Perfis de Redes Sociais Pessoais de Idosos com e Sem Apoio de Respostas Sociais: um contributo para o desenvolvimento de tipologias no Diagnóstico Social

Sendo um dos objetivos do Serviço Social a promoção do bem-estar social, e considerando a relevância das redes sociais pessoais e do suporte social no bem-estar das pessoas idosas, o presente estudo analisa perfis de redes sociais pessoais de idosos, tendo em conta as suas características estruturais, funcionais e relacionais-contextuais, na perspectiva do Serviço Social sistémico. Na última etapa da vida identificam-se na rede social de um individuo vários determinantes com efeitos cumulativos que favorecem o estreitamento das redes sociais, sendo os contextos de vida, as necessidades de apoio de respostas sociais e a institucionalização, fatores relevantes para a investigação. A investigação quantitativa, utilizou um inquérito por questionário para caracterizar sociodemograficamente a amostra e o Instrumento de Análise de Rede Social Pessoal (Guadalupe, 2009) para caracterizar a rede nas suas dimensões e características, privilegiando-se uma análise bivariada das variáveis. A amostra é composta por 317 idosos com idade igual ou superior a 65 anos. Comparámos três subamostras: 209 idosos que não usufruem do apoio de respostas sociais (65,9%), sendo estes maioritariamente de sexo feminino, casado(a)s ou a viver em união de facto e com média de 75 anos; 71 idosos que usufruem de apoio de respostas sociais (22,4%), na sua maioria de sexo feminino, viúvo(a)s e com 80 anos de média de idade; 37 idosos institucionalizados em Lar (11,7%), mulheres na sua maioria, viúvo(a)s, com média de 83 anos. A hipótese inicial do nosso estudo era a existência de três perfis distintos nas redes sociais pessoais de idosos, conforme a sua relação com as respostas sociais, no entanto, concluiu-se que existe um padrão comum nas redes sociais destes idosos, quer a nível estrutural, como a nível funcional ou contextual. Todavia, identificamos algumas diferenças significativas (p < 0,041) entre os perfis explorados, na composição das redes, na reciprocidade de apoio, na satisfação da rede, na densidade, na frequência de contactos, na distância geográfica e na durabilidades das relações. O estudo constitui-se como um contributo para o Serviço Social, na medida em que oferece conhecimento sobre as redes sociais dos idosos em diferentes contextos de vida, não oferecendo, no entanto, uma categorização que possibilite a construção cabal de tipologias, mas antes, fornece uma base orientadora da avaliação das redes sociais pessoais e de suporte social de idosos para o diagnóstico social. / Being one of Social Work goals the promotion of social well-being, and considering the relevance of personal social networks and social support in the well-being of the elderly, the present study analyzes personal social network’s profiles of elderly people, taking into account their structural, functional and relational-contextual characteristics, in a Social Work systemic perspective. In the last stage of life are identified in an individual's various social network determinants with cumulative effects favouring the narrowing of social networks, being life contexts, the support needs of social responses and institutionalization, relevant factors to the investigation. Our quantitative research used a survey to characterize socially and demographically the sample and the Personal Social Network Analysis Tool (Guadalupe, 2009) to characterize the network in its dimensions and characteristics, using a bivariate analysis of the variables. The sample is composed of 317 elderly aged 65 years old or more. We compared three sub-samples: 209 seniors who do not have the support of social services (65.9%), mostly female, married or cohabiting and with an average of 75 years old; 71 seniors who have support of social services (22.4%), mostly women, widowed and with 80 years of average age; 37 institutionalized elderly (11.7%), mostly women, widowed, with an average age of 83 years. The initial hypothesis of our study was the existence of three distinct personal profiles on social networks, according to their relationship to the social services, however, we have concluded that there is a common pattern in social networks of these elderly, at their structural, functional or contextual level. However, we identified some significant differences (p < 0.041) between the explored profiles, in the composition of networks, support reciprocity, network satisfaction, density, frequency of contacts, geographical distance and durability of relations. The study is a contribution to Social Work, insofar as it provides knowledge about personal social networks of the elderly in different life contexts, not offering, however, a fully categorization that allows the construction of typologies, but rather, provides guidance lines in the evaluation of personal social networks and social support of the elderly to the social diagnosis.

