Ecological and cross-level studies

2003 ◽  
pp. 97-110
Author(s):  
Jan Neeleman
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Common Mental Disorder ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Level Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
Study Designs

Ecological studies differ from other study designs by having groups of individuals as their unit of analysis. Studying differences in risk factors between individuals cannot fully explain variations in the health of populations in different regions or over time, and ignores the fact that a population's health impacts on social functioning and collective economic performance (McMichael and Beaglehole 2000). Similarly, there is increasing interest on the impact of social capital, or those aspects of the social environment that promote cohesion and cooperation, which have been associated with improved health and other outcomes. For example, a recent study found higher rates of common mental disorder among British women living in areas of low social capital (McCulloch 2001). Thus ecological associations can be analysed to gain insight into aetiological mechanisms at the level of individuals (cross-level inference), although there is ongoing debate about whether ecological analyses can add to insights obtained from studies of individual persons. Kasl (1979) stated that ‘ecological analyses lead to results which, in themselves, are opaque, unhelpful, potentially misleading’. Others emphasize that population health is more than the sum of the health of individual population members, and that therefore, ecological studies have a separate role alongside individual-level epidemiological research (Rose 1992). This chapter summarizes the principles and the place of ecological studies in the history of epidemiology, and the distinguishing properties of ecological data. After a description of ecological study designs and their analysis, the chapter argues that ecological data have added value even if individual-level information is available on the associations of interest.

Ecological studies

2020 ◽  
pp. 113-126
Author(s):  
Jayati Das-Munshi
Keyword(s):  
Ecological Study ◽  
Multilevel Modelling ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Aggregated Data ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Level Information ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Study Designs ◽  
Over Time

Ecological studies use aggregated data to infer correlation of exposures with outcomes over time, or by place. One of the first examples of an ecological study was Emile Durkheim’s exploration of country-level factors underlying suicide, first published in 1897. Ecological studies have continued to hold an important place in psychiatry, particularly for developing hypotheses. They can also be used to assess the impact of policies on health outcomes over time. There are important limitations associated with ecological study designs, in particular the ability to make causal inferences at the individual level. Multilevel modelling approaches are an important analytic development in the field, which allow the possibility of using group-level information alongside individual-level attributes in analyses. In the first part of this chapter, some examples of ecological studies and their advantages and disadvantages will be introduced. In the second part of this chapter, multilevel modelling techniques will be briefly introduced and discussed with respect to their use in overcoming some of the limitations of geographical ecological studies.

In Business It's Always Been About the Social Capital

2019 ◽  
pp. 62-80
Author(s):  
Geoff W. Mackey
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Work Experiences ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
Management Learning ◽  
Corporate Organization ◽  
The Social ◽  
Selling Point ◽  
Normal Work

The author works within a corporate organization and critically evaluates the development of effective and valuable business relevant personal relationships and networks. Although this may not appear on balance sheets, they can have a significant impact on the bottom line – such relationships may even be an organization's unique selling point (USP) in its environment. Real work experiences have been and are reflected upon in relation to theoretical conceptualizations of social capital and social modes of knowledge production. Working managers need to develop from normal work situations and consider their added value. This chapter considers the development of social capital and its strategic nature in business along with action research and reflection as experiential management learning. It is lastly of note that although the implications of social capital is reflected upon and discussed, no definitive value or measurement for such relationships or management learning is proposed.

scholarly journals Prospective cohort study on the social determinants of health: Tehran University of Medical Sciences employees` cohort (TEC) study protocol

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saharnaz Nedjat ◽  
Ramin Mehrdad ◽  
Masud Yunesian ◽  
Hamidreza Pouragha ◽  
Vali Biagi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Cohort Study ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Prospective Cohort ◽  
Occupational Exposures ◽  
Medical Sciences ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

