of a network of groups or institutions of power that we also analyze
and describe. This second section employs a tool called "network of places", conceived and
used originally by Pizarro (2007), that studies relationships between persons and between
groups at the same time.
— Finally, we consider that, since the members of a government are integrated in a complex
network of persons that they have met in the main power institutions of society, there must
be a latent structure of potential influential that we can’t manage to study if we just focus our
attention in the chosen members of a government. We define the Latent Power Structure as a
network of relationships between the members of a government and a limited group of ex
ministers, political leaders and enterprise managers that were specially related to these
members.
308
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Violon, Chloe; Thomas, Mathieu; Garine, Eric
Good year, bad year: changing strategies, changing networks? A two year study of seed
acquisition in Northern Cameroon
Analyzing seed exchanges networks as a one-time snapshot may reify sporadic relations into
fixed and long-lasting ones. In Northern Cameroon’s markedly seasonal environment, farmers’
ego-centered networks are flexible from year to year. In 2011, Tupuri farmers faced sudden
rain failure and had to solicit distant relatives to acquire the desired propagules. When
adjusting their strategies, farmers do not systematically solicit the same partners and rapidly
trigger diverse social relationships.
We have documented, in a Tupuri community, the seed acquisitions at the outset of two
cropping seasons (2010 and 2011) among the 62 members of 15 households (sampled
according to levels of socio-economic status). The 305 seed source events concern 25
different crops clustered in 2 groups according to their importance of use and land cover. A
fine-tuned ethnographic description of social relationships (kin, in-laws, neighbors and
friends) was carried out to grasp the different types of ties between partners. Observing the
same set of individuals (receiving nodes in a network) during two cropping seasons and the
seed sources they solicit year to year (in-degree edges in the network) enabled us to
discriminate recurring relations from sporadic ones.
The fluidity with which farmers solicit these different exchange partners is dependent of both
seeding material and individual characteristics: i) while a great diversity of partners were
recorded for the acquisition of staple crop seeds, the relations through which secondary crops
were transferred are stable; ii) farmers with greater social capital and wealth generally handle
a higher number of seed sources than others who rely on a limited number of partners. We
suggest that studying the seed exchange network over a year only gives a narrow overview of
the underlying social network. According to farming difficulties and actors’ profiles infrequent
relationships may be combined to a core network of seed exchange partners.
309
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vörös, András
Identifying friendship groups based on shared role attributions: An example from Hungarian
high-school classrooms
In adolescent communities, we can expect to find various friendship groups. These groups in a
school context are circles of students who may regularly engage in different social activities with
each other: they hang around together, study together, and so on. It has been shown that due to
frequent contact and common activities, friendship groups tend to develop their distinct value
systems. In fact, groups of friends often have shared opinions about their own members and
other peers around them. Shared attributions of different traits and social roles to peers can
reinforce group identity and this may affect the social life of the entire community. Here we
attempt to identify friendship groups in a set of Hungarian high-school classrooms based on
shared social role attributions of students. Using the concept of multiplex structural equivalence,
we explore the multivariate similarities between class members with regards to which peers they
nominate as filling in certain social roles in the community. The structure of positive affections
(friendship and liking ties) within the identified groups is then explored. Based on the density and
connectedness of within-group networks, the analysis reveals different types of student clusters
which may capture certain forms of friendship groups. We identify the friendship clique, the
liking clique, the friendship group, and the friendship circle as distinct subgroup types. Finally,
individual and dyadic correlates of membership in different types of subgroups are explored.
310
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Vlaemynck, Marieke
Computer-assisted personal interviewing and the visualization of personal networks: the case
of young cannabis users
The paper discusses the advantages and drawbacks of using CAPI and network visualisation to
collect data dealing with personal networks of young Flemish cannabis users. The goal of this PhD
research is to study the complex relation between a user and supplier(s) in a relational context.