Rede Social Pessoal de Jovens Acolhidos em Lares de Infância e Juventude

A rede social dos sujeitos tem sido considerada fundamental para lidar com a adversidade. O objetivo central deste estudo foi caracterizar as redes sociais pessoais de jovens em regime de acolhimento institucional prolongado, na perspetiva dos próprios e dos técnicos das instituições e perceber se estas relacionam com o projeto de vida. Participaram 84 jovens, com idades compreendidas entre os 12 e os 20 anos de idade, acolhidos em 6 lares de infância e juventude do distrito de Santarém. Os participantes são na sua maioria do sexo feminino, com uma idade média de 15 anos. Para avaliação das variáveis em estudo utilizou-se a versão revista sumária do Instrumento de Avaliação de Redes Sociais Pessoais (IARSP-RS) e um questionário de autorresposta de caracterização da instituição de acolhimento. Os resultados desta investigação permitiram verificar que as redes dos jovens em situação de acolhimento institucional são fragmentadas, constituídas, em média, por 12 elementos e predominantemente compostas por familiares, amigos e profissionais das instituições, destacando-se as relações familiares. O nível de apoio social percebido é elevado na função emocional e informativa. Verificou-se uma maior reciprocidade do apoio por parte das jovens do sexo feminino, a institucionalização pode potenciar a expansão da rede social de suporte e a frequência de contactos associa-se à distância geográfica. A satisfação dos jovens com o suporte social é elevada. Metade dos jovens perspetivam a saída da instituição pela via da autonomização. A perceção dos profissionais das redes de suporte social é mais limitada, no tamanho, reciprocidade, satisfação com o suporte social e nas relações estabelecidas com a família, amigos da comunidade envolvente e relações de trabalho/estudo. Por outro lado, os técnicos identificam um nível mais elevado de densidade e de vínculos com os técnicos e educadores da instituição. Não se verificaram diferenças significativas nas características da rede social em função do projeto de vida, porém perceberam-se diferenças no projeto de vida em função da idade e da duração do acolhimento. A rede social apresenta um potencial protetor que vale a pena conhecer, fomentar e valorizar, destacando-se que é importante conhecer a perspetiva do próprio sujeito, já que esta tem um carácter muito pessoal. / The social network has been considered fundamental to deal with the adversities. The main objective of this study was to characterize the social network of the youngesters in prolonged institutional care, from the perspective of themselves and professionals of the institutions and to observe if their social network fits with their life project. 84 youngsters with ages between 12 and 20 years old living in 6 institutions of childhood and juvenile care from de district of Santarém participated in this study. The participants are mainly female, with an average age of 15 years old. To evaluate the variables in study, it was applied a version of the summary review of the Instrument of Evaluation of Personal Social Networks (IARSP-RS) and a survey of self-response to characterize the institutional care. The results of this investigation allowed to conclude that the social network of youngsters in a situation of institutional care are fragmented, composed by an average of 12 elements and primarily composed by family members, friends and professionals, but the most significant were the family relationships. It was observed that social support is high in terms of emotional and informative functions. It was observed an higher mutual support from the young ladies, institutionalization may foster the expansion of the social support network and that the frequency of connections is related with geographic distance. The satisfaction of the youngsters with social support is high. Half of the youngsters previews getting out of the institution by becoming autonomous. The understanding of the professionals of the social support network is more limited, about size, mutuality, satisfaction with the social support, family, friends of involving community and relationship of work/study. On the other side, the professionals identify an higher level of density and bonds with the technicals and educators of the institutions. Significative differences in the characteristics social network in terms of the life project weren’t found, however there were diferences in the life project in terms of the age and the duration of institutionalization. The social network has a protector potential that is worth of studying, promote and valorize, highlighting that it is important to know the perspective of the individual, because of its personal nature.

