Social networks and the resilience of marginalized communities

In the context of growing inequalities, this chapter assesses how social networks shape the resilience of marginalized, disadvantaged groups in society. Based on the literature about social support, social capital, sustainable livelihoods, and structural violence, I discuss how networks can strengthen people's reactive, adaptive, and transformative capacities to cope with adversities and sustain wellbeing, but they also perpetuate and exacerbate inequalities. For future directions, the chapter calls for greater attention to power differentials in unequal relationships, intersectionality in network analysis, the contextual embeddedness of network effects, and how networks can transform the social arrangements that produce marginalization

The networked character of migration and transnationalism

Acknowledgement of the prominent role of social networks in migration studies marked a significant departure from earlier studies, suggesting that social networks determine migration decisions, trajectories, and outcomes.While social network analytical tools have not always been used in empirical investigations of migratory phenomena, studies on migration that use relational approaches also show an inherent network thinking. In this paper, we review the state of the art of the literature on migration and social networks, highlighting the advances made by empirical research using network thinking, particularly in different stages of migration and for operationalizing transnational phenomena related to migration. Based on this review, we detect the role of networks in different stages of migration, and we reflect on the remaining challenges for future research regarding the role of social networks within migration scholarship

The networked character of migration and transnationalism

Acknowledgement of the prominent role of social networks in migration studies marked a significant departure from earlier studies, suggesting that social networks determine migration decisions, trajectories, and outcomes. While social network analytical tools have not always been used in empirical investigations of migratory phenomena, studies on migration that use relational approaches also show an inherent network thinking. In this paper, we review the state of the art of the literature on migration and social networks, highlighting the advances made by empirical research using network thinking, particularly in different stages of migration and for operationalizing transnational phenomena related to migration. Based on this review, we detect the role of networks in different stages of migration, andwe reflect on the remaining challenges for future research regarding the role of social networks within migration scholarship

Social Network Data Collection : Principles and Modalities

Relational questions require relational data and methods. That may seem like a truism that is unnecessary to make explicit, but the social and behavioral sciences are replete with relational theories (Borgatti and Halgin, 2011) and questions that have repeatedly been examined with data that make essentializing assumptions (Emirbayer, 1997); that is, relying on non-relational data

A comparison of various approaches to the exponential random graph model:A reanalysis of 102 student networks in school classes

This paper describes an empirical comparison of four specifications of the exponential family of random graph models (ERGM), distinguished by model specification (dyadic independence, Markov, partial conditional dependence) and, for the Markov model, by estimation method (Maximum Pseudolikelihood, Maximum Likelihood). This was done by reanalyzing 102 student networks in 57 junior high school classes. At the level of all classes combined, earlier substantive conclusions were supported by all specifications. However, the different specifications led to different conclusions for individual classes. PL produced unreliable estimates (when ML is regarded as the standard) and had more convergence problems than ML. Furthermore, the estimates of covariate effects were affected considerably by controlling for network structure, although the precise specification of the structural part (Markov or partial conditional dependence) mattered less. (C) 2007 Elsevier BX All rights reserved

Alcance de la integración relacional con los españoles en las redes personales de inmigrantes en parejas mixtas y endógamas

Resultados anteriores de dos proyectos de investigación[1] sobre inmigrantes y los diferentes procesos de integración que experimentan en función de que tengan pareja del mismo origen o pareja española muestran una mayor presencia de españoles en las redes personales de aquellas personas en uniones mixtas. Se podría deducir que, en este sentido, estas están mejor integradas con la población autóctona en términos relacionales. Sin embargo, para explorar la cuestión con mayor profundidad, es útil valorar hasta qué punto y de qué manera esta mayor representación de población de origen español en sus redes personales afecta también a los otros inmigrantes que las constituyen. ¿Es más probable que se establezcan vínculos entre españoles y no españoles en las redes de personas en uniones mixtas que en las de aquellas en uniones endógamas? ¿Se produce una especie de efecto contagio en las relaciones español-inmigrante en las redes de inmigrantes con pareja española? En este trabajo, se pretende analizar qué factores inciden en que la aparente mejor integración relacional de los inmigrantes en uniones mixtas se extienda a sus conocidos inmigrantes. Es decir, en qué medida se producen más interacciones entre personas de diferentes orígenes como consecuencia de esas uniones mixtas. Si esta hipótesis se verifica, entonces los encuestados en uniones mixtas estarían más relacionados con españoles que a su vez estarían más relacionados con otros inmigrantes, apuntando a que los efectos de la exogamia en la integración trascienden sus propios límites. Para estudiarlo, se realiza un meta-análisis de los resultados de cada uno de los modelos de grafos aleatorios exponenciales (ERGM) aplicado a cada una de las redes personales recogidas, de manera que se pueda cuestionar la generalidad de dichos resultados.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Becoming Part of an Eco-Community : Social and Environmental Activism or Livelihood Strategy?

