Women students from Saudi Arabia in a study abroad programme

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hassna M. Alfayez ◽  
Julia Hüttner
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
The Social

Abstract Most students taking part in Study Abroad (SA) programmes aim to immerse themselves as fully as possible in the target language (TL) country and so improve their TL proficiency, as well as their own personal development towards independent adulthood. From a research perspective, the quality of social networks involving TL speakers, and hence the social interactions the SA students engage in, are seen as of paramount importance in determining the ultimate success in TL attainment. This paper addresses a cohort of learners who have not received a lot of attention in the SA literature, namely Saudi Arabian female students, whose individual immersion into the TL context is limited by cultural restrictions, importantly the need to be accompanied by a male guardian (mahram). Based on a data set of a cohort of nine students gathered over the period of one year, this study aims to establish the extent to which these students engage in social interactions in the TL setting and how these affect their overall language proficiency development. Data was gathered pre-, during, and post-SA, using a mixture of qualitative and quantitative instruments. These tested language proficiencies and surveyed the social interactions and engagement with the TL of the students, using both questionnaires (Language Engagement Questionnaire, Social Networking Questionnaire) and semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest, firstly, that despite the limitations on social interactions, these students clearly benefit from SA. Findings show a complex set of relationships between language development and interactions, with diverse strategies employed to access social networks and thus engage in interactions. Overall, these results point to SA settings as highly conducive learning environments, even for students who face cultural restrictions in their interactions.

Resilience and Support Networks for University Students with Disabilities

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
María Leonila García Cedeño ◽  
Anicia Katherine Tarazona Meza ◽  
Robert Gonzalo Cedeño Mejía
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
University Students ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Pearson Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Disabled Students ◽  
The Social ◽  
Student Resilience

Resilience is a phenomenon that can be studied in catastrophic situations but also in everyday matters such as disability, this being an alternative way of working in the environment that requires the adaptation of the social networks that contain and support people with this condition. The research was conducted at the Technical University of Manabí applied to the population of students with disabilities. The paper presents an analysis of support networks and their relationship with student resilience. The results related to the application of the Saavedra-Villalta test are shown, which allowed to correlate the level of resilience of the sample studied with the support networks. An analysis linked to the interpretation of the Pearson correlation coefficient is presented. The result obtained is presented by applying semi-structured interviews to a sample of 48 disabled students.

scholarly journals The switching mechanisms of social network densification

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teruyoshi Kobayashi ◽  
Mathieu Génois
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Regime Switching ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Social ◽  
Switching Property ◽  
Distinctive Type ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractDensification and sparsification of social networks are attributed to two fundamental mechanisms: a change in the population in the system, and/or a change in the chances that people in the system are connected. In theory, each of these mechanisms generates a distinctive type of densification scaling, but in reality both types are generally mixed. Here, we develop a Bayesian statistical method to identify the extent to which each of these mechanisms is at play at a given point in time, taking the mixed densification scaling as input. We apply the method to networks of face-to-face interactions of individuals and reveal that the main mechanism that causes densification and sparsification occasionally switches, the frequency of which depending on the social context. The proposed method uncovers an inherent regime-switching property of network dynamics, which will provide a new insight into the mechanics behind evolving social interactions.

The Mechanism of Entrepreneurs’ Social Networks on Innovative Startups’ Innovation Performance Considering the Moderating Effect of the Entrepreneurial Competence and Motivation

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junguang Gao ◽  
Yuan Cheng ◽  
Hui He ◽  
Fuzhen Gu
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network Theory ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Innovation Performance ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Resource Based View ◽  
External Resources ◽  
Mechanism Model ◽  
The Social ◽  
Internal Mechanism

Abstract Innovative startups can bring many benefits to society. Drawing on the social network theory (SNT) and resource-based view (RBV), with mix methods approach, this paper argues that as the primary path for startups acquiring external resources, social networks are beneficial to improving innovative startups’ innovation performance. Using a large amount of data from GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), this paper first runs correlation analysis and regression analysis to empirically analyze entrepreneurs’ social networks’ impact on China’s innovative startups’ innovation performance. The results show that both formal and informal social networks are positively correlated with innovative startups’ innovation performance. Then we consider the moderating effect of entrepreneurial competence and motivation. And the results show both entrepreneurial competence and motivation positively moderate the correlation above. Second, to explore the above correlation’s internal mechanism, we conduct semi-structured interviews with 14 entrepreneurs. Drawing on the resource management theory (RMT) and the process of cross-border knowledge search and assimilation, the mechanism model of entrepreneurs’ social networks on startups’ innovation performance is proposed through content analysis.