Rede Social Pessoal de Cuidadores Informais de Adultos com Necessidades Especiais

Objetivo. Devido ao aumento da esperança de vida, os adultos com necessidades especiais vivem mais tempo, sendo os seus principais cuidadores, geralmente familiares, também mais envelhecidos. Tal situação representa novas necessidades específicas de apoio, sendo inúmeros os desafios colocados ao Serviço Social no sentido de garantir o bem-estar da pessoa com incapacidade e dos seus cuidadores. Assim, este estudo tem como objetivo realizar um levantamento das necessidades de apoio e a caraterização da rede social pessoal de apoio do cuidador informal de adultos com necessidades especiais. Participantes. A amostra é constituída por 40 cuidadores informais de adultos com necessidades especiais, integrados na resposta social “Centro de Atividades Ocupacionais-CAO” da Associação de Paralisia Cerebral de Coimbra, de ambos os sexos com idade igual ou superior a 40 anos. Material e métodos. Foi utilizado o Instrumento de Avaliação da Rede Social Pessoal e um questionário para caracterização sociodemográfica e sociofamiliar dos cuidadores, assim como para avaliação de necessidades. Resultados. Aproximadamente um terço dos cuidadores relatou a experiência de níveis moderados de sobrecarga associada à prestação de cuidados, enquanto mais de metade relatou a experiência de níveis elevados e muito elevados dessa sobrecarga; o apoio financeiro foi referido como a forma de apoio mais necessária no presente, ainda que o apoio em residência tenha sido percecionado por cerca de um terço dos cuidadores como a forma de apoio mais necessária no futuro; enquanto mais de metade considerou o apoio domiciliário e de unidade residencial (institucional). Estes cuidadores familiares referiram a "incerteza" e a "esperança" como os sentimentos mais frequentemente experienciados em relação ao futuro das suas vidas. No que respeita às redes sociais, as relações familiares são centrais a nível estrutural; em termos de caraterísticas funcionais da rede, foram observados valores mais elevados para as dimensões de reciprocidade do apoio e satisfação com a rede social. Implicações. Este estudo sublinha a importância da avaliação das necessidades de apoio dos cuidadores familiares de adultos com necessidades especiais. A sua implementação sistemática pode auxiliar a tomada de decisão baseada na evidência empírica para as intervenções do Serviço Social, tais como na planificação e gestão de respostas e serviços sociais, a par do reconhecimento e ativação dos recursos das próprias famílias, de forma a promover a eficiência dos recursos e eficácia das intervenções, focadas no bem-estar do cidadão com deficiência e das suas famílias. / Aim. The general increase in human life expectancy has resulted in greater rates of survival for adults with special care needs, as well as for their ageing family caregivers. This situation poses different and specific support needs, which represent a major challenge in social work interventions aimed at ensuring the well-being of disabled persons and their caregivers. Therefore, this study was aimed to describe the needs for support and the perceived social support network of family caregivers of adults with special care needs. Participants. The sample for this study comprised 40 family caregivers of disabled adults with special care needs, of both genders and aged 40 years old at minimum, who attended a long-term care facility at Coimbra Cerebral Palsy Association. Material and methods. Participants were administered a self-report questionnaire on socio-economic, family and caregiving needs, along with the Instrument for Assessing Personal Social Networks. Results. Nearly one third a family caregivers experienced moderate caregiving burden, while more than half experienced high or very high levels of caregiving burden; financial support was perceived as the most needed form of support in the present, but residential home care was identified as the most needed form of support in the future; while more than a half considered home-based support and residential support viable options for their disabled family members with special care needs. These family caregivers reported "uncertainty" and "hope" as the most common feelings towards their family life in the future. On the topic of social networks, family relations were found to be crucial at the structural level; in terms of functional characteristics of the network, elevated scores were observed for reciprocity of support and satisfaction with the social network. Implications. This study highlights the importance of increasing the specificity of the assessments of needs for support in family caregivers of disabled adults with special care needs. The systematic conduction of these assessments may assist evidence-based decision making in social work interventions, such as for planning and managing social services, acknowledging and activating the families' own resources, and ultimately promote the efficacy and effectiveness 57 interventions aimed at improving the well-being of disabled citizens and their families.