As such, a more nuanced definition of different types of supply relations is provided. Data is
collected through a face-to-face interview during which respondents create their leisure time
network as well as their so-called cannabis network. The interview is administered using
VennMaker, a computer programme that allows to both collect data and create visualisations at
the same time. The paper evaluates based on both literature and own experiences the usability
of this type of data collection in one specific research population: the hidden population of young
recreational cannabis users.
311
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Watson, Joseph
Hearts and Minds: Indentifying actors as facilitators of cultural expression and civic
engagement in DIY music networks
Most research about music communities has been ethnographic and purely qualitative. This is a
missed opportunity for empirical data to be used to understand the inner workings of these
cultures. DIY communities have been highlighted as important sites for researching the dynamics
of music scenes. In 2011 Pussy Riot appeared in the global news after performing in political
protest at Moscow cathedral showing that these grassroots music scenes are often sites of
alternative civic engagement and cultural expression in modern society. If we think of these
‘scenes’ as entities contained within geographical boundaries we are able to form networks of
actors within them. Recent work has analysed the formation of networks in the early UK punk
and post-punk movements, referring to Howard Becker’s ‘Art Worlds’ where he describes music
and other art forms as ‘collective action coordinated within a network’, as theoretical grounding
in producing empirical networks. It has been suggested that social network analysis techniques
help to advance this interactionist concept of social worlds. A further step forward would be to
analyse music networks in a multilevel structure to enable inclusion of bands, venues, sound
engineers and promoters, who all play a crucial role in DIY music, to provide a more accurate
representation of how these social worlds operate. By using multilevel social selection models;
where actor attributes are taken as exogenous predictors for the network-tie variables allowing
us to measure network centralization around nodes with certain attributes (for instance female,
left wing promoters); we can identify types of actors that are important in facilitating cultural
expression and hypothesise what this might mean in terms of civic engagement.
312
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Weishaar, Heide
Combining methods to understand complexity: Analysing the composition, structure,
formation and dynamics of a policy network
Scholars with an interest in public policymaking have previously used social network analysis
to gain a better understanding of the interactions between political decision makers,
advocates and other actors in the development and implementation of policies. Debates
about which methods are suited to analyse policy networks remain unresolved, with some
political scholars arguing that formal, quantitative social network analysis is insufficient in
explaining the complex interactions between network actors, their reasons for engaging in the
policy process and their impact on policymaking. Drawing on a policy network in European
Union tobacco control policy as a case study, the paper outlines how textual data from public
documents, consultation submissions and websites were extracted, converted and analysed
using plagiarism detection software and quantitative network analysis, and qualitative data
from public documents and 35 interviews were thematically analysed. While the quantitative
analysis enabled understanding of the network’s structure and composition, the qualitative
analysis provided in-depth information about the formation and dynamics of the network and
the role of specific actors and their motives. The paper reflects on the practicalities, strengths
and limitations of combining methods in policy network analysis. It contrasts and compares
data-driven and hypothesis-driven approaches, draws attention to opportunities and
limitations of triangulation and highlights the respective advantages of quantitative and
qualitative approaches in improving understanding of network dynamics and complex policy
processes. By providing an example of how qualitative and quantitative approaches can be
combined to gain a comprehensive understanding of a policy network, it contributes to
debates on mixing methods in social network analysis.
313
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Wencelius, Jean; Thomas, Mathieu; Barbillon, Pierre; Garine, Eric
Assessing biases in sampling methods for documenting seed exchange networks. A case study
from Northern Cameroon
A growing body of literature is dedicated to the analysis of farmer seed exchanges and their
contribution to the social shaping of crop diversity. Social organization has a strong impact on
agro-biodiversity as seed exchanges are embedded within preexisting social relationships.
Combining methods developed in the field of social network analysis to in-depth ethnographic
descriptions of the relationships through which seeds are transacted offers promising
perspectives to better understand the local dynamics of plant genetic resources. However,
documenting seed exchange networks in the field present several methodological challenges.
