Will HIV Vaccination Reshape HIV Risk Behavior Networks? A Social Network Analysis of Drug Users\u27 Anticipated Risk Compensation

Background An HIV vaccine could substantially impact the epidemic. However, risk compensation (RC), or post-vaccination increase in risk behavior, could present a major challenge. The methodology used in previous studies of risk compensation has been almost exclusively individual-level in focus, and has not explored how increased risk behavior could affect the connectivity of risk networks. This study examined the impact of anticipated HIV vaccine-related RC on the structure of high-risk drug users\u27 sexual and injection risk network. Methods A sample of 433 rural drug users in the US provided data on their risk relationships (i.e., those involving recent unprotected sex and/or injection equipment sharing). Dyad-specific data were collected on likelihood of increasing/initiating risk behavior if they, their partner, or they and their partner received an HIV vaccine. Using these data and social network analysis, a post-vaccination network was constructed and compared to the current network on measures relevant to HIV transmission, including network size, cohesiveness (e.g., diameter, component structure, density), and centrality. Results Participants reported 488 risk relationships. Few reported an intention to decrease condom use or increase equipment sharing (4% and 1%, respectively). RC intent was reported in 30 existing risk relationships and vaccination was anticipated to elicit the formation of five new relationships. RC resulted in a 5% increase in risk network size (n = 142 to n = 149) and a significant increase in network density. The initiation of risk relationships resulted in the connection of otherwise disconnected network components, with the largest doubling in size from five to ten. Conclusions This study demonstrates a new methodological approach to studying RC and reveals that behavior change following HIV vaccination could potentially impact risk network connectivity. These data will be valuable in parameterizing future network models that can determine if network-level change precipitated by RC would appreciably impact the vaccine\u27s population-level effectiveness

Imaginary Worlds: Using Visual Network Scales to Capture Perceptions of Social Networks

Social networks are not just patterns of interaction and sentiment in the real world; they are also cognitive (re)constructions of social relations, some real, some imagined. Focusing on networks as mental entities, our essay describes a new method that relies on stylized network images to gather quantitative data on how people “see” specific aspects of their social worlds. We discuss the logic of our approach, present several examples of “visual network scales,” discuss some preliminary findings, and identify some of the problems and prospects in this nascent line of work on the phenomenology of social networks

All In The Family: Network Ties as Determinants of Reputation and Identity in NCAA Basketball

The article discusses the factors contributing to the formation of social reputation and market identity in National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball players. The discussion focuses on: social network analysis in relation to identity theory; the influence of social networks in career advancement; opportunities that further socioeconomic status via social power; social identity and access to resources that contribute to the structure of a social network; and the role of affiliation in institutional theory, network ties, and family group identification within an organization

La importancia de los clubes sociales en la red económica de J.P. Morgan & Co: acuerdos de asociación, sindicatos y direcciones entrelazadas antes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial

Quin paper tenen els clubs socials en la promoció de les relacions de cooperació entre els agents econòmics? Mitjançant l’estudi de les xarxes històriques de banquers d’inversió als Estats Units abans de la Segona Guerra Mundial, proposem que els llaços en forma de pertinença compartida a un club social faciliten la creació estratègica de cohesió entre empreses i dins d’una mateixa empresa, la qual guia les transaccions econòmiques. El nostre treball se centra en l’empresa de Nova York J.P. Morgan & Co., el principal banc d’inversió nord-americà abans de la Segona Guerra Mundial. A traves d’anàlisis estadístiques i qualitatives, demostrem que les relacions establertes en els clubs socials van influir en la propietat de l’empresa, la participació en sindicats i la composició dels consells d’administració. El nostre estudi avança en la literatura sobre les elits socials i en la identificació de la interacció estratègica entre l’arrelament social i l’acció econòmica a traves d’organitzacions socials, destacant el paper únic dels clubs socials com a llocs històrics de col·laboració econòmica durant l’era progressista als Estats Units.What role do social clubs play in the facilitation of cooperative relationships between economic actors? By studying the historical networks of investment bankers in the United States pre-World War II, we propose that social ties in the form of shared social club memberships facilitate the strategic creation of interfirm and intrafirm cohesion that guides economic transactions. The focus of our paper is the New York firm of J. P. Morgan & Co., the leading American investment bank before the Second World War. Through statistical and qualitative analyses we demonstrate that social club ties influenced firm ownership, syndicate participation, and interlocking directorate board memberships. Our study advances the literature on social elites by identifying the strategic interplay between social embeddedness and economic action through social organizations, highlighting the unique role of social clubs as historical sites of economic collaboration during the Progressive Era in the United States.¿Qué papel desempeñan los clubes sociales en la promoción de las relaciones de cooperación entre los agentes económicos? Mediante el estudio de las redes históricas de banqueros de inversión en Estados Unidos antes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, proponemos que los lazos sociales en forma de pertenencia compartida a un club social facilitan la creación estratégica de cohesión entre empresas y dentro de una misma empresa, la cual guía las transacciones económicas. Nuestro trabajo se centra en la empresa neoyorquina J.P. Morgan & Co, el principal banco de inversión estadounidense antes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. A través de análisis estadísticos y cualitativos, demostramos que los lazos de los clubes sociales influyeron en la propiedad de la empresa, la participación en sindicatos y la composición de los consejos de administración. Nuestro estudio avanza en la bibliografía sobre las élites sociales al identificar la interacción estratégica entre el arraigo social y la acción económica a través de organizaciones sociales, destacando el papel único de los clubes sociales como lugares históricos de colaboración económica durante la era progresista en Estados Unidos

Inventário das espécies arbóreas utilizadas na arborização das praças de Manaus/AM

A arborização urbana desempenha um papel fundamental no ambiente urbano, não apenas pela harmonia da paisagem, mas principalmente por amenizar a temperatura, pela qualidade do ar e minimizar a poluição. As praças são espaços verdes muito utilizados para a prática da arborização urbana. Com isso, o objetivo do trabalho é inventariar as espécies arbóreas utilizadas na arborização das praças de Manaus e avaliar o estado de conservação das praças. Serão selecionadas 12 praças nas seis zonas da cidade de Manaus. Será realizado um inventário a 100 % dos espécimes arbóreos (DAP ≥ 10 cm), dos quais serão mensurados o diâmetro do tronco, o diâmetro da copa (x,y), a altura total, e a altura da copa. Será feita a caracterização do meio físico, avaliada a condição de uso e manutenção da infraestrutura das praças.CNP

Analyzing Affiliation Networks

In social network analysis, the term “affiliations ” usually refers to membership or participation data, such as when we have data on which actors have participated in which events. Often, the assumption is that comembership in groups or events is an indicator of an underlying social tie. For example, Davis Gardner and Gardner (1941) used data provided by the society pages of a local newspaper to uncover distinct social circles among a set of society women. Similarly, Domhoff (1967) and others have used comembership in corporate boards to search for social elites (e.g., Allen, 1974; Carroll, Fox and Ornstein, 1982; Galaskiewicz, 1985; Westphal and Khanna, 2003). Alternatively, we can see co-participation as providing opportunities for social ties to develop, which in turn provide opportunities things like ideas to flow between actors. For example, Davis (1991; Davis and Greeve, 1997) studied the diffusion of corporate practices such as poison pills and golden parachutes. He finds evidence that poison pills diffuse through chains of interlocking directorates, where board members who sit on multiple boards serve as conduits of strategic information between the different firms. An important advantage of affiliation data, especially in the case studying elites, is that affiliations are often observable from a distance (e.g., government records, newspaper reports), without having to have special access to the actors. In this chapter, we focus on issues involving the analysis of affiliation data, as opposed to the collectio