Social play or social cheating? Another face of sociability in social network games

First Monday ◽  
2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suen De Andrade e Silva
Keyword(s):  
Social Network ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Social Play ◽  
Network Games ◽  
Cooperative Play

This paper explores ideas of cheating and cooperative play in social network games. Despite being criticised for their supposed simplistic and exploitative nature, social network games have created a new game phenomenon, and have demanded a rethinking in the very meaning of social play. Through both empirical analysis of the Facebook game The Sims Social and participant observation of communities of players in Facebook, the paper discusses how social interactions performed within and around the game transform play in a complex articulation of cooperative and transgressive practices, and what implications it might have for the business model underlying social network games at large.

35 Social Contact Mode and 15-Year Episodic Memory Trajectories in Older Adults with and Without Hearing Loss: the Elsa Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i7-i11
Author(s):  
S Rafnsson ◽  
A Maharani ◽  
G Tampubolon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Contact Mode

Abstract Introduction Frequent social contact benefits cognition in later life although evidence is lacking on the potential importance of the modes chosen by older adults for interacting with others in their social network. Method 11,513 participants in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) provided baseline information on hearing status and social contact mode and frequency of use. Multilevel growth curve models compared episodic memory (immediate and delayed recall) at baseline and long-term in participants who interacted frequently (offline only or offline and online combined), compared to infrequently, with others in their social network. Results Frequent offline (β = 0.29; p < 0.05) and combined offline and online (β = 0.76; p < 0.001) social interactions predicted better episodic memory after adjustment for multiple confounding factors. We observed positive long-term influences of combined offline and online interactions on memory in participants without hearing loss (β = 0.48, p = 0.001) but not of strictly offline interactions (β = 0.00, p = 0.970). In those with impaired hearing, long-term memory was positively influenced by both modes of engagement (offline only: β = 0.93, p < 0.001; combined online and offline: β = 1.47, p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings. Conclusion Supplementing conventional social interactions with online communication modes may help older adults, especially those living with hearing loss, sustain, and benefit cognitively from, personal relationships.

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.

Family Participation in Challenger Baseball: Critical Theory Perspectives

1999 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 372-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lupe Castañ ◽  
Claudine Sherrill
Keyword(s):  
Critical Theory ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Emotional Support ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Physical Disabilities ◽  
Head Coach ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
The Social ◽  
Field Notes

The purpose was to analyze the social construction of Challenger baseball opportunities in a selected community. Participants were 10 boys and 6 girls with mental and/or physical disabilities (ages 7 to 16 years, M = 11.31), their families, and the head coach. Data were collected through interviews in the homes with all family members, participant observation at practices and games, and field notes. The research design was qualitative, and critical theory guided interpretation. Analytical induction revealed five outcomes that were particularly meaningful as families and coach socially constructed Challenger baseball: (a) fun and enjoyment, (b) positive affect related to equal opportunity and feelings of “normalcy,” (c) social networking/emotional support for families, (d) baseball knowledge and skills, and (e) social interactions with peers.

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