Community size, diversity of seed sources and open-structured networks inhibit fieldworkers
from surveying all the members of a given community. Issues related to network sampling
strategies have received little attention and few guidelines are available to ethnographers for
collecting
such
data.
We address these issues through the analysis of sorghum seed acquisitions in Northern
Cameroon. All the 66 adult members of 15 households (sampled to represent a gradient of
economic wealth) were surveyed in 2012 as to the seed sources of their landrace portfolio. 214
events were documented (average in-degree per household = 8.6; SD =5.5; min=3; max=27) and
the social relationships between giver and receiver were described. From these descriptions
several categories of partners were defined. Our endeavor is to evaluate the biases that arise
when targeting specific groups of individuals within a population. Analysis were carried out to
investigate the extent to which the observed network patterns in subsets of our data (clustered
by age, gender, and status within the household) were alike. For instance, results indicate that
women contribute more than men to long distance seed transfers. The detection of significant
sampling biases in network analyses address the urge to provide methodological guidelines for
network data collection in the field.
314
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Windhager, Florian; Zenk, Lukas; Smuc, Michael
Footprints of Innovation. Comparing R&D Actors and Dynamics by Patent Data
The distributed nature of modern research and development has lead to a highly
differentiated knowledge and technology landscape, which forms the complex and
continuously evolving environment for individual and organizational actors in the economy,
science, and technology realm. Public patent databases, which are regulating the judicial and
economic aspects of these innovation dynamics by ongoing accumulation of semi-structured
patent documents, are a rich source of information that allows for insights into the
composition and evolution of various fields.
To provide an overview, the contribution will discuss various options to visualize R&D fields,
with putting emphasis on relational graphs that are capable to map the state and dynamics of
whole technology sectors or product spaces (cf. Hausmann & Hidalgo, 2014) by the means of
patent data and classifications. Against these backgrounds, the innovation footprints of
individual or corporate actors become visible, which could be investigated with regard to their
specific shape, relational structure, and their temporal development. With focus on possible
users in the corporate R&D realm (e.g. like strategic management or investment) we will lay
focus on visual analytical options to compare the orientation of actors’ portfolios, the
identification of R&D trends and possible insights into expected developments.
315
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Wissink, Marieke
Transformations in Transnational Social Networks of African Migrants in Turkey and Greece
This paper investigates how transnational social network (TSN) configurations of irregular
African migrants in Turkey and Greece transform over time. It has been widely described that
TSN play a crucial role in migration processes, notably because of the tangible and intangible
resources that circulate through them. Whereas in migration studies much focus is on
resource circulation in networks, TSN themselves remain loosely conceptualized, and their
existence taken for granted as a logical outcome of migration across borders. This paper
argues that the actual configurations of networks merit further analysis to understand how
and why resources circulate, what roles network play in migration processes, and how
networks and their role transform over time.
Data was collected among irregular African migrants in Istanbul and Athens during a field
study in different periods from 2009-2014, in which ethnography, in-depth interviews, and
personal network analysis were combined. Personal network data of 40 migrants were
analyzed and visualized using EgoNet, through which variation in compositional (e.g.
geographical location of alters, type of relationship, mode of contact, etc) and structural
features of migrants’ personal networks were revealed. Contact was maintained beyond the
period of fieldwork through internet and telephone and short visits. The longitudinal nature of
the research enabled the observation of and reflection on changes in networks in real time,
and 27 informants reflected on changes in their networks one year later. The study explains
these changes by illuminating how rapidly changing socio-institutional circumstances related
to migration flows, border controls, asylum systems and anti-immigrant sentiments, impact
on the motivation and willingness to (re)establish, maintain and break with certain
relationships and to exchange support. It concludes that TSN should not be regarded as a
homogeneous and constant factor during processes of migration
316
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Wurpts, Bernd; Stovel, Katherine
Plague and Position: The Black Death and the Emergence of the Medieval Hansa
This paper contributes to recent debates on the emergence of organizations and markets
(Padgett and Powell 2012, Fligstein and McAdam 2012). Focusing on a historical case from the
late Middle Ages -- the emergence of the political Hansa (Hanseatic League) -- we point to the
importance of major epidemiologic shocks as catalysts in processes of organizational
emergence.
