The analytic hierarchy process to support decision-making processes in infrastructure projects with social impact

There is an increasing awareness among all kinds of organisations (in business,government and civil society) about the benefits of jointly working with stakeholders to satisfy both their goals and the social demands placed upon them. This is particularly the case within corporate social responsibility (CSR) frameworks. In this regard, multi-criteria tools for decision-making like the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) described in the paper can be useful for the building relationships with stakeholders. Since these tools can reveal decision-maker’s preferences, the integration of opinions from various stakeholders in the decision-making process may result in better and more innovative solutions with significant shared value. This paper is based on ongoing research to assess the feasibility of an AHP-based model to support CSR decisions in large infrastructure projects carried out by Red Electrica de España, the sole transmission agent and operator of the Spanishelectricity system.

Management of social networks in the educational process

The research developed in this work consists in proposing a set of techniques for management of social networks and their integration into the educational process. The proposals made are based on assumptions that have been proven with simple examples in a real scenario of university teaching. The results show that social networks have more capacity to spread information than educational web platforms. Moreover, educational social networks are developed in a context of freedom of expression intrinsically linked to Internet freedom. In that context, users can write opinions or comments which are not liked by the staff of schools. However, this feature can be exploited to enrich the educational process and improve the quality of their achievement. The network has covered needs and created new ones. So, the figure of the Community Manager is proposed as agent in educational context for monitoring network and aims to channel the opinions and to provide a rapid response to an academic problem.

On the pragmatics of social theory. The case of Elias's "On the Process of Civilization"

This paper proposes a new approach to the study of sociological classics. This approach is pragmatic in character. It draws upon the social pragmatism of G.H. Mead and the sociology of texts of D.F. McKenzie. Our object of study is Norbert Elias’s On the Process of Civilization. The pragmatic genealogy of this book reveals the importance of taking materiality seriously. By documenting the successive entanglements between human agency and non-human factors, we discuss the origins of the book in the 1930s, how it was forgotten for thirty years, and how in the mid-1970s it became a sociological classic. We explain canonization as a matter of fusion between book’s material form and its content, in the context of the paperback revolution of the 1960s, the events of May 1968, and the demise of Parsons’ structural functionalism, and how this provided Elias with an opportunity to advance his model of sociology.

Social security disability : disappointing results from SSA's efforts to improve the disability claims process warrant immediate attention : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representative /

"GAO-02-322."

Community organization and agency responsibility; a study of the process of community organization for social welfare, and of the role of the direct-service organizations as responsible participants

Includes bibliography.

The process of government; a study of social pressures,

Mode of access: Internet.

A structural model of Social Security's disability determination process /

"August 1997."

The process of sharing social support in cyberspace

Mutual support is an interactional communication process. Taking an interactional approach to support requires group participants be viewed not only as targets and recipients but also as sources and providers of various types of support. An analysis was performed on the interactions of a group listserv and model of online interactional support. The aim was to explore the communication process children follow. The analysis revealed self-disclosure was used in the support group in three distinct ways. Its function for the support recipient is to initiate a transactional relationship with another member for the purpose of attracting social support through the open expression of concerns and frustrations. It is then used by the support provider to demonstrate that coping is possible for the recipient through the reciprocal self-disclosure of similar concerns and situations with which the member has successfully dealt. The third use of self-disclosure was to share reciprocal social companionship relationships.

The opportunity recognition process:the mechanisms by which entrepreneurial opportunities are recognised and the role played by social networks in this process

DUE TO COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION AT ASTON UNIVERSITY LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SERVICES WITH PRIOR ARRANGEMENT

Spatial perspective taking is an embodied process, but not for everyone in the same way:differences predicted by sex and social skills score

We re-analysed visuo-spatial perspective taking data from Kessler and Thomson (2010) plus a previously unpublished pilot with respect to individual- and sex differences in embodied processing (defined as body-posture congruence effects). We found that so-called 'systemisers' (males/low-social-skills) showed weaker embodiment than so-called 'embodiers' (females/high-social-skills). We conclude that 'systemisers' either have difficulties with embodied processing or, alternatively, they have a strategic advantage in selecting different mechanisms or the appropriate level of embodiment. In contrast, 'embodiers' have an advantageous strategy of "deep" embodied processing reflecting their urge to empathise or, alternatively, less flexibility in fine-tuning the involvement of bodily representations. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Managing supply chain knowledge in the new product development process:a social network analysis approach

The aim of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for studying the knowledge transfer problem within the supply chain. The social network analysis (SNA) is presented as a useful tool to study knowledge networks within supply chain, to visualize knowledge flows and to identify the accumulating knowledge nodes of the networks. © 2011 IEEE.

Ledroit Park, A Portrait In Black And White: A Study Of Historic Districts, Social Change, And The Process Of Neighborhood Placemaking

This research examines the process of placemaking in LeDroit Park, a residential Washington, DC, neighborhood with a historic district at its core. Unpacking the entwined physical and social evolution of the small community within the context of the Nation’s Capital, this analysis provides insight into the role of urban design and development as well as historic designation on shaping collective identity. Initially planned and designed in 1873 as a gated suburb just beyond the formal L’Enfant-designed city boundary, LeDroit Park was intended as a retreat for middle and upper-class European Americans from the growing density and social diversity of the city. With a mixture of large romantic revival mansions and smaller frame cottages set on grassy plots evocative of an idealized rural village, the physical design was intentionally inwardly-focused. This feeling of refuge was underscored with a physical fence that surrounded the development, intended to prevent African Americans from nearby Howard University and the surrounding neighborhood, from using the community’s private streets to access the City of Washington. Within two decades of its founding, LeDroit Park was incorporated into the District of Columbia, the surrounding fence was demolished, and the neighborhood was racially integrated. Due to increasingly stringent segregation laws and customs in the city, this period of integration lasted less than twenty years, and LeDroit Park developed into an elite African American enclave, using the urban design as a bulwark against the indignities of a segregated city. Throughout the 20th century housing infill and construction increased density, yet the neighborhood never lost the feeling of security derived from the neighborhood plan. Highlighting the architecture and street design, neighbors successfully received historic district designation in 1974 in order to halt campus expansion. After a stalemate that lasted two decades, the neighborhood began another period of transformation, both racial and socio-economic, catalyzed by a multi-pronged investment program led by Howard University. Through interviews with long-term and new community members, this investigation asserts that the 140-year development history, including recent physical interventions, is integral to placemaking, shaping the material character as well as the social identity of residents.