Browsing by Subject "Social networks"
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Item Delineating cognitive maps in teams: the structure, antecedents, and consequences of transactive memory systems(2011-07) Zhu, XiThis research examines the structure, antecedents, and consequences of transactive memory system (TMS), a team's shared cognition of who knows what and the process of collectively encoding, storing, and retrieving knowledge. For the structure of TMS, I conceptually distinguish teams' cognitive and knowledge structures (i.e., cognitive accuracy, consensus, and knowledge distribution) from cognitive processes (i.e., coordinate and trust in encoding, storing, and retrieving knowledge), and develop a new method to measure the TMS structure. For antecedents of TMS, I examine how patterns of social interactions among team members (as captured by the structures of various social networks and individuals' positions in networks) affect cognitive accuracy and consensus of teams and individuals. For consequences of TMS, I examine the effects of cognitive accuracy and consensus on team performance and individual job burnout. Empirical analyses for this research are based on three waves of survey data collected from 26 multidisciplinary mental health care teams over a two-year research period. The results demonstrate that the structures of social networks are important predictors of team cognitive properties. Particularly, highly accurate and consensual TMS are found in teams with centralized and less dense task-help networks. Individuals' network positions have certain but limited implications for individual cognitive outcomes, which reinforces the idea that shared team cognition is fundamentally a team-level phenomenon. Additionally, I explain where cognitive inaccuracy comes from with a dyadic-level analysis. The results suggest that cognitive inaccuracy arises in dense task-help networks because team members tend to overstate others' expertise when receiving task-related assistance from the others. Examining consequences of TMS, I show that cognitive accuracy and consensus interact with team knowledge stock in affecting team performance, with accuracy and consensus having greater positive effects on performance in teams with higher knowledge stock. At the individual level, I find that cognitive accuracy alleviates job burnout for team members. But this effect is limited to one dimension of job burnout - burnout related to ineffectiveness. Together, the empirical results provide a strong support for the arguments that shared team cognition is constructed through social interactions in teams and that shared team cognition has positive effects on teams and individuals.Item Dynamic Learning from Time-Varying Social Networks(2016-05) Baingana, BrianOne of the foremost intellectual challenges of this century is to understand the collective behavior of complex systems. Such systems are ubiquitous, and range from ``engineered systems'' including the Internet and online social grids, to complex natural phenomena such as neural connections in the brain, and interactions between genes. Networks lie at the heart of complex systems, encoding pairwise interactions between their constituent components. In this regard, complexity captures the fact that it is difficult to derive holistic system behavior from knowledge of individual components. The key premise of network science is that despite the diversity of complex systems, the behavior of their underlying networks is driven by a common set of laws. Contemporary studies focus on models and tools to understand, predict, and control the behavior of networks. However, most of these approaches are tailored to analysis of static networks, whose node and link structure does not change with time. Cognizant of the dynamic nature of most real-world networks, analysts mostly focus on static snapshots or aggregate views of studied systems, and meaningful insights cannot be guaranteed. Indeed, the recently growing trend in analysis of dynamic networks is testament to the critical need to live up to this challenge. Moreover, issues arising from temporal network evolution are exacerbated by inherent Big Data challenges. Many large-scale networks comprise billions of nodes, which are typically associated with high-dimensional, and streaming features. Furthermore, it is often impractical to observe the entire network, and analyses must be conducted on manageable or easily accessible samples of the network. Acknowledging these limitations, this dissertation leverages recent advances in statistical signal processing, optimization, and machine learning to address the aforementioned challenges. Emphasis is placed on statistical learning approaches capable of exploiting sparsity, or low rank, attributes that have been shown useful for complexity reduction. Focusing on canonical network inference tasks such as topology identification, detection of communities, and unveiling anomalous nodes, this dissertation puts forth novel statistical models, and develops efficient algorithms for dynamic network analytics. Motivated by the need for real-time processing, online renditions of the developed algorithms are advocated for handling streaming network data. For each of the research themes considered, extensive tests are conducted on simulated and real data, while pertinent comparisons with competing approaches are drawn wherever possible.Item The effects of facilitation management on interorganizational coordination and trust in an Anti-Iraq War political advocacy nonprofit network in the Twin Cities.(2010-04) Hansen, Toran JayThis study is a communications network evaluation of the organizations in the Twin Cities opposing the current Iraq War. The theoretical framework, testable hypotheses, and research questions drew from social network, social movement, empowerment, and group facilitation scholarship. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses that relationships existed between the independent variable `facilitation management' (including the facilitation functions of: logistical arrangements for communications, social support, participatory discussion, conflict resolution, and participatory decision-making) and the dependent variables trust and coordination. These relationships were confirmed, though facilitation management had a larger effect on coordination. The study also investigated how concentrated responsibility was for the various facilitation functions among the network members. Facilitation functions that were found to be more concentrated (logistical arrangements (including: organizing and information dissemination), participatory discussion, and participatory decision-making) were considered facilitated in the network. Data were collected for this study in three phases. A background questionnaire collected information about the organizations that were represented in this study, as well as the study participants' perceptions of whether they felt that their network was expanding or contracting over the year prior to the study. A primary questionnaire was then utilized to collect data concerning the study participants' demographic information, their perceptions of their