Historians have argued that the Black Death had little impact on patrician structures of the
leading Hansa associations (Dollinger 1989:87), though they focused primarily on social
categories rather than relations. We reassess earlier historians’ claims, and, by focusing
directly on the structural features of actual, multiplex networks of relations among patricians,
demonstrate that the plague contributed to a new organizational form.
Using archival data drawn from city records and testaments of the patriciate in Lubeck
spanning the period 1301 – 1400, we show that the network structure at the center of the
Hansa changed in the immediate aftermath of the plague, changes that we argue set the stage
for the transformation of the Hansa from a mercantile organization to a political supraregional power. We investigate the relational structure of Lubeck's city council by looking at
multiple social relations of family and personal ties. We develop statistical tests to support our
claim that it was the new men and their positions within the council that led to the
emergence of the political Hansa.
317
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Wyss, Romano; Luthe, Tobias
Using two-mode social networks to identify social-ecological interaction hotspots
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2003) highlights the need to increase our
understanding of the links between ecological and social systems in order to prevent further
ecosystem degradation and to enhance the wellbeing of humans. This represents a paradigm
shift in conservation from a focus on biodiversity to a focus on human-nature interactions
(Glaser et al. 2012). Such human-nature interaction have been conceptually understood as
coupled social-ecological systems (SES), in which ecological and societal components are
interlinked on multiple scales of place, organization and time (Walker et al. 2004).
Embedded in the broader SES literature, we propose a social network based approach to
better understand the interdependencies between social actors and ecological resources in a
regional context. We employ a new mixed-method approach in which we focus on the
interrelation between social and ecological nodes (i.e. local residents and ecosystem services
spatially located within the study region). Qualitative and quantitative data from a Swiss
Alpine case-study region will be used to build a two-mode network of resident-ecosystem
services interactions. This data allows us to map (visualize) and measure (describe) the
topology and metrics of a complete SES-network in order to identify central (highly
connected) network hubs of social-ecological interaction, which are crucial for the functioning
and resilience of the SES under investigation.
318
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Wyss, Romano; Luthe, Tobias
Using two-mode social networks to identify social-ecological interaction hotspots
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2003) highlights the need to increase our
understanding of the links between ecological and social systems in order to prevent further
ecosystem degradation and to enhance the wellbeing of humans. This represents a paradigm
shift in conservation from a focus on biodiversity to a focus on human-nature interactions
(Glaser et al. 2012). Such human-nature interaction have been conceptually understood as
coupled social-ecological systems (SES), in which ecological and societal components are
interlinked on multiple scales of place, organization and time (Walker et al. 2004).
Embedded in the broader SES literature, we propose a social network based approach to
better understand the interdependencies between social actors and ecological resources in a
regional context. We employ a new mixed-method approach in which we focus on the
interrelation between social and ecological nodes (i.e. local residents and ecosystem services
spatially located within the study region). Qualitative and quantitative data from a Swiss
Alpine case-study region will be used to build a two-mode network of resident-ecosystem
services interactions. This data allows us to map (visualize) and measure (describe) the
topology and metrics of a complete SES-network in order to identify central (highly
connected) network hubs of social-ecological interaction, which are crucial for the functioning
and resilience of the SES under investigation.