scholarly journals The Social Networks and Social Support of Siblings of Children with Cancer

Children ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Sarah E. Wawrzynski ◽  
Melissa A. Alderfer ◽  
Whitney Kvistad ◽  
Lauri Linder ◽  
Maija Reblin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Support Networks ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Children With Cancer ◽  
Network Characteristics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Need Support ◽  
Sources Of Support

Siblings of children with cancer need support to ameliorate the challenges they encounter; however, little is known about what types and sources of support exist for siblings. This study addresses this gap in our understanding of the social networks and sources of support for adolescents with a brother or sister who has cancer. Additionally, we describe how the support siblings receive addresses what they feel are the hardest aspects of being a sibling of a child with cancer. During semi-structured interviews, siblings (ages 12–17) constructed ecomaps describing their support networks. Data were coded for support type (emotional, instrumental, informational, validation, companionship) and support provider (e.g., mother, teacher, friend). Network characteristics and patterns of support were explored. Support network size ranged from 3 to 10 individuals (M = 6 ± 1.9); siblings most frequently reported mothers as sources of support (n = 22, 91.7%), followed by fathers (n = 19, 79.2%), close friends (n = 19, 79.2%) and siblings (with or without cancer) (n = 17, 70.8%). Friends and brothers or sisters most often provided validation and companionship while instrumental and informational supports came from parents. This study provides foundational knowledge about siblings’ support networks, which can be utilized to design interventions that improve support for siblings of children with cancer.

Centrality measure based approach for detection of malicious nodes in twitter social network

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4.5) ◽  
pp. 518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krishna Das ◽  
Smriti Kumar Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Information Diffusion ◽  
Opinion Mining ◽  
Theoretical Method ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
Malicious Nodes ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Centrality Measure ◽  
The Social

In this short paper, network structural measure called centrality measure based mathematical approach is used for detection of malicious nodes in twitter social network. One of the objectives in analysing social networks is to detect malicious nodes which show anomaly behaviours in social networks. There are different approaches for anomaly detection in social networks such as opinion mining methods, behavioural methods, network structural approach etc. Centrality measure, a graph theoretical method related to social network structure, can be used to categorize a node either as popular and influential or as non-influential and anomalous node. Using this approach, we have analyzed twitter social network to remove anomalous nodes from the nodes-edges twitter data set. Thus removal of these kinds of nodes which are not important for information diffusion in the social network, makes the social network clean & speedy in fast information propagation.   

Variable future-time reference in French: A comparison of learners in a study-abroad and a foreign-language context

2016 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aarnes Gudmestad ◽  
Amanda Edmonds
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Future Time ◽  
Foreign Language Learners ◽  
Language Proficiency Test

AbstractThis study seeks to advance understanding of second-language (L2) acquisition of future-time reference in French, by comparing the developmental trajectories of learners living in and away from the target-language setting. Study-abroad learners in France (n= 45), foreign-language learners living in the US (n= 37), and native speakers of Hexagonal French (n= 30) participated in this study. They completed a written-contextualized task, a language-proficiency test and a background questionnaire. For each written-contextualized-task item, participants selected from among three responses that differed with respect to the form (inflectional future, periphrastic future, present). Items were designed to test for the influence of three factors on the form selected: presence/absence of a lexical temporal indicator, temporal distance, and (un)certainty. Additionally, two extra-linguistic factors were examined: learning context and proficiency level. The analyses of frequency and the multinomial logistic regressions suggest that, despite developmental similarities between learning contexts, acquisitional paths of study-abroad and foreign-language learners were not identical.

