Are support and social comparison compatible? Individual differences in the multiplexity of career-related social networks

Social networks are crucial for helping people in their careers. Moreover, social identity is reflected in and influenced by individuals’ networks. To date, there is little knowledge on how these different functions of networks might interact. A survey in which 450 individuals provided information on 2,499 contacts in their social networks indicated both multiplexity and segmentation in networks. Contacts tended either to provide psychosocial support only or to provide instrumental support and serve as a standard for social comparison. The segmentation was stronger for individuals with an independent career orientation than for promotion-oriented individuals. These findings contribute to the literature on social networks and careers by providing insights into how career orientation affects the multiplexity in career-related social networks

Many Hands, More Impact: Philanthropy's Role in Supporting Movements

GEO has prepared a publication that provides a framework for understanding the array of roles that funders can play in supporting movements and networks. Many Hands, More Impact: Philanthropy's Role in Supporting Movements offers an orientation to some of the inherent benefits and barriers to supporting movements and provides insight into ways that grantmakers can explore collaborative efforts for social change

Group Formation in a Public Good Experiment. On The Dynamics of Social Ties Structures

Economic behavior often takes place in groups of small numbers of people interacting with each other (like work teams, neighborhoods, social networks, etc.). Characteristic of such interaction is the development of (affective) interpersonal relationships, or social ties. According to sociologists, the embeddedness of economic behavior in networks of social ties has a profound impact on economic performance. Although, in economics, there is a growing awareness of the significance of social factors, the study of social dynamics is still in its infancy. In this paper we investigate experimentally the development of social ties structures, and thereby the formation of informal groups, through economic interaction in a public good environment. It turns out that complicated dynamics arise from individual differences in social value orientation and (affective) response patterns. Our findings point at the importance of leadership in controlling and channeling emotions and sentiments to build effective groups, like teams or communities. This leads to a different perspective on management than the one provided by standard agency theory.

Community college persistence, social networks, and new student orientation programs

Scope and Method of Study: The purpose of this case study was to examine students' social networks in relationship to their academic persistence. Students who attended the orientation program as well as students who have not attended the orientation program were interviewed to determine whether the orientation program aided in new tie development. Additionally, the issue of students' social networks in relationship to their academic performance was explored to determine if there was a correlation between students' social networks and students' academic persistence at a mid- western community college.Findings and Conclusions: Sixteen students were interviewed for this study. Demographic information was also obtained. The study suggested there was no direct correlation on students' academic persistence in relationship of those students who had attended the orientation program compared to those students who had not. Additionally, data revealed the vast majority of students who persisted at the institution created new weak ties compared to those students who did not persist. Community colleges should continually explore ways to assist students in creating new ties, which should aid the students in persisting at the college

Entrepreneurial orientation, social embeddedness and non financial performance among Malaysian Indian ethnic entrepreneur in Selangor Klang Valley, Malaysia

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of Malaysian Indian ethnic entrepreneurs and its antecedents and consequences are under-researched. The purpose of present study is to investigate the influence of social embeddedness namely family ties, co-ethnic networks, and mainstream networks on entrepreneurial orientation. The study also examines the non financial performance as consequence of entrepreneurial orientation among Malaysian Indian ethnic entrepreneurs. The data were collected from Malaysian Indian ethnic entrepreneurs in the Selangor, Klang valley, Malaysia. There are 129 questionnaires were used to analyze the data. Results indicate that positive and significant relationship was found between family ties, co-ethnic networks and entrepreneurial orientation. Then, there was no significant relationship between mainstream networks and entrepreneurial orientation. The study also revealed that entrepreneurial orientation has a positive significant influence upon entrepreneur‘s non financial performance. Theoretical and practical implication of the study as well as suggestions for future research was discussed

Young Children’s cliques : a study on processes of peer acceptance and cliques aggregation

A considerable amount of research has examined the link between children’s peer acceptance, which refers to the degree of likability within the peer group, social functioning and emotional wellbeing, at a same age and in a long term perspective, pointing out to the contribution of peer acceptance for mental wellbeing. Our study proposes a sociometric methodology that, differently from many studies focused on individual classifications of social status, moves to the analysis of affiliative social networks within the class group. This study describes how individual factors such as socio-emotional competence, temperament, and linguistic skills are related to positive reciprocated nominations (=RNs) and examines the cliques generated by reciprocal nominations according to similarities (socio-emotional competence, temperament and linguistic skills) among cliques’ members. Eighty-four preschool children (M age = 62.5 months) were recruited. The Sociometric Interview to assess RNs and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R; Dunn & Dunn, 1981) to assess receptive language were administered; the Social Competence and Behaviour Evaluation Short Form questionnaire (SCBE-30; LaFreniere & Dumas, 1996) and the Quit Temperament Scale (Axia, 2002) were filled in by the teachers. Results showed that children with higher RNs presented higher scores in social orientation, positive emotionality, motor activity, linguistic skills and social competence (trend), and exhibited lower anxietywithdrawal. The analysis of cliques revealed that children preferred playmates with similar features: social competence, anger-aggression (trend), social orientation, positive emotionality, inhibition to novelty, attention, motor activity (trend) and linguistic skills. These findings provide insights about processes of peer affiliation, highlighting the role of socio-emotional functioning and linguistic skills.peer-reviewe

Alcohol in the life narratives of women: Commonalities and differences by sexual orientation

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore social representations of alcohol use among women, with a focus on possible differences between sexual minority and heterosexual women. Methods: This qualitative study was part of a larger study examining mediators of heavier drinking among sexual minority women (lesbian identified, bisexual identified, and heterosexual identified with same sex partners) compared to heterosexual women based on the National Alcohol Survey. Qualitative in-depth life history interviews were conducted over the telephone with 48 women who had participated in the 2009–2010 National Alcohol Survey, including respondents representing different sexual orientation groups. Questions explored the lives and experiences of women, and how use of alcohol may connect to those experiences. Findings: Representations about normative and risky use included social use, use in relation to community connection, addictive use and self-medication. Other representations common across groups included articulation of boundaries that were defined by negative exemplars, marked by indicators of loss of control, and maintained through selective engagement of social networks. Although representations across groups were similar, some representations, such as alcohol use in fostering community connection, appeared to be more salient for sexual minority women. The findings of the study underscore the importance of considering both commonalities and potential differences among women by sexual orientation in meanings and perceived risks associated with alcohol use in future research and intervention efforts

The Bechdel Test and the Social Form of Character Networks

This essay describes the popular Bechdel Test—a measure of women’s dialogue in films—in terms of social network analysis within fictional narrative. It argues that this form of vernacular criticism arrives at a productive convergence with contemporary academic critical methodologies in surface and postcritical reading practices, on the one hand, and digital humanities, on the other. The data-oriented character of the Bechdel Test, which a text rigidly passes or fails, stands in sharp contrast to identification- or recognition-based evaluations of a text’s feminist orientation, particularly because the former does not prescribe the content, but merely the social form, of women’s agency. This essay connects the Bechdel Test and a lineage of feminist and early queer theory to current work on social network analysis within literary texts, and it argues that the Bechdel Test offers the beginnings of a measured approach to understanding agency within actor networks