319
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Wyss, Tobias
Agent Based Mapping for assessing socio-economic networks of mountain tourism as a
coupled HES
It is common knowledge that important currency flows exist between economic sectors in a
local community. For example, even if neighbouring businesses do not directly exchange
money or goods, they do indirectly via people and social interactions. A tourist, for example,
staying some days in a hotel, will likely spend money at a local restaurant, a bar, and in winter
at the ski lifts. Thus, clear but indirect economic dependencies exist, but these critical local
economic interdependencies are impossible to characterize from publicly available data on
currency flows. Being able to draw a local socio-economic network though would allow for
better understanding, modeling or forecasting and managing transitions and sustainable
development in communities as socio-economic-ecological systems.
In this study we present a pioneering approach for developing a meaningful local socioeconomic influence map for a Swiss region’s implicit currency flows between all supply chain
sectors of the tourism industry. We map the indirect economic dependencies of key economic
actors with the help of tourists as agents. We refer to this approach as agent based mapping
(ABM).
We involve tourists spending an average one week holiday in this region as ‚agents’ to map
the indirect economic flows related to their activities. The 15 tourists connect the 33 actors
indirectly with 459 links. Centrality analysis in a two-mode network reveals the most central
actors and further network metrics. In the ABM network we find different centralities of
different actors that shed a new light on the dependencies in the region.
We conclude that ABM is one possible way to learn about the local indirect economic
dependencies in tourism dependent communities, and that ABM is one step towards
modeling a complete social-economic-ecological system (SEES).
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1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Xing, Xin; Liu, Xing
The life cycle of naturalist networks in early modern japan
Recently social network analysis has been applied widely in historical research, mainly
focusing on western world.This article is intended to provide a case study dissusing naturalist
networks in early modern Japan with emphasis on life cycle of scientific networks. Previous
historians have different opinions on the big picture of Tokugawa natural history, especially
on the historical periodization. The standard of periodizations are either great books or great
people rather than the community of naturalists. social network analysis will help us to grasp
the big picture systemaically.
Based on the works done by historian Ueno Masuzo(上野益三), dataset of more than 400
naturalist ranging from 1600 to 1850 has been collected. Half of which has only limited
information, common difficulty met in the historical research. So the analyis mainly rely on
data with sufficient information, supplemented by that on the complete dataset. Data coding
includes years of birth and death, place of birth, status at birth, source of income, activities,
teachers, contacts, writings, affilation of learning.
Naturalist networks consist of three relatively automous networks with different
characteristics, namely Chinse-style naturalist,western-style naturalist,field naturalist. The life
cycle of naturalist networks in early modern japan are similar, all through four stages of
inception, growth, maturity, decline. More efforts are needed for further explanation of
mechanism behind.
321
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Yepes, Lídia
Social networks as strategy for job seeking
The main objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship between trajectory of
youngsters and social networks, in particular centred on social support as a strategy for job
seekers to increase employability. The current research is focused on labour trajectories of
young adults aged 20 to 34.Three elements have been identified which in interaction result in
different patterns which we can analyse by establishing typologies.This can be linked with the
increase of de-standardization and the importance of biographical elements to comprehend
labour market pathways: the age, the trajectory itself and the personal network.Embedded in
a life course perspective framework, the paper presents an exploratory analysis with the data
collected by a mixed method surveys and a set of hypothesis that highlight, in Feld’s words,
the focus of interaction, that is to say places or areas that promote and facilitate contact with
other people as well as network development.Here, these interaction foci are understood as
sources of social capital since personal contacts and use of social network could be a useful
job seeking strategy. The paper maintains as hypothesis that given the influence of age in the
social spheres someone can be present we will also find differences in the use of social
support as a mechanism to enter in the labour market according to the age.Consequently, we
can set up a typological comparison: as older the greater possibility to be in more focus of
interaction and take more advantage of social networks likewise extend and used them. On
the contrary, there is less capacity to make the most of your network as resource to improve
your career as the younger you are. In this sense, the network is deviced as a reflection of
your own trajectory in which both dimensions keep an interdependence relationship. As this
is an exploratory paper some qualitative analysis will be done and some personal networks
examples will be provided in order to support the hypothesis.
