Comparing the measurement of different social networks

__Background:__ Technological progress has enabled researchers to use new unobtrusive measures of relationships between actors in social network analysis. However, research on how these unobtrusive measures of peer connections relate to traditional sociometric nominations in adolescents is scarce. Therefore, the current study compared traditional peer nominated networks with more unobtrusive measures of peer connections: Communication networks that consist of instant messages in an online social platform and proximity networks based on smartphones' Bluetooth signals that measure peer proximity. The three social network types were compared in their coverage, stability, overlap, and the extent to which the networks exhibit the often observed sex segregation in adolescent social networks. __Method:__ Two samples were derived from the MyMovez project: a longitudinal sample of 444 adolescents who participated in the first three waves of the first year of the project (Y1; 51% male; Mage = 11.29, SDage = 1.26) and a cross-sectional sample of 774 adolescents that participated in fifth wave in the third year (Y3; 48% male; Mage = 10.76, SDage = 1.23). In the project, all participants received a research smartphone and a wrist-worn accelerometer. On the research smartphone, participants received daily questionnaires such as peer nomination questions (i.e., nominated networ

On a mission: Achieving distinction as a business school?

This paper investigates what business schools are saying in their mission statements and whether they provide a meaningful basis for strategic choice, distinction and differentiation from a positioning perspective; or whether they are the equivalent of “table stakes” in the MBA game - undifferentiated signals that connote legitimacy. Content analysis is undertaken of the mission statements of the Financial Times 2009 top 100 full-time MBA program offering business schools. The statements are mapped and compared in the aggregate and by quartile. We conclude that the statements are for the most part homogeneous and do not serve as a basis for differentiation. However, although achieving distinction through a mission statement may indeed be difficult, it is by no means impossible, and we suggest approaches that business school deans might adopt in an effort to make their brands stand out

The Impact of Social Media Influencers on Children’s Dietary Behaviors

Over the past years vlogs rapidly have become an attractive platform for food industries, sponsoring social media influencers to promote their products. As with more traditional media, social media influencers predominantly promote unhealthy drinks and foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt – consumption of which may increase the risk of overweight, obesity, and non-communicable diseases. The aim of the current Brief Research Report is to examine the impact of vlogs on children’s unhealthy dietary behaviors. Drawing on longitudinal survey data from 453 8- to 12-year-old children, we analyzed the longitudinal relations between children’s frequency of watching vlogs and their consumption of unhealthy beverages and snacks. Structural path modeling analyses of three waves of data with 1-year intervals showed that children’s self-reported frequency of watching vlogs influenced consumption of unhealthy beverages 2 years later. The analyses did not yield significant relat

Children’s Emotions after Exposure to News: Investigating Chat Conversations with Peers as a Coping Strategy

Hardly any research has been conducted regarding coping strategies that children can use in response to negative news, although they are frequently exposed to and emotionally affected by such news. Chat conversations with peers about the news could be a coping strategy for children in this regard. To investigate this, children (N = 307; 46.3% girls; Mage = 10.51; SDage = 0.98; range 8–13 years old) participated in a preregistered experiment in which their emotions were measured before and after exposure to a news video on a smar

Testing a Social Network Intervention Using Vlogs to Promote Physical Activity Among Adolescents: A Randomized Controlled Trial

There is a need to stimulate physical activity among adolescents, but unfortunately, they are hard to reach with traditional mass media interventions. A promising alternative is to carry out social network interventions. In social network interventions, a small group of individuals (influence agents) is selected to promote health-related behaviors within their social network. This study investigates whether a social network intervention is more effective to promote physical activity, compared to a mass media intervention and no intervention. Ad

The reciprocal effects of physical activity and happiness in adolescents

Background Positive associations exist between physical activity and happiness in adolescents. However, previous studies have mostly used self-reported measures and cross-sectional designs. There is a need for more insight into the directionality and duration of this association. The current study was the first to investigate whether an increase in physical activity leads to happiness and whether adolescents become more physically active when they are happier. These two effects were studied between (on a day-to-day

Promoting water consumption among Dutch children: an evaluation of the social network intervention Share H2 O

Background: There is a need to develop and improve interventions promoting healthy drinking behaviors among children. A promising method could be to stimulate peer influence within children’s social networks. In the Share H2O social network intervention (SNI), peer influence was utilized by selecting a subset of influential children and training them as ‘influence agents’ to promote water consumption—as an alternative to SSBs. Previous research has mainly focused on the process of selecting influence agents. However, the process of motivating influence agents to promote the behavior has hardly received any research attention. Therefore, in the SNI Share H2O SNI, this motivation process was emphasized and grounded in the self-determination t

Promoting Water Consumption among Children: A Three-Arm Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Testing a Social Network Intervention

Objective: To test the effectiveness of a social network intervention (SNI) to improve children's healthy drinking behaviors. Design: A three-arm cluster randomized control trial design was used. In the SNI, a subset of children were selected and trained as 'influence agents' to promote water consumption-as an alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)-among their peers. In the active control condition, all children were simultaneously exposed to the benefits of water consumption. The control condition received no intervention. Setting: 11 schools in the Netherlands. Participants: 451 children (M age = 10.74, SD age =.97; 50.8% girls). Results: Structural path models showed that children exposed to the SNI consumed.20 less SSBs per day compared to those in the control condition (β =.25, p =.035). There was a trend showing that children exposed to the SNI consumed.17 less SSBs per day than those in the active control condition (β =.20, p =.061). No differences were found between conditions for water consumption. However, t

The Endogenous Th17 Response in NO<inf>2</inf>-Promoted Allergic Airway Disease Is Dispensable for Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Distinct from Th17 Adoptive Transfer

Severe, glucocorticoid-resistant asthma comprises 5-7% of patients with asthma. IL-17 is a biomarker of severe asthma, and the adoptive transfer of Th17 cells in mice is sufficient to induce glucocorticoid-resistant allergic airway disease. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an environmental toxin that correlates with asthma severity, exacerbation, and risk of adverse outcomes. Mice that are allergically sensitized to the antigen ovalbumin by exposure to NO2 exhibit a mixed Th2/Th17 adaptive immune response and eosinophil and neutrophil recruitment to the airway following antigen challenge, a phenotype reminiscent of severe clinical asthma. Because IL-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling is critical in the generation of the Th17 response in vivo, we hypothesized that the IL-1R/Th17 axis contributes to pulmonary inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in NO2-promoted allergic airway disease and manifests in glucocorticoid-resistant cytokine production. IL-17A neutralization at the time of antigen challenge or genetic deficiency in IL-1R resulted in decreased neutrophil recruitment to the airway following antigen challenge but did not protect against the development of AHR. Instead, IL-1R-/- mice developed exacerbated AHR compared to WT mice. Lung cells from NO2-allergically inflamed mice that were treated in vitro with dexamethasone (Dex) during antigen restimulation exhibited reduced Th17 cytokine production, whereas Th17 cytokine production by lung cells from recipient mice of in vitro Th17-polarized OTII T-cells was resistant to Dex. These results demonstrate that the IL-1R/Th17 axis does not contribute to AHR development in NO2-promoted allergic airway disease, that Th17 adoptive transfer does not necessarily reflect an endogenously-generated Th17 response, and that functions of Th17 responses are contingent on the experimental conditions in which they are generated. © 2013 Martin et al