scholarly journals Putting a Face to Institutions: Professionals and Generalized Trust

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreea Ioana Alecu

The central role institutions play in the development of generalized trust is well established by previous research. Yet, the role of the professionals employed in these institutions has received considerably less attention. This paper explores whether confidence in welfare state professionals is important in maintaining a high level of generalized trust in the Norwegian context. It is hypothesized that professionals may influence people’s generalized trust both via their formal role as gatekeepers and in informal settings as part of social networks. The results are based on novel cross-sectional data, and indicate that confidence in welfare professionals is correlated with generalized trust, while the presence of welfare professionals in a social network is not significantly associated with generalized trust. The relationship between confidence in professionals and generalized trust indicates that alongside good institutions, good service provision is important in maintaining a high level of generalized trust.

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1287-1305
Author(s):  
Emre Burak Ekmekcioglu ◽  
Mahmure Yelda Erdogan ◽  
Alptekin Sokmen

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to test the moderating role of career-enhancing strategies (CESs) in the relationship between career commitment (CC) and subjective career success (CS).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 217 full-time employees working for three different sectors in Ankara, Turkey. The participants were asked to respond to a self-reported survey. The hypotheses were tested using a hierarchical regression analysis.FindingsThe results indicated that CC had a significant and positive effect on subjective CS. Furthermore, the positive relationship between CC and subjective CS was stronger for employees with a high level of self-nomination and for employees with a high level of networking. However, creating career opportunities did not moderate the effects of CC on subjective CS.Research limitations/implicationsBecause this study had a cross-sectional research design, causality cannot be established among the study variables.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest a better understanding of the way CC is able to affect subjective CS through the networking and self-nomination CESs.Originality/valueThis study is original, in that no previous studies have investigated the moderating role of CESs in the relationship between CC and subjective CS.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
Dmitry S. Grigoryev

Background. Patriotic education is carried out in many countries, being an integral part of the process of socialization of the younger generation. At the same time, patriotism is often used by autocracies to maintain power and total state control over all aspects of public and private life. What is the socio-psychological aspect of this possible transformation? Objective. The aim of the study was to test the model of the relationship between patriotism, nationalism, rightwing authoritarianism and political totalitarianism, as well as to examine the role of collective narcissism in these relationships. We hypothesized that patriotism is not directly related to totalitarianism, this connection is mediated by nationalism and right-wing authoritarianism, while patriotism and nationalism are connected only under the condition of a high level of collective narcissism (i.e., collective narcissism demonstrates the effect of moderation). Design. The study of the role of collective narcissism in the relationship between patriotism, nationalism, rightwing authoritarianism and political totalitarianism was carried out in 2018 on a gender-balanced sample of residents of Russia (N — 232) aged 16 to 61 (M — 28.5; SD — 10.2). Reliable and valid tools were used for measurements: cultural patriotism and nationalism (Grigoryan 2013; Grigoryan, Lepshokova, 2012), collective narcissism (Golec de Zavala et al., 2009), right-wing authoritarianism (Bizumic, Duckitt, 2018). A cross-sectional single-sample correlation design was applied using data from a socio-psychological survey. The data was collected in 2018 through an online survey conducted by an independent commercial research company as a result of a survey of their own panel of respondents. The survey was conducted using various Likert scales. All scales that had not previously been translated into Russian were adapted by double translation and cognitive interviews using the “think-aloud” technique (Batkhina, Grigoryev, 2019). Results. The hypotheses that were put forward were confirmed. It was found that (1) patriotism is not directly related to totalitarianism: nationalism and authoritarianism mediated the relationship between patriotism and totalitarianism, and nationalism mediated the relationship between patriotism and authoritarianism; (2) patriotism is positively associated with nationalism only if the level of collective narcissism is high; (3) nationalism is positively associated with authoritarianism and totalitarianism, and authoritarianism with totalitarianism. Conclusions. Collective narcissism may reflect the process of compensating for low self-esteem and lack of control over their lives in people, and generate belief in an exalted image of the in-group and its right to special recognition. Subsequently, this helps to use patriotism as a basis for supporting political totalitarianism. Nationalism and authoritarianism can carry an instrumental function in this process acting as certain strategies for the implementation of the motivational orientation set by collective narcissism.


Author(s):  
Edeama O. Onwuchekwa

Social networking is a Web-based service that allows individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and navigate their list of connections and those made by others within the system. No doubt, social media has great potential in taking library operations to the next level. It is in the light of this that this chapter examines the role of social media and social networking in information service provision in libraries. To achieve this objective, the chapter looks at social media as a tool in libraries, advantages of social media in libraries, social media and social networks, and practical examples on the use of social media and social network tools together with how libraries can forge ahead due to the use and application of social media and social networks to their daily operations. Conclusion and recommendations based on these highlights are provided.


Author(s):  
Natalia Arias ◽  
María Calvo ◽  
José Benítez-Andrades ◽  
María Álvarez ◽  
Beatriz Alonso-Cortés ◽  
...  