322
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Yousafzai, Shumaila Y; Borrero, Juan D.
Really do university students believe that facebook is a useful tool to mobilizing people both
online and offline around social causes?
The use of information and communication technologies pervades our lives. A specific type of
social media that is playing a crucial role in this upsurge of participation in cyber-collective social
movements (CSMs) is the social networking sites (SNS). We employ an extended model from the
Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) as our theoretical framework to
understand student perceptions of SNS use expectations (performance expectancy and effort
expectancy), social acceptance (social influence), and their perceptions about resource
availability (facilitating conditions) for expressive social participation. This extended model
introduces social variables (SNS mobilization effort and offline civic participation) that
researchers have identified as important in explaining behaviors. In doing so, it advances a model
of how activities in the online domain can ‘spill’ over to the offline domain. We have provided
empirical support for the applicability of UTAUT to the expressive participation in CSMs via a
survey of 214 SNS users. Our results confirm that expectancy and social influence significantly
affect student intentions to use SNS for expressive participation in CSMs. Likewise, SNS
mobilization effort emerged as a strong significant predictor of both intention and the use of SNS
for expressive participation, but not for offline civic participation. Last, the use of SNS for
expressive participation was a significant predictor for offline civic participation, which suggests
that users who publicly express their socio-political opinions in SNS are more likely than others to
participate in demonstrations.
323
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Zappa, Paola; Lomi, Alessandro
Testing experience sampling across organizational boundaries under uncertain conditions
This paper contributes to the current debate about the relation between organizational
uncertainty and the structure of intraorganizational knowledge sharing networks. The
purpose of the paper is to test two competing theoretical views. According to the first,
organizational members react to uncertainty by decreasing their network range - i.e., the
diversity of experience sampled across organizational boundaries – and by reinforcing
relations with proximate others. According to the second view, uncertainty increases network
range as a consequence of organizational members’ attempt to diversify their sources of
information beyond immediately available samples of experiences.
We test the relative merits of these rival views in a multilevel network perspective, which
explicitly accounts for the multiple nested levels of action that characterize organizational
structures. We postulate that the propensity to sample the experience of diverse others
across organizational boundaries depends both on the formal relations among sub-units
(hierarchical organization), as well as informal interaction among organizational members
(network self-organization).
We assess the effect of uncertainty using a quasi-experimental design, where advice seeking
among the members of the Formula 1 division of a leading automotive company is observed
in two conditions characterized by different levels of uncertainty – i.e., during Formula 1 races
and during their regular activity.
We specify and estimate Multilevel Exponential Random Graph Models to examine the
problematic relationship between formal organizational structure and emergent knowledge
sharing networks under different quasi-experimental levels of task uncertainty.
324
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Zaremberg, Gisela; De Federico, Ainhoa; Zargari Asl, Hamid
Researching the “labyrinth of solitude”: networks in political intermediation in
Mexico
Literature on social capital and civil society says that Mexican society is neither very
cohesive nor active politically in terms of civic participation. We propose that this
image should be shaded by taking into account horizontal relationships between
citizens as well as vertical ties referring to intermediation and political
representation. Depending on whom, for how many and to what end, things can be
vary depending on the quality of personal networks. We will argue that neither
public institutions, professionals (eg. lawyers), nor political parties, nor labor unions
nor civil society associations account for the main linkages between the general
population and access to political resources and rights. On the contrary, access is
gained via close people (friends, neighbors and family) occupying positions in the
government. Most people are not able to contact such resourceful people in their
personal network through close relations. Resourceful persons are mainly slightly
older men than those who mentioned them. Women are more often mentioned in
cohesive networks seeking to improve living conditions in the community or as
mediators in longer chains of access to resources. This image of solitude becomes
more acute when we consider that mediation is often monopolized by one actor in
the network, increasing the level of dependency to access rights. On the contrary,
relations for cohesive purposes are more often multiple, yielding to less
dependency. These results come from a representative survey (N=11.000) of the
general population in Mexico carried out in August 2013. The questionnaire included
three name generators on direct or indirect contact with someone who can help to
access three political resources: protection while facing an injustice, contact a
political leader, obtain help to present a project to public institutions and one on
social cohesion: getting together with other people to improve living conditions in
the community.