Abstract Background In this study, the association between the social determinants of health (SDH) as well as other health risk factors and outcomes will be evaluated at different socioeconomic layers. Methods/design This is a prospective cohort study that was launched in January 2018 on Tehran University of Medical Sciences’ employees. The initial enrolment phase will continue up to March 2021, or until a sample size of 5500 is reached. In addition to annual phone-calls, the participants will be followed thrice at 5-year intervals. Data are collected through blood and urine samples, complete physical examination, anthropometric evaluation, and the completion of questionnaires related to SDH, such as socioeconomic status and social capital, history of diseases, lifestyle (including, nutrition, physical activity, cigarette and hookah smoking), occupational exposures (including psychosocial factors at work and work-family conflicts), and different aspects of physical, mental and occupational health as health outcomes. The association between independent variables and health (objective or subjective) are examined using multiple models and by controlling the confounding effects. Moreover, the trend in lifestyle changes and its impact on health are evaluated. Discussion Our study will explore the key social determinants as well as other factors including socioeconomic status and social capital, history of diseases, lifestyle and occupational exposures that affect health. This will provide social and occupational health decision-makers and stakeholders with new and valuable evidence in an era in which we are witnessing huge changes in lifestyle.

Small Town Services and Facilities: The Influence of Social Networks and Civic Structure on Perceptions of Quality

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lois Wright Morton
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Public Facilities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Civic Structure ◽  
The Town

In this research, it is posited that perceptions of the quality of services and facilities in small towns are dependent on the social organization of those places. Two components of this social organization are the social capital that inheres among individuals and the civic structure of the town. This hypothesis is tested using multi‐level models that combine individual‐level social capital and community‐level civic structure to explain variations among 99 rural towns in Iowa. I find that civic structure contributes positively and significantly to effects between communities, while individual‐level social capital is positive and a significant contributor to effects within communities. The civic structure models explain 32 percent of the variance in perceptions of the quality of core public facilities and services and 43 percent of the variance in secondary public‐private services. The strong contributions of individual social capital and civic structure suggest that investments in the micro and macro social structure of small towns can assist in strengthening perceptions of community infrastructure.

scholarly journals United in Diversity? An Empirical Investigation on Europe's Regional Social Capital

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Braesemann ◽  
Fabian Stephany
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Data Science ◽  
Classification Tree ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Factor Analysis Model ◽  
Political Values ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Landscape

Aiming to explain the European divide with respect to social and political values, scholars in the past have relied on a simplified four- (or even two-) dimensional regime model which tranches the continent according to the social capacities of its inhabitants. This "cartography" of "Social Europe" proves to be outdated by the results presented in this study which re-measures the social capital landscape in Europe. In this work, we apply a factor analysis model to the most commonly used approximations of social capital on the European Social Survey.In addition, we explore, as a novelty in social capital literature, a classification tree to model generalized trust. The analysis shows that three distinct dimensions of social capital measures are important in Europe: additionally to generalised social capital, which is usually approximated by generalised trust, there is one dimension of civic engagement and one of communitarian values. This distinction leads to a new social landscape of Europe, which highlights the relevance of considering regional and cross-border clusters in all relevant social capital dimensions.The results of the non-parametric model reveal that Protestantism and education are good benchmarks to classify trust on an individual level. Based on these findings we argue for the necessity of policies with a regional focus that take the different sub-national structures of social capacity in Europe into account. We re-measure the European Social Capital landscape using current data and provide a novel non-parametrical statistical method from data science for this purpose.

scholarly journals UMA GRANDE FAMÍLIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (33) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Monique de Saint Martin
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Capital Social ◽  
Dense Network ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Kinship Networks ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
École Polytechnique ◽  
The Military

Portador de um dos mais prestigiosos títulos e nomes, herdeiro de uma grande família da nobreza militar que “serviu a França por 500 anos”, ex-aluno da Ecole Polytechnique, diretor-presidente de uma das filiais da Schneider, o décimo segundo duque de Brissac, que se casou com May Schneider, uma descendente de uma das maiores famílias de industriais, é a realização do aristocrata perfeito, possuindo um notável conjunto de qualidades e características distintivas. O capital social herdado de sua família e que ele jamais deixou de manter e valorizar, ao mesmo tempo em que sabia, ocasionalmente, reconvertê-lo, está, sem dúvida, na raiz desta concentração de riquezas. Centro de uma rede de relações com uma extensão e densidade excepcionais, o duque de Brissac adquiriu desde a infância, nos estabelecimentos de ensino secundáriode “boa companhia” que frequentou, a arte e o gosto de cultivar as relações herdadas, e de as ampliar. A análise das memórias do duque de Brissac e de várias obras escritas por outros membros de sua família permitiu reconstruir a história desse empreendimento de acumulação e gestão de capital social.Palavras-chave: Capital social. Redes de relações. História. Brissac.A GREAT FAMILYThe bearer of one of the most prestigious titles and names, the heir to a great family of the military nobility in which “they have servedFrance for 500 years”, a former pupil of the Ecole Polytechnique, managing-director of one of the sister-companies of the SchneiderCorporation, the Twelfth Duke of Brissac, who married May Schneider, a descendant of one of the greatest ironmasters families, is therealisation of the perfect aristocrat, possessing a remarkable aggregate of qualities and distinctive features. The social assets handed down to him by his family which he has constantly built up, maintained and exploited while knowing, whenever the occasion demanded, how to reconvert it, are, without doubt at the root of this concentration of riches. At the focal point of an exceptionally widespread and dense network of relations, the Duke of Brissac has acquired, from infancy and later in “well-bred” High Schools, a taste for cultivating and extending the kinship networks devolved on him through inheritance. The analysis of the memoirs of the Duke of Brissac and of several works written by other members of his family has enabled the author to trace the history of this pursuit of the accumulation and management of social assets.Keywords: Social capital. Networks. Family. History. Brissac.