Participação Social e Redes Sociais Pessoais de Idosos

Objetivo: O objetivo central deste estudo é caracterizar as redes sociais pessoais de indivíduos com idade igual ou superior a 65 anos, a nível estrutural, funcional e relacional-contextual, analisando-as segundo o nível de participação social dos idosos ao longo da sua vida em estruturas comunitárias ligadas ao lazer, cultura, desporto, religião e voluntariado. Metodologia: Para a avaliação das variáveis em estudo foram utilizados o Instrumento de Análise da Rede Social Pessoal, versão para idosos (IARSP – Idosos) (Guadalupe, 2010; Guadalupe & Vicente, 2012) para avaliar as dimensões da rede social pessoal, um questionário para caracterizar as variáveis sociodemográficas e a participação social e a Satisfaction With Life Scale – SWLS (Diener, 1985) que permite avaliar o grau de satisfação com a vida. Participantes: A amostra é constituída por 567 idosos, com uma média de idades de 75 anos (DP=7,6), entre os 65 anos e os 98 anos, maioritariamente do sexo feminino (63,0%), casados ou em união de facto (53,7%) e com escolaridade (69,8%), sobretudo ao nível do quarto ano (51,3%). A maioria dos idosos inquiridos não vive só (79,4%) numa zona de residência maioritariamente inserida em aglomerado populacional em região rural (57,0%) e não usufrui de qualquer tipo de apoio de resposta social (75,5%). Resultados: A amostra divide-se entre os que participaram comunitariamente ao longo da vida (47,8%; n = 271) e os que não participaram (52,2%; n = 296), sendo que entre os que participam 16,7% fazem-no com elevada frequência. Os idosos do sexo feminino, com idade igual ou inferior a 75 anos, casados, com habilitações literárias e que vivem acompanhados, são os que têm uma maior probabilidade de ter uma participação social mais ativa. Os idosos que apresentam participação social têm uma rede maior, com um membro a mais em média (M = 8,52 vs. 7,51, p = 0,027), e uma composição distinta dos que não participam, com menor peso das relações familiares (M = 72,61% vs. 80,81%, p < 0,001), maior peso e mais relações de amizade (M = 15,43% vs. M = 9,24%, p < 0,001) e maior presença de relações de trabalho (M = 1,11% vs. 0,13%, p = 0,006). Relativamente às características funcionais, podemos constatar que a reciprocidade de apoio é percebida como maior (p = 0,010) entre os idosos que participam comunitariamente, não se verificando diferenças noutras variáveis funcionais e relacionais-contextuais. O nível de participação e a satisfação com o nível de participação correlacionam-se positivamente com a satisfação percebida com a vida (p < 0,001). Conclusão: As conclusões apontam para um efeito da participação social ao longo da vida em estruturas comunitárias nas características estruturais das redes sociais pessoais dos idosos, não se verificando interferência na maioria das características funcionais e nas relacionais-contextuais. Verificámos ainda que há uma associação entre a participação social e a satisfação com a vida, sendo mais satisfeitos os que participam em estruturas comunitárias. É possível constatar que a rede daqueles que referem ter participação social é tendencialmente maior e heterogénea na composição, quando comparada com as redes dos