325
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Zargari Asl, Hamid; Ebrahimian, Homayoun
How Much Do We Pay for Spreading Information? Advantages and Disadvantages of Node
Selecting by Centralities
In this paper, we want to show that selecting initial nodes by node level centrality that increases
the fraction of informed nodes, have undesirable side effects. Different parameters of
information diffusion and different network centralities are calculated and their results are
compared. One of the most important approaches is selecting initial informed nodes and finding
their effects on information propagation in networks.
Here, the response of network by putting data on a node as origin of information are calculated
in form of parameters of information diffusion. The results are compared with centralities of
same node in network. Then, by selecting a group of nodes with high centrality scores, we
compare their effects with average values of the same parameters for all network to evaluate
this methods. In order to this comparison, we analyze a real data set made of connections
between students by their cell phones.
All used parameters for evaluation of network for information diffusion are summarized as:
Needed steps for informing all network; All communications done between nodes for knowing
about neighbors; Effective transmissions that means all done transmissions from informed nodes
to unaware nodes; Rate[i] as percentage of informed nodes in different steps.
In this approach, social graph of 55 students was prepared and also drawn by NETDRAW. The
following social network centralities are considered and calculated by UCINET: Degree,
Eigenvector, Bonacich Power, 2 Step Reach, Between and ARD. We prepared a software for
finding parameters of information diffusion either for any node or average value of all nodes.
We found three good regressions for Steps, Rate[1] and Rate[2] with high values for R, specially
for Rate[1] and Rate[2]. Results show that selecting nodes according to some kinds of node level
centralities have meaningful and good correlation with parameters of information diffusion but
they impose other problems to networks.
326
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Zarzecka, Olga
The moderating role of intrinsic motivation in senior managers’ use of external networks
Research on external networks of senior managers reveals ambiguous results regarding the
benefits of managers’ external connections. Studies building on a rational decision-making
tradition associate network ties with access to information improving the quality of the decisions
made. An alternative stream of literature studying directorate interlocks focuses on the
opportunistic behavior of senior managers, which benefits the managers but harms the
organization. Although both streams of literature explain the possible outcomes of senior
managers’ external networks, it is still unclear what determines whether a manager will utilize
her network in order to access external knowledge and improve decision-making or pursuit
private interests. Self-determination theory provides insights into how differences in managers’
motivation affects network utility, and ultimately explains the extent to which managers use
their
external
networks
in
the
process
of
strategic
decision-making.
Social networks act as structured exchange systems that provide opportunities to acquire and
provide resources. Information, however, is not the only resource that can be exchanged through
network connections. Besides professional advice senior managers also seek social support,
professional mentoring, or furthering career opportunities. In research the networks of senior
managers remain separated both theoretically and empirically.
In this paper we draw on the assumption that rather than being embedded in a number of
parallel networks, each individual has one general network through which all types of resources
are exchanged, and that it is the differences in motivation that explain the focal actors’ biases
towards particular resources. This paper aims to contribute by employing self-determination
theory and a more holistic approach to resource exchange in order to explain the differences in
senior managers’ use of external networks in processes of decision-making.
327
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Zenk, Lukas; Windhager, Florian; Smuc, Michael
Multimodal connections. Recommendations for participants, talks and rooms at
conferences
As knowledge-intensive social events, conferences open up a space in which people can
share knowledge and establish new contacts. By bringing together people from different
organizations and countries, such events serve as catalysts for innovation, which can be
created, above all, through the recombination of existing knowledge (Burt 2004).