Socioeconomic status (SES) influences all the determinants of health, conditioning health throughout life. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity in adolescence through an analysis of the patterns of contact between peers as a function of this parameter. A cross-sectional study was performed, analyzing a sample of 235 students aged 14 to 18 and 11 class networks. Social network analysis was used to analyze structural variables of centrality from a sociocentric perspective. We found that adolescents with a medium-low SES presented a two-fold higher probability of being overweight, but we did not detect any differences in the configuration of their social networks when compared with those of normal-weight adolescents. However, we did find significant differences in the formation of networks according to SES in the overall sample and disaggregated by gender, whereby adolescents with a high SES in general presented a higher capacity to form wider social networks. Elucidating the relationship between SES and overweight and its influence on social network formation can contribute to the design of preventative strategies against overweight and obesity in adolescents, since their social environment can provide them with several resources to combat excess weight.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miaomiao Yin ◽  
Asghar Jahanshahi

Entrepreneurs’ social networks play a crucial role in developing knowledge-based resources for their new ventures. Although most studies in an entrepreneurship context find that trust is very important when entrepreneurs develop social networks, limited research examines how trust can explain the variation in the relationship between an entrepreneur’s social networks and a firm’s knowledge-based resources. Therefore, the major objective of the paper is to understand the effects of the size of an entrepreneur’s social network on his or her firm’s knowledge-based resources with high and low levels of trust. Our data were collected from surveys administered to 476 entrepreneurs in China in 2018. Our multiple regression analysis indicates that social networks reinforce knowledge-based resources in a situation where entrepreneurs highly trust their major networks partners in their business environment (e.g., family, close friends, consultants, suppliers, peers, etc.). However, with a low level of trust, the relationship between social network and knowledge-based resources is curvilinear (inverse U-shaped). Our empirical validations showed that the relationship between social network and a firm’s knowledge-based resources is highly contingent to the level of trust among network members.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S201-S201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raeann G LeBlanc

Abstract Animal companionship has been found to be positively related to health, though less is known about the features of social networks that include animal companions and how these relate to health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between social network composition including animal companionship and health. A mixed methods cross-sectional descriptive, correlation study design was used. Eighty-nine people age sixty-five and older, living in the community, managing multiple chronic conditions, participated in telephone interviews. Animal companionship was common (42.7%) among the sample (66% lived alone) with at least one animal companion (M=1.57, SD=.903) and associated with improved health function (IADL scores) (r=.234, p=.028). Animal companionship correlated positively with health (SF12 General Health Scores) (r=.210, p=.048). Animal companionship is an important feature in social networks of older people that influences health. Social supports maintain these relationships and the animal human bond.


2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew O. Jackson ◽  
Brian W. Rogers ◽  
Yves Zenou

We survey the literature on the economic consequences of the structure of social networks. We develop a taxonomy of “macro” and “micro” characteristics of social-interaction networks and discuss both the theoretical and empirical findings concerning the role of those characteristics in determining learning, diffusion, decisions, and resulting behaviors. We also discuss the challenges of accounting for the endogeneity of networks in assessing the relationship between the patterns of interactions and behaviors. (JEL D12, D83, D85, K42, Z13)


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Eugenia Castellanos ◽  
Sarah Zalwango ◽  
Robert Kakaire ◽  
Mark H. Ebell ◽  
Kevin K. Dobbin ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. The risk of infection from respiratory pathogens increases according to the contact rate between the infectious case and susceptible contact, but the definition of adequate contact for transmission is not standard. In this study we aimed to identify factors that can explain the level of contact between tuberculosis cases and their social networks in an African urban environment. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Kampala, Uganda from 2012-2016. We carried out an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in social network data from tuberculosis cases and their contacts. We evaluated the factorability of the data to EFA using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO). We used principal axis factoring with oblique rotation to extract and rotate the factors, then we calculated factor scores for each using the weighted sum scores method. We assessed construct validity of the factors by associating the factors with other variables related to social mixing. Results. Tuberculosis cases (N = 120) listed their encounters with 1,154 members of their social networks. Thirteen variables displayed high inter-correlation (KMO=0.72) and were included for EFA. Two factors were identified, which captured 82% of the variance. The first factor, named ‘Setting’, involves the type, frequency, duration and ventilation of the usual place of meeting as well the physical proximity among tuberculosis cases and contacts, represented by the sleeping and eating patterns. The second factor, named ‘Relationship’, was explained by the relationship, its duration, and the level of intimacy among cases and contacts, represented by the strength of knowledge of each other, provision of healthcare, and whether they were travel partners. Setting and Relationship scores varied according to the age, gender and nature of the relationship among tuberculosis cases and their contacts. Conclusions. In this large cross-sectional study from an urban African setting, we identified two factors that can assess adequate contact between tuberculosis cases and their social network members. These findings also confirm the complexity and heterogeneity of social mixing.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason G. Ellis ◽  
Sarah Allen ◽  
Michael Perlis ◽  
Michael Grandner ◽  
Maria Gardani ◽  
...  

The aim of the present study was to determine whether normal sleepers with vulnerability to insomnia, via high sleep reactivity, demonstrate more sleep-related dysfunctional cognitions and behaviours and poorer psychological health compared to those who are not vulnerable. Further, the influence of stress on the relationship between sleep reactivity and psychological health was also examined. A cross-sectional survey of 737 young adult ‘normal’ sleepers from the general population was undertaken. Results indicated normal sleepers vulnerable to insomnia demonstrated more sleep-related dysfunctional cognitions and behaviours as well as poorer psychological health compared to those not vulnerable. Furthermore, the relationship between sleep reactivity and psychological health was moderated by perceived stress over the previous month and life events over the previous year. Therefore, identifying and supporting those who are vulnerable to insomnia may be a fruitful avenue for preventative public health campaign to mitigate both insomnia and poor psychological health.


Author(s):  
Matthew O. Jackson ◽  
Brian W. Rogers ◽  
Yves Zenou

What is the role of social networks in driving persistent differences between races and genders in education and labor market outcomes? What is the role of homophily in such differences? Why is such homophily seen even if it ends up with negative consequences in terms of labor markets? This chapter discusses social network analysis from the perspective of economics. The chapter is organized around the theme of externalities: the effects that one’s behavior has on others’ welfare. Externalities underlie the interdependencies that make networks interesting to social scientists. This chapter discusses network formation, as well as interactions between people’s behaviors within a given network, and the implications in a variety of settings. Finally, the chapter highlights some empirical challenges inherent in the statistical analysis of network-based data.


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