sem participação social, assumindo, assim, relevância na estruturação de uma rede mais diversa e ampla, devendo ser estimulada no sentido de promover uma rede com recursos potencialmente positivos e um envelhecimento mais ativo. / Objectives: The central objective of this study is to characterize the personal social networks of the elderly, aged 65 years or more, analyzing them according to the level of social participation throughout their life in community structures related to leisure, culture, sports, religion and volunteering. Methodology: For the evaluation of the variables we used the Social Network Analysis Tool (IARSP-elderly) (Guadalupe, 2010; Guadalupe Vicente, 2012) to assess the dimensions of the social network; a questionnaire to evaluate social participation; and the Satisfaction With Life Scale SWLS – (Diener, 1985) to acess the degree of satisfaction with life. Participants: The sample consists of 567 elderly, with an average age of 75 years old (SD = 7,595), between 65 and 98 years old, mostly female (63.0 %), married (53.7%) with education (69.8%), mainly with the 4th grade (51.3%). Most of the respondents do not live alone (79.4%) in agglomerations in rural region (57.0%) and are not users of social services (75.5%). Results: The sample is divided between those who had community participation throughout life (47.8 %; n = 271) and those who did not participated (52,2%; n = 296). Between the first, 16.7% do it with high frequency. The elderly women, aged less than 75 years old, married, with educational qualifications and living not alone, are those who have a higher likelihood of having a more active social participation. The elderly that present social participation have a larger network, with one more member (M = 8,52 vs. 7,51, p = 0,027), and a composition distinct from not participating, with less proportion of family relations (M = 72,61% vs. 80,81%, p < 0,001), greater proportion and more friendships (M = 15,43% vs. M = 9,24%, p < 0,001) and greater presence of working relations (M = 1,11% vs. 0,13%, p = 0,006). Regarding the functional dimension, the reciprocity of support is perceived as higher (p = 0.010) among seniors participating in community and there were no differences in other functional and relational-contextual variables. The level of participation and satisfaction with the level of participation correlate positively with perceived satisfaction with life (p <0.001). Conclusion: The findings point to an effect of lifelong social participation in community in structural characteristics of personal social networks of the elderly, not verifying interference in most of the functional and the contextual-relational characteristics. We have also found that there is an association between social participation and life satisfaction, being more satisfied when they participate in community structures. The social network of the elderly who reported having social participation tends to be larger and heterogeneous in composition compared with those without social participation, thus assuming importance in structuring a more diverse and extensive network, should be encouraged in order to promote a network with potentially positive resources and a more active aging.