Social Networks and Patterns of Social Interaction among Ever-Single and Separated/Divorced Elderly Canadians

1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurel A. Strain ◽  
Barbara J. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Family Networks ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Statistics Canada

AbstractThis paper examines the social networks and patterns of social interactions of two relatively neglected marital status groups of elders, namely the ever-single and the separated/divorced. Drawing on data from the 1985 General Social Survey conducted by Statistics Canada, comparisons are made both between and among the 224 ever-single and 126 separated/divorced Canadians aged 65 and over. When controlling for age, gender, education and health status, ever-single individuals tend to have smaller family networks, a similar number of friends, and similar living arrangements as the separated/divorced. In-person contact with siblings is significantly associated with being ever-single while no differences emerge for contact with other relatives or with friends. Differences among the ever-single and among the separated/divorced are also assessed.

scholarly journals Nominative technique, a simple tool for assessing illegal wildlife consumption

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Davis ◽  
Brian Crudge ◽  
Jenny Anne Glikman
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Social ◽  
Levels Of Use ◽  
Bear Bile ◽  
Collection Methods

To test the efficacy of nominative technique within a small sample, we performed a total of 179 semi-structured interviews in Luang Prabang, northern Laos, in August 2017 and April 2019, using the domestic consumption of bears in northern Lao People’s Democratic Republic (hereafter Laos) as our case study. We also assessed whether the specialised questioning technique of nominative technique could be used within qualitative data collection methods, such as semi-structured interviews. The technique theoretically ensures more accurate statements of illegal wildlife consumption behaviour, by maintaining the anonymity of an individual’s sensitive behaviour through asking about the behaviour of peers. We also directly asked about participants’ use of bear bile. Nominative technique showed that approximately 11% of the participants’ peers used bear products, with respondents’ direct admittance of using bear bile was nearly double, at 23%. Use of bear parts appears to not be sensitive in northern Laos. In addition, a strong association was found between nominative technique and direct questioning responses, which indicates that users of bear parts have social networks with higher levels of use. This lends supports to theories that use of wildlife products is directly influenced by the social group. The underreporting found through nominative technique indicates the high variability of response that can occur within small samples; however, these results show that nominative technique may be a simple, useful tool for triangulating data, assessing users’ integration into social networks of use, and assessing changes in behaviour prevalence.

scholarly journals Competing priorities: Student perceptions of helps and hindrances to language acquisition during study abroad

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcie J. Pyper ◽  
Cynthia Slagter
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Competing Priorities

Multiple studies have investigated the effect of language contact on language proficiency, testing the assumption that the study abroad context means greater contact with the target language (L2).  Other studies have examined the context of L2 interactions, considering host families, contact with community members, and interactions with non-native-speaking peers. While these studies are helpful, larger scales studies are needed to determine how students are interacting with native and non-native speakers during study abroad.  The current study examines student perceptions of helps and hindrances to L2 gain during semester-long study abroad of more than 100 students studying Spanish in Spain, Honduras, and Peru. Participants completed surveys patterned after the Language Contact Profile of Freed, Dewey, Segalowitz, and Halter (2004) and took the Versant Language Test before and after their study abroad experience. They also participated in a post-program interview which was subsequently transcribed, encoded and analyzed.  Results suggest that students experience competing priorities in decisions governing L1 vs L2 use and that student intentionality is key to successful language learning.

scholarly journals A Novel Approach to the Measurement of Bourdieusian Social Capital within Institutional Pages and Profiles

2022 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-27
Author(s):  
Alan Keller Gomes ◽  
Kaique Matheus Rodrigues Cunha ◽  
Guilherme Augusto da Silva Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Online Social Networks ◽  
Mutual Recognition ◽  
Pierre Bourdieu ◽  
Sequential Patterns ◽  
Frequency Of Occurrence ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The Social

We present in this paper a novel approach for measuring Bourdieusian Social Capital (BSC) within  Institutional Pages and Profiles. We analyse Facebook's Institutional Pages and Twitter's Institutional Profiles. Supported by Pierre Bourdie's theory, we search for directions to identify and capture data related to sociability practices, i. e. actions performed such as Like, Comment and Share. The system of symbolic exchanges and mutual recognition treated by Pierre Bourdieu is represented and extracted automatically from these data in the form of generalized sequential patterns. In this format, the social interactions captured from each page are represented as sequences of actions. Next, we also use such data to measure the frequency of occurrence of each sequence. From such frequencies, we compute the effective mobilization capacity. Finally, the volume of BSC is computed based on the capacity of effective mobilization, the number of social interactions captured and the number of followers on each page. The results are aligned with Bourdieu's theory. The approach can be generalized to institutional pages or profiles in Online Social Networks.

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