Studying grassroots initiatives which aim to respond to environmental and social crisis is of renewed importance nowadays, in the aftermath of the 2008-9 financial crisis in southern Europe. This paper studies people's motivations for becoming part of an eco-community in Catalonia, Spain, through interviews with 29 informants. The research is part of a larger study, based on ethnographic data collected between 2013 and 2015 in 27 eco-communities. The paper shows the extent to which people who joined an eco-community were driven by ideological reasons, adopting a livelihood strategy, or by a combination of both factors in the years following the crisis. We argue that the social and economic crisis has had an impact on the factors motivating people to join these communities, with an increase in the number of people driven by materialistic motives, relative to those who joined for ideological reason

When networks speak volumes: Variation in the size of broader acquaintanceship networks

Personal network researchers have extensively studied the characteristics and effects of individuals' closest relationships, but they have paid much less attention to broader acquaintanceship networks, despite evidence that weak ties can also provide social support. In this paper we focus on one aspect of these networks: acquaintanceship volume. We estimate its distributional parameters for a large, representative sample of the general population of Spain, explore its variation across social groups as well as its implications for social support availability. We designed a survey instrument based on the Network Scale-Up Method and implemented it in a national survey in Spain. Our results suggest that Spaniards have approximately 536 acquaintances, with a large inter-individual variation, comparable to the estimates reported for the American population. Acquaintanceship volume varies with gender, age, education, and income. These differences are partially related to the unequal participation of social groups in voluntary associations, confirming the civic value of such associations, and in employment. Even with similar core network size, acquaintanceship volume increases the likelihood of having adequate social support available, suggesting that broader acquaintanceship networks also structure individual outcomes

Automated Name Selection for the Network Scale-Up Method

The distribution of the number of acquaintances among members of a society is a relevant feature of its social structure. Furthermore, the number of acquaintances (or "degree") is used for estimating other societal features, such as the size of hard-to-count subpopulations or social cohesion. To estimate the degree, the Network Scale-Up Method (NSUM) asks survey respondents about the number of people they know with a set of first names for which name statistics are available. For this method to be precise, a set of names needs to be selected for the survey that jointly represent the population on a smaller scale in terms of relevant traits such as gender or age. Finding the optimal set of names is a combinatorial problem for which this paper provides a solution approach. The approach can serve other NSUM users, and can be applied to any population for which name statistics distributed over different categories are available. We empirically show that our approach successfully provides subsets of names replicating the population distribution for six countries with very different name statistics

Effects of the structure of personal networks in the acquaintances network of a cohort of students in transition from high school to university

En este trabajo se examina la transición normativa de una cohorte de estudiantes de Enseñanza Secundaria de Alcalá de Guadaíra, que empiezan sus estudios universitarios en Sevilla. Se analiza la evolución de la red social de la cohorte de estudiantes junto con los cambios que experimentan en la composición y la estructura de sus redes personales. El seguimiento longitudinal se desarrolla a lo largo de 17 meses en los que los encuestados (n = 57) empiezan a distribuir su tiempo entre la localidad en la que residen y la ciudad en la que estudian, de modo que en su conjunto aumentan la frecuencia de los viajes de ida y vuelta a la capital. Este es uno de los primeros estudios que recoge información de las redes personales de los miembros de una red social completa, combinando ambos indicadores en los análisis. Con el modelo de simulación longitudinal de redes sociales, utilizando el software RSIENA, comprobamos que la intermediación promedio de las redes personales tiene un efecto significativo en la evolución de la red social de los estudiantes que terminan la Enseñanza Secundaria. La intermediación promedio también parece incidir en la tasa de cambio del sentido de comunidad con la ciudad de residencia. Concluimos proponiendo que el desacoplamiento de las relaciones, junto con la competencia entre relaciones múltiples activas, constituyen dos mecanismos clave de los cambios en la estructura de las redes personales en proceso de transición ecológica.In this work the normative transition of a cohort of secondary school students from Alcalá de Guadaíra that start college education in Seville is examined. The evolution of the social network of the cohort of students together with the changes experienced in the composition and structure of their personal networks is analyzed. The longitudinal tracking is developed over 17 months when respondents (n = 57) begin to distribute their time between the town in which they live and the city where they study, so there is an increase in the frequency of commuting to the capital. This is one of the first studies collecting information from the personal networks of the members of a complete social network, and combining both personal and sociocentric indicators in the analysis. With models for the longitudinal analysis of social networks, using the RSIENA software, we found that average betweenness of personal networks has a significant effect on the social network of students completing secondary education. The average betweenness also seems to influence the change rate in the sense of community with the city of residence. We conclude by proposing that the decoupling of relations, as well as active competition between multiple relationships, are two key mechanisms of changes in the structure of personal networks in the process of ecological transition.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia SEJ2005-2568