Rede Social Pessoal, Qualidade de Vida e Depressão em Idosos

Em Portugal e no Mundo Ocidental a população está a envelhecer, colocando esta nova realidade enormes desafios à sociedade. A sua crescente relevância deve-se sobretudo às consideráveis repercussões a nível pessoal, familiar, sociopolítico e económico e que afetam pessoas de todas as idades e a sociedade como um todo, colocando desafios específicos relativamente às relações interpessoais, à qualidade de vida e à saúde mental na pessoa idosa. Deste modo, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar a associação entre a qualidade de vida, a depressão e as características das redes sociais pessoais dos idosos. Participaram no estudo 317 indivíduos, sendo 202 do sexo feminino e 115 do sexo masculino, com idade igual ou superior a 65 anos, com uma média de 77 anos (DP=7,57). Na recolha de dados recorremos a três instrumentos: Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS Short Form 15), (Yesavage et al., 1983; Almeida & Almeida, 1999); Instrumento de Avaliação de Qualidade de Vida da OMS (WHOQOL), (OMS, 1998; Canavarro et al., 2006); Instrumento de Avaliação das Redes Sociais Pessoais (IARSP – Idosos), (Guadalupe, 2010; Guadalupe & Vicente, 2012). Dos resultados destacamos que as características funcionais da rede social pessoal se diferenciaram de forma estatisticamente significativa entre as subamostras de idosos segundo os níveis de qualidade de vida percebida. Saliente-se que, além da relação significativa entre a depressão e qualidade de vida, em que os idosos com um nível mais baixo de qualidade de vida percebida apresentam maiores níveis de depressão (p<0,001), as características funcionais das redes sociais apresentam uma associação clara com a qualidade de vida (p<0,005) e a maioria com a depressão (p<0,014), o que não acontece com as estruturais e com as relacionais-contextuais. Outros resultados indicam que indivíduos com diferentes níveis de qualidade de vida percebida possuem uma estrutura idêntica da rede social pessoal. Ao nível da análise da associação entre as variáveis funcionais da Rede Social Pessoal, Qualidade de Vida e Depressão, o modelo analítico transmite-nos indicadores de investigação e intervenção precisos, o que demonstra a necessidade da continuidade e aprofundamento do presente estudo num âmbito amostral mais alargado e heterogéneo. / In Portugal and in the eastern world, the aging of population creates huge challenges to societies. It's growing relevance is owed to considerable repercussions on the personal, familiar, socio-politic and economic level that affect people of all ages and society as a whole, creating specific challenges regarding interpersonal relationships, quality of life and mental health of the elderly. The current work has the objective of analyzing the association between quality of life, depression and the characteristics of personal social networks of the elderly. 317 individuals have participated in this study, 202 female and 115 male, with age equal or above 65 years old, with an average of 77 years old (DP=7,57). We used three assessment instruments to collect data: Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS Short Form 15), (Yesavage et al., 1983; Almeida & Almeida, 1999); WHO’s Quality of Life Evaluation instrument (WHOQOL) (WHO, 1998; Canavarro et al., 2006); Personal Social Network Analysis Tool (IARSP-Elderly),(Guadalupe, 2010; Guadalupe & Vicente, 2012). The results show that the functional personal network characteristics are significantly different according to their level of quality of life. It should also be noted that not only there is a significant association between depression and quality of life, in which elderly people with a lower quality of life level show higher levels of depression (p<0,001), there is also a clear association between the functional social network characteristics and quality of life (p<0,005), and the majority with depression (p<0,014), which doesn’t happen with structural and relational-contextual social network characteristics. Other results indicate that different levels of quality of life acquire an identical social network structure. On the matter of association between the functional variables of social networks, quality of fife and depression, the analytic model shows precise indicators of research and intervention, which instills us a need to continue and enlarge this study with an wider and more heterogeneous sample.

Music Learning Networks: Supporting the Music Learning of Adolescents

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Falls and the Social Isolation of Older Adults in the National Health and Aging Trends Study

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-08

El impacto de la red social twitter en la información local del diario El Tiempo y El Mercurio en el periodo febrero-junio

La red social Twitter da sus comienzos en el año 2006, su idioma inicial fue el inglés, su principal función es la de crear textos de 140 caracteres para dar a conocer información, dentro de una empresa, pero con el pasar del tiempo esta herramienta fue evolucionando hasta convertirse en la primera red de aceptación como apoyo para el periodismo digital. El Periodismo actual se está ayudando de herramientas tecnológicas como el Twitter para poder aportar noticias o acontecimientos que se generan dentro del territorio local, nacional y también a nivel internacional. Los diarios locales como: diario El Tiempo y diario El Mercurio dieron sus inicios a la era digital al mismo tiempo, ambos medios de comunicación poseen sus respectivas versiones electrónicas con las cuales informan a la ciudadanía ecuatoriana y a las personas que viven fuera del país. Los periodistas han aportado con conocimientos y experiencias personales en el manejo de Twitter como herramienta esencial que tiene el periodismo en la actualidad, también están de acuerdo que los periodistas necesitan de la última tecnología para poder sacarle el mayor provecho a esta red social, poseer dispositivos móviles facilita el desempeño periodístico y se puede twittear desde cualquier lugar donde acontecen hechos noticiosos.