Although conferences like to (pro-)claim such ambitious goals, and vast sums are invested
worldwide in their organization, how much value they actually create and the most effective
way to design them generally remain matters for discussion. While the actual proceedings
might be well organized, the communicative elements are to a large extent often left to
redundancy and change: participants socialize with people they already know or meet in
more random social configurations (Ingram & Morris 2007).
Given the above, the applied research project “Event Network Advancement” has set itself
the goal of studying the effectiveness of conferences and developing integrative methods
and technologies to improve the situation (Zenk, Windhager & Smuc 2014). At the
conference, we will demonstrate a software prototype, that recommends participants, who
is interested in similar topics, which talks are relevant and in which seminar rooms most of
these talks will be presented.
328
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Žnidaršič, Anja; Doreian, Patrick; Ferligoj, Anuška
Actor non-response treatments in case of valued networks
While social networks are often measured on binary level where only information on the
presence or absence of ties is recoded, they can have also information on the strength of ties.
For example, in valued social networks the strength of ties could represent an intensity of
relationship, a quantity of daily contacts or e-mails, a number of common activities, etc.
All network data, regardless their level of measurement (e.g. binary, valued, or signed), are
likely to be measured with errors. One source of errors takes the form of actor non-response.
In the matrix representation of the network this means the presence of a row of absent ties
for each non-respondent, while incoming ties are available.
We study six simple such treatments via simulations. The first one is the complete-case
approach where beside the row of absent ties for each non-respondent also the
corresponding column is deleted and the result is a smaller network. A null tie imputation
procedure records all absent ties zeroes. If the modal value of incoming ties for a nonrespondent is used instead of absent tie the procedure is called imputations based on modal
values. In the reconstruction procedure an absent outgoing tie from actor i to actor j is
replaced by the incoming tie from actor j to actor i. Reconstruction of ties between two nonrespondents is not possible, therefore in the simplest case the null tie imputations are used,
while the second option is use of imputations based on modal values for ties between nonrespondents. The sixth procedure is an imputation of a total mean where valued density (the
average tie strength across the whole network of respondents) of the network is imputed
instead of absent ties.
The impact of these six actor non-response treatments on several valued network measures is
presented. The results help us to determine which non-response treatment is the most
appropriate in the case of valued networks for particular network statistics.
329
1st European Conference on Social Networks
1-4 July 2014 (UAB)
Zochert, Andrea
Getting a job: the effect of employment sectors and men's and women's networks
Getting a job is difficult. When searching for a job most people receive information on job
vacancies from social networks, i.e. acquaintances, friends and relatives. This applies to the
unemployed as well as to the employed. The paper focuses on the employed, who changed
their jobs by using social networks and draws attention to the fact that employment sectors
may affect differences between men's and women's networks.
Ioannides and Loury (2004) report socio-structural differences in terms of opportunities on
gaining access to social networks and show that the access is determined by age, education
and gender. Furthermore, men and women are employed in different occupations,
organisations and sectors (Siltanen et al. 1995) and tend to homogamous friendships and
acquaintanceships (Mayr-Kleffel 2010).
The aim of this paper is to answer the following question: which characteristics of men's and
women's networks are significantly correlated with getting a job and which effect do
employment sectors have on the probability of men and women getting a job through social
networks? Referring to social capital theory and doing gender approach I assume a relation
between men's and women's networks and employment sectors, which influences the
probability of getting a job through social networks.
Based on data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study logistic regressions with average
marginal effects are estimated to compare the probability of getting a job through social
networks for men and women. The empirical findings show an effect for women, who only
have female social contacts, i.e. women found less likely a job through social networks when
they only have female social contacts. However, there is no evidence for men. Furthermore,
the results concerning the effect of employment sectors indicate no gender-specific
differences. For further research, data are still required.
330