Coalition-Committees as Network Interventions: Baseline Network Composition in Context of Childhood Obesity Prevention Interventions

Community coalitions can address local issues with deep, historic, and contextual understanding that enables customized implementation of evidence-based strategies. The individuals within the coalition, their partnerships, and the social context is likely an important component of unraveling the challenges of implementation so interventions reach people in need. We focus on the relevance of baseline coalition-committee network (CCN), the networks of purposely formed subcommittees within community coalitions, structure as one of the moderating, theoretical links between community coalition social networks and intervention success. We explore the baseline composition and characteristics of five CCNs at the beginning of childhood obesity prevention interventions. Using a combination of social network, multidimensional scaling, and correspondence analyses, we examine the structure and heterogeneity of five CCNs, each consisting of a core group of stakeholders in the coalition and sometimes the broader community itself. Cross-sectional analyses are used to examine the composition of coalition-committees related to network density, centralization, hierarchy, and coalition demographics and characteristics. Results indicate that CCNs are patterned in their structure and characteristics, and we discuss whether adjustments to childhood obesity prevention interventions according to baseline structure and characteristics could be advantageous for intervention implementation. Together, these findings can inform future longitudinal investigations into CCN network structure

Review of ‘Educated tastes: food, drink, and connoisseur culture’ edited by Jeremy Strong

<p>Book details</p> <p>Strong, J (Ed.)</p> <p><it>Educated Tastes: Food, Drink, and Connoisseur Culture.</it></p> <p>Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press; 2011.</p> <p>320 pages, ISBN 978-080-321-935-9</p

Review of "The Table Comes First: family, France, and the Meaning of Food" by Adam Gopnik

AbstractScholars of flavour and food preferences have shown us that a surprisingly difficult question to answer is, "why do you eat what you eat?" In "The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food," Adam Gopnik attempts to address this and a similarly vexing question, "why do we care so much about our food?" by tracing the roots of what happens at the dinner table. Written with both everyday eaters and scholars of food in mind, Gopnik interweaves ideas about the development and meanings of taste with the historical and social circumstances around which we make choices about food and evaluate flavors

Alimentation et réseau social : une étude sur « le goût par nécessité » en contexte social

L’influence de la société sur les préférences alimentaires a fait l’objet de nombreuses études sans toutefois que ces dernières tiennent compte des rôles joués par les rapports sociaux. Bien que les célèbres travaux sociologiques de Pierre Bourdieu mettent en évidence le lien entre le capital économique, culturel et social, et les choix alimentaires, très peu d’études sur l’alimentation ont prêté une attention empirique explicite au réseau social en tant que forme de capital social. Pour remédier à cette lacune, la présente recherche utilise les données provenant d’une étude de cohorte prospective sur la santé examinant les choix alimentaires de plusieurs milliers de personnes et ceux de leur réseau social immédiat. Une comparaison entre les préférences alimentaires d’une personne et celles de son réseau social offre une nouvelle perspective sur la formation et le développement des goûts et fournit de nouvelles preuves de l’influence des relations interpersonnelles sur les choix en matière d’alimentation.The knowledge of how our taste preferences in food are shaped by our social lives has largely developed without attention to the roles played by relationships with other people. While the well-known sociological work of Pierre Bourdieu highlights the relationship of economic, cultural, and social capital with food consumption, very little scholarship concerned with food has given explicit empirical attention to social network connectivity as a form of social capital. To bridge this gap, this investigation utilizes data from a prospective cohort study of health in which both the food choices of several thousand individuals and their social ties with peers are examined. Comparing the relative social connectedness of individuals and their common food choices provides a new perspective on taste formation and maintenance and provides new evidence of how interpersonal mechanisms play a role in food choice and taste preferences.La influencia de la sociedad en las preferencias alimentarias ha sido objeto de numerosos estudios sin que, sin embargo, éstos tengan en cuenta el papel que juegan las relaciones sociales. Aun cuando los trabajos sociológicos de Pierre Bourdieu ponen en evidencia el vínculo existente entre el capital económico, cultural y social, y las opciones alimentarias, muy pocos estudios acerca de la alimentación han prestado atención empírica explícita a la red social como forma de capital social. Para remediar este vacío, la presente investigación utiliza los datos provenientes de un estudio de cohorte prospectiva acerca de la salud, que examina las opciones alimentarias de varios miles de personas, así como de su red social inmediata. La comparación entre las preferencias alimentarias de una persona y de aquellas de su red social ofrece una nueva perspectiva acerca de la formación y el desarrollo de los gustos, y provee nuevas pruebas acerca de la influencia de las relaciones interpersonales en las opciones en materia de alimentación

Defriending in a polarized age: Political and racial homophily and tie dissolution

Given increased political polarization and racial tension in the wake of the 2016 presidential election in the United States, this paper examines dropped ties in personal networks at that time based on political and racial identities. We employed data from the 2015-2018 UCNets study (n=1,159), a longitudinal, representative data set of the San Francisco Bay Area. In late 2015 and early 2016 it generated personal network data via multiple name generators, eliciting alters whom respondents socialized with, confided in, received advice from, exchanged social support with, and found difficult. Using multilevel multinomial logit models, we then examined various reasons for tie dissolution immediately following the inauguration of Trump in early 2017. The results show that among young adults, politically dissimilar alters were more likely to be dropped due to disagreements. With respect to racial homophily, we found that interracial dyads were more likely to be dropped because of drifting apart or some other reason for both younger and older cohorts. Overall, there is some support for the notion that dropped ties due to political disagreements did occur immediately following the 2016 election, but the results highlight the continuing significance of race in personal networks

Defriending in a polarized age

Given increased political polarization and racial tension in the wake of the 2016 presidential election in the United States, this paper examines dropped ties in personal networks at that time based on political and racial identities