Automated Discovery of Social Networks in Online Learning Communities

As a way to gain greater insights into the operation of online communities, this dissertation applies automated text mining techniques to text-based communication to identify, describe and evaluate underlying social networks among online community members. The main thrust of the study is to automate the discovery of social ties that form between community members, using only the digital footprints left behind in their online forum postings. Currently, one of the most common but time consuming methods for discovering social ties between people is to ask questions about their perceived social ties. However, such a survey is difficult to collect due to the high investment in time associated with data collection and the sensitive nature of the types of questions that may be asked. To overcome these limitations, the dissertation presents a new, content-based method for automated discovery of social networks from threaded discussions, referred to as ‘name network’. As a case study, the proposed automated method is evaluated in the context of online learning communities. The results suggest that the proposed ‘name network’ method for collecting social network data is a viable alternative to costly and time-consuming collection of users’ data using surveys. The study also demonstrates how social networks produced by the ‘name network’ method can be used to study online classes and to look for evidence of collaborative learning in online learning communities. For example, educators can use name networks as a real time diagnostic tool to identify students who might need additional help or students who may provide such help to others. Future research will evaluate the usefulness of the ‘name network’ method in other types of online communities.

The interplay between social motivation, social experience, and developmental neural specialization for social perception

From birth, infants preferentially attend to human motion, which allows them to learn to interpret other peoples’ facial expressions and mental states. Evidence from adults shows that selectivity of the amygdala and the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) to biological motion correlates with social network size. Social motivation—one’s desire to orient to the social world, to seek and find reward in social interaction, and to maintain social relationships—may also contribute to neural specialization for biological motion and to social network characteristics. The current study aimed to determine whether neural selectivity for biological motion relates to social network characteristics, and to gain preliminary evidence as to whether social motivation plays a role in this relation. Findings suggest that neural selectivity for biological motion in the pSTS is positively related to social network size in middle childhood and that this relation is moderated by social motivation.

Modeling the Network of Dutch and Flemish Print Production, 1550-1750

The production of artistic prints in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Netherlands was an inherently social process. Turning out prints at any reasonable scale depended on the fluid coordination between designers, platecutters, and publishers; roles that, by the sixteenth century, were considered distinguished enough to merit distinct credits engraved on the plates themselves: invenit, fecit/sculpsit, and excudit. While any one designer, plate cutter, and publisher could potentially exercise a great deal of influence over the production of a single print, their individual decisions (Whom to select as an engraver? What subjects to create for a print design? What market to sell to?) would have been variously constrained or encouraged by their position in this larger network (Who do they already know? And who, in turn, do their contacts know?) This dissertation addresses the impact of these constraints and affordances through the novel application of computational social network analysis to major databases of surviving prints from this period. This approach is used to evaluate several questions about trends in early modern print production practices that have not been satisfactorily addressed by traditional literature based on case studies alone: Did the social capital demanded by print production result in centralized, or distributed production of prints? When, and to what extent, did printmakers and publishers in the Low countries favor international versus domestic collaborators? And were printmakers under the same pressure as painters to specialize in particular artistic genres? This dissertation ultimately suggests how simple professional incentives endemic to the practice of printmaking may, at large scales, have resulted in quite complex patterns of collaboration and production. The framework of network analysis surfaces the role of certain printmakers who tend to be neglected in aesthetically-focused histories of art. This approach also highlights important issues concerning art historians’ balancing of individual influence versus the impact of longue durée trends. Finally, this dissertation also raises questions about the current limitations and future possibilities of combining computational methods with cultural heritage datasets in the pursuit of historical research.