facilitation functions, trust, and coordination, their perceptions of their accomplishments and challenges, their perceptions of the worthwhileness and effectiveness of their activities, and their perceptions of the network's context over the previous three-month period. Finally, the study participants were invited to a focus group meeting to discuss their impressions of the research process and the study's findings, after they were given a report detailing the findings and insights that emerged from the literature review. The report included a discussion of findings coming from formative evaluation questions designed to determine specific ways that the communications network could be enhanced. Thus, this study was also a form of action research that accorded with the principles of empowerment theory.Item How Social Networks Influence Attitudes: Social and Informational Effects of Attitude Heterogeneity and Arguments(2008-08) Anderson, Betsy DianeThis dissertation explores how social cues and information influence individual attitude strength within a social network context. It draws upon both cognitive and social perspectives from the attitude literature. In the study, participants were randomly assigned to: 1) a social condition (either a homogeneous social network where all other network members agreed, or a heterogeneous social network where half agreed and half disagreed with the participant’s own initial attitude), and 2) an informational condition (where the kind of information other network members shared either consisted of only opinions, or opinions supported by arguments). The study hypotheses were developed based on theories and empirical studies related to: attitude homogeneity (e.g., balance theory and consensus effects), attitude heterogeneity (e.g., two-sided messages), information processing, social comparison and inoculation processes. The study predicted that: a) those in attitudinally homogeneous networks would report higher attitude strength than those in heterogeneous networks, b) participants in networks where arguments are shared would report higher attitude strength than participants in network where opinions are shared, and c) an interaction effect would emerge such that for participants in homogeneous networks, there would not be a significant difference between opinion and argument networks on reported composite attitude strength, whereas for participants in heterogeneous networks, those in opinion networks would report lower attitude strength than those in argument networks. To test the research hypotheses, a computer experiment was developed where participants believed they were interacting with others, but in fact, responses were computer-generated, in order to control social network conditions to investigate their effect on participants’ attitudes. The experiment consisted of a 2 (Network Type: attitudinally homogeneous, attitudinally heterogeneous) x 2 (Network Information: opinions only, opinions and arguments) between-subjects design. Main study findings revealed a significant Network Type effect, but not a Network Information or Interaction effect. Additional analyses and discussion focus on whether additional variables, such as perceptions of other network members’ credibility, argument quality, and level of threat to one’s own attitude, help explain the primarily social, rather than informational, effects that emerged. Practical implications are discussed for strategic communication messaging, online social media and word-of- mouth marketing.Item Personal networks and private forestry: exploring extension's role in landowner education(2012-12) Sagor, Eli SamuelRecognizing the public value of sustainable forest management on private lands, governments have invested in programs to educate and assist landowners. However, landowner awareness of and enrollment in these programs are low. Applying a basic social network analysis approach, I investigated the role of personal networks in the flow of information and adoption of sustainable forest management behavior. Based on the results of a written survey, 90% of 1767 owners of Minnesota forest land have received forestry information from at least one source including 65% from a peer and 53% from a professional forester. Personal forestry information network size ranged from 0 to 14 with a mean of 2.92. Network size was positively associated with ownership size and the number of land management activities implemented. Landowner network results confirm the important role of public sector foresters, but also suggest opportunities for increased use of peer learning techniques to engage landowners as learners. Extension forestry programs are the primary providers of landowner education nationwide. A second study investigated the ways that these programs leverage landowner personal networks for education. The managers of 39 forestry-‐ related peer learning programs train volunteers and use other peer learning techniques to inform and educate landowners about sustainable forest management. Relative to state-‐level Extension forestry programs, a higher percentage of peer learning programs target smaller, often underserved, landowner groups. Although program outputs and demands for service are increasing, many peer learning program managers face reduced budgets and are turning to new technologies and techniques to maintain or grow their programs. In an environment of rapid changes in both the tools available to support Extension education programs and complex issues demanding a response, the results of these studies present both opportunities and challenges for the future of the nation’s Extension forestry programs.Item ¿Realidades (in)alterables? Prácticas lingüísticas de tres hablantes bilingües en su temprana adultez en una escuela secundaria del medio oeste(2012-10) Pinilla-Herrera, AngelaIn an effort to better understand the linguistic behavior of second generation Spanish heritage speakers, this study investigates the uses of English and Spanish among three bilingual young adults in their last year of high school. Through sociolinguistic interviews, videotaped ethnographic observations, and a fusion of quantitative and qualitative analyses, the study examines how and to what extent linguistic behavior among bilinguals in the school context is shaped by contextual and situational factors, including family composition and relationships, attitudes towards Spanish and English, the nature of relationships established at school, the type of interlocutor, and the settings in which the participants find themselves inside the school, whether in the cafeteria, the hallways, or the classroom itself. The composition, strength and multiplicity of ties, and Spanish use index of these young Latinos' social networks and their impact on their linguistic behavior are specifically examined. Additionally, the assumption that contact between the more established generations of Latinos and the new arrivals has resulted in a process of Spanish language "revitalization," (a notion that derives from previous research with methodological design limitations) is addressed. With respect to language use tendencies, the data revealed that the all three participants