It’s all about networking! Empirical investigation of social capital formation on social network sites

As Social Network Sites (SNS) permeate our daily routines, the question whether participation results in value for SNS users becomes particularly acute. This study adopts a 'participation-source-outcome' perspective to explore how distinct uses of SNS generate various types of social capital benefits. Building on existing research, extensive qualitative findings and an empirical study with 253 Facebook users, we uncover the process of social capital formation on SNS. We find that even though active communication is an important prerequisite, it is the diversified network structure and the increased social connectedness that are responsible for the attainment of the four benefits of social capital on SNS: emotional support, networking value, horizon broadening and offline participation. Moreover, we propose and validate scales to measure social capital benefits in the novel context of SNS.

The Function of Norms and Values in the Construction of Social Identity in Groups who experienced intergroup Conflicts

I present my explorative research about conflict and social identity. The Social Identity Approach of Henri Tajfel and John Turner is used as theoretical frame in the study. The main question is how the construction of social identity of group members is influenced by an inter-group conflict. The research project consists of two parts: 1. An empirical study conducted with qualitative research methods to investigate a today’s congregation of the Swiss reformed Church who experienced a conflict about twenty years ago. This conflict ended by the separation of a sub-group from the congregations. This group forms an independent community today. Members of both congregations where interviewed about the meaning which membership has for them and about their interpretation of the conflict. 2. An analysis of the Gospel of Matthew with questions who where developed out of the empirical study and the Social Identity Approach to better understand the separation conflict between the Matthean community and the synagogue.

Considering the Consequences of Child Welfare Service Decisions

The following commentary serves as a response to the article, “That Wall is Around My Heart,” underscoring the importance of decision making in child welfare services. The commentary supports the need for child welfare systems to carefully consider the long-term consequences of various service intervention strategies. Child welfare systems must attend to both the internal external elements of safety, giving special attention to the emotional trauma of child maltreatment and the trauma resulting from removal and placement in alternative care. The commentary supports the need for child welfare systems to provide effective interventions that prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect, as well as break the cyclical nature of child maltreatment, helping ensure the safety of children and families for future generations.

Deregulation strategies and its regulating effects: The case of the termination of Social Assistance for rejected asylum seekers in Switzerland

Deregulation strategies and their regulating effects: The case of the termination of Social Assistance for rejected asylum seekers in Switzerland. In Switzerland, rejected asylum seekers no longer have any residence rights. In 2003 the Swiss state decided to terminate the so far granted social assistance for people with a non-entry decision on their asylum request. In 2008 the termination of social assistance was expanded to all rejected asylum seekers. Nevertheless, facing the impossibility of deporting them, the Swiss state entitled this group of people to emergency assistance. It is a basic, which is stated in the Swiss Federal constitution. In this context, new structures were established specially for rejected asylum seekers. These structures had to be set up, financed, controlled, managed and legitimized. For example, collective centres were set up exclusively for rejected asylum seekers. In this speech, I want to analyze the political and bureaucratic process of terminating social assistance for rejected asylum seekers. The exclusion of rejected asylum seekers from social aid was embedded in a wider austerity program of the Federal State. The Federal Migration Office had been requested to save money. The main official goal was to reduce the support of these illegalized people, reduce any structures that would prolong their stay on Swiss ground and to set incentives so that they would leave the country on their own. But during the implementation, new regulating effects emerged. Drawing on ethnographic material, I will highlight these “messy procedures” (Sciortino 2004). First, I will analyze the means and goals developed by the Federal authorities while conceptualising the termination of social assistance. Second, I will focus on the new built structures and elaborate the practices and legitimating strategies of the authorities. As a conclusion, I will analyze the ambivalences of these processes which, at the end, established specific structures for the “unwanted”.

The impact of social roles on trait judgments: a critical reexamination

Consistent with social role theory's assumption that the role behavior of men and women shapes gender stereotypes, earlier experiments have found that men's and women's occupancy of the same role eliminated gender-stereotypical judgments of greater agency and lower communion in men than women. The shifting standards model raises the question of whether a shift to within-sex standards in judgments of men and women in roles could have masked underlying gender stereotypes. To examine this possibility, two experiments obtained judgments of men and women using measures that do or do not restrain shifts to within-sex standards. This measure variation did not affect the social role pattern of smaller perceived sex differences in the presence of role information. These findings thus support the social role theory claim that designations of identical roles for subgroups of men and women eliminate or reduce perceived sex differences.

Studying the neurobiology of social interaction with transcranial direct current stimulation--the example of punishing unfairness.

Studying social behavior often requires the simultaneous interaction of many subjects. As yet, however, no painless, noninvasive brain stimulation tool existed that allowed the simultaneous affection of brain processes in many interacting subjects. Here we show that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can overcome these limits. We apply right prefrontal cathodal tDCS and show that subjects' propensity to punish unfair behavior is reduced significantly.

Significance of social cognitive remediation therapy within a comprehensive treatment concept

Objectives: The final goal in the successful treatment of schizophrenia patients is defined in improved functional recovery. Thus the integration of social cognitive tasks within a comprehensive treatment concept should offer significant advantages in generalization and transfer of therapy effects. Recent therapy outcome research supports these advantages. Empirical modeling identified social cognition as a mediating factor between neurocognition and functional recovery. Regarding this, we first developed the Integrated Psychological Therapy Program (IPT). It consists of 5 subprograms and combines interventions on neurocognition, social cognition, and social competence. As a further development of the cognitive part of IPT we developed the Integrated Neurocognitive Therapy (INT), which focuses on all social and neurocognitive domains defined by MATRICS. Methods: The aim was to investigate whether the application of the complete IPT is superior in comparison to the use of single IPT subprograms. Data were based on 37 independent IPT studies including a total sample of 1692 schizophrenia patients. Additionally, the proximal outcome in cognitive domains as well as in more distal outcome areas was investigated in an international RCT on INT including 169 schizophrenia outpatients. Results: All IPT subprogram variations obtained significant effects in proximal outcome. Each subprogram domain reached the largest effects in the targeted area. With regard to distal outcomes, combinations of subprograms showed a significant reduction of negative symptoms and an improvement in not targeted areas of functioning. This strongly supports vertical generalization effects to other functional domains. Regarding INT, results support efficacy compared to TAU in various cognitive domains, in psychosocial functioning and symptoms after therapy and at 1-year-follow-up. Conclusion: Results support evidence for the efficacy of longer lasting integrated therapy. The success of these treatment concepts is strongly based on successful therapy of social cognitive functions.