Developmental Neural Correlates of Social Interaction

Children develop in a sea of reciprocal social interaction, but their brain development is predominately studied in non-interactive contexts (e.g., viewing photographs of faces). This dissertation investigated how the developing brain supports social interaction. Specifically, novel paradigms were used to target two facets of social experience—social communication and social motivation—across three studies in children and adults. In Study 1, adults listened to short vignettes—which contained no social information—that they believed to be either prerecorded or presented over an audio-feed by a live social partner. Simply believing that speech was from a live social partner increased activation in the brain’s mentalizing network—a network involved in thinking about others’ thoughts. Study 2 extended this paradigm to middle childhood, a time of increasing social competence and social network complexity, as well as structural and functional social brain development. Results showed that, as in adults, regions of the mentalizing network were engaged by live speech. Taken together, these findings indicate that the mentalizing network may support the processing of interactive communicative cues across development. Given this established importance of social-interactive context, Study 3 examined children’s social motivation when they believed they were engaged in a computer-based chat with a peer. Children initiated interaction via sharing information about their likes and hobbies and received responses from the peer. Compared to a non-social control, in which children chatted with a computer, peer interaction increased activation in mentalizing regions and reward circuitry. Further, within mentalizing regions, responsivity to the peer increased with age. Thus, across all three studies, social cognitive regions associated with mentalizing supported real-time social interaction. In contrast, the specific social context appeared to influence both reward circuitry involvement and age-related changes in neural activity. Future studies should continue to examine how the brain supports interaction across varied real-world social contexts. In addition to illuminating typical development, understanding the neural bases of interaction will offer insight into social disabilities such as autism, where social difficulties are often most acute in interactive situations. Ultimately, to best capture human experience, social neuroscience ought to be embedded in the social world.

Influences and benefits of role models on social media.

The current paper examined three research questions. First, what are the perceived benefits for social network users who have role models online? Second, to what extent does having role models online influence one’s self-presentation on social media? And finally, are users who expect more in return (greater reciprocity) more likely to have role models on social media? Using two opportunity survey samples and exploratory analyses, study 1 (N = 236) demon-strated that having role models was associated with greater perceived support for one’s career aspirations, and perceived access to information. The results of study 2 (N = 192) revealed that participants who had role models online reported that their online profile presented a more realistic self-presentation of values and pri-orities, as well as having higher reciprocity expectation.

ENGINEERING DIGITAL SHARING PLATFORM TO CREATE SOCIAL CONTAGION: EVIDENCE FROM LARGE SCALE RANDOMIZED FIELD EXPERIMENTS

Peer-to-peer information sharing has fundamentally changed customer decision-making process. Recent developments in information technologies have enabled digital sharing platforms to influence various granular aspects of the information sharing process. Despite the growing importance of digital information sharing, little research has examined the optimal design choices for a platform seeking to maximize returns from information sharing. My dissertation seeks to fill this gap. Specifically, I study novel interventions that can be implemented by the platform at different stages of the information sharing. In collaboration with a leading for-profit platform and a non-profit platform, I conduct three large-scale field experiments to causally identify the impact of these interventions on customers’ sharing behaviors as well as the sharing outcomes. The first essay examines whether and how a firm can enhance social contagion by simply varying the message shared by customers with their friends. Using a large randomized field experiment, I find that i) adding only information about the sender’s purchase status increases the likelihood of recipients’ purchase; ii) adding only information about referral reward increases recipients’ follow-up referrals; and iii) adding information about both the sender’s purchase as well as the referral rewards increases neither the likelihood of purchase nor follow-up referrals. I then discuss the underlying mechanisms. The second essay studies whether and how a firm can design unconditional incentive to engage customers who already reveal willingness to share. I conduct a field experiment to examine the impact of incentive design on sender’s purchase as well as further referral behavior. I find evidence that incentive structure has a significant, but interestingly opposing, impact on both outcomes. The results also provide insights about senders’ motives in sharing. The third essay examines whether and how a non-profit platform can use mobile messaging to leverage recipients’ social ties to encourage blood donation. I design a large field experiment to causally identify the impact of different types of information and incentives on donor’s self-donation and group donation behavior. My results show that non-profits can stimulate group effect and increase blood donation, but only with group reward. Such group reward works by motivating a different donor population. In summary, the findings from the three studies will offer valuable insights for platforms and social enterprises on how to engineer digital platforms to create social contagion. The rich data from randomized experiments and complementary sources (archive and survey) also allows me to test the underlying mechanism at work. In this way, my dissertation provides both managerial implication and theoretical contribution to the phenomenon of peer-to-peer information sharing.