used mostly English in school contexts, even in a school environment that supported the use of Spanish. In addition, the primary factor that best predicted the uses of English, Spanish and code switching was the proficiency of the interlocutor. Although the study sought to determine whether contact occurred between first and second generation students, it was not possible to determine an overall index of contact because the amount of school interactions between second generation Latinos and newly arrived immigrants was subject to multiple contextual factors. Additionally, the composition of the social networks and the presence of strong ties with monolingual Spanish speaking members were highly influential in the maintenance of Spanish or the switch to English. Finally, the findings lend support to proposals that human and social capital (and their implications in terms of financial stability, access to technology that facilitates communication across international borders, and ability to travel to the Hispanic country of origin, among others) play a crucial role in the maintenance of Spanish as a minority language in the United States.Item Social representations, social networks, and public relations effects: the consequences of exposure to sided media content in different interpersonal settings.(2011-06) Lee, Hyung MinBased on the theoretical framework of social representations, the possibility that exposure to sided news coverage of an organization and subsequent interpersonal communication might affect audiences directly as well as interact in their effects was experimentally assessed in this research. Also, following a social network analysis perspective, the extent to which social network characteristics, such as social network density and presence of strong ties, determine the degree of independent as well as interactive effects of media information and subsequent interpersonal communication on public relations outcomes was examined. Sided media exposure significantly affected audiences' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward an organization covered in the media. Also, sided media exposure significantly accounted for intensity of subsequent interpersonal communication in a social network, as a two-sided media information flow with mixed evaluative cues led to more intense subsequent interpersonal communication than did a one-sided media information flow. Intensity of subsequent interpersonal communication, in turn, helped predict duration of audiences' attitudes toward as well as their future WOM intentions about the covered organization in the media. Interpersonal communication after media exposure caused rather non-intuitive effects. When allowed to talk with others in a social network, audiences reported significantly less amount of knowledge, weaker personal issue stance, less durable attitudes/behavioral intentions, and less media influence. Such negative effects of interpersonal communication after media exposure, however, varied in its magnitude across different levels of social network density. In a disconnected social network, negative effects of subsequent interpersonal communication on attitudes and behavioral intentions disappeared, whereas effects of sided media exposure prevailed. In a connected social network, on the contrary, subsequent interpersonal communication exerted significantly negative influence on attitudes and behavioral intentions, while effects of sided media exposure were completely nullified. Social network density also significantly accounted for intensity of interpersonal communication after media exposure; such interpersonal communication was more intense in a densely connected social network than in a loosely connected social network. Presence of strong ties in a social network, in addition, helped predict the degree of interpersonal influence that network members perceived in terms of determining their opinions about the covered issue and organization. Despite some limitations, the findings of this research offered both public relations scholars and practitioners considerable implications in their future work. Demonstrating an occasion when media effects may not be pronounced as theoretically expected, because of different interpersonal influence on audiences across different interpersonal settings, this research calls for more scholarly as well as practical attention to the social interaction of media and interpersonal communication in understanding and evaluating public relation outcomes.Item Understanding U.S. civil-military cooperation in the U.S. provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan(2012-09) Fritsch, JocelynThe purpose of this study was to determine how the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) organizational structure promotes cooperation within U.S. PRTs in Regional Command East (RC/E) in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2010. A case study approach, incorporating qualitative methods, was used. Twenty candidates were selected using purposeful sampling. These candidates participated in semi-structured, individual interviews. Interviewees included civilians and military personnel working with the PRTs in Afghanistan. Definitions of cooperation, cooperative behaviors, and non-cooperative behaviors were generated. These findings, in combination with social network analysis, were utilized to further identify and explain specific conditions and relationships required for effective civil-military cooperation in the PRTs. Using social networking sociographs, organizational structures that best promoted or not promoted civilian-military cooperation were mapped and compared. The study's results may serve as a useful guide for U.S. civilian and military leaders when considering the establishment of PRTs in other post-conflict countries.Item The unintended consequences of biomedical advances.(2011-08) Hernandez, Elaine MarieSocially advantaged people are better able to avoid newly identified health risks when biomedical information emerges, and they are positioned to make decisions that lead to longer and healthier lives. Over time this results in the formation of a socioeconomic gradient in health--the unintended consequences of biomedical advances. To gain a better understanding of this process, I consider the role of education, health knowledge and social relationships in decisions about health. I focus on a specific empirical example: prenatal health behaviors among women who are pregnant for the first time (prima gravida women). Over the course of sixteen months, 225 prima gravida women from four clinics participated in in-person survey interviews during their first or second trimesters, and 41 participated in in-depth interviews at the beginning of their third trimesters. The results provide evidence that health knowledge and social network processes mediate the association between education and decisions about health behaviors, but education remains a predictor of health behaviors. This example not only advances our knowledge about the processes that contribute to inequalities in health, it also provides insight into decisions about behaviors that lead to unequal health among women and infants.