scholarly journals Four key challenges in the era of big data: Ecology must move beyond Noah's ark

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Salguero-Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Biological Sciences ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Ecological Studies ◽  
Ecological Data ◽  
Ancillary Data ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Noah's Ark

Long-term, individual-level records are of great importance in biological sciences. By understanding how individuals contribute to their populations during representative temporal scales, we can answer pressing questions in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. These questions include identifying which, how, and where species’ populations will go extinct or become invasive. Calls for the collection, curation, and release of these kinds of ecological data have contributed to the open data revolution in ecology. Birds, particularly, have been the focus of much citizen science and international research for decades, resulting in a number of uniquely longterm studies. However, accessing some of these individual-based, long-term datasets can be challenging. Culina et al. (2021) introduce an online repository of individual level, long-term bird records with ancillary data (e.g. genetics). Similar efforts have also been undertaken for mammals, fish, and even more recently for corals and insects. By releasing these ecological data open-access, the research community is starting to fill “Noah’s ecological ark”. However, important challenges still lay ahead to address the most pressing research questions. Here, I briefly overview the open access landscape of long-term animal ecological studies, provide suggestions for how to most efficiently expedite our knowledge of long-term animal population dynamics, and highlight four key challenges in the use (and misuse) of these large volumes of animal ecological data.

scholarly journals Does Diversity Undermine Trust and Cooperation? Theory and Evidence

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Giani ◽  
Shaun Hargreaves Heap ◽  
Dimitrios Minos
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Observational Data ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Theoretical Reason ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Freedom Of Movement ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Social

Abstract. It is often argued that diversity depletes the social capital of trust and cooperation. We argue there is no compelling theoretical reason for supposing that trust and cooperation will move together in response to diversity; and we provide new causal evidence that they do not. While diversity undermines trust, we find that people in more diverse societies are, surprisingly, better able to cooperate in both new aggregate and individual level observational data and in laboratory experiments. These results caution against the suggestion that diversity creates trade-offs for society: e.g. between innovativeness and solidarity or between freedom of movement and welfare state generosity.

Social capital inequality and capital structure of new firms in a developing country: the role of bank ties

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vi Dung Ngo ◽  
Quang Evansluong ◽  
Frank Janssen ◽  
Duc Khuong Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
New Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Manufacturing Enterprises ◽  
Business Association ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

PurposeThis article aims to clarify the role of social capital and social capital inequality embedded in bank ties in enabling and diversifying new firms' debt use.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a quantitative method, using an unbalanced longitudinal dataset covering three years–2011, 2013 and 2015–from a project on small manufacturing enterprises in Vietnam. The sample consists of 513 firm-year observations.FindingsNetwork extensity and network mobilisation increase new firms' debt use. Differences in ascribed and attained social statuses (i.e. gender, generation, business association membership and political affiliation) result in social capital inequality between entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs who are of a younger generation, have higher levels of education and are not members of the Communist Party benefit less from social capital than those who are older, have less education and are party members.Originality/valueThe effects of access to and the use of the social capital embedded in bank ties on new firms' debt use are both studied. The sources of social capital inequality are investigated at the individual level through distinguishing ascribed and attained social statuses and explained by two mechanisms: capital deficit and return deficit. The moderating effects of social capital inequality are also examined.

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